In Kanyakumari district, Congress MLA Tharahai Cuthbert halted state road repair work ahead of a DMK transport minister’s visit, stating that the road should be fully constructed rather than a temporary patchwork.
Tharahai Cuthbert, recently elected as the MLA for the Vilavancode assembly constituency in the 2024 by-election, inspected her constituency on 3 September 2024.
During her visit, she observed contractors performing patchwork on the highway in preparation for DMK Public Works and Highways Minister EV Velu’s visit scheduled for 4 August 2024.
The Kuzhithurai highway, previously riddled with potholes, was being patched up hastily for the minister’s visit. Cuthbert had initially planned to bring the road’s dire condition to Minister Velu’s attention, but the contractor’s rushed repairs led her to intervene.
Cuthbert objected the contractors and workers of these superficial repairs, arguing that they were inadequate given the road’s poor condition, which had already resulted in several fatal accidents. She criticized the practice of merely patching up the road and instructed the workers to cease their efforts, insisting that a complete repair should be undertaken after the minister’s visit.
Tharahai confronted the contractors, asking, “If we kept the road for construction, is this the way you do? Who instructed you to do this?” The contractor responded that it was directed by the highways department. Tharahai replied, “I will speak with the highways department about this. We had intentionally left the road in its current state for the minister to see, tomorrow he is arriving. For all these days it was like this, even the road has seen two to three fatalities, why are you only doing patchwork now? Stop the work today. You can resume it after the minister has inspected the road.”
The Congress MLA Cuthbert’s actions have sparked considerable attention on social media, and Cuthbert’s actions spotlighting the DMK’s failure to address critical infrastructure problems adequately and prioritize temporary fixes over comprehensive road repairs.
''அமைச்சர் வந்து பார்த்ததுக்கு அப்புறம் ரோடு போட்டா போதும் நிப்பாட்டுங்க..'' அமைச்சர் வருகைக்காக சீரமைக்கப்பட்ட நெடுஞ்சாலை பேட்ஜ் ஒர்க்கை தடுத்து நிறுத்திய காங். எம்.எல்.ஏ..!#Kanniyakumari | #CongressMLA | #RoadIssue | #PolimerNews pic.twitter.com/nV5uQ3a8uE
— Polimer News (@polimernews) September 4, 2024
Similarly, Congress MP Vijay Vasanth has also addressed Tamil Nadu Public Works and Highways Minister EV Velu with a formal petition. MP Vasanth, who is responsible to the welfare activities in the Kanyakumari district, personally met with Minister Velu to discuss the construction of a railway flyover in the Viricode area. Vasanth emphasized that this project is crucial to meet the demands of the local residents and to ensure that their daily lives are not disrupted. Additionally, he urged the minister to reconsider and potentially abandon the current plans for the flyover project.
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