MAYILADUTHURAI: The iconic Clock Tower in the heart of Mayiladuthurai town has started to chime again after a gap of four years, courtesy the new councillor of the ward where it stands.
S Sarvodayaan, the newly-elected councillor of Ward 16 in Mayiladuthurai municipality who spent from his pockets to restore the 'Mayiladuthurai manikoondu', said, “I grew up watching the Clock Tower. I felt responsible for fixing it since it is under administrative jurisdiction.” Although the municipal council is yet to convene, instead of waiting for the ward development funds, I thought I should fix the tower myself, the 23-year-old said.
The Clock Tower was inaugurated by Arthur Hope, the then governor of Madras presidency, in 1943, to commemorate the victory of the Allied forces led by the United Kingdom over the Axis Powers in French Tunisia in the Second World War.
While the tower located at the intersection of Gandhiji Road and Pattamangalam Road went on to become the town’s identity, it has suffered often from non-maintenance.
When enquired of the clock not having been fixed for years, Municipality Commissioner K Balu told TNIE, "Maybe the municipality did not find maintaining the Clock Tower essential as compared to the other works it is concentrating on."