TN authority gives nod to museum inside Karunanidhi memorial

CHENNAI: The under construction Karunanidhi memorial on Marina beach will have a museum as the Tamil Nadu State Coastal Zone Management Authority (TNSCZMA) has accorded permission to construct the facility at Rs 80 lakh.

The museum will come up at the basement of the memorial around the pavilion. The authority has approved the inclusion of museum in already approved plan for the memorial in a recent meeting.

Earlier, the government has planned to construct open air theatre, landscapped public seating and wooden fence as temporary structure in the 40 cent land adjacent to the exisiting compound wall in the Anna Memorial Campus. However, the government modified the proposal to construct the permanent museum in 160 cent land instead of temporary structures in 40 cent.

The location of the proposed museum falls under Coastal Regulation Zone-II for which the government required to get the clearance. As the state authority approved the proposal, the proposal will be sent for the Centre's approval.

As the museum will come at the basement, ramps will be provided for access and measures will be taken to prevent inundation.

It may be noted that the construction of a memorial has already been commenced at Rs. 39 crore.

Apart from this, the government has also taken measures to construct a pen monument in the sea.

Recently, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) held a public hearing meeting pertaining to the construction of the pen monument. The monument will be constructed for a height of 42 metres and proposed to be constructed 360 metres away from the shoreline with a bridge linking the monument and the beach at Rs. 81 Crore. The monument site falls under CRZ-1A, CRZ-II and CRZ-IVA areas and green signal has already given by the TNSCZMA.

Meanwhile, the authority also has accorded permission to construct a new marine bridge connecting Vivekananda Rock and Thiruvalluvar Statue in Kanniyakumari.