Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

DPA members rally behind T.R. Baalu

Staff Reporter

Flay Chief Minister for trying to stop "145-year-old dream of Tamils''

MADURAI: The elected members of the constituent parties of Democratic Progressive Alliance (DPA) rallied behind the Union Minister of Shipping, T.R. Baalu, justifying the ongoing dredging operation for the Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project.

All the speakers who addressed the function organised to lay the foundation stone for four laning of Madurai-Virudhunagar section near Tirumangalam on Friday flayed the Chief Minister for trying to stop the "145-year-old dream of Tamils."

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP (Madurai), P. Mohan, said the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, who took pride in speaking in support of implementation of the project in Parliament, was opposing it now only because of "jealous and ulterior (political) motives." Alleging that the State Government was placing hurdles in the implementation of the Centrally-funded desalination plant at a cost of Rs.1,000 crores to benefit Chennai, he said it could not put spokes in development works undertaken by other ministries, such as the Railways, Shipping and National Highways.

A. Ravichandran, the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP (Sivakasi), said the DPA leader had more concern for fishermen than the Chief Minister.

A former Congress MP. A.G.S. Rambabu, said people of Tamil Nadu were in support of the project.

In a veiled attack, Mr. Baalu said, "No one can stop development works (carried out by the Centre). Any one attempting it will get trapped in it. They will face a huge defeat at the hands of people."

Pedestrian walkway

Conceding to a demand put forth by the Dindigul MP, N.S.V. Chitthan, Mr. Baalu announced laying of a 2.5-metre wide pedestrian walkway along the Dindigul-Palani highway to prevent fatal accidents involving devotees going on `padayatra' to Sri Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple in Palani. The project, to be implemented along a 44.6-km stretch, will cost Rs.5.5 crores.

Two bypasses

The 48.8 km Madurai-Virudhunagar section, a part of the North-South corridor, will be four-laned at a cost of Rs.282.58 crores. The project envisages construction of two bypasses — Madurai bypass between Samayanallur and Thoppur via Thanakkankulam at a cost of Rs.70 crores and Tirumangalam bypass to Melakottai via Sengulam at a cost of Rs.30 crores. Besides, two rail-over-bridges, one major bridge and 26 minor bridges will also be constructed.

The minister said four-laning 2,918 km out of the 4,212 km of national highways in the State would provide employment to 1.20 lakh people for three years, and the road maintenance work to 15,000. The Minister of State for Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, K.H. Muniyappa, sought the cooperation of local people and State Government in land acquisition.

The Madurai MP, P. Mohan, the Sivakasi MP, A. Ravichandran, the Madurai (East) MLA, N. Nanmaran, the Chairman, National Highways Authority, Santosh Nautiyal, the Secretary, Department of Road Transport and Highways, L.K, Joshi, and several members of the National Road Safety Council, spoke.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

TVS Lakshmi students lift regional trophy
DPA members rally behind T.R. Baalu
She prioritised women's needs
A line-up of offers from BSNL wooing subscribers
Pedestrian pavement to be laid along Dindigul-Palani road
Young World quiz title changes hands
PG teachers' plea to govt.
ISO certification for Madurai Airport
Trekking did them good
Around the City
In Madurai Today

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu