COIMBATORE: A temporary setup intended to resemble a new borewell in Chettipalayam in Coimbatore sparked controversy, after BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran shared a video on social media, mistakenly believing it was part of an actual borewell project executed by the local government to loot funds.
Nagenthran criticised the DMK government on X after a local BJP councillor shared a video showing a borehole measuring only seven feet deep, with a pipe installed inside. “The borewell, a long-standing demand of the Chettipalayam residents, was initiated by the DMK government, and shockingly, the work was completed within just seven feet of digging,” he commented.
Following the post, the local body removed the structure and clarified that no borewells had been drilled at the site, and that the town panchayat had not spent any funds on borewells.
R Manoranjitham, assistant director of Town Panchayats, Coimbatore district, said the Tamil Nadu Crusher Association volunteered to plant 5,000 saplings on HR&CE land in Chettipalayam town panchayat. “They had already drilled two borewells to provide water for the saplings and planned to establish another, but dropped it.”
Allegedly, a setup designed to resemble a borewell was created with the consent of the panchayat authorities a week ago to facilitate an electricity connection for a plantation site. However, locals thought it was a public borewell, leading to suspicions of fund misappropriation. “The local farmers claimed the borewell was dug at night in the presence of the panchayat president. I shared my findings with our party president on Friday. No one knows the reason behind the setup. Even if it was for a good cause, who permitted them to do it on the roadside, and why did they attempt to obtain an electricity connection with a fake setup?” Mathivanan asked.
On Saturday, the panchayat executive officer released a statement confirming the information shared by the Manoranjitham.