The monthly council meeting at Trichy corporation, held on Wednesday after a two-month gap due to the assembly election that brought a change of guard in the state, witnessed new scenes and a blame game. A section of DMK councillors expressed dissatisfaction over the corporation's performance, attributing the party's poor electoral showing to projects that were proposed but not implemented in the city. Some DMK councillors defended the previous government, claiming the party lost despite serving the people.
Councillors Voice Grievances
Khajamalai Vijay, a DMK councillor from ward 60, highlighted that underground drainage (UGD) work proposed in his ward has been on hold for months. He added that former minister KN Nehru, while visiting his ward to thank voters for electing him, expressed dissatisfaction over the road condition. Besides the government, alliances have also seen changes, with Congress abandoning DMK and moving to the TVK camp. A few Congress councillors skipped the meeting.
Congress councillor P Govindarajan from ward 41 stated he would work closely with the new government through his party leaders to obtain funds. He claimed the DMK-led corporation performed well in the last four years. However, DMK councillor V Leela from ward 49 said, 'Our government did several good works, yet we lost votes, but it was not because of our performance. Voters were deceived in this election.'
Arguments and Suggestions
AIADMK councillor P Ambikapathi argued with mayor Mu Anbalagan, questioning why the council did not congratulate new Chief Minister Joseph Vijay. Independent councillor LIC K Shankar from ward 20 urged the council to rectify the miscalculation of solid waste management user charges for commercial properties, stating that the continuing error reflects poorly on the TVK government.
Meanwhile, CPI councillor K Suresh urged the mayor to allocate funds for storm water drains according to the budget. DMK councillors suggested to the left party representative, 'You are a part of the government now, you must ask them,' in a lighter vein. Except for former minister Nehru, DMK candidates in the two other city seats, including former minister Anbil Mahesh in Thiruverumbur, were defeated.
M Thajdeen, DMK councillor of Ward 38 in Thiruverumbur, said, 'We lost votes in my ward as new streetlights were not installed on time before elections.' Mayor Mu Anbalagan noted that the previous DMK government sanctioned Rs 4,500 crores for the city in the last four years. 'Trichy corporation received substantial funds through the support of former CM and former minister. We must continue our good work for the next few months,' he said.
This article also provides information on gold and silver rates in Trichy, as well as bank and public holidays in the city. It was written by Deepak Karthik, a Trichy-based journalist and Assistant Editor for The Times of India, covering central and Cauvery delta districts in Tamil Nadu. He writes on politics, transport, urban infrastructure, industries, and technology. Deepak holds a Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering from Sastra University and a Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism and Public Relations from Bharathidasan University.
