COIMBATORE: We The Leaders Foundation chief K Annamalai on Tuesday alleged that Tamil Nadu had not taken adequate precautionary steps ahead of the northeast monsoon and said key work such as desilting lakes and restoring basic infrastructure in several rural areas had not been carried out.Addressing reporters after attending the “Home Is the First Classroom” programme at the Thamarai World School here, Annamalai urged the state govt to appoint officials and ensure that local bodies execute pending work. He said, “The real status of the govt’s monsoon-related measures — including whether Chennai sees flooding or whether stormwater drain work has been implemented properly — will be known when it rains heavily.”Responding to a query on the arrest of Naam Tamilar Katchi’s Dharapuram candidate Karthika, he wondered why Dharapuram police had come to Coimbatore city after election results to arrest her. He said a notice could have been served instead as it was not a major case.Annamalai accused the administration of being under officials’ control, leading to inadequate rural action, and alleged that the current ruling dispensation was repeating the mistakes committed earlier by DMK.On education, Annamalai said learning outcomes were declining. He said the number of students studying in classes X to XII had fallen, citing a 9% drop among boys and a 6% drop among girls. He said the proportion of students moving to higher education, which the state had earlier projected at 50%, was now declining and required govt attention.He criticised both the Centre and the state. He said restrictions on foreign languages by the Centre and restrictions on Indian languages by the state were wrong. He called for world-class education.On social media, he said several countries had imposed restrictions for children. He urged the Centre to examine the issue and said the time had come to ban social media use by those under 18, while allowing educational use of platforms such as Google. He said social media contributed to various social ills.On local body polls, he said contesting independently was best to take ideas and plans directly to people, adding that candidates need not necessarily contest only in a party’s name and could also contest as a movement.
