Coimbatore was cleaned up for Modi’s visit

The Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) has been forced into action by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s planned visit to campaign for the BJP on Monday.

Workers from the municipal authority were seen clearing the streets, fixing streetlights, and clearing mud and trash from the Mettupalayam Road to RS Puram on the eve of Modi’s road show.

Mettupalayam Road in Coimbatore, also known as the Nagapattinam-Coimbatore-Gundlupete National Highway (NH 181), is a busy road all day long. The route is poorly maintained in spite of its importance. On both sides of the road, one could often observe mounds of mud and trash. When racing on the piled mud on the sides of the road, many two-wheelers have a tendency to skid.

The municipal authority did not act in response to public concerns and mishaps. But in anticipation of the PM’s arrival, it began mucking up the road and replacing the streetlights on Sunday, drawing jeers from the public and social activists.

“Public interests have been mocked by the municipal body. For a very long period, we have been traveling along this route without enough street lighting or upkeep. And then, out of nowhere, the same road begins to sparkle after the CCMC personnel’ cleaning efforts in anticipation of Modi’s arrival tomorrow (Monday).

This is absurd. Why can’t the same authorities maintain the roads consistently in the same manner if they can keep them tidy and appealing in a short amount of time? questioned Kavundampalayam-based driver G Sathyanarayanan Iyer.

Social activist S Vivin Saravan told TNIE, “The MTP road has been covered in darkness for a long time without proper street lights.” Over 50% of the streetlights were out of commission. However, since Modi’s arrival, the municipal body has been functioning as if it had been in a “coma” till now.

Right now, emergency repairs are being made to the streetlights. These personnel exclusively do road cleaning, streetlight repairs, and mud and rubbish removal during visits by the PM, CM, or any other ministry to the city. The authorities ignore the issues facing the populace for the remainder of the period. This is very unacceptable.

The head of the CCMC, however, described it as ordinary work that they were doing in accordance with policy.CCMC Commissioner M Sivaguru Prabakaran remarked in an interview with TNIE, “The Mettupalayam Road has been cleaned by the civic body personnel.” The ALT team has given the go-ahead to repair the streetlights. All of these maintenance and cleaning tasks are being completed in accordance with procedure, exactly as they were even during the municipal manager’s visit.