“The absence of a perennial water source has also been addressed with the Rs.1,500 crore scheme to fetch water through pipes from the Mullaiperiyar Dam. The city can also benefit by higher spending towards infrastructure and prevent urban migration towards Mumbai and Chennai. Youngsters from the southern districts would prefer to migrate to Madurai rather than Chennai or Coimbatore looking for jobs,” argued Co-operation Minister Sellur Raju, another MLA from Madurai city. Even DMK’s former School Education Minister Thangam Thennarasu, who hails from the South, has endorsed the idea saying it could energise growth in the backward districts of Virudhunagar, Sivaganga and Ramanthapuram.