The memorial for Karikal Chola, regarded as architect of the Grand Anicut, was inaugurated by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa through video conferencing at the Secretariat on Wednesday. Located on the right bank of the Grand Anicut in Thanjavur district, the memorial was constructed over an area of 380 square metre at a cost of Rs. 2.1 crore.
The move to build the memorial was announced by the Chief Minister last year when she declared open a memorial in January last year for Col. John Pennycuick, the British engineer who constructed the Mullaperiyar dam.
Belonging to the 2nd Century AD, Karikal Chola was one of the important kings of the early Chola period. During his reign, Uraiyur of the present Tiruchi district was the capital.
Water supply projectsThe Chief Minister also formally commissioned a number of drinking water supply projects and other facilities. Among them were the Rs. 221.42-crore Tiruchi drinking water expansion project; Rs. 28.87-crore drinking water supply projects in various districts including Tiruvannamalai, Thanjavur, Coimbatore, Theni and Sivaganga; Rs.18-crore buildings constructed for urban local bodies in various places of the State and a flyover, a subway and an auditorium, all built in Chennai at a cost of Rs. 56.81 crore. Besides, she laid the foundation stone for buildings, estimated to cost Rs. 13.4 crore.
In Chennai, the flyover, measuring 506.8 metre long and 15 metre wide, came up in Vallalar Nagar (Mint); the subway on Maniyakara Chathra Street railway crossing and the auditorium with 900 seating capacity in Shenoy Nagar.
In Madurai, an outlet of “Amma Unavagam,” low-cost canteen, had been set up at the Government Rajaji Hospital and a bus terminus in Mattuthavani at a cost of Rs. 9.7 crore. In various municipalities such as Kancheepuram, Pallavaram, Pollachi, Cuddalore, Tiruchengode and Nagapattinam, biomethanisation plants costing Rs. 9.9 crore had been commissioned.
Ms Jayalalithaa also launched the portal (http://portal.cma.tn.
gov.in/cma) established by the Commissionerate of Municipal Administration. She also initiated the process of distribution of I-pads to 30 municipal engineers and multi-purpose health workers and appointment orders to 92 conservancy workers.
Revenue taluks inauguratedThe Chief Minister also inaugurated 24 revenue taluks including five in Chennai district; three in Madurai; two each in Tirupur, Vellore, Tiruvallur, Coimbatore, Salem and one each in Pudukottai, Karur, Cuddalore, Thanjavur, Villupuram and Dindigul. She also declared open buildings, meant for offices of tahsildars in various districts of the State and handed over keys for jeeps, procured at a cost of about Rs.2.3 crore.
