‘Mayiladuthurai district’ under consideration, informs EPS

Laying the foundation stone for the Government Medical College in Nagapattinam at a cost of Rs 367 crore, he said one of the long-pending demands from the people and elected representatives of Nagapattinam district has been fulfilled with the laying of the foundation stone for a medical college, while the other demand to create a separate revenue district with Mayiladuthurai as headquarters was under active consideration.

Palaniswami announced that a new fishing harbour would be set up at Arcottuthurai in Nagapattinam district at a cost of Rs 150 crore, besides a food processing park and an agriculture Research centre to be established at Vedaranyam.

Later, the Chief Minister attended a function organised by members of various farmers’ associations in Tiruvarur for declaring the Cauvery delta as a protected agriculture zone. Earlier, on his way to Nagapattinam, Palaniswami, on Saturday, sprang a pleasant surprise on a group of agricultural labourers, when he stopped his convoy, entered a paddy field and transplanted paddy seedlings by hand along with them at Siddhamalli village in Tiruvarur district.

The Chief Minister, on seeing a group of labourers transplanting paddy nurseries at Siddhamalli alighted from his car, folded his dhoti and entered the field and joined them in their work. State Food Minister R Kamaraj also joined the Chief Minister in the field.

Palaniswami, who spent over 10 minutes with the labourers, enquired with them about the paddy variety and other details, before washing his hands and feet in a nearby pumpset. He later proceeded to Nagapattinam.