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TAMIL NADU

CHENNAI

THE HINDU

MONDAY, JUNE 25, 2012

Move to shore up Pulicat-Poompuhar tourism

NMF package to showcase maritime heritage along the 300-km coastal stretch
N. Anand
CHENNAI: The National Mar-

Police search Madurai Adheenam premises

Special Correspondent
MADURAI: A police team com-

itime Foundation (NMF) has devised a tourism package to showcase the maritime heritage along the 300-km coastal stretch from Pulicat to Poompuhar. Under the SAMUDRAM (Seashore Archaeological Museums off the Dravidian Mainland) project, the tourists will get an opportunity to visit historic forts and archaeological sites at Tranquebar (Tarangambadi), Poompuhar, Porto Novo (Parangipettai), Sadras, Alamparai, Pulicat, Mamallapuram, Chennai and Puducherry. The forts were built by the Portugese (Pulicat), British (Fort St. George), Mughals (Alamparai), Dutch (Sadras), French (Puducherry) and the Danish (Tranquebar), besides Cholas (Poompuhar). Talking to The Hindu, NMF Chennai Regional Director, Commodore S. Shekhar said the project was aimed at creating an awareness among people of the State, especially the youth, about the States rich mar-

prising bomb detection and disposal squad (BDDS) carried out a search operation on the Madurai Adheenam premises, adjacent to the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple here on Sunday. Following a threat that some explosives planted on the premises might go off be-

fore June 27, the police conducted the search, a senior officer said. However, there was another version to the search as well which the police did not conrm. According to reliable sources, following the intervention of the High Court Bench, the Vilakuthoon police registered a case against the junior pontiff Nithyananda of Madurai Adheenam.

The complainant, Solai Kannan of the Hindu Makkal Katchi, had stated that during a visit to the Adheenam, he allegedly found a tiger skin, elephant tusk and foreign currencies on the mutt premises. He had been there to hold talks with the Adheenam in connection with a dispute. The spokesperson of the mutt was not available for comment.

A le photo of the Danish fort in Tranquebar.

itime heritage and encourage them to take up a career in the maritime sector. Apart from attracting international and domestic tourists, the scheme was also aimed at rehabilitating exservicemen and generating additional revenue for the Tourism Department by developing infrastructure facilities along the coasts and encouraging the folk artists in these locations. Each town has its own story to tell and we are not trying to merely exhibit the forts but using the archaeology and history to rekindle the interest in modern youth about the maritime heritage. We will also tell them how the British, French, Dutch and others learnt about Tamil Nadus maritime strength several centuries ago, Mr. Shekhar said. The State tourism department has been asked to develop basic infrastructural facilities at these places, create clusters and host sound and light programmes and culture shows so that it helps tourist guides, budget hotels, transport operators, souvenir makers and photographers earn some decent income. It would be a great idea to take tourists to all these places, initially by road and later by waterways. But, the topmost priority is to promote them as individual tourist spots. Popularising these spots cannot be done in a short period as it requires huge funds and tremendous marketing effort by the tourism department, he added.

Cauvery issue: farmers demand special law

Special Correspondent
TIRUCHI: Various farmers as-

9 shermen reach Mandapam

Special Correspondent
MADURAI:

ICAI to open Cost Management Account support centres

Special Correspondent
CHENNAI: The Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICAI) will open about 1,000 to 1,500 Cost Management Account (CMA) support centres in the country, including 500 of them in the south, to enable students from rural areas to join professional courses, according to M. Gopalakrishnan, ICAI president. Addressing students at the oral coaching inaugural session of ICAI Southern India Regional Council (SIRC) here

on Sunday, he said there was a huge demand for cost accountants from public sector companies. Each year, about 5 lakh students joined the course, while the ICAI wanted to train about 5 million students. Currently, the institute had 100 centres spread over four cities in the country. Last year, Coal India recruited about 50 students, but it wants more professionals. Similarly, other organisations scout for cost accountants. Hence, we

thought of setting up CMA support centres in urban and rural areas. To begin with, the Southern Regional Council should open at least 50 support centres and later expand it to 500, he said. Inaugurating smart classrooms in Egmore, he said the institute would join hands with 25 colleges in the city to offer satellite cost accounting classes for which the road map have to be drawn. Mr. Gopalakrishnan said his organisation would team

up with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India to set up accounting bodies in African countries. Rwanda had accepted the proposal. B.R. Prabhakar, chairman ICAI-SIRC, said soon after passing the nal exam, the student would be recognised as global accounting professional, as this institute had signed mutual recognition agreements with its counterparts in the U.S., U.K. Australia and Canada. Delivering the keynote address, David Holly, Australian

Consul-General in Chennai, said India had now emerged as the largest provider of skilled workers to Australia, overtaking United Kingdom and China. Citing the latest census, Mr. Holly said about 280,000 Indians migrated to Australia, accounting for 1.4 per cent of the population in 2011 against 0.7 per cent in 2006. Since 2009, over 2,000 Indian accountants had been recognised by the Institute of Public Accountants of Australia.

sociations, which met here on Sunday to jointly chalk out a course of action on the Cauvery issue requested Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to press for the enactment of a special law by the Centre under Article 262 of the Constitution. They also demanded that a distress sharing formula be applied, taking into consideration the entire quantum of water and not after exhausting all the requirements of farmers in Karnataka. The meeting was convened in the backdrop of the Mettur Dam not receiving a drop of water from Karnataka and the Tamil Nadu government not opening the dam for delta irrigation on the scheduled date of June 12, jeopardising kuruvai crop on four lakh acres and production of six lakh tonnes of paddy, said Puliyur Nagarajan, district president of the Bharatiya Krishak Samaj. Farmers were apprehensive that they would not get

water even for samba crop, he added. The farmers contended that the State government need not wait for any verdict from the Supreme Court. Only if the Central government intervened effectively as enunciated in this Article, could there be a solution to the vexed Cauvery issue. They demanded funds from the Centre to build barrages or construct dams across the Cauvery and Kollidam so that the surplus water available during the rainy season could be stored. The meeting decided to organise a month-long campaign on Tamil Nadu river water protection from July 15. Those who took part included C. Vyapuri, United Agriculturists Association, S. Nallasamy, Cauvery Delta Agriculturists Association, Mahadhanapuram Rajaram, Cauvery Delta Farmers Welfare Association, Masilamani, Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangham (CPI-M) and Siva.Suriyan, Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangham (CPI).

Nine shermen from Akkaraipettai in Nagapattinam, who were detained by the Sri Lankan Navy on June 19 after they entered the island nation's waters, reached Mandapam in Ramanathapuram district on Sunday. The shermen were handed over to the Indian Coast Guard by the Sri Lankan Navy at 4 p.m. on Saturday. Since the water was shallow, they were taken ashore in the morning on Sunday, according to the Indian Coast Guard officials. Later, they were handed over to the Assistant Director (Fisheries) for being taken to Nagapattinam.

Rangarajan in hospital
Special Correspondent
CHENNAI: CPI (M) leader T.K.

Rangarajan, MP, was on Sunday admitted to Apollo Hospitals with a sinusitis condition. According to hospital staff, he is stable and likely to be discharged in a couple of days.

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