Under the Smart City Project, Madurai was witnessing a transformation: new bridges were coming up; roads were widened; paver blocks were laid on Masi streets; underground drainage work was going on in new wards; and many other projects were in the pipeline, but DMK MP Kanimozhi was misleading the people on the development of the city, said Minister for Cooperation Sellur K. Raju.
Speaking to reporters after distributing free bicycles to 2,000 students from 15 schools here on Wednesday, he said after nearly four decades, Madurai was getting a facelift through different projects.
Even recently, the media had highlighted the inconvenience caused to vehicle users on many stretches due to development works. “We have also told the contractors to expedite the works and minimise the hardships faced by the people,” he said.
Opposition party leaders were welcome to criticise the government, but they could not say that nothing was happening when the governments had invested about ₹1,000 crore under the Smart City initiative. “Already, the people had got a bad image of the DMK. If such misleading statements are made, the party will turn out to be a laughing stock among the informed sections of society,” Mr. Raju said.
Refusing to be drawn to queries on V.K. Sasikala and T.T.V. Dhinakaran, the Minister said the government had kept the promises made by late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. Unable to stomach AIADMK’s popularity among the masses, Ms. Kanimozhi, who was in the city for the last two days, had made false allegations that the party had done nothing to improve the standards of living of the common man here.
Admitting that the Smart City projects had caused some difficulties for the people, he said a few projects in Periyar bus stand area would get over in about a month.