KARUR: District collector T Anbalagan's 'response' to a villager who complained about the non-closure of a defunct borewell has led to an uproar.
The alleged phone conversation between the collector and the villager started doing the rounds on social media after the collector rebuked the man who asked him to direct officials to seal the borewell.
After Sujith Wilson's tragic death in Manapparai in Trichy, a drive to seal defunct borewells is underway in the state. While a few borewells have been sealed, many are being turned into groundwater recharge shafts by the officials.
The villager from Sembiyanatham village of Tharagampatti panchayat in Kulithalai union was said to have called district collector Anbalagan on Monday night.
The villager told the collector, "There is a defunct borewell in our village that needs to be closed immediately. We complained about it after Sujith's death. Despite complaining about it to the officials, there was no action."
Anbalagan's alleged reply to this was, "There is a BDO (Block Development Officer) for your taluk and do you think it's beneath you to speak to him? Did you go and meet him personally? If you care so much, then you should've gone and met the BDO directly. Do I look like a Saravana Bhavan Hotel server to you? Cut the call you rascal."
This created a huge uproar among the villagers and an alleged audio clip of the exchange started doing the rounds on social media from Monday night. Despite TNIE's best efforts, collector Anbalagan could not be contacted.
This is the second audio controversy the collector has been involved in this year after his phone conversation with MP Jothimani went viral during the parliamentary elections.