Now anti-DMK buzz from mosquitoes, manja

By G Saravanan and Gokul Vannan

Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai, on March 15, 2011:

Link:http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/now-anti-dmk-buzz-from-mosquitoes-manja/256426.html

CHENNAI: That the fatal slash of a ‘manja’ thread on a child’s  neck brought out the political stirring in relatives at a tragic moment and the annoying sting of mosquitoes buzzing around in millions has turned into an anti-incumbency issue are signs of the DMK getting fumigated in Chennai’s Assembly constituencies in the April 13 elections.

“My child wouldn’t have died if Amma was in power,” rued a parent of four-year-old Serena Bhanu, who was killed on Sunday by the ‘manja’ thread used for kite flying. Even the relatives of Serena, who had gathered at the Egmore Children’s Hospital, said such a tragedy would have never happened under the AIADMK, pointing to the popular perception that law and order had deteriorated after the DMK came to power.

They may have a point. For, kite-flying in Chennai was banned back in 2006. “The police never bothered to implement the ban,” said Syed Sheikh Mohammad, father of Serena, recalling that a policeman was injured by manja thread a few months ago. “The police never cracked down on the  kite-flyers as there was no political will,” said the relatives of the girl.

Lack of political will is also cited by many people for the Chennai Corporation’s failure to contain the mosquito menace, despite the claim that high-powered fumigators are doing their rounds. “This time of the year, the mosquito menace should have been less, but it is not,” they argue.

So, have the mosquitoes descended on Chennai this year, ahead of DMK’s rivals launching their campaigns, highlighting the 2G spectrum scam, only to ring the death knell of the DMK rule?