While lakhs of people were battling Cyclone Michaung on the ground, a different kind of encounter was underway online. The social media was abuzz with posts crediting and discrediting the claim of Rs 4,000 crore being spent on renovating stormwater drains in Chennai. It all began when Chief Minister MK Stalin claimed on online platform X that Rs 4,000 crore was spent on the drains. Before long, hashtags on the figure were trending. Even Municipal Administration Minister KN Nehru was caught off guard when reporters posed questions about the claim during a press briefing. “I don’t know exactly about this number. I’ll check it and get back to you,” the minister had said. Later, he revealed that actually Rs 5,166 crore was the estimated cost for stormwater drains, but works worth only Rs 2,191 crore were completed by now.
Rugged ‘chocolate’ boy
My wife and mother-in-law keep asking me when I will become the chief minister, said Akila Indhiya Samathuva Makkal Katchi president and actor R Sarathkumar recently. Addressing his party cadre in Tirunelveli, Sarathkumar said, “If someone else aspires to be CM, the public will take it seriously. But, if I wish to be CM, is it a joke? I am very serious. I am a chocolate boy, who appears to be rugged.” He also went on to say that if a vehicle belonging to any of his party cadre is spotted in front of a Tasmac outlet, all those inside the vehicle will be removed from the party.
Sigh of ‘relief’
Like in all TN districts, business firms and well-wishers in Coimbatore too are busy arranging relief materials for Chennai which got battered by Cyclone Michaung. However, the owner of a popular hotel in Coimbatore claimed that he was separately contacted by officials from five different departments, including FSSAI, Coimbatore Corporation and labour department. The officials allegedly persuaded him to donate relief materials to their particular department directly instead of sending them through the district administration. The persuasion by officials was due to the pressure of department-wise targets fixed by themselves.
A ‘phony’ matter
When some farmers from Erode met the district collector to submit a petition seeking the release of water for punjai crops from the LBP Canal, chaos ensued. As the collector responded to the farmers’ demands, some lost their cool and spoke in a harsh tone. Although the collector let them off with a warning, an amused bystander decided to capture a video of the incident on his mobile phone. The result? His phone was confiscated. Meanwhile, the other farmers apologised to the collector for speaking to him in a harsh tone, and submitted their petitions.
(Contributed by Thinakaran Rajamani, Mohan, R Kirubakaran and P Srinivasan Compiled by Alen Moni Mathews and Srijith R)