Karur gears up for CM visit tomorrow

Karur: Chief minister C Joseph Vijay is set to visit Karur on Friday, where he will address a political gathering and later meet families of victims of the Karur stampede, which claimed 41 lives on Sep 27 last year during the TVK chief’s political campaign.Vijay is expected to land at Trichy airport around 9am and travel to Karur by road. SP D N Hari Kiran Prasad told TOI that barricades will be erected on both sides of the road at all necessary locations regardless of whether there is a roadshow to ensure public safety. About 6,000 police personnel, including those from neighbouring districts, will be deployed. Trichy central IG V Balakrishnan and ADGP (Law & Order) T S Anbu along with Karur SP are overseeing security arrangements.

TVK sources indicated that there may be an informal roadshow in Karur where he will wave at supporters from his vehicle.In Karur, Vijay will address a public meeting at Atlas Arangam in Vennamalai. “The event is expected to begin at 12pm. Like in Trichy, strict crowd management measures have been put in place. Entry has been restricted to 5,000 people, all of whom must possess pre-approved QR code passes,” a district TVK functionary said.

By about 3pm, Vijay will meet the victims’ families and hand over govt job appointment orders to one eligible member from each family at the district collectorate.

Over the past few days, govt officials have contacted the families and sought relevant documents for this purpose, collector C Muthukumuran told TOI. Later in the day, he will also inaugurate a private footwear manufacturing unit.This will be the first time after the tragedy that Vijay will be in Karur to meet the victims’ families though he had met them at a hotel in Chennai, drawing criticism from parties.Political observers say Vijay may use the opportunity to drum up support for the party ahead of the bypoll. Karur assembly seat was declared vacant after former AIADMK MLA M R Vijayabhaskar jumped ship to TVK. Earlier this week, Supreme Court also refused to entertain a plea filed by DMK seeking to restrain Vijay from visiting Karur.As indicated by M R Vijayabhaskar during his induction into the party in Chennai, several AIADMK functionaries and members who could not join TVK that day may formally join the party on Friday. “We are still awaiting confirmation. A clearer picture is expected by Thursday afternoon,” said former AIADMK Aravakurichi assembly candidate Selva Kumar, who joined TVK along with Vijayabhaskar.