Karunanidhi pic on Amma name board sparks row

Karunanidhi pic on Amma name board sparks row

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Madurai:22.11.2021

A new name board that appeared outside the “Amma unavagam” at Sundarajapuram in Madurai city on Saturday kicked up a controversy as it had the photograph of late chief minister M Karunanidhi also on one side besides that of J Jayalalithaa after whom the canteens set up across the state by the former AIADMK government were named. However, after it raised many hackles, the board disappeared on Sunday.

Established under the food and civil supplies department to supply food at subsidized cost, Amma unavagams are operated by local bodies and run by self-help groups. All such canteens had photograph of Jayalalithaa on the name board, and the new DMK government decided to retain them. It was in this backdrop that the new nameboard surfaced and disappeared. ``It really was a good move, showing that this government had a forward-looking approach to things,’’ said S Murali of Sundarajapuram. However, in a statement, former AIADMK minister R B Udhayakumar said the importance given to the photograph on the name board should also be given to the functioning of these canteens. In a letter to district collector Dr S Aneesh Sekhar, he said 700 Amma unavagams fed over 12 lakh people a day in the state. In Madurai, there were twelve of them operated by SHGs. But now, many of these canteens were finding it hard to function, like the one in front of Thirumangalam government hospital, due to lack of funds.

NEW FACE: The board outside “Amma unavagam” in Madurai city had pictures of former CMs J Jayalalithaa and M Karunanidhi on Saturday