10 months on, CM Vijay returns to Karur to hand over job orders

TIRUCHY: After 285 days since the Karur tragedy, which took the lives of 41 people apart from injuring hundreds, the present-day Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay is making a first-time personal visit to the grieving families in their home town.

During his visit to Karur after 10 months, the TVK president and Chief Minister Vijay will distribute government job appointment orders to 32 members of the victims' families and address a public meeting amid tight security.

A 10-acre venue at Atlas Kalaiyarangam in Vennaimalai has been selected for the public meeting, which is restricted to 5,000 attendees. The venue has been enclosed with makeshift barricades, with only designated entry and exit points left open.

After the public meeting, Vijay will travel in a roadshow from Vennaimalai to the Karur Collectorate in Thanthondrimalai, where he is scheduled to meet with the victims' families. The Collectorate has been placed under heavy police security since Thursday ahead of the meeting.

Later, the Chief Minister will lay the foundation stone for Evervan Kothari Footwear Ltd's non-leather footwear manufacturing unit, to be established at an estimated cost of Rs 1,700 crore, through video conferencing. The project is expected to generate employment for around 13,500 youth in and around Karur.

On Thursday, Minister and TVK general secretary N Anand, along with minister Vijayalakshmi, C Vijayabaskar, MR Vijayabhaskar and Karur district secretary VP Mathiyazhagan, inspected the public meeting venue, the Collectorate and the Chief Minister's convoy route. They also reviewed security arrangements with police officials.