TIRUCHY: With two of the three MLAs from Kumbakonam (Kumbakonam, Tiruvidaimarudhur and Papanasam) inducted to the State Cabinet, residents are elated as their long-pending demand for a separate district bifurcated from Thanjavur might be fulfilled. The local minister himself has steered several protests for a separate Kumbakonam district.
"We have been fighting for the bifurcation from Thanjavur district and creating a new Kumbakonam district for over 30 years, and every election, all the political parties used to promise us that they would fulfil the promise. But, soon after the election, the promise would be forgotten.
We felt that there was no proper mechanism to pressurise the government," said V Sathyanarayanan, secretary, Federation of All Traders Association of Kumbakonam, who has also been one of the coordinators of the Kumbakonam struggle group.
"After late Ko Si Mani, there has been no ministerial representation from Kumbakonam. The bifurcation fight began during his term as minister, but it went futile. Now, we have Minister for Agriculture R Vinoth (Kumbakonam) and Minister for Minorities Welfare AM Shahjahan (Papanasam), whose segments are taluks under the Kumbakonam revenue division. The ministerial representation from our region would realise the three decade old demand soon," he added with hope.
The Kumbakonam struggle group has decided to meet both the ministers in a couple of days and appeal to press the requirement of the Kumbakonam residents and get it done.
Sathyanarayanan recalled that the TVK minister Vinoth had steered several protests for the bifurcation of Kumbakonam from Thanjavur and he also had made this as his poll promise. "The traditional DMK segment voted against the party this time for failing to fulfill the demand of a separate district and the new ministers would work for it and would end our long pending demand," he stressed.
As per norms, at least 200 revenue villages should be there for a separate district, and Kumbakonam with three taluks has more than 300 revenue villages with 9.40 lakh population and 7.82 lakh voter strength.