Palaniswami releases status report on excavations

CHENNAI: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Monday released the status report on the ongoing archaeological excavations in the State till 2020, and also launched a separate website for folk artistes – www.artandculture.tn.gov.in.

Later, Minister for Tamil Official Language and Culture, K Pandiarajan shared details about the status report. He said that a total of 3,959 artefacts were found during the excavations at Keezhadi cluster and Erode, till July, and so far, 128 carbon samples have been collected. The minister added that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has also given its nod to carry out excavations at Tirunelveli and Thoothukdui districts, on the banks of Tamiraprani river.

On the artefacts found at Keezhadi, Pandiarajan said that numerous objects made of iron and copper, beads made of semi precious-stones, glass, shell, weighing units, sea, and graffiti marks were collected. “These suggest that Keezhadi might have been an industrial-cum-habitational site. It also points to the possibility of strong trading activities of the Sangam Age Society.” The minister said that the State government has also allocated Rs 59 crore for the Museum Department, to set up new museums in Salem, Virudhunagar and Kanniyakumari districts. “This is more than 10 times the allocation made so far,” said Pandiarajan.

Under the Arts and Culture Department, Rs 2,000 was given to each of the 24,000 folk artistes, affected by the Covid situation. He added that special camps were also being held to identify more such artistes who hail from poor economic background, and their registration would be completed within three months.

Meanwhile, MS Shanmugam, Commissioner of Museums said that the museum theatre in Chennai would be renovated, and a heritage cafe would be established in the complex. Once the threat of the pandemic is over, the museum would be thrown open to public, with new facilities like touch-free toilets, hand washing facilities, equipment for mass thermal screening, etc., he said, adding that a virtual museum would also be launched soon to cope with the post-Covid period.

“Technical works for this have been completed. People can roam around the museum virtually, just by downloading the mobile app, which also has Tamil and English audio guides. These are likely to be implemented within a few months,” Shanmugam said, adding that the Asian Development Bank has already extended an aid of Rs 10.69 crore for infrastructure development.

CM congratulates civil service candidates
Chennai: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Monday congratulated two candidates with visual impairments, who successfully cleared the civil services examinations. According to a statement, the CM congratulated Poorna Sundari from Madurai and Bala Nagendran from Chennai who cleared the exams. He asked them to work hard and ensure that the public benefits from Government’s initiatives.

EPS, OPS extend b’day wishes to Vijayakant
Chennai: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam on Monday greeted DMDK founder Vijayakant who is celebrating his birthday on Tuesday. In his message, the CM said, “I pray the Almighty to bestow you a long, healthy life to serve people continuously.” He also recalled that Vijaykant excelled in the film industry and also in serving public. Meanwhile, OPS also greeted the DMDK founder.