PUDUKOTTAI: An advertisement about an inter-faith couple garnered so much hate online that it had to be pulled down by Tanishq this week. In a temple in Manamelkudi in Pudukkottai, there is no room for such hate. A muslim district councilor has constructed a pathway in and around the temple with paver blocks at a cost of Rs. 5.34 lakhs.
77-year-old Chidambaram, who has been the temple priest at the Muthu Mariamman Temple in Manamkeludi for several decades had just one demand - a pathway around the temple and one that would connect it to the road. When Najimudeen Jahabersadik came to canvass for votes last year, he told him that he would win, and asked just one thing of him - a pathway for devotees.
"Najimudeen delivered his promise. I am extremely happy, my long pending demand has been fulfilled. I feel even happier that the councilor chose to work on a temple first, proves that God is one," said Chidambaram.
Najimudeen Jahabersadik has been a union councilor for Manamelkudi since 2011. After a few years when elections weren’t held, he came back to power last year as the District Councilor with the DMK.
He says that he won with a margin of more than 16,000 votes, one of the highest margins ever. As soon as he received funds, the first thing he did was use it for constructing this pathway at the Muthu Mariamman Temple.
"The locals faced lot of problems as there was no proper structure around the temple, it was all sticks and stones. Due to COVID, fund allotment took time and the districts received funds very late. I was in Dubai during the lockdown and did this work with the help of the Panchayat President. We first received Rs. 5.34 lakhs and decided to use it for this temple," says Najimudeen.
For Najimudeen, duty trumps all. He wants to show his thanks to voters through his performance. "As a councilor, everyone is same for me. I want to fulfill promises made to everyone, irrespective of religion, caste or creed. I will try to fulfill the commitments made to everyone in my district," adds Najimudeen.
The councilor already has atleast 5-6 more projects up his sleeve, mostly road laying, tank work and helping two other temples in the district.