Bouquets and black flags for Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit in Kancheepuram
CHENNAI: Between protesting black flags on one side of the road and welcoming green billboards on the other, Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit started south from Chennai on Tuesday. His day trip to Kancheepuram marked the 13th district in the State he has visited since his installation as Governor in September 2017.
On his maiden visit to the district, Purohit picked a platter of activities that best represented his priorities: health, sanitation awareness, housing and religious sentiments.
The Governor’s first stop was at Padappai where he visited a six-bed Primary Health Centre (PHC). At the entrance of the PHC, two larger-than-life flexes with visages of Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and late J Jayalalithaa invited him. On one of the inside posters, the Governor’s face was printed out separately and added later.
Ahead of his arrival, employees of the PHC and neighbouring government medical facilities had arranged a special medical camp. Each stall at the camp represented a specialty and the Governor interacted with medicos at the stalls. From dermatology to food safety, experts filled the place waiting to explain their work to the Governor. Purohit inquired about the various treatment facilities available at the PHC and presented 10 mothers with ‘Amma Baby Care Kit’ and provided 10 other mothers with Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy maternity benefit scheme fund. As he was on his way to the Girls Higher Secondary School in Eganampettai, a group of DMK and other opposition party workers tried to throw black flags at his car, which, however, missed their target and fell on the wayside.
At the school he conducted a sanitation awareness campaign for students asking them to vow to follow 10 commandments of cleanliness - which included washing hands, using toilets, brushing teeth and bathing every day. He amused the girls with his usually charming greeting in Tamil ‘Sowkiyama?’ (Are you well?). “Being clean is not just about keeping your house clean. It’s also about keeping your neighbourhood also clean,” he said.
After sanitation awareness speech at the school, he reached Karukkupettai, where he opened five houses built under Pradan Mantri Awas Yojana. After meeting public, Purohit met with district revenue officials to inquire about implementation of various schemes. Full story on www.newindianexpress.com