THOOTHUKUDI: An activist from Kulasekarapattinam urged the district administration to expand the beachfront near the Mutharamman temple to accommodate huge influx of devotees for the upcoming Dussehra festival. Ramachandran, the activist, submitted a petition in this regard to the collector during the grievance redressal meeting held on Monday at the collectorate.
The petitioner demanded that the district administration widen the village roads to operate buses to the beach. Kulasekarapattinam is located along the Thoothukudi-Kanniyakumari highway, and is in the vicinity of the site proposed for the ISRO rocket launching pad and the Udangudi supercritical thermal power plant.
Meanwhile, a stone quarry operator -- K Kasilingam from Ottapidaram -- told media persons that a DMK functionary has allegedly been disrupting the operations of his quartzite quarry, for which he obtained the mining licence in September 2024.
"The DMK functionary has dug a pit on a pathway to prevent lorries from reaching Kulasekaranallur-Cylone Colony Road," he claimed. Refuting the allegations, the DMK functionary said the quarry operations were halted following opposition from the villagers. However, Mine and Geology department assistant director Priya said there was neither opposition from the villagers nor any violations.
PwD stages sit-in protest at collectorate
Accusing the villagers from Valathur near Sathankulam of ostracising his family, P Vetrivel (28) a person with disabilities staged a sit-in protest on the collectorate premises on Monday. Four months ago, a public tap installed near his cycle shop was damaged, since then, the villagers had ostracised his family, he claimed, seeking action against the villagers.
The police personnel on duty removed the protester from the premises and instructed him to submit his grievances only through petitions.
Collector K Elambahavath, who chaired the weekly grievance redressal meeting, received a total of 580 petitions, including 37 from persons with disabilities. District revenue officer A Ravichandran and assistant collector (training) D Buvanesram were present.