Though bore well lorries from Tiruchengode drill bores across the country and help tap underground water, acute water shortage continues to be a major hurdle for the development of the constituency.
Bore well hub
Called as nation’s bore well rig capital or the bore well hub of India, the villages in the Tiruchengode assembly constituency have power looms, textile industries, lorry body building and sugarcane cultivation that provide employment opportunities. The presence of Arthanareeswarar Temple in the heart of the town’s hillock adds significance to tourism.
African countries
Trucks mounted with drilling rigs are even exported to African countries. The town has the distinction of having Gandhi Ashram located at Pudupalayam that was inaugurated by C. Rajagopalachari in 1925 and it was here that he first published a pro-prohibition magazine Vimochanam .
Agriculture
The drought-prone areas around the municipal limits have made people less dependent on agriculture. They have been demanding de-silting of water bodies and eviction of encroachments.
Sugarcane
'Except for households in the town, availability of drinking water in other areas in the constituency is a major crisis that has been unattended to. Sugarcane is the major crop cultivated in the areas, but poor pricing leads to frequent protest by the farmers. With the presence of reputed educational institutions that transport thousands of students in buses traffic congestion is another major problem on the narrow road in the town. Ring road and bypass road are yet to take shape.
Parking facility
The demand for integrated motor vehicle parking facility, government polytechnic, college and infrastructural projects for overall development is still a dream for the electors. When election to the first legislative assembly to the Madras State was held in 1952, S. Arumugam (Independent) and T.S. Arthanari (CPI) came victorious in the double-member constituency.
Six times
There after R. Kandaswami and T.M. Kaliannan (Congress) won in 1957, T.M. Kaliannan won in 1962 and T.A. Rajavelu (DMK) in 1967. During the elections held from 1971 to 2011, AIADMK won six times, DMK won twice and DMDK and CPM came out victorious one time each. In the 2011 election, P. Sampathkumar of DMDK emerged victorious by contesting in the AIADMK-led alliance.
Coalition
However, little could be done for development as the party moved out of coalition. Pon. Saraswathi, who was the chairman of Tiruchengodu municipality and is the AIADMK candidate for the election this year will face stiff competition from Bar. Elangovan of DMK over developmental issues.
Other contestants
Other contestants include J. Vijayakamal (DMDK), C. Nagarajan (BJP) and S. Rajavel (Kongu Makkal Desiya Katchi). Electors in the town, which was in news over writer Perumal Murugan’s book Madhorubagan and the murder of V. Gokulraj, seek focus on development.
The presence of Arthanareeswarar Temple adds significance to tourism
