Welcoming the State government’s move to bring legislation to ban online gambling, PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss said on Friday that the Tamil Nadu Governor, R. N. Ravi, should immediately give his nod once the fresh law is passed in the State Assembly on the issue. Speaking at the consultation meeting with his party functionaries and leaders from the southern and western areas of the district at Vediyapannur village near the temple town, Mr. Ramdoss said that the Governor should sign the law immediately without any delay as it would save many lives. “By banning rallies by the RSS and other organisations, the police have only done their duty. The petrol bomb culture is new to South India and such a culture should be stopped from taking roots in the State,” he said. As the festival season has begun, the PMK president urged the State government to ensure that omnibus fare remains affordable for long distance travellers. Special teams should be formed to check steep fare hikes by omnibus owners, taking advantage of pooja holidays and other festivals. He also wanted the State government to roll back the recent hike in the electricity charges. On the drug menace, Mr. Ramadoss said that narcotics are being sold at the gates of schools and colleges. Inadequate policemen in the anti-narcotics department remains a key challenge in tackling the menace in the society. He requested that necessary workforce should be appointed in the department immediately to prevent the entry of narcotics into the State. “Police should also arrest and take action against owners, who manufacture the drugs, apart from those from selling and transporting it,” he said. Taking up the local issue, the PMK president said that the State government should immediately implement the Nandan canal project that connects Tiruvannamalai and Villupuram districts. The project should be executed through the South Pennai river because around 20 tmc of water got drained into the sea last year alone. He also requested the State government to bifurcate Tiruvannamalai and Tiruvallur districts on the lines of Vellore, Villupuram, Vellore and Kanchipuram for administrative reasons.
