Legend has it when Lord Murugan defeated Asura Surapadman, the resultant blood spill turned the ground scarlet (senthur). The hallowed ground later got the honorific title of Thiru and came to be known as Tiruchendur. This small town on the shore of Bay of Bengal is readying for another battle, a once-in-five-year skirmish that would have a major bearing in the conquest of State Assembly. The fight for Tiruchendur will see arch rivals – the DMK and the AIADMK – lock horns again. Such has been the intensity of their political tug-of-war that no other party has won from here in the past four decades.
Representing the DMK is veteran politician and sitting MLA Anitha R Radhakrishnan, who has tasted success at different times from both the camps. Pitted against him is AIADMK nominee and AISMK founder R Sarathkumar. Radhakrishnan won from here in 2006 on an AIADMK ticket, but was expelled from the party in 2009 for anti-party activities. The resulting bypoll saw Radhakrishnan joining the DMK and winning. In the subsequent election, he managed to hold on to the seat, with a slender margin of 640 votes though.
Sarathkumar enters the fray on the back of a much publicised defeat in the recent Nadigar Sangam polls. The ‘supreme star’ had tried to chart out a different course for his party in the run up to the polls, courting BJP, before returning to the ruling party’s fold. The former Tenkasi MLA is banking on the support of Nadars, a community he claims to represent, to help him beat Radhakrishnan.
Part of the coastal Thoothukudi district, Tiruchendur too has a sizeable population of fishermen. Agriculture is one of the primary occupations of the people in this rustic town. However, it’s the Murugan temple that the economy of this place revolves around. Known as one of the six abodes of Lord Murugan, this is a major pilgrimage centre in the itinerary of devotees from across the country.
The area was once notorious for internecine caste and gang wars. However, advent of industries and the concomitant surge of educational institutions to meet scholastic needs have played a major part in pulling out the area from the dark ages. Thousands landed jobs in the scores of plants that set up base here. However, the industrial development here has come at the expense of the ecology and environment, leading to much unrest in the area. For residents of Udangudi, a fish processing plant has become a cause of worry for years that they have made action on the unit a deciding factor this election. V Gunaseelan, of Udangudi, says, “Bad odour emanates from the plant. People of Udangudi would vote only for the candidate who promises to shut the plant.”
Along the coast are hundreds of salt pans – Thoothukudi is the largest producer of salt in the State – one of the biggest job generators and revenue earners. Late last year, when the floods wreaked havoc, hundreds were rendered jobless. According to K Sundar, an entrepreneur, “Encroachment on water bodies was the primary reason for the inundation of coastal areas.”
OF FREEDOM FIGHTERS & HEROES
Thoothukudi is the proud native of many freedom fighters, including Subramaniya Bharathi, V O Chidambaram Pillai and Veerapandiya Kattabomman. Pillai, popularly known as “Kappalottiya Tamilan” was born in Ottapidaram. Dr Devaraj, Associate Professor of History at Kamaraj College at Thoothukudi, claimed that owing to his participation in Swaraj Movement and the strike he led in 1908, he was made to pull the oil press meant to be pulled by yokes. This was one of the reasons for Vanchinathan, a local hero, for assassinating Tirunelveli Collector Ashe in 1911.