COIMBATORE: Minister for Social Justice Vanni Arasu on Saturday gave assurance to the Scheduled Caste residents of Anna Nagar in Thondamuthur that the state government would take steps to extend the operation of bus service no. 21 -- from Gandhipuram to Kembanur -- till their locality. For a few years, the residents have been accusing the caste Hindus in Kembanur of discriminating against their community and allegedly stopping the bus service from entering their locality.
On Saturday, the residents of Anna Nagar submitted a petition to the minister, demanding that he take steps to eliminate caste-based discrimination and extend the bus service to their locality. Later, while addressing reporters at the Ondipudur Social Justice Hostel for Girls on Balasundaram Road, the minister said, "This issue has just come to my attention. We asked for an explanation as to why the bus is not entering the area. We have directed the collector to take immediate action on the issue."
Earlier that day, the minister, along with the collector and district officials, inspected the hostel after the inmates had raised complaints about substandard food quality, with instances of cockroaches being found in meals. The minister said that the students, during the inspection, also sought a bus stop near the hostel, medical facilities, and the removal of a Tasmac outlet in the area. Vanni Arasu said the officials have been directed to standardise the operations of the centralised kitchen and take steps to fulfil the students' demands.
Further, speaking about the union government's PM-SHRI scheme, Vanni Arasu reiterated, "The state government has made it clear that Tamil Nadu will follow the two-language policy, which is also the VCK's stand. If the BJP government attempts to implement the three-language policy, it will face a severe backlash from the people of Tamil Nadu."
Responding to a question on salary hike for sanitation workers, the minister said the matter would be discussed with the financial secretary. Finally, when asked about the non-functioning of the District Level Vigilance and Monitoring Committee in Coimbatore, he said the meeting would be conducted in all districts in the coming days, in strict accordance with the established norms.
