VIRUDHUNAGAR: Tension prevailed during the Sivakasi Corporation Council meeting on Thursday after several councillors, including those affiliated with the DMK, engaged in heated arguments with officials and Mayor Sangeetha Inbam, alleging widespread corruption within the civic body.
The DMK councillors accused corporation officials of demanding bribes for administrative approvals, including building approval, from the public, claiming that such actions have brought disrepute to the state government. The councillors also warned that continued corruption would tarnish the party’s image and adversely affect its election campaign.
Ward 6 Councillor S Srinika, affiliated with the ruling party, alleged that the corporation did not deploy an adequate number of sanitation workers to handle waste collection, resulting in poor hygiene across the city. She pointed out that tonnes of cracker waste were left uncleared on the streets during Deepavali. “Each of the four zones under the corporation requires 60 sanitation workers, but only half that number was deployed,” she said.
The mayor declined to respond publicly and asked the councillors to meet her in person to discuss ward-level issues. Several councillors further alleged that council meetings were being conducted as a mere formality, and that many resolutions were either skipped or rushed through without proper discussion.