To stress on their long-standing demand for opening a government college in Manapparai, the residents took to drawing a kolam with slogans outside their houses on Monday and posted a picture of it on social media. The demand for a government college in Manapparai assembly constituency, though long-standing got a renewed campaigning thanks to the initiative of an (Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) MDMK functionary from Manapparai, Manavai Tamil Manikkam.
Since a week, pictures and videos of people from all walks of life and age holding handwritten banners raising slogans like 'Manapparai wants a Govt College', and explaining why they need an arts and science government college in the assembly constituency have been popping up on social media due to Manikkam's efforts. He personally reached out to many contacts and groups to make the trend viral. He asked people to show their support using social media rather than taking to streets amid the pandemic.
Being an already existing demand, many residents joined in and they started clicking pictures, recording videos and uploading them. Drawn by the popularity of the demand, MDMK chief Vaiko also released a statement demanding to the state government for opening a college on September 19; putting his weight behind it. Speaking about the recent traction for the demand, Manikkam said, "There were 7 college announced for Tamil Nadu on September 13. However, Manaparai did not get any. It has been a demand for over 20 years."
He further added, "Due to the merit of this demand, it always finds place in election manifestos. Despite that the leaders had always failed to bring a college here. Most students have to travel more than 90 kilometers each day to reach a government college. Many of them quit education after school. They cannot afford to lose a whole day to travel so long and study or compete with those in towns for a seat in other government colleges."
