In 2006, when the Vilunthamavadi Panchayat was declared reserved for
women, I decided to stand for elections. My husband campaigned for me
and the people supported my candidature, because of which I was elected the
President of the Panchayat. I won by a margin of nearly 500 votes, defeating
four other contestants. Initially it was difficult to get the support of the male
Ward Members, but today the situation is different. They have understood my
intention and cooperate with me in all my work.When I took over as President, one of the first things I learnt was that my
Panchayat owed the Electricity Board Rs.1,30,000. My husband gave me the
confidence to go on, and said “with your effective and transparent administrative
skills and support from the people, you will make the Panchayat a successful
one, don’t worry about it, you have the skills, go ahead with confidence.” To
overcome the debt, I replaced tube lights in the Panchayat with low voltage
bulbs, which consume less electricity, thereby reducing the monthly electric
bill of the Panchayat. This helped the Panchayat to repay the debt over a
period, as it was adjusted in the monthly usage charges. As a result, today
Vilunthamavadi is debt free.Since my election, I have taken up issues critical to women which address
their livelihood needs. Over a hundred SHgs in the panchayat are active
and engage. I have also been encouraging women to obtain loans for their
livelihood activities.Alcoholism is a huge problem in our Panchayat area. I work against it, as
it directly affects women and children. I have mobilized the women in my
Panchayat to fight against alcoholism, and I have even brought up the issue
in the gram Sabha. On October 2 last year, we had proposed to curb illicit
liquor, and all the women wholeheartedly supported this move. We have
formed a committee to eradicate illicit liquor from the Panchayat. This did
lead to many threats, and people warned me not to proceed with the plan.
However, I was determined to not let anything come in my way, and along
with the support of the other women, we have successfully managed to close
the illicit liquor shop in the Panchayat.Radhamani Mahalingam
President
Panchayat: Vilunthamavadi
Block: Keelaiyur
District: Nagapattinam