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Former Tamil Nadu BJP president and 'We The Leaders' movement founder K Annamalai on Sunday participated in the cleanliness drive organised by the party to restore the Vaigai River, stating that just as his party mobilised to clean the Vaigai River, the time has arrived to remove "political garbage" from the state.
Addressing the 'Vaigai Sirpi' awards ceremony organised by We The Leaders in Madurai, Annamalai announced that volunteers from his organisation have cleared nearly 1.63 lakh kilograms (163 tonnes) of plastic, human waste, and debris from the river basin, particularly around the sacred site where the annual Kallazhagar festival takes place. Just as the time has come to remove garbage from the Vaigai, the time is also approaching to remove political garbage in Tamil Nadu, he said. Annamalai said a large quantity of human waste, plastic and other garbage had accumulated in the Vaigai River, particularly at the spot where the Kallazhagar festival takes place. Through continuous cleaning drives carried out by members of We The Leaders, around 1.60 lakh kilograms of waste has been removed from the river. Fundamental changes can happen only through such ground-level work. Mere speeches will not bring about change. Anyone can speak or hold press conferences. But true commitment will be demonstrated only when the government permits us to clean the entire 33-acre stretch of the Vaigai and allows the work to be carried out, he said. He alleged that human waste from households was being discharged into the Vaigai every day. He said the organisation had submitted a petition to the District Collectors office seeking action to prevent sewage from entering the river, but no effective steps had been taken so far. Annamalai also claimed that the Union government had allocated Rs 1,400 crore for Madurai between 2014 and 2019 and said the funds should have been properly utilised to clean and restore the Vaigai River. He alleged that the funds had not been utilised properly. Our objective is to take forward a new politics with renewed vigour and bring about fundamental change in Tamil Nadu. We want to see that change in our lifetime. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped remove 163 tonnes of garbage from the Vaigai, he said. Detailing the expansion of the 'We The Leaders' initiative, Annamalai claimed that the organisation had enrolled 20 lakh members within 15 days of launching its membership drive on June 5, alongside planting over 10.17 lakh saplings across the state since August. Pointing out that over 1.5 crore of Tamil Nadu's 5.6 crore electorate are not primary members of any conventional political party, he underlined the need to protect the natural environment alongside preserving the Tamil language and heritage. (ANI)
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