CHENNAI
'FOUR-WAY ELEVATED HIGHWAY FROM CHENNAI PORT TO MADURAVAYAL AT RS.800 CRORES' - T.R.Baalu
Nagapattinam, July 6, 2006
A four lane elevated highway will be constructed from War Memorial near Chennai port to Maduravayal for 9.2 kilometers at a cost of Rs.800 crores, said Thiru T.R.Baalu, Union Minister for Shipping, Surface Transport and National Highways, at Thirukkuvalai near here today.
Delivering the valedictory address at the Info-Expo organized by Press Information Bureau as a Public Information Campaign under the Right to Information Act, Thiru Baalu said a new container terminal has been sanctioned for Tuticorin port at a cost of Rs.150 crores to make it a regional container hum of South Asia. A container terminal at a cost of Rs.1000 crores and an iron ore terminal at a cost of Rs.350 crores are to come up at Ennore near Cennai. A second container terminal is being built at Chennai Port at a cost of Rs.491 crores. The Nagapattinam port is being expanded and fishing harbours and fish landing sites, like the ones at Nagapattinam and Muthupettai are being developed to benefit the fishermen. All these infrastructure projects will make full use of the Sethusamudhiram project so that larger ships that were hitherto avoiding the Indian ports visit them. This will help achieve in a large way India's ambition to become a super power, he said.
The Minister said that projects worth over Rs.12,250 crores has been taken up by National Highway Authority of India alone in Tamilnadu which includes four laning of 3600 of the 4500 kilometers of national high way in the state, construction of bridges, bypasses, tunnels and flyovers including the prestigious ones at Kathipara Junction , Padi and Koyambedu in Chennai.
Commending the Info-Expo, Thiru Baalu said such campaigns should be held in all backward areas so that people understand the schemes being implemented by the government and benefit from them.
Thiru.S.Regupathy, Union Minister of State for Home, described the Info-Expo as an excellent vehicle to carry the policies and programs of the government to the people and involve them effectively in the process of development.
The Tamilnadu Minister for Tourism Thiru N. Suresh Rajan said that tourism infrastructure at Poompuhar neglected in the last five years is being restored at a cost of Rs.104 lakhs and the work will be completed in four months.
In his address, Thiru AKS Vijayan disclosed that the Thirukkuvalai-Chennai direct bus service which had been discontinued in the last five years is expected to be revived within a week. He wanted expansion of the long neglected Nagapattinam port.
Speaking on the occasion, Thiru M.K.Periasamy MLA said that the Info Expo will help reach the vital development information to the downtrodden people and thus empower them.
Thiru Tenkasi S.Jawahar, District Collector said that cooperative farm credit worth Rs.103 crore rupees for over 65000 farmers has been waived and new agri credit worth over Rs.66 crores has been given through cooperatives and public sector banks in the district.
Explaining the theme of the Info-Expo, Director, Press Information Bureau, Thiru B.K.Vetriselvan said that the tsunami affected Nagapattinam was selected for the first of the public information campaign and it was centered at Thirukkuvalai as it contained a large number of backward and illiterate people so that the benefits of the key programs of the UPA government like the rural employment guarantee scheme reached the deserving people.
The ministers later distributed loans and assistance under various schemes to several people and gave away certificates to participants of the Info-Expo.
During the Info-Expo an attractive exhibition projecting the various departments of the governments of India and Tamilnadu displayed in over 75 stalls attracted thousands of visitors. There were interactive sessions, seminars and film shows on various subjects. Health camps were held to benefit people with ENT defects, mental health and eye care.
Apart from Thirukkuvalai, daily programms were held in thirty villages in eleven blocks. The Thirukkuvalai campaign, the first such campaign in the country in a predominantly rural area, will be followed by similar ones in districts implementing the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) like in Dindigul (July 9-13), Cuddalore (August 5-9), Pondicherry (August 11-15) and areas where the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) is being implemented like Madurai (July16-20) and Chennai (August 19-23).
Launched by Press Information Bureau of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, other media units like Field Publicity, Advertising and Visual Publicity, Song and Drama Division, Publications Division, Doordarshan and All India Radio are participating in the Public Information Campaigns. The Tamilnadu Government and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports will also play an important role in the campaigns.
Event photographs are available at www.pibchennai.gov.in
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