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The Hindu
02-08-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Chief Minister Stalin to inaugurate wholesale market in Tiruvannamalai
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin will soon inaugurate ₹ 24.50 crore first ever combined wholesale and retail market for vegetables, fruits, flowers and fish market in Tiruvannamalai town in September. Officials of Tiruvannamalai Corporation, who will be will maintaining the new market, said that the construction is in its final stage with around 95% of total work completed. Remaining works include setting up of thrust lifts, lawn and a few painting works. 'The new market complex will be a one-stop shopping destination for consumers including pilgrims to Arunachaleswara temple where fresh vegetables and fruits from surrounding villages will also be sold. The new facility will be a platform for local farmers to sell their produce,' S. Selva Balaji, Commissioner, Tiruvannamalai Corporation, told The Hindu. Accompanied by Collector K. Tharpagaraj and Corporation officials, Minister for Public Works and Highways E.V. Velu inspected finishing works at the new bus terminus and wholesale market near the town. Corporation officials said that thrust lifts will help to collect garbage, mostly vegetable and fruit wastes, in the market to compost yards within the premises. Each lift, on an average, has a capacity to carry around 600 kg of waste. Currently, installation of lifts are underway. Spread over 2.67 acres, the new market is being built under Kalaignar Urban Development Scheme 2022-23. The single-storey market will have vegetable and fruits shops on the ground floor and flowers market on its first floor with 128 shops on each floor. Fish market will be on the rear end of the market. Each shop, on an average, will be 110 and will be leased for a fixed period. Ramps will be built to allow goods laden lorries to unload commodities on the first floor of the market. Rainwater harvesting system, water taps, CCTV cameras, police booth, high mast lamps, parking and washrooms will be available as well. At present, Jothi market,the only wholesale flower market since the 1980s, is located on Theradi Street near the Rajagopuram of the temple. It results in traffic congestion due to the continuous flow of tourists. Big consumers like hotels and marriage event makers unload large quantities of vegetables and fruits at temporary spots in the town from lorries before the perishables were stored at their places.
The Hindu
22-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Hindu
Tiruvannamalai Corporation to build multi-level car parks for pilgrims near Arunachaleshwara temple
The Tiruvannamalai Corporation plans to set up multi-level modular car parking facilities, mainly for pilgrims, near the Arunachaleshwara temple to prevent haphazard parking on the town's key stretches and narrow streets. Officials said the civic body had selected at least five spots near Mada Streets around the temple for the new facilities as it would be convenient for visitors to have a place to park their vehicles safely. A nominal fee will be charged for the use of the facilities. 'Modalities of the new facility are being worked out. The estimated cost of the new multi-level parking will be around ₹1 crore,' S. Selva Balaji, Commissioner, Tiruvannamalai Corporation, told The Hindu. At present, Tiruvannamalai town gets around 3 lakh visitors on Chitra Pournami days and 1.5 lakh tourists on weekends. During the Maha Deepam festival last December, around 40 lakh visitors came to the town. Most pilgrims, especially from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, come in cabs and cars. Residents said many cars that had other State number plates were parked on the town's key stretches and narrow streets. Such illegal parking is causing traffic congestion, locals said. 'Most of these vehicles are parked during night to evade traffic police and residents' attention. Due to the blocked roads, ambulances have sometimes had trouble reaching patients during emergencies,' said P. Bhaskan, secretary, Tiruvannamalai All Traders' Association. Officials said that the the parking facilities would afford better utilisation of the available space. The new facility will be modular, which is a detachable one. Such a modular parking facility can be relocated depending on needs during festival seasons, such as Maha Deepam. Most of the open land within civic body limits comes under the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR and CE) Department. Revenue officials have also removed encroachments on 9.5 acres, which belongs to the HR and CE Department, on the Girivalam path. A rent-free land will be provided for the new facility. Each facility will have 10 floors with on an average 10 vehicles can be parked on each floor. As per traffic police study, around 200-300 cars come to the town every day on pilgrimage. Such a parking facility will decongest the town and offer more space for both pedestrians and motorists. Other vehicles including tourist vans and buses will be allowed to park on designated temporary parking lots on the outskirts of the town.
The Hindu
13-05-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Civic workers remove 270 tonnes of waste generated on Chitra Pournami in Tiruvannamalai
Over 1,200 sanitary workers cleaned Tiruvannamalai town, including 14-km-long Girivalam path, for two days and removed more than 270 metric tonnes of waste that was generated during Chitra Pournami festival. Tiruvannamalai Corporation officials, who oversaw the massive cleanup effort alongside DRDA, reported that this year's festival generated a record volume of waste, surpassing the 190 tonnes collected in 2024. Around 30 lakh visitors attended the festival, which was held on May 11-12. Organic wastes including tender coconuts, clothes mostly used socks and sugarcane waste formed major garbage collected during the festival. 'Sanitary workers from neighbouring civic bodies like Vellore, Arcot, Arani and Gudiyatham were also roped in to clean the temple town. The entire work was completed by Tuesday noon,' S. Selva Balaji, Commissioner, Tiruvannamalai Corporation, told The Hindu. Along with Mr. Balaji, Collector K. Tharpagaraj inspected cleaning work on Tuesday. Corporation officials said that food wastes also contributed to total garbage generated during the festival. Most food wastes were generated from 147 annadhanam spots. More than 100 organisations and individuals got the nod for free distribution of food during the festival. 'Such enormous waste of food could have been avoided by efficient management of its distribution by organisers. Devotees should also be responsible and stop wasting food during the festival,' said B. Archana, a resident. Apart from 600 sanitary workers of the civic body, around 1,300 workers from DRDA were also engaged for the mammoth exercise. Over 80 per cent of sanitary workers were women. Most of the wastes were dumped at the 15 acre-landfill site near the Girivalam path. Food waste will be recycled to make organic manure for farming and terrace gardens in the town.
