Nearly 500 students from various colleges of University of Madras participated in a mini marathon organised in the city on Saturday to create awareness of the World Classical Tamil Conference scheduled to be held at Coimbatore from June 23 to June 27.
The run covered a distance of 4 km, from the Labour statue on the Marina beach to the Lighthouse. G. Thiruvasagam, Vice-Chancellor of University of Madras and K. Ganesan, Secretary, Higher Education, flagged off the event around 6 a.m. amid enthusiasm. A transport bus with drinking water and a medical officer trailed the runners in the event of any emergency.
“The impression generally prevalent is that the conference is only for academicians and teachers, which is not the case. We want more youth participation for the Tamil conference,” said Professor Thiruvasagam.
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As a prelude to the conference, the nearly 125-year-old-clock tower in Royapettah has been renovated and set to recite a Tirukkural couplet every hour.