Voters of Dharapuram (reserved) assembly constituency in Tirupur district have been contesting the next month’s assembly elections between the BJP state president and the DMK’s first-time candidate.
BJP Tamil Nadu President L. Murugan is the candidate of AIADMK front for Dharampuram constituency, which, incidentally, is the only reserved constituency in Kongu region which has been allotted to BJP by AIADMK. He became the party’s state unit president in March 2020, and contested assembly elections in 2011 (from Rasipuram) and 2006 (from Sankari) as a member of the BJP.
On the other hand, the DMK has decided to field Kayalvizzi Selvaraj, the caretaker of the women’s wing of the party. According to sources, she has been a member of the DMK since 1996.
Many long standing demands of the voters of this constituency are unheard of. Agriculture is a major occupation here, farmers are demanding release of sufficient amount of water at Uppar Dam in Kundadam for irrigation of more than 6,000 acres of agricultural land.
R. Muruganantham, executive member of the Tiruppur District Uppar Farmers Protection Association, said the farmers had intensified their protest for the last two years, demanding release of water from the Thirumurthy dam into the upstream dam.
A Public Works Department official said that as per the government order, only surplus water can be released from the Tirumurthy dam. The official said the surplus water was released for eight days in January.
However, Mr. Muruganantham said that it would not be sufficient for irrigation. “There is no guarantee that the authorities will release enough water in the future,” he said.
Education and health
The establishment of a government art college and better facilities at Dharapuram Government Hospital, within the limits of Dharapuram municipality, have been pending for more than a decade. Former councilor of DMK’s Ward 25 p. Katiravan said that students of Dharapuram were forced to go to Kangeyam and Udumalpet to pursue higher education. Similarly, patients from Dharapuram were seeking treatment at Tiruppur Government Medical College Hospital and Coimbatore Medical College Hospital due to lack of facilities at the local government hospital.
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