Smallest bit of power going to someone’s head often ends in ridicule. But not in politics, where power seldom rests with the people who elect their representatives. TN Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin attended a wedding in Morattandi along Puducherry-Villupuram border on Friday, for which party functionaries made elaborate welcome arrangements.
Somehow, they skipped the part about obtaining permission and went straight to putting up banners and flags along Kottakuppam bypass junction, well into the Puducherry border. Things escalated quickly when Puducherry officials wanted the hoardings removed.
A DMK functionary from Kandamangalam, arriving in a car with a nameplate saying “Chairman, Kottakuppam”, threatened to block the border at Tirukanur and Kandamangalam and said they would prevent even the Puducherry CM from crossing it. Heated words were exchanged, resulting in the Puducherry officials deciding to sit this one out. Local police said they did not receive a complaint from the officials and no case was filed.
Non-cooperation movement
The panel constituted to implement road safety in Coimbatore district has hit a speed bump, as one of its members and a few state government officials revealed that none of the officials from the police department in Coimbatore has been cooperating with the committee or abiding by its suggestions.
The committee headed by the collector, to its credit, has implemented changes that directly resulted in easing traffic congestion in the city. However, the lethargy and negligence of the police in implementing the changes has irked one of the top officials of the committee.
Adding to the worries is the tiresome response from the highways department. Seems the road to improvement for city traffic control has been given a wrong signal, with the worsening cooperation from the police and highways department.
(Contributed by Bagalavan Perier and Aravind Raj; compiled by Thamizhamudhan Sekar)