Virudhunagar Collectorate foundation laid

MADURAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin laid the foundation for the new Collectorate building to be constructed at a cost of Rs 70.57 crore for Virudhunagar district on Thursday.

The six-storey building to house offices of various departments will come up on a sprawling 2,02,496 square feet area.

Earlier, during the budget for Revenue and Disaster Management 2021-22, the new Collectorate project was announced for Virudhunagar.

While the chamber of the District Collector will be housed on the fourth floor, a hall for convening public grievances redressal meetings, office rooms of the Department of Information and Public Relations and Election Cell would come up on the ground floor, sources said.

Meanwhile, M Pandidevi of Anaiyur village, Sivakasi taluk, who’s fighting poverty, was delighted to receive a job order from the Chief Minister for the post of Anganwadi worker through the Department of ICDS at Sithurajapuram.

Pandidevi is a construction worker looking after her daughter with physical deformities and her elderly mother already petitioned through ‘Ungal Thoguthiyil Muthalamaichar Scheme’ seeking a government job, sources said.

Earlier, Chief Minister Stalin planted saplings on the project site and took stock of the photo exhibits displayed by various departments highlighting their achievements through schemes.

PWD Minister EV Velu, Revenue Minister KKSSR Ramachandran, Industries Minister Thangam Thennarasu, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, Virudhunagar MP Manickam Tagore, Additional Chief Secretary SK Prabhakar, Principal Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management Kumar Jayant, Virudhunagar Collector J Meghanatha Reddy and others were present during the ceremony.

Stalin exhorts cadre to ensure big win in LS polls

Later in the day, presiding over the ‘Mupperum Vizha’ organised by the DMK in Virudhunagar on Thursday, Chief Minister Stalin appealed to the cadre to achieve a massive victory in the coming Lok Sabha elections and this grand event in Virudhunagar should be a prelude to eventual victory.

Taking a dig at the BJP-led Centre, Stalin said the Union government with the aid of Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi is trying to administer a dual rule in the country. Citing the policies implemented by the Centre as ‘anti people’, he said the Centre has infringed on our financial rights through GST, denied our rights to education through NEET and trying to impose ‘one language (Hindi) concept’ against the interests of Tamil people, who could never accept it.

During the schedule, Duraimurugan, DMK general secretary released a book titled ‘The Dravidian Model’ and DMK treasurer Baalu received the first copy.

Recalling the significant contributions of his father M Karunanidhi, former DMK chief, Stalin said a book with a collection of 4,041 letters penned by Karunanidhi during his life was released on the occasion. The letters were compiled in 54 chapters.