TIRUCHY: Members of the Tamil Nadu Vedaranyam Salt Satyagraha Awareness Movement have raised concern that a newly built eatery near the Central Bus Stand has undermined the significance of the Salt Satyagraha Memorial Pillars.
The pillars were erected in 1973 to commemorate the starting point of the historic march to Vedaranyam led by C Rajagopalachari in 1930 against the British salt law. The movement’s state president, P Panneer Selvam, said the memorial is now in poor condition and vulnerable to misuse.
“We have been maintaining it by putting up a small shed. But encroachments and parking near the site have defaced the dignity of the monument. We urge the district collector to inspect the spot, beautify the memorial, establish a park, and ensure protection from antisocial elements,” he said.
The Salt Satyagraha from Tiruchy to Vedaranyam, undertaken by Rajaji in response to Mahatma Gandhi’s call, is a landmark chapter of the freedom struggle. To honour the march, Tiruchy municipality chairman V K Ranganathan installed the memorial in 1973.
In 1988, around 100 Gandhians re-enacted the procession to Vedaranyam, flagged off by former president Shankar Dayal Sharma and then governor P C Alexander. The members emphasised that the memorial should be developed into a place of historical importance and requested the collector to inspect and take necessary steps to protect the memorial.