Coimbatore: Coimbatore DMK City East District In-charge MLA N. Karthik has announced that a massive public protest will be held if the SIHS Colony bridge is not completed soon.
Coimbatore: Coimbatore DMK City East District In-charge MLA N. Karthik has announced that a massive public protest will be held if the SIHS Colony bridge is not completed soon.
In 2010 when the DMK was ruling, the then CM Kalaignar and Deputy CM Stalin allotted nearly Rs.25 crores for the construction of the Railway Bridge connecting SIHS Colony and Ondipudur. The preliminary work was inaugurated then. Following this, the construction work continued under the District Administration.
In 2011 the rule changed following which land for the construction of the bridge must have been acquired. Pathways had to be constructed on either sides of the bridge and the land on either sides had to be acquired from the land owners and the compensation had to be paid by the government. The construction work should have commenced only after the compensation was paid to the landowners by the Highways department.
However, contradictory to that, the Highways department and the TN government failed to conduct talks with the land owners and began construction. When the access pathways had to be constructed, the land owners approached the court and obtained a stay. The District Management must have held talks with the landowners at least then and reached an amicable solution.
However, for the past nine years, the bridge construction has been put on hold. Thousands of people reside in the SIHS Colony area. It has been difficult for the people travelling for work to factories and industries, schools and colleges and even for emergencies. Even if someone has a heart attack, there is no way for even an ambulance to reach there on time. One has to travel many kilometers around to reach a place.
The DMK and its allies along with social activists staged many levels of protests. On October 27, 2017, on behalf of the Coimbatore City District DMK and the Singanallur area council, protesters laid siege to the District Collectorate. On January 6, 2017 and on June 7,201, protests were held regarding this. Coimbatore MP P.R. Natarajan took part in the protests. All the protestors were arrested on that day.
AIADMK Ministers and government officials only come to review the place. However, even the basic work for the construction of the bridge has not begun.
The Chennai High Court has issued a ruling on this case on February 25, 2019. As per the ruling, the District Administration must pay the amount decided by the court to the affected landowners and begin the bridge construction work. In spite of the ruling, no action was taken until December 2019.
Right from 2016, when I was elected as the MLA I have brought up this issue for three years in Assembly sessions and during budget discussion. In 2016 June, even during the debate on the Governor's address, I had spoken about the railway bridge. In 2018, during the session on Industrial subsidy, I spoke regarding this and CM Palanisamy informed that talks have been held.
Now in 2020, the court has issued a ruling on January 7. The ruling states that within 10 weeks the order of the court must be followed and the TN government must give the landowners their compensation and begin the construction work. However, the government is still inactive. The Highways department is in the hands of CM Edappadi Palanisamy, who is only a 'yes man' to the BJP government, leading an inactive and failed government.
At every stage when the government is insisted to take up the work, they only stage reviews and we condemn this. Hence the government must initiate the construction work soon and complete the bridge rapidly.
If this is not done, then a massive protest on behalf of the Coimbatore City East District DMK will be held very soon.