Erode (East) bypoll 2025 | Key demands of people remain largely unfulfilled

Former Erode MLA's unfulfilled demands to CM Stalin leave electors waiting for action on key issues.

Many key demands made by former Erode (East) MLA Thirumahan Everaa to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin remained unfulfilled, with electors still expecting action.

In August 2022, Mr. Stalin had asked all the legislators to submit a list of 10 long-pending demands from their respective Assembly constituencies to the District Collectors. The then MLA, E. Thirumahan Everaa, submitted the list to the district administration.

The demands included the establishment of common effluent treatment plants to treat effluents from textile processing units and from industries, with the treated effluents to be discharged into the sea through pipelines. Other demands were for a flyover on Mettur Road connecting GH Roundabout and Swastik Corner, re-laying of tar-topped and cement roads that were damaged due to the underground sewerage scheme and the Uratchikottai dedicated water supply scheme.

The then MLA also raised concerns about water stagnation in the market and key areas of the city which caused shops and schools to be inundated during the rainy season. He called for a scheme to prevent water-logging, with regular desilting of sewage channels. Traffic congestion remained a major issue, and he proposed the development of a modern parking facility on the government-owned vacant land on the taluk office premises.

Additional demands included the renovation of youth sports ground and the establishment of a modern fitness centre at V.O.C. Park Ground, resolution of the patta issue in the Ccorporation limits, the establishment of a sub-station at Agraharam area in Zone 1 and a sub-registrar’s office in the constituency, and identifying spots for municipal solid waste segregations in all the four zones.

During his visit to Pollachi in March 2024, Mr. Stalin announced the development of VOC Park, and in December 2024, he announced plans to re-lay roads in Corporation limits. Additionally, patta were issued to 5,122 families residing in the constituency. However, aside from these two announcements and the distribution of pattas, the other key demands remain unfulfilled, leaving electors still hoping for solutions to these pressing issues.

Following the death of E. Thirumahan Everaa in January 2023, his father and senior Congress leader E.V.K.S. Elangovan contested the byelection in February 2023 and won. Mr. Elangovan’s death in December 2024 necessitated the current by-election.