Tamil Nadu: Fervour missing in civic bodies without heads

Chennai: With no elected mayors and all municipal chairmen posts lying vacant in Tamil Nadu, local bodies across the observed an Independence Day on Tuesday missing the usual fervour.

Municipal commissioners designated as special officers hoisted the tricolour at municipal corporations and town panchayats. State election commission, which has been delaying the conduct of local body polls leaving more than 1.5 lakh elected posts vacant since October 2016, also celebrated Independence Day with commissioner Malick Feroze Khan hoisting the tricolor at its headquarters at Koyambedu. 

Meanwhile at a function held at the state secretariat, CM Edappadi Palanisamy announced the Tirunelveli corporation as the best municipal corporation in the state with a cash award of '25 lakh. Satyamangalam municipality in Erode and Ponnampatti town panchayat in Tiruchy bagged the best awards in the local bodies' category. Among municipalities Poonamallee and Thirumangalam bagged the second and third prizes. Similarly Irugur and Nambiyur bagged the second and third best town panchayats awards for effective administration. 

Chennai woke up to a series of Independence day celebrations with state ministers offering community feasts at temples and all the district collectorates saw the collectors hoisting the tricolour. At Ripon buildings, the city civic headquarters corporation commissioner D. Karthikeyan unfurled the tricolour and urged the civic authorities to keep the city clean and hygiene.