Chennai, Aug 18 (IANS) We The Leaders chief and former Tamil Nadu BJP President, K. Annamalai on Tuesday said the organisation would give the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government one year to prove itself, but warned that it would be the first to highlight any mistakes committed by the administration after that period.
Annamalai made the remarks while addressing an environmental awareness rally organised by We The Leaders near Rajarathinam Stadium in Egmore.
Several people, including Arulselvi, wife of late actor Vivekh, participated in the event.
He said August was being observed as ‘Environment Month’ with the ambitious goal of planting 20 lakh saplings.
Every citizen should come forward and become part of the campaign for environmental change, he added.
Highlighting the organisation’s ongoing initiatives, Annamalai said volunteers had begun cleaning the Thamirabarani, Vaigai and Cauvery rivers.
A 175-km stretch of coastline between Kanniyakumari and Thoothukudi had also been cleaned over the past four weeks.
He said We The Leaders aimed to complete every mission it undertook and ensure that people could see tangible results within 365 days. More than 1,400 environment-related programmes had been conducted across Tamil Nadu in just 16 days, while nearly 1.6 lakh kg of plastic waste had been collected.
Expressing concern over the hazardous conditions faced by sanitation workers, Annamalai said many collected waste without protective equipment. The pollution in the Vaigai was so severe that volunteers struggled to breathe while removing the accumulated garbage, he said.
Annamalai said meaningful political transformation could happen only when volunteers and leaders entered public life with a spirit of service.
The organisation, he added, had enrolled 20 lakh volunteers within 73 days and was now moving towards its target of 50 lakh members.
Once 50 lakh people committed to change joined the movement, We The Leaders would transform itself into a political force and pursue people-centric politics, he said, stressing that the process required patience.
Annamalai also called for decentralised decision-making, saying Tamil Nadu’s future should not be determined by leaders sitting in Delhi, Fort St George, Poes Garden, Panaiyur or Gopalapuram. Decisions should instead emerge from leaders in every village and town.
He said groundwater overexploitation remained a serious concern, with 73 per cent of available groundwater extracted annually, making the restoration of lakes and ponds essential to prevent drought in a water stressed nation.
–IANS
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