The Arani Lok Sabha constituency which has a total voter base of over 14 lakh has been facing several unresolved challenges including rail connectivity, long pending infrastructure projects. The fairly large trading and business community has issues with GST, among others. This particular constituency which is known for its silk sarees and rice mills comprises six assembly segments- Polur, Arani, Cheyyar, Vandavasi (SC), Gingee and Mailam.
In the upcoming elections, the battle for the seat here will be fought between 29 candidates (including independent candidates). The DMK has fielded Tharaniventhan M.S. while the AIADMK has given the ticket to Gajendran G.V. and the Pattali Makkal Katchi has allotted its seat to Ganesh Kumar. The Naam Tamilar Katchi has given its ticket to a woman candidate K. Bakiyalakshmi.
Railway network and road connectivity is one of the teething problems of people here. A.H.Fakrudeen Ali Ahmed, president of the Arani taluk Chamber of Commerce, which has around 450 members, said: “There is a long-pending railway project which has to be expedited. This rail project is between Tindivanam and Arani, via Nagari.”
Local people in Cheyyar, Arani and Gingee said that roads leading to many areas had not been upgraded. People here hope that things would change if Arani is hived off as a separate district. Some even pointed out that during the assembly election 2021, while campaigning there, the then Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami promised to create a new district with Arani as headquarters.
Gururaja Rao, president, Arani Handloom Silk Cloth Merchants Association, said that despite submitting several requests and holding umpteen number of meetings with industry stakeholders none of the previous elected representatives had done work to elevate the silk industry in this region. He highlighted that the Central Silk Board must set up a regional office at Arani.
“A survey has to be done on this industry and weavers here should be given special ID cards,” Mr. Rao said. Weavers in this constituency pointed out that there has been talks about a Silk Park being set up here for a very long time. Mr. Rao said that land had been purchased for this park….a special pooja was performed last year and a board had also been placed at the location. But nothing seems to have progressed after that. It may be noted that the Arani Silk has earned a geographical indication (GI) tag.
Paddy and rice merchants and producers here are seeking a food park which they feel will help thousands of farmers in this region. A. Babu, president of the Arani Taluk Paddy and Rice Merchants Association said that rice exports from this region had fallen and he also said that GST on rice should be removed.
WHAT CANDIDATES ARE BANKING ON?
The DMK’s candidate here said that the trends were favoring him in this region. He and some of the DMK cadres whom The Hindu spoke to said that two crucial schemes – the free bus scheme and the Kalaingar Magalir Urimai Thogai (where ₹1,000 is being given to eligible women each month) launched by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had been received well by the women in the rural pockets. The DMK in its election manifesto has indicated that in the new rail line project from Tindivanam to Nagari, a connecting path from Arani station to Onnupuram, as well as from Kanchipuram to Cheyyar, will be included.
The PMK candidate said that many of the villages didn’t even have enough bus facilities. So what was the point in offering free tickets, he asked. He further said that PMK would ensure that that concerns of the rice and silk industry would be looked at and more jobs would be created.
Bakiyalakshmi of NTK echoed the same views and said that the particular constituency had not progressed at all for several years. “There are no good schools or hospitals here,” she claimed.
People here are hoping that the newly-elected MP will turn up in the constituency from time to time and make sure their demands are fulfilled.
