By Express News Service
DINDIGUL: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said that AIADMK government was successful in the Cauvery water row as the Supreme Court had ruled in favour of the State. Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the flower show at Bryant Park in Kodaikanal, the chief minister said, the opposition group had played various games to capture power and to stir up problems in the backdrop of the Cauvery issue. “Now, the people are aware of the drama staged by the opposition parties,” he said.
He assured that the government would take into consideration the request filed by Forest Minister C Srinivasan on converting Sirumalai hill station into a tourist spot. “The State has high potential for tourism as foreigners are making a beeline for the forests and picnic spots. Around 800 varieties of plants have been raised at the Bryant Park. More than 2 lakh flowers were used to make models. The government will now devise new schemes to develop all the tourist spots.”
Terming the rose garden as an added beauty to Kodaikanal, he said that the garden worth Rs 10 crore would be opened at the earliest. “Nearly Rs 6.85 crore has been allotted to enhance the facilities in Bryant Park last year. Rs 1 crore has been allotted for children’s park and to fix CCTV cameras in the park. The respective department is also taking efforts to finish Keelkundar water scheme so as to meet the demands in Kodaikanal.” Also, many check dams will be erected in different parts of the district to store rain water, he added.
With the increasing number of people visiting the hills on a daily basis, the chief minister said the TNSTC shed in Kodaikanal will soon be used to park vehicles.Talking about the roads laid between Periyakulam Main Road and Perumalmalai via Adukkam, he said that the 29 km distance road work had been completed and the remaining works would be completed shortly. “This would act as an alternate route for tourists. Also, the government has decided to lay double road between Dindigul and Natham at Rs 205 crore.”
On Opposition’s charge of law and order situation getting affected, he clarified, “RS Puram police station and Anna Nagar police station secured the first and fifth place respectively among the best police stations in the country.”On creating employment to the youth of Tamil Nadu, he said, “The government has given Rs 234 crore for the unemployed youth to find self employment. Government gave Rs 5,813 crore as crop loan when Rs 2,247 crore was given to the farmers as drought relief. The permission was granted to sell Neera drink for the benefit of coconut farmers.” He further added the government had allotted fund of Rs 1,158 crore to form farm ponds across the State.
The education system too was given enough attention as 116 elementary schools were upgraded to middle schools, 829 middle schools to high school and 402 high schools to higher secondary schools.
“Due to this, the number of students in the schools are on the rise. The percentage figures for admission now stands at 99.85 per cent in elementary schools, 99.11 per cent in middle schools, 93.15 per cent in high schools and 77.64 per cent in the high secondary schools,” the chief minister added.
The government also inaugurated 254 Primary Health Centres (PHC) since 2011 and 153 PHCs were upgraded so far. Similarly, 65 government hospitals were established in the State. “The State stands first in organ donation and mobile hospital plays a vital role in the society,” he added.Minister for Forest C Srinivasan said it was a great victory for the State in Cauvery water issue. The Centre accepted to establish the headquarters of Cauvery Management Board at New Delhi. “The chief minister has assured that the silver falls water would be converted into usable water through reverse osmosis.” Minister for Tourism R Durai Kannu and the commissioner for agriculture products also addressed the gathering .
Crowd throngs TNIE stall
Dindigul: Amidst a sea of people at the flower show at Bryant Park in Kodaikanal, on Saturday, two printed umbrellas with The New Indian Express (TNIE) and Dinamani’s banner stood high and did not fail to grab the attention of the visitors. Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami entered into the stall put up by Express Publication - Madurai and had a look at the dailies that were up on display. The visitors also interacted with the staff from The New Indian Express at the stall. Ragu Subramanian, Manager of circulation department of TNIE had made all the arrangement to establish the stall at the flower show. Dinamani and TNIE newspapers were distributed to the tourists in the park. Meanwhile, a few tourists also began to enquire about the annual subscription and advertisement tariff.
