Calcutta Telegraph: Chennai: Friday,
April 15, 2016.
Every time
Jayalalithaa's helicopter lands for an election meeting in Tamil Nadu, it is
difficult to escape a familiar sight.
At least a
dozen AIADMK candidates, obediently lined up like schoolkids, their hands
folded in benign namastes and their dhotis tucked between their legs to escape
the downdraft from the chopper, await their leader.
As Amma steps
out, they greet her with the now-trademark reverential downward bend.
Once
Jayalalithaa gets into her car for a short drive to the stage, the MLA hopefuls
make a dash for the front of the stage through a designated path.
There, they
occupy chairs on a lower dais and wait to be introduced by Jayalalithaa at the
end of her speech.
At both her
meetings outside Chennai - at Vridachalam on Monday and at Dharmapuri on
Wednesday - the routine was followed and is bound to repeat itself at the
remaining 13 meetings across the state.
But everyone
is not amused.
Farmers of
Thazhaymapattu, a village in Kancheepuram district, have alleged that a helipad
is being built on a clutch of agricultural plots for a rally Jayalalithaa is
slated to address on Monday.
The farmers
grow green chillies in those plots.
"No one
sought our permission but they simply started pouring concrete on a site that
covered my small plot and those of other farmers. When we protested, the local
AIADMK leaders said we would be compensated once Amma's meeting got over. But
of what use would a concrete platform be? What can we grow on that?" asked
Murugan, one of the farmers at the village, 70km from Chennai.
Along with
the 150ftx150ft helipad, a giant stage and a 400m cement road leading up to it
are also being built. The farmers estimate that nearly 10 acres of fertile land
was being used to build these permanent structures which will be used by
Jayalalithaa for less than an hour.
The farmers
also complained that drinking water meant for nearby villages was being
diverted to build the structures. Local functionaries of rival PMK have filed a
complaint with the Election Commission, also alleging that PWD personnel and
machinery were being used to build the structures.
P. Ganesan,
the AIADMK district secretary who is overseeing the arrangements for the
meeting, refused comment. Asked if fertile lands were being usurped for his
leader's meetings, he disconnected the phone line.
However, a
senior AIADMK leader asserted that helipads were being constructed only on
plots unfit for farming and owned by the government. "If we need to use
private lands, we take permission from their owners," he said.
Jayalalithaa
is slated to address a total of 15 meetings. Barring two venues which are close
to airports, she will take chopper rides everywhere. Helipads are being
constructed at most of the places. Jayalalithaa is the only state leader to use
helicopters extensively for poll rallies.
During the
2014 Lok Sabha elections, 34 helipads were built at a cost of Rs 5.80 crore for
Jayalalithaa's meetings, an RTI query had revealed.
Those
helipads are now lying waste, many in a state of disrepair and a few hindering
expansion of roads and other civic facilities.
After this
election, there will be 13 more helipads on which kids will play cricket and
dhobis will dry their clothes. It is unlikely these helipads will figure in the
list of achievements Amma will present before the voters.
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