A four-cornered battle in Palladam as AIADMK tries to retain turf

Palladam constituency, another stronghold of the AIADMK in the western region, will witness a four-cornered contest in the Assembly election, 2026. The AIADMK, which is retaining the constituency since 2001, has fielded K.P. Paramasivam, who was the winner from the constituency in 2011.

DMK’s K. Selvaraj, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam’s K. Ramkumar and Naam Tamilar Katchi’s K.V. Thamiliniyan are the major contestants.

Being an arid region, extension of the Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP) canal to more areas of Palladam has been a long-pending demand of farmers.

“Farmers are not getting the full intended benefits of the PAP canal system due to lack of proper maintenance for decades. Leakages and illegal pumping of water need to be curbed, besides modernising the system. Another key demand is the implementation of Anamalayar and Nallar project, which political parties use as a mere promise during elections,” said P. Velusamy, president of PAP Vellakoil Branch Canal Water Conservation Association.

As a hub of broiler chicken, equipping the Poultry Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (PDDL) of the Animal Husbandry Department at Panickampatti near Palladam, which was established about six years ago, with adequate staff and machinery is among major demands of farmers.

K. Chinnasamy, secretary of the Broiler Co-ordination Committee (BCC) headquartered at Palladam, said around 9,000 out of 20,000 broiler chicken farms are in Palladam.

Upgradation of facilities at the veterinary hospital at Palladam, taluk level poultry waste management system, Near Infra-Red Spectroscopy Analyser at Palladam PDDL and promotion of soya bean cultivation in Tamil Nadu to avoid its procurement from faraway States for the manufacturing of poultry feed are among key demands of BCC.

Poultry farmers from the region are demanding better rearing rates — minimum of ₹15 per kg for broiler chicken, ₹20 per kg for country chicken and ₹5 per bird for quail.

Palladam is also part of the powerloom cluster spread across the bordering areas of Coimbatore and Tiruppur, primarily producing grey gad. Around 40,000 powerlooms are operational in Palladam, employing an equal number of people.

With Palladam being a major transit point connecting southern districts to Coimbatore and Tiruppur, traffic congestion is a growing concern. A. Annadurai, a social worker from Palladam, said the work for a link road connecting Chettipalayam road to Dharapuram Road was progressing, though the width was reduced from 10 metres to 7 metres. It should be linked with a similar road connecting major roads on the northern side of Palladam, making it a single ring road.

“Residents of Palladam are also in need of a separate Regional Transport Office as they are depending on Tiruppur South now,” he said.

Mr. Velusamy of PAP Vellakoil Branch Canal Water Conservation Association added that illegal dumping of waste and pollution of waterbodies, including PAP canal, need to be addressed in the constituency.

Due to dumping of solid wastes in the Mudalipalayam-Nallur quarry area by Tiruppur Corporation, the water sample from the river quarry was found to have a TDS (Total Dissolved Solid) of 1,20,050 mg per litre, he said.