Erode councillors oppose proposal to hike water and sewerage charges, AIADMK members stage walkout
Cutting across party lines, all councillors opposed the Erode Municipal Corporation's proposal to increase the deposits for water supply services, water consumption charges, underground service connection fees, and user charges by 3% annually, during the council meeting held on Friday (May 30, 2025).
Mayor S. Nagarathinam chaired the meeting. Agenda item 47 of the ordinary meeting stated that the Director of Municipal Administration, in letter No. 33702/2024 dated March 17, 2025, had urged the civic body to implement the Erode Municipal Corporation Water Supply By-Laws 2025. The proposed bylaws outlined revised deposits and consumption charges and included an annual 3% increase to cover the cost of operation and maintenance of the water supply system.
Similarly, agenda item 48 proposed the Underground Sewerage By-Laws 2025, which stated that the underground service connection deposit and user charges would also increase by 3% annually.
Councillors strongly opposed both proposals, particularly the provision to hike water charges based on the square footage of residential or commercial establishments. They expressed dissatisfaction with the proposed annual increase and demanded that both agendas be dropped. Many councillors highlighted the irregular supply of drinking water in their wards, stating they were unable to respond to residents' complaints, and blamed officials for their lack of responsiveness. They asserted that without ensuring uninterrupted water supply, any hike in charges was unjustified.
DMK Councillor K.S. Sri Aathi (Ward 8) criticised engineers for neglecting work in his ward and urged them to cooperate.
AIADMK Councillor and Leader of the Opposition S.D. Thangamuthu also opposed agenda 38, which sought the council's approval to carry out repair works on a road sweeper vehicle at a cost of ₹3.92 lakh. AIADMK councillors questioned the number of hours the vehicle had been operated for and raised concerns over the high repair costs.
In protest against the three agenda items and the civic body's failure to reduce property tax, five AIADMK councillors staged a walkout from the meeting.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
T.N. to bear education expenses of tribal girl who cleared JEE Advanced: Stalin
A girl from a tribal community from Tamil Nadu studying in a State-run residential school has qualified for the JEE Advanced 2025 and is set to get admission into one of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT). Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Monday lauded A. Rajeshwari, who despite having lost her father last year, qualified in the JEE Advanced 2025. He added that that the Tamil Nadu government would bear her education expenses. 'The true pride for the IIT would be when more daughters like Rajeshwari join them. This Dravidian model of governance would continuously work towards it,' Mr. Stalin said in a social media post. AIADMK general secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami also commended the student for having secured 417th rank in the competitive exam. He wished her the best in her future endeavours.
India Gazette
10 hours ago
- India Gazette
AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami expresses shock over Bengaluru stampede during RCB celebration that killed 11 people
New Delhi [India], June 5 (ANI): AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday expressed deep shock and sorrow over the tragic stampede near the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru during RCB's IPL victory celebrations, which claimed the lives of 11 people, including five from Tamil Nadu. In a post on X, the AIADMK leader Palaniswami conveyed his condolences to the families of the deceased and extended prayers for the speedy recovery of those injured. 'Stuck in a traffic jam in Bengaluru, I was deeply shocked and saddened to hear the news of the deaths of 11 people, including Tamils. My deepest condolences to the families of the deceased,' Palaniswami posted in Tamil. He added, 'I pray to the Almighty God that those undergoing treatment in the hospital may regain full health.' On Wednesday, Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy accused Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar of being responsible for the stampede, alleging that the incident was caused by the Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister's 'impatience, immaturity, and irresponsibility.' Addressing a late-night press conference at his official residence in New Delhi, the Union Minister demanded that 'the person responsible for this tragedy must be immediately sacked from the cabinet.' He criticised the Congress government in Karnataka as being run by 'arrogant fools' and said, 'We have a Chief Minister who is completely inactive. He has no control over the Deputy CM. As for the State Home Minister, there's no point in discussing it. He merely obeys commands.' Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar offered an apology. Speaking to ANI, DK Shivakumar said, 'This should not have happened and we never expected such a big stadium's capacity is 35,000, but more than 3 lakh people were (of the stadium) have been apologise for this want to know the facts and give a clear message...' He accused the BJP of politicising the incident. 'BJP is doing are very sorry for the incident. We will work out a better solution in the future...'The Congress leader also said that all government events scheduled for tomorrow have been postponed after the tragedy.'...Tomorrow, except the cabinet meeting, all programmes have been postponed. No celebrations, including the World Environment Day...' Shivakumar complimented the state police force for controlling the massive influx of people during the RCB celebrations.'Again, I'm telling on record. I should compliment my Police also, they wanted to have a procession, they wanted to bring a vehicle from the airport guided us not why I rushed to the airport and ensured nothing went Vidhana Soudha, also we were very cautious...,' DK Shivakumar said. Meanwhile, IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal expressed condolences to families who lost their members in the stampede and said BCCI had no information that such an event was being planned.'This is a very unfortunate incident... We had no information that such an event was being planned... If such events are planned in the future, then proper arrangements should be made... Those sitting inside the stadium had no information about the incident,' Arun Dhumal told ANI. The incident occurred near the iconic M Chinnaswamy Stadium when thousands of fans gathered to glimpse their favourite players ahead of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) IPL victory celebrations. The Karnataka government announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the families of the deceased killed in the stampede. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah addressed a press conference and said the government would also provide free treatment to the injured. 'A major tragedy occurred during the victory celebrations. It happened near the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The government has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the deceased. The government will provide free treatment to the injured,' the CM said. Expressing deep sorrow over the incident, CM Siddaramaiah said, '11 died and 33 were injured in the stampede. This tragedy should not have happened. The government expresses deep sorrow over this incident.'The Karnataka CM further asserted that he has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the matter.'I don't want to defend this incident. Our government will not do politics on this. I have ordered a magisterial inquiry and given 15 days' time. People even broke the gates of the stadium. There was a stampede. No one expected such a huge crowd. The stadium has a capacity of only 35,000 people, but 2-3 lakh people came,' CM Siddaramaiah said. RCB finally ended an 18-year wait for the coveted IPL trophy, defeating Punjab Kings by six wickets in the finals of IPL 2025, held on Tuesday at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. (ANI)
Time of India
14 hours ago
- Time of India
AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami expresses shock over Bengaluru stampede during RCB celebration that killed 11 people
AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday expressed deep shock and sorrow over the tragic stampede near the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru during RCB's IPL victory celebrations , which claimed the lives of 11 people, including five from Tamil Nadu. In a post on X, the AIADMK leader Palaniswami conveyed his condolences to the families of the deceased and extended prayers for the speedy recovery of those injured. "Stuck in a traffic jam in Bengaluru, I was deeply shocked and saddened to hear the news of the deaths of 11 people, including Tamils. My deepest condolences to the families of the deceased," Palaniswami posted in Tamil. He added, "I pray to the Almighty God that those undergoing treatment in the hospital may regain full health." On Wednesday, Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy accused Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar of being responsible for the stampede, alleging that the incident was caused by the Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister's "impatience, immaturity, and irresponsibility." Live Events Addressing a late-night press conference at his official residence in New Delhi, the Union Minister demanded that "the person responsible for this tragedy must be immediately sacked from the cabinet." He criticised the Congress government in Karnataka as being run by "arrogant fools" and said, "We have a Chief Minister who is completely inactive. He has no control over the Deputy CM. As for the State Home Minister, there's no point in discussing it. He merely obeys commands." Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar offered an apology. Speaking to ANI, DK Shivakumar said, "This should not have happened and we never expected such a big stadium's capacity is 35,000, but more than 3 lakh people were (of the stadium) have been apologise for this want to know the facts and give a clear message..." He accused the BJP of politicising the incident. "BJP is doing are very sorry for the incident. We will work out a better solution in the future..."The Congress leader also said that all government events scheduled for tomorrow have been postponed after the tragedy."...Tomorrow, except the cabinet meeting, all programmes have been postponed. No celebrations, including the World Environment Day..." Shivakumar complimented the state police force for controlling the massive influx of people during the RCB celebrations. "Again, I'm telling on record. I should compliment my Police also, they wanted to have a procession, they wanted to bring a vehicle from the airport guided us not why I rushed to the airport and ensured nothing went Vidhana Soudha, also we were very cautious...," DK Shivakumar said. Meanwhile, IPL Chairman Arun Dhumal expressed condolences to families who lost their members in the stampede and said BCCI had no information that such an event was being planned. "This is a very unfortunate incident... We had no information that such an event was being planned... If such events are planned in the future, then proper arrangements should be made... Those sitting inside the stadium had no information about the incident," Arun Dhumal told ANI. The incident occurred near the iconic M Chinnaswamy Stadium when thousands of fans gathered to glimpse their favourite players ahead of Royal Challengers Bengaluru 's (RCB) IPL victory celebrations. The Karnataka government announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the families of the deceased killed in the stampede. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah addressed a press conference and said the government would also provide free treatment to the injured. "A major tragedy occurred during the victory celebrations. It happened near the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The government has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the deceased. The government will provide free treatment to the injured," the CM said. Expressing deep sorrow over the incident, CM Siddaramaiah said, "11 died and 33 were injured in the stampede. This tragedy should not have happened. The government expresses deep sorrow over this incident. "The Karnataka CM further asserted that he has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the matter. "I don't want to defend this incident. Our government will not do politics on this. I have ordered a magisterial inquiry and given 15 days' time. People even broke the gates of the stadium. There was a stampede. No one expected such a huge crowd. The stadium has a capacity of only 35,000 people, but 2-3 lakh people came," CM Siddaramaiah said. RCB finally ended an 18-year wait for the coveted IPL trophy, defeating Punjab Kings by six wickets in the finals of IPL 2025, held on Tuesday at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
