A tragic road accident that claimed the life of a five-year-old boy has ignited a fierce political confrontation in Trichy, with councillors from the ruling DMK and opposition AIADMK locking horns over the inordinate delay in constructing a crucial elevated corridor.
Blame Game Erupts in Council Meeting
The incident occurred on the Trichy-Madurai National Highway, outside the Panjapur KKBT, involving a truck and a scooter. The very next day, the Trichy corporation council meeting turned into a battleground. Councillors from both parties pointed to the slow progress of the 3km-long, four-lane elevated corridor designed to bypass the new bus terminus and truck terminal as the primary reason for recurring fatal accidents on this stretch.
AIADMK councillor K Ambikapathy launched a direct attack, holding the local body responsible for the delay. "An elevated corridor should be developed before or soon after opening the new bus terminus at Panjapur. So many people have died on the stretch," Ambikapathy stated, referencing the young boy's death.
DMK Counters, Shifts Responsibility to NHAI
This accusation triggered an immediate and sharp reaction from DMK councillors, including T Muthuselvam (Ward 57) and V Leela (Ward 49). They countered that the elevated corridor project falls under the jurisdiction of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and therefore, the Trichy corporation cannot be held accountable for delays in preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR).
Mayor Mu Anbalagan reinforced this stance, advising the AIADMK councillor to leverage his party's influence. "The AIADMK councillor must get his party and leader to prevail upon NHAI to expedite the construction. AIADMK should also voice support for the project instead of blaming the state government," the Mayor said.
Other Civic Issues Surface in Heated Session
The meeting also saw other infrastructure grievances come to the fore. In a separate protest, DMK councillor Khajamalai Vijay staged a walkout, expressing frustration over the delayed commencement of an underground drainage project (Phase IV) in his ward. Officials cited technical challenges like removing hard rocks beneath the surface in Ward 60 (Khajamalai and KK Nagar) as a major hurdle.
Furthermore, councillors from left parties, CPI's K Suresh and CPM's S Suresh, urged the mayor to fast-track a proposal for allocating Rs 50 lakh per ward for the construction of new stormwater drains, highlighting the multi-faceted civic development challenges facing the city.
The council session, overshadowed by a child's untimely death, ultimately underscored a critical public safety issue where political blame-taking has overtaken tangible progress on a long-pending infrastructure solution.
