Madurai aims to achieve growth in all sectors by 2030

Madurai: Madurai should achieve growth in medical, highway and agricultural sectors by 2030, as part of the ‘En Ooru En Kanavu' 2030 strategy envisioned for the district, collector K J Praveen Kumar, said on Tuesday at a seminar organised in this regard.Minister for commercial taxes and registration P Moorthy inaugurated the seminar, in which experts from agriculture, education, industry and medical fields participated. The collector said that public opinions would be used to create the 2030 vision document for Madurai.Moorthy said that people from Madurai working abroad were considering returning to start businesses and bring pride to their hometown.He announced that work was in progress to relocate Madurai Central Prison to Melur, and the current prison area would be converted into a recreational space. He also said a regional cancer centre building was being planned at Madurai Govt Rajaji Hospital at an estimated cost of 40 crore.Moorthy added that the chief minister of Tamil Nadu had ordered the replacement of old sewer pipes with new ones in key areas of Madurai city, including the four Masi streets surrounding the Meenakshi Amman Temple, outer streets, Pudur, Anna Nagar, Palanganatham and Arappalayam.The collector said various schemes introduced by the Tamil Nadu govt were being implemented as models for other states, including the mid-day meal scheme. He said, "Today, among the model schemes introduced by the Tamil Nadu govt, we have the ‘Namakku Naame' scheme. The second scheme is the gram sabha meetings." He said the Gram Sabha meeting was held 5 times a year, and its importance lay in selecting beneficiaries for schemes implemented by the Tamil Nadu govt.Members of residents' welfare associations voiced their concerns regarding the development of Madurai city and made suggestions for improvements and fixes.D Raghavan, president of the Gomathipuram Thendral Nagar residents' association, requested that "the state govt declare Vandiyur kanmoi as a water resource reservoir, similar to the Chembarambakkam lake in Chennai, which is a common aspiration and dream of the public." He added that the area could become water-rich through the creation of percolation ponds and desilting.He also said that the Vandiyur lake park and walking paths that were recently renovated were overgrown with bushes and trees due to lack of maintenance. Proper maintenance would attract more people for walking exercises in the park.