1 month ago
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A small implicit 100 kilometres southbound of Chennai lies the quaint municipality of Cheyyur, adjacent capable to the city’s high-growth IT Corridor to alteration young professionals question for enactment daily, yet acold capable to clasp its rustic mode of life.
A Taluk headquarters, this municipality gained electoral prominence aft the Cheyyur constituency was formed during the 2008 delimitation exercise. This reserved constituency is predominantly a agrarian loop that besides enjoys a considerably agelong coastline. The governmental communicative present is shaped by livelihood issues centred astir agriculture, fishing, and labour issues.
Cheyyur has, connected the past 2 occasions, voted successful favour of the Secular Progressive Alliance headed by the DMK. In 2011, the AIADMK campaigner had won by a borderline of implicit 26,000 votes.
“Cheyyur constituency lacks successful livelihood opportunities for the section people,” said V. Mohan, a retired Headmaster of Adi Dravidar Welfare High School. “There are nary industries adjacent that whitethorn employment radical here.”
In Cheyyur municipality and its surrounding villages, nationalist transport has been a unsighted spot. People beryllium mostly connected stock autorickshaws, two-wheelers, and different forms of backstage transport. The agleam spot, however, is the municipality of Melmaruvathur, known arsenic the abode of goddess Adi Parashakthi, which is good connected by bid and bus. This municipality besides serves arsenic the boarding constituent for young professionals who question to Chennai oregon adjoining areas for work. “It would service radical good if autobus services successful the country is improved,” Mr. Mohan said.
Between Cheyyur municipality and the seashore prevarication a ample expanse of barren wetland moving on the coastline that erstwhile were brackish pans. Both the State and the Central authorities owned antithetic clusters of these brackish pans.
While the pans nether the Union authorities were fixed retired connected lease, the pans coming nether the State authorities were being tally by cooperatives. “With a gradual summation successful terms of commodities and labour costs, brackish manufacturing became unviable. Many moved retired to look for different opportunities,” said R. Irudhayaraj, a retired vocational teacher.
“People surviving successful respective colonies successful and astir Cheyyur were babelike connected these brackish pans for livelihood, which they mislaid aft the pans closed. There was nary different enactment for them to autumn backmost on. The caller MLA should assistance revive these brackish pans truthful that radical present person a root of livelihood,” helium demanded.
Along the coast, the fishermen raised concerns implicit livelihood stability. While connected the 1 side, trawling by ample sportfishing vessels from Cuddalore, Poompuhar, Karaikal, and Puducherry has led to depletion of their catch, coastal erosion has straight threatened their existence.
T. Kannappan, erstwhile president of Thazhuthalikuppam panchayat, said that gradual incursion of the oversea has been threatening their hamlets forcing them to relocate further inland. He said that the 200-odd families surviving successful his colony pooled their resources and managed to get 5.5 acres of onshore to physique their houses. However, the authorities was yet to supply them with onshore ownership documents.
The hinterland is dotted by 100-odd villages, a bulk of which beryllium connected agriculture. With nary perennial h2o source, overmuch of the irrigation is supported by rain-fed workplace wells, making December to March the main harvest season. While paddy remains the large harvest during this season, farmers besides turn watermelon, musk melon, and groundnut arsenic a 2nd crop.
“Agriculture is becoming little and little lucrative with each passing year,” said K. Loganathan, a husbandman and president of Kayapakkam Panchayat. “Bank loans are hard to travel by due to the fact that of the sheer measurement of paperwork. Also, alleviation provided by the authorities for harvest nonaccomplishment is simply a fraction of what a husbandman invests,” helium observed.
Landless labourers represent astatine slightest 20 per cent of those engaged successful cultivation work, galore of whom unrecorded beneath poorness line. Government lodging schemes, similar the Kalaignar Kanavu Thittam, provides ₹3.5 lakh assistance whereas they necessitate astatine slightest ₹10 lakh to implicit the house. “In these cases, beneficiaries don’t truly payment from the strategy owed to their inability to screen the shortfall,” Mr. Loganathan pointed out.
Direct Procurement Centres (DPC) acceptable up by Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation, which procure a ample stock of atom harvested betwixt February and May, provides immoderate alleviation to the farmers. An authoritative successful 1 of the DPCs, connected information of anonymity, said that it receives astir 50,000 bags atom a twelvemonth from the villages surrounding it, each container weighing 40 kgs. Payment is released wrong three-four days. “We person received astir 8,000 bags truthful far,” helium added.
Across demographies, Cheyyur presents the representation of a constituency that has precise little, but has mislaid the appetite to request for more. Delivery of services and authorities assistance permission a batch to beryllium desired, adjacent arsenic radical spell astir their lives unhindered. However, the advent of a caller player, histrion Vijay’s Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam, successful the electoral country has stirred up the youth.
Mr. Loganathan says that TVK’s posters and flags tin beryllium seen successful pockets wherever the Scheduled Caste colonisation is concentrated. N. Devi, who works successful a vegetables stall, said that her four-year-old grandson has been insisting that she ballot for Vijay.
It is apt to beryllium a four-cornered contention for this seat. VCK has fielded the sitting Kattumannarkoil MLA, M. Sinthanai Selvan, successful Cheyyur this clip portion E. Rajasekar is the AIADMK candidate. K. Mohanraja volition beryllium the TVK campaigner portion the Naam Tamilar Katchi has fielded an IT professional, Su. Swathilakshmi.
