2025

SALEM: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS)clarified that disciplinary measures were taken against KASengottaiyan due to his actions against the AIADMK over the last6 months. Sengottaiyan, who chose to boycott the farmers’ eventconcerning the Athikkadavu-Avinashi project, claimed there wereno images of MGR and Jayalalithaa present, and provided proof bystating he attended the bicycle distribution event featuringKarunanidhi’s photo.“This is why I referred to him as the ‘B’ team of DMK,” EPSexplained. He also noted that Sengottaiyan never raised his voicein the TN assembly, neither during his time as an MLA nor as aminister,” EPS remarked.EPS went on to say that all individuals mentioned by Sengottaiyan are not former party members but ratherthose who have been expelled.“This is the consequence of betraying the party,” EPS stated, emphasizing that Sengottaiyan has connectionswith those who have been removed.When Jayalalithaa was in power, Sengottaiyan lost both his ministerial and district secretary positions. He pointedout that it was they who had appointed Sengottaiyan to those roles.

SALEM: The civil supplies CID police have arrested two men on charges of selling suspected adulterated diesel in Salem city. The police seized 5,000 litres of diesel from the duo, identified as T Mohan, 27, of Namakkal and K Ramasamy, 32, of Omalur.The civil supplies CID received a complaint from Petrol Bunk Owners’ Association president P Selvaraju stating that some private bus operators were illegally filling diesel in their buses using a bowser vehicle, which is not allowed for petroleum products like diesel.Acting on the complaint, civil supplies CID inspector (in charge), Salem district, M Rajakumar conducted investigations. “It was found that a Salem-based private bus company named LRN had been filling diesel in their buses using a bowser truck. Based on the findings, we arrested bowser driver Mohan and cleaner Ramasamy and confiscated the diesel and the vehicle,” the inspector told TOI.Initial investigations indicated that the owner of the bowser truck, identified as V Vishnu Manoj, 35, of Kuralnatham, had been selling diesel at prices lower than those at fuel bunks. “We suspect that it is adulterated diesel,” the inspector said, adding that they had sent a sample for testing. A case has been registered, and the arrested men have been placed in judicial custody. The police launched a manhunt for Vishnu Manoj.

SALEM: Arrangements will be made to recycle and reuse wastewater generated by dyeing units at the proposed Salem Textile Park in Jagirammapalayam to ensure that “not a single drop of sewage goes to the ground,” Salem Yarn Colouring Park chairman A Azhagarasan said on Saturday.The state govt has proposed to set up the textile park at an estimated cost of Rs 880 crore. The facility will have a common purification plant which will be set up at a cost of Rs 200 crore. However, the locals expressed their concern that water from the dyeing units would pollute the groundwater.At a press meet on Saturday, Azhagarasan said not a single drop of sewage from Salem Textile Park would go to the ground. “Through this modern plant, two million litres of wastewater would be drawn daily from Manguttai pond and purified for reuse, eliminating the need for borewell water,” he said. “There is absolutely no drilling of borewells to extract water or discharging sewage to the ground, as some are currently saying. The groundwater is not polluted in any way,” he said.Salem Dyeing Factory Owners Association president K T Srinivasan said the project would clean the Thirumanimutharu river and benefit four lakh people engaged in weaving in the district. It would provide direct employment to 15,000 people and indirect employment to 50, 000 people, he said. A public monitoring committee would be established to oversee the project directly, he added.