Reader’s Mail - Tirunelveli

Tamil Nadu government’s decision to allow shops and business establishments to stay open 24×7 for a period of three years (June 1, 2019) is a welcome move. Every day, thousands of people come to Tirunelveli by buses and trains even at late night. Nowadays, all types of stalls, hotels and restaurants are closed after midnight. The passengers who arrive late in the night find it very difficult to get food. If the shops are open all the time, it will be useful to the local people also in many ways. When the government passes such orders, the police department should increase night patrolling for the safety of the public.

Palayamkottai

This has reference to the news report, ‘40 tonnes of clothes removed from Tamirabharani’ (May 27, 2019). This initiative has been taken by the Vickramasingapuram Municipality. Its Commissioner and other officials deserve accolades for their commendable effort. Discarding clothes at Papanasam, the starting point of the river, is common as the very name of the place denotes destroying sins and it is difficult to alter this practice. Now, the temple priests should take a lead and advise the devotees to discard clothes in places assigned for the purpose. Not only at Papanasam, throughout the course of the river people do the same on all auspicious days.

During the Tamirabharni Pushkarani, the same thing happened in spite of the presence of many waste bins near bathing ghats. In Tirunelveli, there are many NGOs who have annual projects to clean this perennial river. Now that there is little water in the river, I request the Tirunelveli Corporation and NGOs to swing into action to protect Tamirabharani from getting polluted.

Palayamkottai

The yeoman service rendered by Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) to Kani people living near Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve by providing electricity deserves praise. These people have been living without electricity for ages. On Friday, power connection was given to their huts. The joy of the 48 Kani families was unbound. The Forest department gave permission to install electric poles. TANGEDCO carried out the work and supplied electricity within six months. Kudos to TANGEDCO JE P. Vijayan and Forest department.