MADURAI: Flagging delay in completing the Mullaiperiyar drinking water project, AIADMK staged a protest at Thiruparankundram in Madurai on Saturday.

The Opposition charged the ruling DMK of condemning going slow on the project initiated by the previous AIADMK regime. The project is vital to meet the drinking water needs of Madurai city. Party leader VV Rajan Chellappa led the protest.

Former AIADMK minister P Thangamani at the protest said that people were facing hardships as civic amenities including roads are awfully bad under the DMK government. Underground drainage works were not carried out properly in the city, he alleged. Hike in property taxes, electricity fare are making their lives worse, he said. “After the DMK came to power, electricity tariff has been increased by 52 percent,” he claimed.

Several promises made by the DMK were not fulfilled by the government to date, the former minister said. DMK president MK Stalin promised two acres of land to poor landless farmers, but failed to deliver, he said. “Since people relied largely on the promises, they voted the DMK to power. They are disappointed now. Except for a library and a Jallikattu stadium that was built in Madurai and named after Kalaignar, no development has been achieved,” he added.