Campaign:T.Velmurugan, PMK MLA, addressing his party workers on Wednesday.
NEYVELI:
The battle for the newly created Neyveli Assembly constituency, encompassing the entire Neyveli Township of the NLC and parts of Kurinjipadi and Panruti constituencies, is hotting up with the Pattali Makkal Katchi and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidates gearing for a direct contest.
Sitting Panruti MLA T. Velmurugan filed his nomination for the Neyveli constituency on PMK ticket on Wednesday. He sought to erase the impression that he is an outsider or from another constituency by stating that “it should not be misconstrued that he has shifted from Panruti to Neyveli. Since his birthplace is Puliyurkattusagai that forms part of Neyveli he is very much a son of the soil.”
He told The Hindu that he was not a stranger to Neyveli because he had taken up the cause of 14,000 permanent employees and 13,000 contract workmen of the Neyveli Lignite Corporation at various forums and succeeded in getting their demands fulfilled to a fair extent.
Regularisation
It would be his endeavour to get regularisation for contract workmen in a phased manner. He would hold talks with the NLC management to waive the charges for providing electricity to over 1,000 households with 10,000 population, all daily-wage workers and small-time vendors, living in Blocks 21 and 30 of the Neyveli Township. He said that the NLC management should enhance the annual allocation for peripheral development from Rs. 2 crore to Rs. 5 crore a year.
He noted that former Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss mooted the idea of converting the NLC general hospital into a medical college and that he would strive to achieve the goal. He would seek suitable compensation and alternative sites for the residents of Thenkuthu and Vanathirayapuram whose houses had developed cracks and cattle heads were scared away by constant (controlled) explosions triggered in the NLC mines.
Appreciating the contributions made by the officials for improving the NLC performance, he said he would work in close coordination with them to improve the lot of the employees that in turn would lead to increased production and productivity. He would pursue the idea of setting up units for producing feni (a beverage extracted from cashew nuts), and jackfruit pulp and jam. He would impress upon the government and the NLC management to protect and streamline the water sources and take permanent flood control measures.
Candidates
The other candidates who filed nominations in Neyveli are:
V.Gayathri (DMK dummy candidate) and
P.Chandra (Independent);