The Hindu              07.01.2014

Sithannavasal gets a Rs. 2-crore facelift

Sithannavasal, a tourism destination known for its Jain cave temple and paintings, has got a facelift – thanks to a slew of developmental works executed at the sprawling space outside the temple. The temple comes under the jurisdiction of the Archaeological Survey of India.

Tourism development programmes have been executed for the past four years in a phased manner with funds sanctioned by the Sithannavasal village panchayat, (Rs.55.64 lakh), general funds of the Annavasal panchayat union (Rs.77.65 lakh), Town and Country Planning department (Rs.13 lakh), Tourism department (Rs.59.86 lakh), and through the Viralimalai MLA Local Area Development Fund (Rs.16 lakh), according to sources.

While a few existing facilities such as boat jetty, musical fountain, and children’s park have been revamped; a new welcome arch has been erected at the entrance to the temple.

Speaking after inaugurating the facilities, S.P. Shanmuganathan, Tourism Minister, said that the development works ensure that the Jain monument receives a steady stream of tourists. The number of international tourists visiting the spot has also increased over the years. A sum of Rs.3.11 crore had been allocated to Pudukottai district for various tourism promotion projects.

C. Vijayabaskar, Minister for Health, said that the tourism development programmes aimed at sensitising youth to the importance of our history and culture. About Rs.2.24 crore had been spent for tourism-related programmes at Sithannavasal, he said. N. Subramanian, Minister for Adi Dravidar Welfare, said the State government attached priority for promoting tourism in the State. A new tourist office would be set up in Pudukottai for which a site was being identified, said Collector C. Manoharan who presided over the function.

The Hindu              07.01.2014

New bus stand to get a facelift

The new bus stand improvement works taken up by the Pudukottai Municipality at an outlay of Rs. 1.17 crore through the special centenary funds sanctioned by the Chief Minister are expected to be completed in the next three months.

The work of laying concrete platforms and bays has commenced and the bus stand will be an all-concrete-road one. The drainage channels around the bus stand would be cleared, and construction of new toilet blocks forms part of the project.

Apart from the special centenary funds, the municipality would allocate Rs. 25 lakh from its general funds for the maintenance of buildings at the bus stand, said S.A.S.Sait alias Abdul Rahman, Municipal Chairman (in-charge).

G.Arumugam, councillor of Congress party, raised the issue of limited number of bus bays (49) at the municipal council meeting held here on Monday. Adding two more bays would upgrade the status of the bus stand into ‘A’ grade which would pave way for increasing the revenue through hike in toll fee from buses being operated at or through the bus stand, he said. Mr.Sait said that two additional bays have already been constructed.

The municipality had also planned to expand the new bus stand which currently operates in an area of 4.99 acres. The proposal was to takeover the nearby Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation depot along with its approach road. The municipality has sought the district administration’s assistance in getting the depot land. The Collector, in turn, wrote to the TNSTC and transport department officials in Chennai for transfer of land.

The Collector also assured 10 acres land in Machuvadi area in the town in lieu of the depot land and a site was also identified. The proposal is still under the consideration of TNSTC, Mr. Sait said.

Referring to the functioning of the temporary bus stand on the sprawling ground on Dheerar Sathyamoorthy Salai, he said.