The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Valluvar Kottam to get a facelift

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 03, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Valluvar Kottam to get a facelift

Special Correspondent

Tenders soon for Rs. 60 lakh renovation works: Minister

BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT: One of Chennai's best-known landmarks, Valluvar Kottam, is all set to get refurbished. — Photo: R. Ragu

CHENNAI: Good times are back again for Valluvar Kottam. The landmark tourist attraction, built by the DMK regime during the mid-seventies, will soon get a Rs 60-lakh facelift, thanks to the sanction of a grant by Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi.

"When the sad and neglected state of the Valluvar Kottam was brought to the Chief Minister's attention, he immediately passed an order for its renovation. Tenders will be floated soon and work will start by this year," State Information Minister Parithi Ilamvazhuthi said while inaugurating an expo on Tamil computing at Valluvar Kottam on Friday. The expo-cum-conference is being organised by The Madras Printers and Lithographers Association and Kanithamizh Sangam.

Earlier, former Anna University Vice Chancellor M. Anandakrishnan had drawn the Minister's attention to the decrepit state of the structure, with paint peeling off the murals and the famed Kalamkari drawings on the chariot, in dire need of renovation.

Achievement

The construction of Valluvar Kottam was touted to be a stellar achievement of the DMK regime led by Mr. Karunanidhi in the seventies. However, his Government was dismissed in 1976 even before the formal inauguration.

When the DMK was voted back to power in 1989, the Kottam was the venue for the swearing-in ceremony. Since then, the fortune of the structure has been swinging back and forth. "We are committed to ensuring that the structure regains its glory," Mr. Ilamvazhuthi said.

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