Coimbatore, 16 Oct (H.S.): Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Friday inaugurated the Rs 301.71-crore Periyar Arivulagam and Science Centre in Coimbatore, bringing into public use an educational project conceived and initiated by the previous DMK government.

Spread across seven acres on Dr Nanjappa Road at Gandhipuram, the seven-storey complex is named after social reformer Periyar EV Ramasamy. It has been developed as a centre for education, scientific learning and research, with facilities intended to promote access to knowledge.

The project includes Rs 245 crore for construction and Rs 50 crore for books, besides provisions for electronic books. Vijay unveiled a statue of Periyar on the campus before opening the knowledge and science centre.

The inauguration was accompanied by the launch of several district development initiatives. Vijay inaugurated 89 completed projects worth Rs 408.25 crore and laid foundation stones for 144 projects estimated at Rs 32.32 crore. He also distributed welfare assistance worth Rs 34.72 crore to 9,343 beneficiaries.

Hours before the ceremony, DMK president and former chief minister MK Stalin asserted his party’s ownership of the initiative, posting a video describing the centre as the brainchild of his “Dravidian model government”.

Stalin said the achievement lay in planning and creating a distinctive institution, regardless of who inaugurated it. He maintained that credit for conceptualising and developing the project would always belong to the DMK.

Earlier, Vijay arrived from Chennai by a special flight and held a roadshow covering approximately 11.4 km from Coimbatore International Airport to the venue, travelling along Avinashi Road towards Gandhipuram.

Large crowds of TVK workers and residents gathered along the route to greet him. Police erected barricades at Peelamedu, along Avinashi Road and in Gandhipuram, while a ban on drone operations was enforced throughout the stretch.

Vijay received a warm welcome on reaching the campus for the ceremony.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman