The Hindu : Front Page : Bridge issue relegates repair work to the backseat

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 01, 2005

Front Page

Front Page

Bridge issue relegates repair work to the backseat

L. Renganathan

DMK joins issue with CM over charges of corruption

KARUR: Work on repairing the damaged portion of the new bridge across the Amaravathy river here has come to a grinding halt, following the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, ordering a probe into the issue. Meanwhile, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has joined issue with the Chief Minister over charges of corruption.

The Commissioner of Karur Municipality, N. Rajasekaran Nair, in a letter dated November 29, directed the East Coast Constructions and Industries Limited to stop all repair works forthwith "since the Chief Minister during her visit on November 11 had said that an expert committee was being formed to study the worthiness of the bridge.'' It was the firm which constructed the bridge and had been maintaining it as well as collecting toll from vehicles crossing the bridge. Significantly, his letter does not speak of the simultaneous announcement of the probe into possible corruption charges in the sanction and construction of the bridge under the `Build, Operate, Transfer (BOT)' scheme, which has sparked a controversy, with politics overshadowing flood relief.

Reacting to the Chief Minister's announcement on probe, the Karur district secretary of the DMK, Vasuki Murugesan, told The Hindu that, as conceded by Ms. Jayalalithaa herself, the bridge was constructed on a BOT basis and that the party has nothing to do with the issue. We are ready to face any probe, she said. Would the State Government order similar probes into the numerous bridges constructed during the AIADMK regime and which now stand affected following floods, she queried pointing to the extensive damage caused to the mainline of the Dindigul Combined Water Supply Scheme which was washed away across the river between Sanapiratti and Panchamadevi. Observing that the municipality is a stakeholder, , floor leader of the DMK in the Karur Municipality, N. Maniraj, said even the municipal officials acknowledge that the "public are appreciating the new bridge'' every year in their annual reports. More importantly, he says that even the previous AIADMK regime was also in the thick of the game. The then Industries Minister, M. Chinnasamy, chaired a meeting at the Secretariat on Oct. 18, 1995 on the bridge issue, which settled for the BOT basis.

Even the G.O. MS No. 29 dated January 30, 1996 accepting the proposal to raise a loan of Rs.10.39 crores from the HUDCO was issued during the previous AIADMK regime. The CM should have taken note of all these things, he said.

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

Front Page

News Update

Stories in this Section