V Senthilbalaji campaigning in Coimbatore South on Tuesday. Photo by J Jackson
COIMBATORE: Coimbatore South DMK candidate V Senthilbalaji on Tuesday announced an exclusive manifesto for Coimbatore city with projects worth Rs 1 lakh crore for the next five years.
In a media briefing, he released the manifesto titled “DMK 26.”According to the manifesto, an estimated Rs 50,000 crore is planned for industrial development and expansion, and the remaining Rs 50,000 crore will be used for infrastructure development.For industry, the manifesto listed the execution of the “Textile 2.0” initiative. Eleven initiatives have been proposed for industrial development. Two mega textile parks are proposed, as a key highlight of the proposed plans.
Further, Senthilbalaji announced the modernisation of the MSME sector, establishing a global export and logistics infrastructure, developing an Artificial Intelligence and industrial IoT hub, establishing a skill development university and green industry transition.
Likewise, 15 initiatives have been proposed for internal infrastructure development. Among these are urban mobility and decongestion, power grid infrastructure, implementation of the Aliyar-Nallar scheme, and construction of a new flyover between Rajalakshmi Mills and Ondipudur.
While addressing the media, Senthilbalaji said, “These initiatives were proposed after a detailed interaction with the industrialists. Coimbatore contributes 10% of Tamil Nadu‘s total production, which will increase to 15-17% with these initiatives. The state has rolled out development projects worth Rs 21,000 crore for Coimbatore in the last five years. The city needs an integrated bus terminus similar to those in Salem, Madurai and Trichy.”Senthilbalaji denied all allegations against him regarding the distribution of cash for votes and deploying a Karur-based member for the task. He said, “As per ECI norms, other states and districts can extend support to their candidates until the last of the campaigns. The opposition brought teams from Delhi and other northern states for campaigning. Out of fear of losing the election, the opposition is trying its best to frame me with baseless allegations without any evidence.
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