Devotees and tourists visiting the world famous Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple have urged the government to permit them to carry their cameras and mobile phones so that they can capture the temple’s architectural marvels, as is done at other shrines.
Following an appeal from members of the Travel Club Madurai at a meeting held here, Revenue Minister R. B. Udayakumar said that he would take up the issue with the Chief Minister and request him to examine the modalities positively.
Giving an assurance to this effect at a meeting organised to discuss measures to revive the tourism industry, held here on Saturday, the minister said that the TN government had taken numerous steps since March, and said that COVID-19 was now well under control. Not only tourism, but other sectors too would be revived, he added.
When senior member and former Travel Club president G. Vasudevan of Hotel Fortune Pandiyan said that foreign travellers may not visit India at least for the next one year due to COVID-19 restrictions and hence sought the revival of the industry through liberal sops, Mr. Udayakumar said that the government would definitely consider their pleas and suggestions.
The tourism industry, Mr. Vasudevan said, had not been functioning since March. Many employers and staff found the going very tough. Explaining the hardships, Mr. Vasudevan said that upkeep of the premises itself took away a major chunk of the money earned now and paying statutory bills such as electricity, water tax and property tax was a Herculean task in this scenario. Giving a long tax holiday and rebates in electricity tariff like in some of the southern States alone would give hope to the sector.
Another senior member, S. Sundar said that though the government had relaxed the curfew and announced SOPs, not many footfalls were witnessed in restaurants. Many establishments were unable to make both ends meet and were contemplating closure for some more months. The government's intervention at this juncture would be a morale booster to the hoteliers, he pointed out.
The Madurai airport has been witnessing a number of changes and new facilities are being added, said Airport Director Sentil Valavan. Similarly, Corporation Commissioner S. Visagan too said that the city was transforming from ancient to modern as the Smart City initiatives had brought in ₹1,200 crore. It is just a matter of a few more months for the work to get over and people will not only feel the comfort, but also have many new user-friendly facilities, he said.
The role of the Confederation of Indian Industry was highlighted at the meeting by Dr. Satish Devadoss, who also explained how Madurai was becoming a medical hub for people in southern districts.
