Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to Madurai to lay the foundation for an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Thoppur on January 27 comes at a time when the southern districts are reeling under a plethora of developmental issues.
Though there has been no official word on the Prime Minister’s itinerary, BJP leaders have inspected the Mandela Nagar venue where Mr. Modi is likely to address party cadre from southern districts.
MDMK general secretary Vaiko has announced that his party would stage a black flag stir against the Prime Minister for having failed to inspect the delta districts after Cyclone Gaja left a trail of death and destruction across the region.
“Some affected farmers in the State have committed suicide. This is largely because the Centre has provided only a meagre portion of the compensation sought by the State government,” Palani MLA I. Senthil Kumar said.
Welcoming the move to set up an AIIMS in Madurai, the DMK legislator, however, said, “It is regrettable that the visit of the Prime Minister (and the Chief Minister) to Madurai comes at a time when the victims of the cyclone are still struggling for their livelihood.”
Fireworks sector
Former Congress MP Manicka Tagore said the Prime Minister had conveniently ignored the livelihood of lakhs of employees of fireworks units who have been left jobless for more than 65 days after the Supreme Court imposed curbs on the manufacture of fireworks, citing pollution concerns.
“Even during his discussion with the party functionaries of southern districts, the Prime Minister did not give an assurance on the issue,” the former Lok Sabha member representing Virudhunagar said.
As Sterlite Copper is likely to resume operations following the National Green Tribunal’s nod and the Supreme Court’s verdict, unrest has come to stay in the coastal town of Thoothukudi.
Though State government officials are now claiming that the reopening of the shuttered unit is next to impossible, the people believe it could happen any time after the Lok Sabha polls.
The continuing arrests of Tamil fishermen by the Sri Lankan navy, with the latest incident having occurred on January 12, triggered a fresh bout of protests by the fishing community.
BJP functionary R. Srinivasan said the Prime Minister’s visit was about bringing AIIMS to Madurai, which he described as historic.
Protests against the Prime Minister were meant solely for getting media attention, he said.
(with inputs from Walter Scott in Ramanathapuram, P. Sudhakar in Tirunelveli and S. Sundar in Madurai)