
Keezhakurichi residents stage protest against proposed merger of village with civic body
The Hindu
Residents of Keezhakurichi protest merger with Tiruchi Corporation due to potential loss of benefits and higher taxes.
:
Residents of Keezhakurichi on Monday staged a sit-in protest in front of the Collectorate, condemning the proposed merger of the village panchayat with Tiruchi Corporation.
Keezhakurich is largely agrarian with over 950 acres of cultivable land and many of the residents benefitted by the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme said they stand to lose the benefit of the scheme.
The villagers also complained that they would have to pay higher taxes.
“Due to the higher taxes levied under the Corporation. the financial burden would be too much for the farmers to bear. This would effectively discourage many to abandon agriculture,” said N. Karthikeyan, secretary - Tiruchi, All India Kisan Sabha. The villagers staged the protest for about two hours.

“Earth Day celebrations have already started in Bengaluru, with campaigns at various colleges such as St. Josephs, and Christ University where life-size elephants made from the invasive species, Lantana Camera, have been travelling to spread the message of conservation and coexistence, along with expert talks from WWF India and Ravi Chellam of Metastring Foundation,” said the release.

Vijayawada and Vizag metro rails: Centre approves appointment of SYSTRA MVA Consulting for preparing mobility plans. The New Delhi-based consultant has emerged as the successful bidder for preparing CMPs for both the projects. The Government of Andhra Pradesh has sanctioned DPRs for construction of the Visakhapatnam Metro Rail for a length of 46.23 km in three corridors at an estimated cost of ₹11,498 crore and the Vijayawada Metro Rail for a length of 38.40 km in two corridors at a cost of ₹11,009 crore.