MADURAI
Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam said that historic developments await Madurai as part of the Smart City mission, including digitisation and uplift of infrastructure, here on Saturday.
Mr. Pannerselvam was addressing after laying the foundation stone for the projects totalling to ₹ 356.34 crore. Several other Ministers including Forest Minister Dindigul C. Sreenivasan, Revenue Minister R. B. Udayakumar, Cooperation Minister 'Sellur' K. Raju spoke at the function.
The projects will focus on some key areas, including the establishment of an integrated Periyar bus stand, construction of a multi-level parking lot near Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple, protection of heritage sites through heritage pathways and the Vaigai River Front Development project.
Member of Parliament R. Gopalakrishnan hailed the project to be the first of its kind, bringing stark changes to the city. MLAs V.V. Rajan Chellappa, K. Manickam, S. S. Saravanan, P. Neethipathi and P. Periyapullan also took part in the function.
In his address, Mr. Panneerselvam said that Madurai had been endowed with funds for the sake of development for many years now.
“When M.G. Ramachandran was Chief Minister, he sanctioned projects to ensure Madurai city got water from Vaigai dam. It was Amma’s (J. Jayalalithaa) dream of ensuring that this place became a smart city. Today, we have taken the first steps towards making this dream come true,” he said.
Minister R.B. Udayakumar said that this integrated project would be an important means to save Vaigai river.
Mr. Raju, in his address, said that when the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) was in power, they did not spare any thoughts for the city.
The Forest Minister said that though the Opposition had blamed the AIADMK for the sensational murder of a security guard and the break-in at late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s Kodanad Estate bungalow, the party was clean.
The Ministers also inaugurated 25 battery operated garbage collection vehicles.
