As per the Indian railway's plans.. they want to have these hotels within half-a kilometer from the railway station so that ppl could walk to the hotel.. so hopefully it could come near the Railway colony (near the western entrance) as Railway should have some land there.. or if they are going to purchase land and build it..then it could come anywhere in the West perumal Maistry street which already has a lot of hotels in there..

IR may not buy new plots for these hotel projects. Wherever they have excess land or whichever land can be spared, they may go for the hotel projects. Taj Group has already bagged a few sites from IR for their Ginger Brand Economy Hotels (Rs 800 to 1500 per day in Delhi - Rail Yatri Niwas).

In Madurai, there are lands available near the other side of the Junction (ie Ellis Nagar side after the bridge) and near Good Shed. They also have lands before Vadipatti / Koodal Nagar, it seems. Commercial Exploitation is bound to happen, but hopefully with more transparency and with good and reputed private players as partners.

Projects are under way in places like Kochi, Bhatinda, Coimbatore, Kota, Madurai and Ambala. "Metro or non metro, if a town has a population of more than 10 lakh (1 million) people, we are interested," says Alok Tandon, chief operating officer, Inox.

http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2007/jan/24spec.htm

Is INOX planning to build a multiplex in Madurai?. Please confirm the above report, and incase its true please draw more light on the above project.

Rail Ratnas - contract awarded to setup hotel in Madurai

The Subhash Chandra-owned GL Hotels group has won contracts for Mumbai, Madurai and Sealdah.



I found from a tamil news source that GL Hotels part of ESSEL groups had purchased the railways land in Madurai for Rs.153 crores. No info yet on the size of the land purchased.

US-based Signet Hotel group had purchased the land in Rameshwaram for Rs. 101 crores.

Traffic Management - Automatic signals at 9 junctions

Signals will be established with private sponsorship in the next 3 months. The junctions are:

1. Fatima college
2. Kamarajar road-Kuruvikaran bridge
3. Munichalai
4. Guru theater
5. Theni road-Mudaku salai
6. Jaihindipuram-Jeva nagar
7. St.Mary's school
8. Anna nagar suguna stores
9. Pandiyan hotel

Source: Dinamalar

US based software solutions and BPO firm digiBlitz Technologies sets office in Madurai. This firm already has a branch in Chennai.

Plan to link four prominent destinations in the southern districts

The groundwork for launching helicopter services linking Madurai with tourist destinations in the southern districts has begun.

The proposal is to connect Kodaikanal, Palani, Rameswram, Thekkadi and Kanyakumari with 12-seater helicopters.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/01/12/stories/2007011211480100.htm

Tuticorin has also been added to the list of places to be connected by the helicopter service. The news report also includes linking Madurai to Ooty. The service would start on the tamil new years day.

http://www.dinakaran.co.in/epaperdinakaran/showxml.aspx?id=91989&code=19209

US based software solutions and BPO firm digiBlitz Technologies sets office in Madurai. This firm already has a branch in Chennai.

Focus will be on tier - II cities

The metros of the country, where information technology companies were concentrated, were now saturated and next wave of development would focus on tier - II cities, Praful Mayekar, account director, digiBlitz Technologies, said here on Wednesday.

He was addressing a press meet after launching the U.S.A.-based software solutions company's `Offshore Development Centre' operations.

Mr. Mayekar said that cities such as Coimbatore, Bhubaneshwar, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Madurai would be the "next growth centres."

The productivity of an employee in such cities was higher than that of their counterparts in metros, he said.

The company planned to grow from the present strength of 10 to 100 employees by the year-end, he said.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/01/27/stories/2007012705160200.htm

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/4834/2007012921570301bb0.jpg

LIVE COVERAGE: The Commissioner of Police, M. Chidambarasamy, looking at traffic scene at Goripalayalam junction in the city from his camp office on Sunday.

MADURAI: The ambitious project of monitoring the city traffic through WI-MAX wireless technology by installing hi-tech cameras at busy junctions got an impetus with the successful prototype demonstration here on Sunday.

The Commissioner of Police, M. Chidambarasamy, monitored vehicular traffic at Gorippalayam junction live. Sitting at his camp office, he reviewed security arrangements made at the Circuit House hours ahead of the visit of the Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi. Engineers from `I-Grandee', `BPL Telecom' and `Microsense' fitted cameras at these two places and brought the happenings live on a big screen.

"The basic objective is to monitor important junctions, vital installations and residential areas live through wireless technology. Initially, we intend to cover six important junctions.

Besides traffic regulation, the project will help in prevention/detection of crimes," Mr. Chidambarasamy told The Hindu .

He said live monitoring would be made available at the Commissioner's chamber, office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) and the Police Control Room.

"In less than two months, we expect the project to be ready. This will go a long way in easing traffic congestion in the Temple City."

According to S. Baskaran, Director (HR) and Business development, I-Grandee, continuous unlimited recording was possible with the help of a backup server.

Also, the camera would be capable of zooming in to the number plate of a moving vehicle up to a distance of 200 metres. "We can provide more features by updating the system depending upon the requirements," he said. The Inspector (Planning), K. Magudapathy, was present.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/01/29/stories/2007012921570300.htm

^^ The high-tech cameras using WI-MAX wireless technology would be installed at Kamarajar road , Anna bus stand JN, Goripalayam, Chithirai streets, Keelavasal and at few more places.

Passport office

The government has identified place for setting up the passport office. It will come up near the Race course grounds on the link road between Alagar koil road and Natham road. The office would be setup on 10,000 sq. feet space and would be the largest passport office branch in whole of India. The later was stated by the officers from the center who selected the place. It would start functioning from the month of March and would cater to the people of 10 southern districts.

Source : Dinakaran 27.01.2007

from http://www.hindu.com/2007/01/24/stories/2007012418381200.htm

MADURAI: Cheaper labour and real estate costs and reduced staff attrition rates will make companies prefer tier II cities in the State to the metropolitan cities in the country, United States Consul-General David T. Hopper has said.

At an interactive session on the US-India business growth potential in tier II cities, organised by the Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he said the "continuing" cost pressures characterising the countries metropolitan cities were forcing more companies to look at tier II cities. Increased administrative focus on the tier II cities would improve infrastructure and help them compete effectively with bigger cities. However, smaller labour pools in the tier II cities posed a risk. Furthermore, the higher comfort level in the tier I cities would prevail for some time for the firms entering the country for the first time, he said

Stop migration

Though the southern districts were producing a large number of engineering graduates, most were migrating to metropolitan cities for jobs. "Providing them jobs in Madurai was the best way to bring overall development to the region," Mr. Hopper said.
........................................

US based software solutions and BPO firm digiBlitz Technologies sets office in Madurai. This firm already has a branch in Chennai.

Thanks for the info!
Is this company about to start in madurai or had it already started?

Arunsingh and Ram, welcome to SSC forum.

Thanks for the info!
Is this company about to start in madurai or had it already started?

From the news below it seems they have already started operations.


Praful Mayekar, account director, digiBlitz Technologies was addressing a press meet after launching the U.S.A.-based software solutions company's `Offshore Development Centre' operations.

MADURAI: The Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi, would consider the demand for having Anna University in Madurai, said the Minister for Higher Education, K. Ponmudi, on Monday.

Addressing the golden jubilee celebrations of Thiagarajar College of Engineering (TCE) here, Mr. Ponmudi said that requests to have Anna University in Madurai also, based on the current proposal to trifurcate it with regional centres in Tiruchi and Coimbatore, had come from several quarters and the Chief Minister would favourably consider them.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/01/30/stories/2007013021490300.htm


They used the presence of MK and Education minister at the golden jubilee celebration in TCE to once again stress their demand. I feel constant pressure like these could yield result.

The following link gives an update on the project.

http://www.dinakaran.co.in/epaperdinakaran/showxml.aspx?id=93129&code=19463

The interesting point to note in that report is that the Trichy-Madurai 4 lane would join Madurai ring road at Pandi koil and not at Uthangudi( near MMHRC). It would be a different alignment atleast from Othakadai (Its my assumption) or even Melur. This gives us two roads for future developments in Madurai on the north side. Since the present MDU-Melur road has seen developments like the High court etc the NHAI might hand over it to the state highways.

Both MDU-Trichy and MDU-Virudhunagar stretches are slated to be finished by Aug 2008. NHAI official Selvaraj says that Samayanallur-Virudhunagar section would be completed 6 months before schedule.

Work on progress at Thoppur

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/7016/2901ganeshbabu012020clrqw3.jpg

The following link gives an update on the project.

http://www.dinakaran.co.in/epaperdinakaran/showxml.aspx?id=93129&code=19463

The interesting point to note in that report is that the Trichy-Madurai 4 lane would join Madurai ring road at Pandi koil and not at Uthangudi( near MMHRC). It would be a different alignment atleast from Othakadai (Its my assumption) or even Melur. This gives us two roads for future developments in Madurai on the north side. Since the present MDU-Melur road has seen developments like the High court etc the NHAI might hand over it to the state highways.

Both MDU-Trichy and MDU-Virudhunagar stretches are slated to be finished by Aug 2008. NHAI official Selvaraj says that Samayanallur-Virudhunagar section would be completed 6 months before schedule.

Work on progress at Thoppur

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/7016/2901ganeshbabu012020clrqw3.jpg

I was dreaming of a junction with four 4-lane roads near the current ring road junction.. (similar to the kathipara junction..).. I believe it is still a possiblility.. any comments..??

I was dreaming of a junction with four 4-lane roads near the current ring road junction.. (similar to the kathipara junction..).. I believe it is still a possiblility.. any comments..??

That could be a possibility if Uthangudi to Othakadai is also 4 laned. Under the new alignment Melur-MDU 4 lane road would meet ORR at Pandi koil which is closer to the Sivagangai road JN on the ring road.

That could be a possibility if Uthangudi to Othakadai is also 4 laned. Under the new alignment Melur-MDU 4 lane road would meet ORR at Pandi koil which is closer to the Sivagangai road JN on the ring road.

yup.. you are right.. that section should also be taken for 4 laning in due course of time..
And now, i think after by-passing othakadai, the highway would directly come and join ringroad @ pandikoil..
I believe that is the spot where TIDEL park is going to come up..which means, as you've mentioned earlier, it would open up a new avenue for development..

"IT parks would be set up in Madurai and Coimbatore, followed by Tiruchy, Salem and Tirunelveli, he said..."

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IET20070129031705&Page=T&Title=Southern+News+-+Tamil+Nadu&Topic=0

I believe earlier MK has told it would be set up in Coimbatore followed by Madurai.. I think things have changed now.. and they would come up almost at the same time...

Upgrade Madurai airport

Staff Reporter

Says Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry
http://i15.tinypic.com/2vuc0g8.jpg
SEEKING ELEVATION: A view of Madurai airport. — File Photo
MADURAI: The Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called for early upgrading of Madurai airport into an international terminal. In a memorandum submitted to the Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Praful Patel, in New Delhi last week, the chamber said that the lack of direct international air connectivity led to retardation of industrial development in the southern districts.
The work of runway extension to 7,500 feet from 6,000 feet is under way and preliminary steps are on to extend it up to 9,000 feet, a basic requirement for international airport status. Stating that the landing of jumbo jet cargo aircraft required a runway of 12,000 feet, the memorandum urged the Union Minister to take efforts to acquire land for extension of runway up to the required distance.
Night parking
The airport could be used for night parking and it could also have hangers to carry out maintenance of aircraft, thus generating additional employment opportunities.
Apart from being the second most important cluster of tourism attractions in the State, Madurai was growing as a health destination with the presence of many prominent hospitals. The international airport here would help nurture these potential areas.
A huge number of people from southern districts employed in foreign countries contributed to the inbound and outbound air passenger traffic in this area. Besides, the Nanguneri special economic zone, Koodangulam Atomic Power Plant and ongoing Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project would accelerate the potential for increased passenger traffic from Madurai airport.
The abundant quantity of fruits, vegetables and flowers grown in Madurai and nearby Dindigul district were exported to Male and other foreign destination through Thiruvananthapuram airport, the memorandum said. For all these reasons, the airport should be converted into an international terminal at the earliest with all required facilities like customs clearance and exchange counters.
Aviation university
Stating that the open sky policy had necessitated recruitment of over 2,000 qualified pilots in India by 2010, besides an anticipated demand for engineers, air traffic controllers and other staff in the country, the situation warranted setting up of an aviation university. Madurai airport was free from fog and away from busy air corridors. Besides abundant land and large chunk of engineering and other graduates in the region, Madurai would be the ideal place for setting up the university., the memorandum said. The Dindigul MP, N.S.V. Chitthan, and the chamber president, S. Rethinavelu, led a delegation to submit the memorandum.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/01/20/stories/2007012015300200.htm

^^ repeat of post 241

^^ repeat of post 241

I saw that but they had updated with more materials.

The demand for having Anna University in Madurai would receive due consideration from the Chief Minister, the Minister for Higher Education, Mr K. Ponmudi, said here on Monday. Announcing this while addressing the golden jubilee celebrations of Thiagarajar College of Engineering, he said many requests had come for the same in the context of trifurcation of the university with regional centres in Tiruchi and Coimbatore.


http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/01/31/stories/2007013100221900.htm

The Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi, would consider the demand for having Anna University in Madurai, said the Minister for Higher Education, K. Ponmudi, on Monday.

Addressing the golden jubilee celebrations of Thiagarajar College of Engineering (TCE) here, Mr. Ponmudi said that requests to have Anna University in Madurai also, based on the current proposal to trifurcate it with regional centres in Tiruchi and Coimbatore, had come from several quarters and the Chief Minister would favourably consider them.

Self financing Engineering colleges from south TN have also stressed for establishing Anna university in MDU during the meeting of self financing colleges recently.

Even recently the MKU syndicate unanimously passed a resolution seeking TN government to consider establishing AU in MDU. Those words by the Minister for Education is pleasing and more pressure could give favourable results.

Madurai MP Mohan and Madurai East MLA Nanmaran have already raised voice for this issue at all possible moments. The congress party members from Madurai like former MP A.G.S Rambabu have asked central minister Vasan and congress assembly leader sudharshan to raise this issue with concerned persons.

Source : Dinamalar

ELCOT to setup a 2,000 to 10,000 acre Industrial city near Madurai:banana:

ELCOT director Umashankar informed in Madurai that ELCOT has plans to setup an industrial city within 15 kms from Madurai on Melur road or Dindigul road or Arupukottai road where land is available. ELCOT is looking for 2000 to 10,000 acre land and once found it would establish industrial city with the help multinational companies. He said ELCOT was committed to this project. He informed that they are currently involved with the Madurai revenue department officials to identify land for this purpose.

ELCOT director was in Madurai to officially take over the land handed to them by the TN government for building TIDEL and IT parks. He said ELCOT plans to start immediately the TIDEL and IT park works in Madurai.

http://www.dinakaran.co.in/epaperdinakaran/showxml.aspx?id=93826&code=20548

Hi friends
I am a New member living in chennai basically from virudhunagar.I have found this site when i was searching for the development activities happening in madurai tuticorin 4 lane imp.I feel amazed by the way you guys taking information from various resources and sharing them in the forum.excellent work.
I will also follow the same way u guys are doing it.


Amal

Hi Amal welcome to SSC forum. I am looking forward to your contributions.

ELCOT to setup a 2,000 to 10,000 acre Industrial city near Madurai

http://www.dinakaran.co.in/epaperdinakaran/showxml.aspx?id=93826&code=20548

Waiting for more info on the above news from english dailies.

MADURAI: It has been a year now since the Corporation began the widening work of 80 Feet Road between K.K. Nagar Arch and Sivaganga Road.

As part of the civic body's attempt to expand the road on both sides, the left flank was dug for up to 10 feet width for over 1 km. stretch. Two rainy seasons have passed with the two-foot-deep trench filled up with rainwater for a few days and slush for many days.

The result: It became a breeding source for mosquitoes subjecting many shopkeepers to lot of disadvantage. "We filled a portion of the trench with soil for the benefit of our customers. But it was dug up again only to be left back in the same condition," a shopkeeper rued.

The project is all about expanding the road at a cost of around Rs. 40 lakh. "The first contractor left the job midway (after digging it). We floated a fresh tender and issued work order. The work is now on," said the Corporation Executive Engineer, V. Mohandass.

Now, work on the first layer is on. In many places gravel has been dumped, again causing inconvenience to road users, who cannot give way for speeding vehicles.

It is also a hindrance to people living in houses all along the road. The inordinate delay in completing the work has forced them to live with the ordeal of taking out their vehicles across the trench and parking them back in their houses.

Despite consuming so much of time, the work, on completion, is unlikely to fetch the desired result of a wider road throughout the stretch. For, there are many electric poles and cable television line poles right on the middle portion of the road under expansion. It is more visible in the 300-metre stretch between the Arch and M.S.S. Wakf Board College.

The hindrance would render those stretches of road unusable for plying vehicles. Further, the shopkeepers would make the best use of such hindrances and convert those stretches into a safe parking lot for their business establishments, residents fear.

"We have written to the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board to replace their poles. But they have been demanding shifting charges from us (Corporation)" Mr. Mohandass said. In this backdrop, the other side of the road is waiting to be dug up and re-laid.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/01/stories/2007020122600300.htm

3rd phase of ORR to be extended by 1 more Km

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/5688/01022007012028gz5.jpg

As far as i can understand from the report i feel the length would be reduced by 1km since the ringroad would not go along the Natham road from Yadava college till oomachikulam( a distance of 1km). Instead it would join the Natham road near Yadava college and proceed further to reach NH 7.

I feel the title should read length to be reduced by 1km. (correct me if im wrong)

Source : Dinamalar

ELCOT officials along with others viewing the place where the TIDEL park is to come


http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/9978/0102uma012020clrsz7.jpg


Ilandhaikulam (near Pandikoil)

Source : Dinakaran

BANGALORE: After establishing its presence in the metros and tier I cities, the $91.4 billion (Rs 4,11,300 crore) IT major, IBM, will set up offices in 14 new tier II and tier III locations to tap the emerging opportunities in the small and medium business (SMB) segment.

IBM’s regional general manager, India/South Asia, Shanker Annaswamy, said the SMB segment today contributes about 30-40% of the company’s total business in India, and is growing at a very fast.

“Companies in tier II and tier III cities are becoming global and they need IT services support to be competitive. This market is expanding very fast and once we set up offices at these centres, we will be able address more effectively,” said Annaswamy.

The MNC, which has committed to spend $6 billion over the next three years in India, will be opening offices in places like Trichy, Madurai, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Cochin, Guwahati, Vizag, Nagpur, Kanpur, Lucknow and others in the next one year.

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1077496

Indian tourism department has allocated 2.80 crore Rs. for developing the 4 chithirai streets surrounding the temple.

As a part of this work landscaping would be done along the four streets in front of the temple. The 4 streets would be relaid with cement paver blocks and all electricity lines would be laid underground. A wall would be built around the temple with decorative grills.

Source : Dinamalar

Any updates on the following :

ETL infrastructures plan for a 100 crore convention center cum Mall. Have they selected the place?.

SIPCOT's plan for a 2500 acre SEZ. Have they acquired the land at the place identified for this purpose?. The only info from the news source of late was that this project had entered the crucial phase.

RR industries plan for a 400 acre Rudradev IT township at an investment of 4500 crore Rs. (Few days back i read in a tamil news source that R.Ravi CEO of RR industries was in MDU. Was expecting some news from his visit.

ELCOT's plan for a 2000 to 10000 acre industrial city. Though this announcement was made just few days back and there couldnt be any new developments in such a short time, im just surprised why this news didnt feature in any english news sites.

MGR stadium, Madurai

The running race track work was completed before and now football ground work is going on.

Will this stadium be upgraded into a full fledged stadium?


http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/733/05022007111006001dg8.jpg

Memorandum submitted to the Union Minister for Railways by TN MP's

With the railway budget around the corner MP's from TN submitted memorandum seeking various development projects to be included in this years budget. The ones pertaining to Madurai region are as follows :

* Doubling of railway line between Chennai and Tuticorin via Madurai.
* Establishment of a seperate and dedicated freight corridor between Madurai and Chennai.
* Expedite electrification works on Villupuram-Trichy-Madurai section.
* Introduction of new passenger trains between Madurai and Trichy, Rameshwaram, Nagercoil and Coimbatore.
* Bullet train service between Madurai and Chennai.
* Expedite gauge conversion projects, including adding new meter gauge tracks for conversion

Source : Dinamalar

TN chamber of commerce and industry submits memorandum

The Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged the Union Minister for Railways, Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav, and the Union Minister of State for Railways, Mr R. Velu, to expedite the track-doubling project between Madurai and Dindigul. The track doubling will help in easing the traffic and facilitate more trains to operate, the Chamber has said.

In a memorandum to the Ministers on Wednesday, it welcomed the commitment of the Southern Railway Administration for doubling and electrification of the board gauge line between Villupuram and Tuticorin. It also forwarded a proposal to the Railway Board, noting that the Madurai-Dindigul project has been suffering for long due to merger allotment

While the current year provision of Rs 30 crore for the project in a revised estimated cost of Rs 112 crore is welcome, the project should be completed as scheduled by March 2008, it said.

The other demands in the memorandum, include laying a direct board gauge line between Madurai and Kottayam; conversion of the meter gauge line in Virudhunagar-Aruppukottai-Manamadurai section as board gauge; to provide an alternate route to Chennai from southern districts; conversion of the meter gauge line between Dindigul and Coimbatore into board gauge, at the earliest.

More demands in the memorandum were for a new board gauge route between Madurai and Karaikudi via Melur; immediate allotment of additional funds for developing Koodalnagar Railway Station in the northern part of the city; introduction of push and pull service between Virudhunagar-Madurai-Dindigul; conversion of the Chennai-Tenkasi Pothigai Express, which is running thrice a week now, into a daily service and provision of escalators in first and second platforms of Madurai Junction.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/02/07/stories/2007020702332300.htm

Updates on the 3 ROB's

Koodal nagar ROB work is nearly complete and would be fully completed by Feb 15th.

After delay due to contractors, work on the Sellur ROB has finally commensed. The railways have started the bridge works on the section of the bridge under its purview.

On the Ellis nagar ROB, currently works are progressing on the section of the bridge to west entrance of the MDU railways station. This portion of work would be completed by the end of March

"* Bullet train service between Madurai and Chennai."

is he expecting a 250kmph train or something?
:nuts:

"* Bullet train service between Madurai and Chennai."

is he expecting a 250kmph train or something?
:nuts:

Why not, considering the tremendous patronage for this section?. Chennai-Madurai-Nagercoil sector has been the biggest money spinner for SR even beating Chennai-BLR and Chennai-CBE-Kerala sections which have double tracks while Chennai-Madurai is only single line.

The doubling on Chennai-Madurai section is long due, and this could be used as an oppurtunity to lay new tracks capable of handling those train speeds. The railways is already contemplating to fence the railway lands along the tracks to prevent encroachments and this would serve double purpose while operation high speed trains.

But will the railways take up this project, when they cant even double the MDU-Dindigul section which is proceeding for more than 4 yrs?.

I guess they wish to drag the doubling project as much as they can, bcoz if the doubling is done, I am sure all towns are going to request for additional trains. SR is turning down all the requests now citing the single line and bottlenect btw MDU-Dindigul.

Why not, considering the tremendous patronage for this section?. Chennai-Madurai-Nagercoil sector has been the biggest money spinner for SR even beating Chennai-BLR and Chennai-CBE-Kerala sections which have double tracks while Chennai-Madurai is only single line.

The doubling on Chennai-Madurai section is long due, and this could be used as an oppurtunity to lay new tracks capable of handling those train speeds. The railways is already contemplating to fence the railway lands along the tracks to prevent encroachments and this would serve double purpose while operation high speed trains.

But will the railways take up this project, when they cant even double the MDU-Dindigul section which is proceeding for more than 4 yrs?.

in chennai-trichy-madurai - nagarkoil stretch, they can run 100 trains in a day and it will still the trains will run full.If only they double the tracks and let private operators ply on this route as SR will never be able to meet the demand in this route.

HSR on this stretch will be my dream come true.

People from trichy may commute to chennai to work :|

in chennai-trichy-madurai - nagarkoil stretch, they can run 100 trains in a day and it will still the trains will run full.If only they double the tracks and let private operators ply on this route as SR will never be able to meet the demand in this route.

HSR on this stretch will be my dream come true.

People from trichy may commute to chennai to work :|

for that to happen we have to reach the level of excellence the shinkansen network in japan has achieved......

Kingfisher Airlines has sought permission from AAI to operate flights on the chennai - Madurai sector.
It has actually applied for operating on chennai-madurai and chennai-trichi sectors.
AAI has given permission to operate on chennai - tiruchi.. there is no info abt status on chennai-madurai..

Source: Dinamalar..

Tier-two cities in Tamil Nadu are fast emerging as new IT destinations, with a number of projects aimed at attracting IT investment nearing completion in cities like Madurai, Coimbatore and Trichy.

Initiatives have already been taken up to set up an information technology park in Coimbatore on the lines of Chennai's Tidal Park. Similarly, the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu is setting up two IT parks in Madurai and Trichy, which are expected to get the status of special economic zones.

.................(edited)................................

Meanwhile, Elcot has also completed the acquisition of land in Madurai to set up another IT park. Sources said that the state government had already transferred 8.81 hectares of land in Ilandhaikulam near Pondikudi and 16.02 hectares at Kinnimangalam near the Madurai Kamaraj University, to the corporation.

Elcot sources said that a plug-and-play facility, similar to the one at the Tidal Park, would also be created in the proposed IT Park at Madurai, the construction of which will begin soon. They claimed that 50 per cent of the booking for space in the park was already over.

http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2007/feb/08it.htm

Why not, considering the tremendous patronage for this section?. Chennai-Madurai-Nagercoil sector has been the biggest money spinner for SR even beating Chennai-BLR and Chennai-CBE-Kerala sections which have double tracks while Chennai-Madurai is only single line.

The doubling on Chennai-Madurai section is long due, and this could be used as an oppurtunity to lay new tracks capable of handling those train speeds. The railways is already contemplating to fence the railway lands along the tracks to prevent encroachments and this would serve double purpose while operation high speed trains.

But will the railways take up this project, when they cant even double the MDU-Dindigul section which is proceeding for more than 4 yrs?.

Kodaikanal road - Dindigul BG conversion will list in the current railway budget
and Ground works started for construction of new "Vaigai" Bridge for BG line.

Tier-two cities in Tamil Nadu are fast emerging as new IT destinations, with a number of projects aimed at attracting IT investment nearing completion in cities like Madurai, Coimbatore and Trichy.

Initiatives have already been taken up to set up an information technology park in Coimbatore on the lines of Chennai's Tidal Park. Similarly, the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu is setting up two IT parks in Madurai and Trichy, which are expected to get the status of special economic zones.

.................(edited)................................

Meanwhile, Elcot has also completed the acquisition of land in Madurai to set up another IT park. Sources said that the state government had already transferred 8.81 hectares of land in Ilandhaikulam near Pondikudi and 16.02 hectares at Kinnimangalam near the Madurai Kamaraj University, to the corporation.

Elcot sources said that a plug-and-play facility, similar to the one at the Tidal Park, would also be created in the proposed IT Park at Madurai, the construction of which will begin soon. They claimed that 50 per cent of the booking for space in the park was already over.

http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2007/feb/08it.htm


Thank you for the info! But i had a faded memory that around 200 acres were alloted by Kamaraj university. Is that not the case?

As part of the MDU-Dindigul double railway line works, construction of a new bridge across the vaigai river in MDU has commenced.


http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/9545/0702bala012020bwqm3.jpg

MADURAI: The resurrection of Uranganpatti industrial estate is a sign of industrial development gaining momentum in the district, said the District Collector, T. Udhayachandran, here on Thursday.

Inaugurating the 23rd All India Ideal Home Exhibition, organised by the Madurai District Tiny and Small Scale Industries Association (MADITSSIA), on the Tamukkam grounds, the Collector said that with the tidal park set to come up in the city soon, the day was not far off when the perceived stagnation in the process of development would be obviated. He said that efforts were under way to identify a permanent site for holding trade fair, as in Coimbatore. The proposal to have it constructed under public-private partnership should help hasten the process, he added.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/09/stories/2007020924610300.htm


I beleive that the site for trade fair in the collectors speech means the ELCOT convention centre. So they havent identified a site yet?.

The tendering process for this 60 crore central market complex is expected to be in the month of April. The corporation has allocated 15 acres of land in Maatuthavani for this purpose. The project would be implemented under the JNNURM. The market complex will have 1100 shops with all amenities. The plan and project report has been sent to state government for approval. It is expected that the construction would start in the month of May.

Corporation has also allotted 10 acre land adjacent to the market complex to develop a modern park called 'My India' at an estimated cost of 10 crore Rs.

The site where the central market will comeup. You can also view the central paddy, flower and fertilizers market in the distance. Good effort by the corporation to decongest the city.


http://img305.imageshack.us/img305/6831/untitledtu5.png

Source : Dinamalar

Survey for new broad gauge line connecting Dindigul and Lower Camp

The Railways will conduct an updating survey for laying a new broad gauge line connecting Dindigul and Lower Camp near Goodalur through Batlagundu, Theni, Chinnamanur and Cumbum. It would also conduct a survey for converting existing metre gauge line between Madurai and Bodinaickanur and laying new broad gauge line up to Lower Camp through Chinnamanur and Cumbum, R. Velu, Minister of State for Railways, has said.

Talking to reporters after inspecting the Bodi railway station here on Saturday, Mr. Velu said a survey to lay railway line between Dindigul and Sabarimala at a cost of Rs.529 crore was already held in 1997.

As there was a slim possibility of laying track on hilly terrain, the department would conduct an updated survey to lay a new track up to Lower Camp.

Electrification of Tiruchi-Madurai, doubling work between Villupuram and Tuticorin

Mr. Velu said doubling work between Villupuram and Tuticorin was under review. Survey for electrification of Tiruchi-Madurai would be taken up shortly, he said adding that the Pamban Bridge would be opened for traffic before March 31.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/11/stories/2007021104010400.htm

Anna University - Madurai, announcement likely during the TN budget

TN government is seriously planning to make this announcement during the budget session.

http://epaper.dinamalar.com/Web/Madurai/Article/2007/02/11/101/11_02_2007_101_004.jpg

Funds for doubling Dindigul-Madurai section during next fiscal, says Velu
DINDIGUL: Funds for doubling the Rs.80-crore Dindigul-Madurai section would be sanctioned during the next financial year, said R. Velu, Union Minister of State for Railways.

Budget hotels

Talking to mediapersons here on Sunday, he said that budget hotels would be constructed in Chennai, Madurai, Rameswaram, Coimbatore and Thiruvananthapuram. Land had been identified for the purpose in Madurai, he said.

Dindigul station development works

The annual revenue of Dindigul station was Rs.8 crore. Development works worth Rs.1.40 crore had been completed. Laying of concrete apron on first platform was over. Construction of new building to house parcel and reservation offices was under way.

Additional automatic platform ticket vending machine, passenger operating enquiry terminal and electronic coach indication system were installed.

Interactive voice response system (IVRS) would function from April 1. Work to enhance facilities at a cost of Rs.3 crore was under progress.

A sum of Rs.2.6 crore would be allotted next year to extend the foot over-bridge from second platform to the circulating area, Mr. Velu said.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/12/stories/2007021219020100.htm

The tendering process for this 60 crore central market complex is expected to be in the month of April. The corporation has allocated 15 acres of land in Maatuthavani for this purpose. The project would be implemented under the JNNURM. The market complex will have 1100 shops with all amenities. The plan and project report has been sent to state government for approval. It is expected that the construction would start in the month of May.

Corporation has also allotted 10 acre land adjacent to the market complex to develop a modern park called 'My India' at an estimated cost of 10 crore Rs.

The site where the central market will comeup. You can also view the central paddy, flower and fertilizers market in the distance. Good effort by the corporation to decongest the city.
http://img305.imageshack.us/img305/6831/untitledtu5.png
Source : Dinamalar

Well, getting many markets, IT park, new highways, etc., this area is going to get congested even more. The traffic from the bus station and all the new developments in this particular spot is going to choke the area.

Well, getting many markets, IT park, new highways, etc., this area is going to get congested even more. The traffic from the bus station and all the new developments in this particular spot is going to choke the area.

I dont think so. The melur road between K.K nagar arch and Uthangudi(near MMHRC) is being 4 laned. This would help to cope with the traffic problem. In my view this would be the ideal spot for the central market and other developments as ring road is very near and lorries need not enter the city. There is also a plan to have a road behind the bus stand linking central market and paddy market directly to the ring road and lake view road.

IT park will be near sivagangai road near Pandi koil and hence it would be away from the hustle and bussle of Maatuthavani.

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/141/policepk6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

10 More police stations to be added to Madurai City Police limits (Total would be 26):
As there are lot of settlements coming up in the outskirts and also important establishments like Airport, High court bench, University are outside the city limits, they are planning to add 10 more police stations (othakadai, karupayurani, oomachikuram, avaniyapuram, naagamalai pudukottai, etc..) under the Madurai corporation police commissioner. According to the police commissioner, it wont be a problem in adding these police stations when they expand the Madurai corporation limits. The report on expansion of corporation limits has already been submitted to Govt. and they are expecting for the official announcement soon..(according to officials..)

Rainwater drainage canals and storage tanks to be developed at a cost of 165 crore Rs.

Central government has given its nod for carrying out this project under JNNURM. Wilbur Smith Associates had prepared the plan for this project. Work such as concreting would be carried on 13 canals and tanks. As part of this work 660 kms of rainwater drainage canals are to be laid within the city limits.

Source : Dinamani

I dont think so. The melur road between K.K nagar arch and Uthangudi(near MMHRC) is being 4 laned. This would help to cope with the traffic problem. In my view this would be the ideal spot for the central market and other developments as ring road is very near and lorries need not enter the city. There is also a plan to have a road behind the bus stand linking central market and paddy market directly to the ring road and lake view road.

IT park will be near sivagangai road near Pandi koil and hence it would be away from the hustle and bussle of Maatuthavani.

What i meant was that the land they have identified for new markets is in between the Mattuthavani bus station and high court, both busy spots. Here wont they ever think about the futuristic expansion plans into consideration? Either the bus stand or high court could use this land in the future! In the same direction there are many more unused lands which could be effectively used for setting up the market and its associated infrastructures.

What i meant was that the land they have identified for new markets is in between the Mattuthavani bus station and high court, both busy spots. Here wont they ever think about the futuristic expansion plans into consideration? Either the bus stand or high court could use this land in the future! In the same direction there are many more unused lands which could be effectively used for setting up the market and its associated infrastructures.

Hey the identified land is inbetween bus stand and central paddy and flowers market. High court is on the way to othakadai from bus stand and no way near here. Also bus stand has enough place for expansion on the other side and has already acquired land for future expansion.

As there are lot of settlements coming up in the outskirts and also important establishments like Airport, High court bench, University are outside the city limits, they are planning to add 10 more police stations (othakadai, karupayurani, oomachikulam, avaniyapuram, naagamalai pudukottai, etc..) under the Madurai corporation police commissioner. According to the police commissioner, it wont be a problem in adding these police stations when they expand the Madurai corporation limits. The report on expansion of corporation limits has already been submitted to Govt. and they are expecting for the official announcement soon..(according to officials..)

Most of the past developments and proposed ones are coming in the outskirts of the city. Its high time they expanded the city limits. By doing so they can improve the quality of life in those regions. Its good that they have already submitted a report to the govt in this regard.

The Residency Group of Hotels is eyeing tier II cities in the South for expansion and growth. The Group's Chief Executive Officer, Mr K.C. Tharyan, said that the Group would look at opportunities in the South and tier II towns such as Madurai in particular, because `South is more affordable than North or West.'

The Group plans to add another three hotels to its existing chain of five in a span of three years. "Our turnover has swelled from Rs 4 crore in the early 90s to over Rs 75 crore now," Mr Tharyan said.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/02/15/stories/2007021500372300.htm

Air Deccan introduces a morning service from Madurai to Chennai.

Chennai(6.40am) - Madurai(7.55am)
Madurai(8.10am) - Chennai(9.25)

www.dinamalar.com/2007feb15/general_dist10.asp

Kingfisher Airlines has sought permission from AAI to operate flights on the chennai - Madurai sector.
It has actually applied for operating on chennai-madurai and chennai-trichi sectors.
AAI has given permission to operate on chennai - tiruchi.. there is no info abt status on chennai-madurai..

Source: Dinamalar..

Kingfisher Airlines to operate from Madurai from this month end (likely)..
The trolleys and ladders have already arrived at madurai airport..
They are looking for office space in Airport

http://www.dinamalar.com/2007feb15/general_dist3.asp

Kingfisher airlines is going to introduce a 60 seater ATR series aicraft between MDU and Chennai from the end of february.

Air Deccan introduces a morning service from Madurai to Chennai.
Chennai(6.40am) - Madurai(7.55am)
Madurai(8.10am) - Chennai(9.25)

www.dinamalar.com/2007feb15/general_dist10.asp

I hope this one from air deccan would be a A 320 aircraft. They had earlier promised for MDU-Mumbai via Bangalore flight. I hope they will commense it also before the holiday season begins.

The addition of the above two services takes the no.of aircrafts departing MDU to 10.

None of the flight operators care about the logistics about the Chennai to Madurai (or Coimbatore or Trichy or Tuticorin or Pondhi) incoming transit travellors from international flight via Chennai. All the international flights arrive after 9 pm and most of them between 11 pm and 3 am, which means most of these people have to look for a transit hotel. The transit hotel is there in the airport but looks like a railway hotel, which ofcourse foreign or NRI would not be impressed. So have to pay like few hundred dollar equivalent for 5 to 8 hrs stay in a decent hotel.
If they operate flights at midnigt say 1 am or 3 am it will be very profitable and convenient in both ways.

None of the flight operators care about the logistics about the Chennai to Madurai (or Coimbatore or Trichy or Tuticorin or Pondhi) incoming transit travellors from international flight via Chennai. All the international flights arrive after 9 pm and most of them between 11 pm and 3 am, which means most of these people have to look for a transit hotel. The transit hotel is there in the airport but looks like a railway hotel, which ofcourse foreign or NRI would not be impressed. So have to pay like few hundred dollar equivalent for 5 to 8 hrs stay in a decent hotel.
If they operate flights at midnigt say 1 am or 3 am it will be very profitable and convenient in both ways.

Mr.Selvam,
You are right.. But is there any flights from chennai to other cities between 1 AM to 4 AM??? I dont think so....

I don't think domestic flight would start before 6am. In US, domestic flight starts after 5/6am and definetly not before that. And I think so is the case in India.

None of the flight operators care about the logistics about the Chennai to Madurai (or Coimbatore or Trichy or Tuticorin or Pondhi) incoming transit travellors from international flight via Chennai. All the international flights arrive after 9 pm and most of them between 11 pm and 3 am, which means most of these people have to look for a transit hotel. The transit hotel is there in the airport but looks like a railway hotel, which ofcourse foreign or NRI would not be impressed. So have to pay like few hundred dollar equivalent for 5 to 8 hrs stay in a decent hotel.
If they operate flights at midnigt say 1 am or 3 am it will be very profitable and convenient in both ways.

Mr.Selvam,
You are right.. But is there any flights from chennai to other cities between 1 AM to 4 AM??? I dont think so....

Well, with the start of several international airlines at Trichy International airport by end March onwards, perhaps, would solve the problem for this sector by then.

Well, with the start of several international airlines at Trichy International airport by end March onwards, perhaps, would solve the problem for this sector by then.

I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope MDU would get International airport status within this year. Already a few international airlines have evinced interest in operating out of MDU. It would be for the benifit of the people from south TN living in middle east and else where. They actually contribute to a sizeable amount of passengers at the Trichy airport.

It is already open!!!!

http://img144.imageshack.us/img144/9434/spencersmg1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Its a late reply to the above post.

Anyways, Was a Spencers' Daily (the erstwhile Food World) store not present already in Madurai before December 6?

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/12/09/stories/2006120901871100.htm

There are many Spencers' Daily stores in the cities of west TN (CBE, Erode and Salem) long before. Is this news about opening new stores at these locations?

Road project at a cost of 70 crore Rs.

In an attempt to ensure smooth driving for sugarcane farmers and vehicle users, the Government would broaden the road and provide black topping at a cost of Rs.70 crore for the road linking Thanichiyam with Melur and Tiruppuvanam, Mr. Moorthy said. Besides, Rs.20 lakh had been earmarked for road development works in Alanganallur and Vadipatti, he added.

combined water supply scheme for Madurai at a cost of Rs.148 crore

MADURAI : The State Government would implement a combined water supply scheme with the Cauvery river as source at a cost of Rs.148 crore to cater to the drinking water needs of those residing in rural areas in Madurai district, said P. Moorthy, Member of Legislative Assembly of Sholavandan constituency, here on Thursday.

The first phase of survey for the project had been completed and an estimate forwarded to the State Government, he said.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/16/stories/2007021621880300.htm

TN govt plans for a 100 crore mega agri terminal market in Madurai

The Tamil Nadu Government has proposed to set up three major agricultural terminal markets at Chennai, Madurai and Coimbatore each to be established on a 100-acre spread estimated at a cost of Rs 100 crore each.

Disclosing this at the eighth Agricultural Science Congress here on Thursday, the State Rural Industries Minister, Mr Pongalur N. Palanisamy, said creation of these markets would be part of the Rs 2,500-crore integrated agricultural improvement project being chalked out by the State. The proposal has been sent to the Centre for clearance.

The integrated agricultural improvement project may be implemented with the World Bank assistance, the Minister added.

Mr Palanisamy said the State has the potential to further expand the sericulture acreage and it has proposed to step up sericulture from the current 25,000 acres to one-lakh acres.

Under this, it has proposed to extend a subsidy of up to Rs one lakh per acre for the farmers taking up sericulture.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/02/16/stories/2007021603382100.htm

Kingfisher Airlines to operate from Madurai from this month end (likely)..
The trolleys and ladders have already arrived at madurai airport..
They are looking for office space in Airport



Just checked the Kingfisher airlines site. The Madurai-Chennai service would commence on March 12th. This would be an evening service.

Chennai(15:05) - Madurai(16:25)
Madurai(16:50) - Chennai(18:10)

Air Deccan introduces a morning service from Madurai to Chennai.

Chennai(6.40am) - Madurai(7.55am)
Madurai(8.10am) - Chennai(9.25)


The Air Deccan's second service to Chennai would commence on March 26th.

It is learnt that Paramount did not get the slot it wanted for the Madurai-Bangalore flight. But, this is expected soon. I made a query to them and got a response from them about it.

When would paramount introduce Madurai-BLR flight???. Expecting it and Air Deccan's MDU-Mumbai via BLR to start b4 the holiday season.

View of Sellur ROB construction


http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/5051/1702bala012020clrbb3.jpg

Delay in ROB works

more : http://www.dinakaran.co.in/epaperdinakaran/showxml.aspx?id=99817&code=18557

Just checked the Kingfisher airlines site. The Madurai-Chennai service would commence on March 12th. This would be an evening service.

Chennai(15:05) - Madurai(16:25)
Madurai(16:50) - Chennai(18:10)



The Air Deccan's second service to Chennai would commence on March 26th.



When would paramount introduce Madurai-BLR flight???. Expecting it and Air Deccan's MDU-Mumbai via BLR to start b4 the holiday season.

Hope paramount would introduce the BLR flight when they take the delivery of the next jet next month..

Nice to see Kingfisher entering into Madurai. Let us see how people patronise this, as the rates are on the higher end. I was actually hoping that Kingfisher would start on Bangalore-Madurai sector. But, Chennai-Madurai is a safer bet for them I guess.

Happy to see the additional Madurai-Chennai flight from Air Deccan. It shows that the demand is very much there. In all likelihood, this will be an ATR flight only.

I recently traveled from Bangalore to Madurai on Air Deccan. I was surprised to see an ATR 72 as I was expecting an ATR 42 as per the website. The bigger surprise was that the flight was full. Many of you might remember that Air Deccan previously had an ATR 42 in this sector and wasn't patronised well. I always had a feeling that with a better timings this sector could be utilised well. It has been proved now as the Bangalore-Madurai flight seems to be patronised well on all days.

I also noticed that the Paramount flight to Madurai via Chennai is being announced as Madurai flight in the Bangalore airport. It will be great if Paramount introduces the direct Bangalore-Madurai flight. With the reduced rates, it will be a big hit. They are only waiting for a slot in the Bangalore airport.

Hi friends

I had chance to travel in NH 7 right from Salem to Madurai. Let me share the 4 laning works in this sector.

Salem-Madurai 4 laning is awarded to contrator as 5 project

a. Salem Seelaickenpatti bye-pass to Nammakal Bye-pass
b. Nammakal bye-pass to Karur bye-pass
c. Karur bye-pass to Dindigul bye-pass
d. Dindigul bye-pass to Samayanallur


e. Madurai new bye-pass (ring road)

At Salem:

-No works started from Seelanaickenpatti Bye-pass to Rasipuram.

Rasipuram to Nammakal bye-pass

-At most of the places lands are cleared and levelling is under progress.

Nammakal to Karur:

-Here also at most of the stretches lands are cleared and levelling is under progress.
-No works for 2nd bridge of Cauvery.

Karur-DIndigul

-Works are in full swing.
-Most of the lands are cleared and levelled.
-Road laying started at some places.
-Dindigul bye-pass 4 laning is also under progress.

Dindigul-Samayannallur:

-Lands were cleared from Dindigul to Kodairoad
-Levelling of land from Dindigul to Kodai road is under progress.
-After Kodai road, i think NHAI is finiding difficult to get the land because of criss crossing and MG and BG rail tracks and it runs parallel to NH.

Then i travelled to Thirumangalam via Sholavandhan, so i couldn see the work progress in Kodai Road - Madurai present bye-pass 4 laning.

But i saw a very big 4 lane mud road crossing Sholavandhan-Thirumangalam SH near Thirumangalam town.

Thirumangalam-Madurai NH 7 4laning.

- Thirumangalam is getting a very good 4 laning bye-pass.
- Thirumangalam byw-pass works in full swing.
- Thirumangalam to Madurai ring road 4 laning is also in full swing. Lands are cleared and levelled.

Anyone from Madurai please clear this!

After crossing the Madurai ring road(after T.mangalam a road will be diverting for Chennai, Trichy and RMM), i can see 4 lane works of NH 7 taken very far away from present NH 7 which passes through Thiruparaungundram, Thirunagar and Palaganantham.

Do any one know where this new bye-pass joins towards Dindigul NH7?

Is this a new bye-pass for Madurai city? Presently old bye-pass road of Madurai on NH 7 got congested very much and there is no scope of expansion from Palgananthan signal to T.gundram!

If my guess is true, then after opening the new bye-pass traffic in Madurai city will be greately reduced and the buses coming from Coimbatore, Salem, Erode, Tiruppur, Bangalore towards South of Madurai need not touch Madurai city. Please confirm it.

Madurai is the 3rd corporation city to get 4 lane bye-pass after Chennai and Salem. Cities/Towns in NH 7 are enjoying the concept of 4 lane bye-pass. So far Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Omalur, Salem, Nammakal, Karur gor full fledged 4/6 lane bye-pass. DIndigul, Madurai and Thirumangalam will add up in that list shortly.

Its happy to see the progress in Salem-Madurai-T.mangalam 4 laning works. This work projected to complete during Dec 08.

Anyone from Madurai please clear this!

After crossing the Madurai ring road(after T.mangalam a road will be diverting for Chennai, Trichy and RMM), i can see 4 lane works of NH 7 taken very far away from present NH 7 which passes through Thiruparaungundram, Thirunagar and Palaganantham.

Do any one know where this new bye-pass joins towards Dindigul NH7?

Is this a new bye-pass for Madurai city? Presently old bye-pass road of Madurai on NH 7 got congested very much and there is no scope of expansion from Palgananthan signal to T.gundram!

If my guess is true, then after opening the new bye-pass traffic in Madurai city will be greately reduced and the buses coming from Coimbatore, Salem, Erode, Tiruppur, Bangalore towards South of Madurai need not touch Madurai city. Please confirm it.

Ya there would be a new by pass which starts at Kappalur and join the MDU-Dindigul NH7 at Samayanallur. This would eventually be part of the phase II of ring road.

Thanx Arul for the updates.

Nice to see Kingfisher entering into Madurai. Let us see how people patronise this, as the rates are on the higher end. I was actually hoping that Kingfisher would start on Bangalore-Madurai sector. But, Chennai-Madurai is a safer bet for them I guess.

Happy to see the additional Madurai-Chennai flight from Air Deccan. It shows that the demand is very much there. In all likelihood, this will be an ATR flight only.

I recently traveled from Bangalore to Madurai on Air Deccan. I was surprised to see an ATR 72 as I was expecting an ATR 42 as per the website. The bigger surprise was that the flight was full. Many of you might remember that Air Deccan previously had an ATR 42 in this sector and wasn't patronised well. I always had a feeling that with a better timings this sector could be utilised well. It has been proved now as the Bangalore-Madurai flight seems to be patronised well on all days.

I also noticed that the Paramount flight to Madurai via Chennai is being announced as Madurai flight in the Bangalore airport. It will be great if Paramount introduces the direct Bangalore-Madurai flight. With the reduced rates, it will be a big hit. They are only waiting for a slot in the Bangalore airport.

Thanx Madurai for the updates. Did you take pics of the airport and city during ur trip?. If so please share it with us.

Hi friends

..........
Dindigul-Samayannallur:

-Lands were cleared from Dindigul to Kodairoad
-Levelling of land from Dindigul to Kodai road is under progress.
-After Kodai road, i think NHAI is finiding difficult to get the land because of criss crossing and MG and BG rail tracks and it runs parallel to NH.

Then i travelled to Thirumangalam via Sholavandhan, so i couldn see the work progress in Kodai Road - Madurai present bye-pass 4 laning.

But i saw a very big 4 lane mud road crossing Sholavandhan-Thirumangalam SH near Thirumangalam town.

Anyone from Madurai please clear this!

After crossing the Madurai ring road(after T.mangalam a road will be diverting for Chennai, Trichy and RMM), i can see 4 lane works of NH 7 taken very far away from present NH 7 which passes through Thiruparaungundram, Thirunagar and Palaganantham.

Do any one know where this new bye-pass joins towards Dindigul NH7?

Is this a new bye-pass for Madurai city? Presently old bye-pass road of Madurai on NH 7 got congested very much and there is no scope of expansion from Palgananthan signal to T.gundram!

If my guess is true, then after opening the new bye-pass traffic in Madurai city will be greately reduced and the buses coming from Coimbatore, Salem, Erode, Tiruppur, Bangalore towards South of Madurai need not touch Madurai city. Please confirm it.

Madurai is the 3rd corporation city to get 4 lane bye-pass after Chennai and Salem. Cities/Towns in NH 7 are enjoying the concept of 4 lane bye-pass. So far Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Omalur, Salem, Nammakal, Karur gor full fledged 4/6 lane bye-pass. DIndigul, Madurai and Thirumangalam will add up in that list shortly.

Its happy to see the progress in Salem-Madurai-T.mangalam 4 laning works. This work projected to complete during Dec 08.

Dear Arul,
Thanks for the updates. Let me respond to some of your questions.

Madurai had a four lane by-pass long time ago. I am talking about the SS Colony bypass from Palanganatham to Kaalavaasal. But, the way encroachments were allowed and due to poor maintenance, it looked like a normal road. This bypass was built with World Bank Fund. This road has service roads on both sides too. It is still there but is not properly used. If you are talking about the new NHAI four laning work, that's correct. Madurai is getting that bypass only now.

When the new Tirumangalam-Thoppur-Samayanallur 4 laned bypass comes up, long distance vehicles can skip the city entirely. I heard that this 4 lane bypass is being converted to a 6 lane bypass. I am not sure about the validity of this news.

4 laned bypass starts from Tirumangalam near Maravankulam and goes through Thoppur and ends up in Samayanallur. There will be another mini stretch of four laned road from Kappalur to Thoppur for which levelling work is in good progress and another one from Kappalur to Tirumangalam. As you might be aware, Kappalur-Mattuthavani bypass will be four laned too.

With regards to the Samayanallur-Dindigul NH7 four laning, land has been identified as what I heard. But, so far no work has started as far as I know.

Also, no work seems to be happening on the Madurai-Tuticorin four lane road. I heard that the current NH going through the airport will be cut off and will be routed via a new four lane bypass which will meet the current NH well after the airport.

Thanx Madurai for the updates. Did you take pics of the airport and city during ur trip?. If so please share it with us.

I was eager to take some pictures and had my camera in hand. Unfortunately, Air Deccan kept on delaying the flight and eventually started 2 hours late. It landed at around 8:30 PM, thereby spoiling my plans to take some pictures that day. But, I took some pictures from outside on some other day. I will try to post those later.
Madurai airport looks neat but needs improvement in the terminal side to accomodate more passengers, especially with the addition of many flights and many more to come. I heard that the land acquisition for the runway extension is already progressing very well on the west side towards Tirumangalam.

Pawan Hans submits Feasibility report for helicopter service from Madurai

Official sources told Business Line that a team from Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd (PHHL) had visited several cities in Tamil Nadu including Madurai, Kodaikanal and Rameshwaram to study the feasibility of starting helicopter services.

"The feasibility report has been submitted to the State Government," officials said, and added that a team from PHHL would shortly be visiting Puducherry to undertake a similar exercise for starting helicopter services there also.

PHHL has indicated that it would be willing to provide a helicopter to the State government or any other agency on a long-term lease basis to start helicopter services in South India.

"The helicopter would be totally dedicated to the states and could be utilised for regular passenger services on the sectors desired. This is already being done in the other States such as Meghalaya and Tripura," senior Government official said.

Expansion

At Madurai, Tuticorin and Tiruchi proposals have been put forward to extend the runways so that larger aircraft are able to land. Sources indicated that request had been made to the state to provide more land for expansion of the runways.

The airports in south India are also seeing an increase in demand from airlines to operate more flights.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/02/18/stories/2007021804080300.htm

Southern Railway writes to Board to consider doubling of Chengalpattu-Tuticorin BG line

Southern Railway has written to the Railway Board, urging it to consider doubling of the Chengalpattu-Tuticorin broad gauge line and conversion of the Mayiladuthurai-Karaikudi section via Tiruvarur, in the railway budget.

While the Chengalpattu-Villupuram and the Dindigul-Madurai BG lines in the Chengalpattu-Tuticorin section has been cleared for doubling, the zone wants the Board to sanction the rest of the broad gauge track too, according to a top Southern Railway official.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/18/stories/2007021808400400.htm


Now that all associations and people representatives have pleaded for doubling Chengalpattu-Tuticorin via MDU BG line, now its the turn of the SR just few days before the Railways budget. Hope these pressure from all corner works miracle.

PTI[ SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2007 02:30:05 PM]


CHENNAI: Hong Kong-based multinational company QI on Sunday said it would invest upto $200 million in India in the next five years.

Among other projects, QI was interested in setting up a chain of five star and three star hotels at various heritage sites in South India, its managing director, Vijay Eswaran, told media.

As part of the plans, it has acquired 47 acres of land at Mamallapuram, famous for its shore temples, for setting up a star hotel. The work for the hotel project, which would have 275 rooms, would commence soon, he added.

His company was also in the process of acquiring an ayurvedic clinic in Kerala to convert it into an international ayurveda resort. QI has already started health resorts in a number of countries, he added.

It was also looking into the possibility of setting up hotels in tier II and tier III cities in South India like Madurai, Combatore, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangalore. Besides these, some towns in Andhra Pradesh were being considered for setting up business class hotels, he said.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Services/Hotels__Restaurants/Hong_Kong_co_plans_India_foray/articleshow/1634274.cms

Three-way process

According to the tourism secretary, tourism is a three way process. "It includes, captivating the tourist, making them stay for a longer time and getting them to spend more money. We have the first one taken care of, but what we are working on now is the second and the third where, when we provide proper infrastructural facilities, we will be able to tap the complete potential of the state," he adds. Tour operators benefit completely only when they are also able to book accommodation and source clients from the city of origin. Says Jayakrishnan, administrative and tour operating assistant with Chennai-based Elite Tours & Travels, says, "It is important for us to get hold of clients who are visiting these religious places right from Chennai. Madurai is yet another major hub. It doesn't make sense for us if they use public transportation or travel 'on their own' and then use our assistance only for hotel accommodation. Tourists are informed now and it is difficult to satisfy them completely. However, hill stations are usually a preferred choice over religious tourism." Nevertheless, the number of private vehicles on these circuits is on the rise because of the convenience they offer to travellers.

While most tourists are on the move when they are visiting these places, accommodation is mostly catered to by the unorganised sector. Senthil Nathan, general manager of Hotel Germanus Days Inn in Madurai, says, "Even though there are hotels that offer good quality service, most pilgrims choose basic and inexpensive lodging. Even international tourists, who spend more time here than domestic travellers, rent out hostels or the likes of YMCA. There is a need for more quality hotels in the city. Madurai serves as a junction for various pilgrim centres in Tamil Nadu but the infrastructure is inadequate and the quality of travel is still below average."

http://expresstravelworld.com/200702/management08.shtml

I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope MDU would get International airport status within this year. Already a few international airlines have evinced interest in operating out of MDU. It would be for the benifit of the people from south TN living in middle east and else where. They actually contribute to a sizeable amount of passengers at the Trichy airport.

I agree with you. The central government has been neglecting Madurai for a long time in giving the permission for airlines to fly on international routes from Madurai. This is despite all the surveys by CII and repeated pleas from trade and passenger associations, airline companies and politicians.

I too agree that there can't be flights from Chennai to Madurai in the middle of the night. It is better to have direct flights to Madurai wherever possible. To start with, flights to Singapore, Malaysia and Gulf countries can be tried out. I am sure that the private airlines will be interested to cash in on the crowd. The genius minds in Indian, Air India and Air India express will not be interested due to reasons well known to them. They need severe :bash:

Kodaikanal road - Dindigul BG conversion will list in the current railway budget
and Ground works started for construction of new "Vaigai" Bridge for BG line.

I could see lot of concrete slabs adjacent to the MG line between Kodai Road and Madurai. Also, I saw some minor bridge work near Samayanallur. But, this could be for the ROB for the four lane bypass, I am not sure. But, the concrete slabs were to be seen almost at regular intervals between Kodai Road and Koodal Nagar.

Anna University - Madurai, announcement likely during the TN budget

TN government is seriously planning to make this announcement during the budget session.

http://epaper.dinamalar.com/Web/Madurai/Article/2007/02/11/101/11_02_2007_101_004.jpg

This should be done without any further delay. I am looking forward to hear the official word soon.

MGR stadium, Madurai

The running race track work was completed before and now football ground work is going on.

Will this stadium be upgraded into a full fledged stadium?


http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/733/05022007111006001dg8.jpg

Good to see the improvements to this stadium? TNCA should build one cricket stadium at Madurai in the future. Some of the states have multiple stadiums that host ODIs and Tests. Sadly, TN has only one stadium in Chennai.

Good to see the improvements to this stadium? TNCA should build one cricket stadium at Madurai in the future. Some of the states have multiple stadiums that host ODIs and Tests. Sadly, TN has only one stadium in Chennai.

Madurai has lost the chance to Coimbatore. TNCA has identified CBE for constructing the stadium. Many years back it was said that TNCA was planning to construct a stadium in MDU. Im not sure if that was a rumour or not.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/19/stories/2007021904471800.htm

It will be great if Paramount introduces the direct Bangalore-Madurai flight. With the reduced rates, it will be a big hit. They are only waiting for a slot in the Bangalore airport.

Paramount to introduce 4th MDU-Chennai service from feb 26th. We were expecting them to introduce MDU-BLR service but they have gone with Chennai first. So this means the MDU-BLR service is still in the cards. I found this info from their website. The new service would be in the evening.

MDU (17:20) - Chennai (18:15)
Chennai (16:00) - MDU (16:55)

Paramount to introduce 4th MDU-Chennai service from feb 26th. We were expecting them to introduce MDU-BLR service but they have gone with Chennai first. So this means the MDU-BLR service is still in the cards. I found this info from their website. The new service would be in the evening.

MDU (17:20) - Chennai (18:15)
Chennai (16:00) - MDU (16:55)

This is good. This was expected for sometime as Paramount mentioned about this 4th Chennai-Madurai flight and the direct Bangalore-Madurai flights. Let us hope that the Bangalore-Madurai flight will follow suit.

Madurai has lost the chance to Coimbatore. TNCA has identified CBE for constructing the stadium. Many years back it was said that TNCA was planning to construct a stadium in MDU. Im not sure if that was a rumour or not.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/19/stories/2007021904471800.htm

Building a stadium in CBE is a good move. Let them build one in Madurai too. TN can definitely have 3 stadiums for Cricket.

Paramount to introduce 4th MDU-Chennai service from feb 26th. We were expecting them to introduce MDU-BLR service but they have gone with Chennai first. So this means the MDU-BLR service is still in the cards. I found this info from their website. The new service would be in the evening.

MDU (17:20) - Chennai (18:15)
Chennai (16:00) - MDU (16:55)

Wow.. with this, the total no. of services between Chn-Mdu would be 10 by april!!! I cant believe the rate at which this sector is increasing..

Building a stadium in CBE is a good move. Let them build one in Madurai too. TN can definitely have 3 stadiums for Cricket.

Ya i too beleive its a good move by the TNCA, at a time when many matches in Chennai have been abandoned due to rain.

It has taken so many years for TNCA to think for a second stadium. For this to become a reality it would take many more years. Im just wondering if at all they think for a 3rd stadium when will it be built.

Vilas Builders and Hygrevar's new project, an appartment at Kochadai

"KURUNTHOGAI"


http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/196/finalvaigaivilasxb0.jpg

Wow.. with this, the total no. of services between Chn-Mdu would be 10 by april!!! I cant believe the rate at which this sector is increasing..

Yeah, its been a nice thing for the past 2 years. Since Paramount has 4 flights to Madurai and if they have a couple of flights to Bangalore from Madurai, they could even opt for night parking at Madurai and have the first flight starting from Madurai and the last flight end up at Madurai in the night. That will be a good thing for Madurai also if it gets night parking facility. I will be happy Paramount requests for such a thing. No other airlines have sufficient flights currently or in the plans for Madurai right now.

All the other airports in the region reported a loss during the year under review. Mangalore reported the highest loss of Rs 11.14 crore followed by Tiruchi at Rs 4.57 crore and Madurai at Rs 4.54 crore.

Similarly, Vijayawada reported a loss of Rs 3.76 crore, Agatti (Rs -1.73 crore), Hubli (Rs -1.28 crore), Rajamundry (Rs -62.38 lakh), Tuticorin (Rs -31.69 lakh), Salem (Rs -25.08 lakh) and Vellore (Rs -6.88 lakh).

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/02/20/stories/2007022001641000.htm

When AAI has neglected the development of TN airports and MDU airport in particular, how can they expect good returns from them. The airport at Madurai has managed over the years with just 6000 feet runway, which had deterred many private players from operating A320 flights fearing load penalty. For this very reason they havent come forward to operate long distance domestic flights.

The runway expansion to 7500 feet has been going on for more than 3 yrs. The land necessary was handed over to AAI way back in mid 2003.

The government carrier hasnt come forward to operate flights except for the one service to Mumbai via Chennai, while it has shown favour to many other smaller airports.

Unless all these changes MDU airport will remain a loss making one.

When AAI has neglected the development of TN airports and MDU airport in particular, how can they expect good returns from them. The airport at Madurai has managed over the years with just 6000 feet runway, which had deterred many private players from operating A320 flights fearing load penalty. For this very reason they havent come forward to operate long distance domestic flights.

The runway expansion to 7500 feet has been going on for more than 3 yrs. The land necessary was handed over to AAI way back in mid 2003.

The government carrier hasnt come forward to operate flights except for the one service to Mumbai via Chennai, while it has shown favour to many other smaller airports.

Unless all these changes MDU airport will remain a loss making one.

This statistics is for 2005-06 and not 06-07..there were only 4 flights... Only in 06-07 paramount introduced flights and the number of flights doubled to 8. the revenue for airport would mostly come from the companies operating the flights. I believe, the figures will improve for 06-07.. and even it does not go into profit zone..the loss will be minimal...

When AAI has neglected the development of TN airports and MDU airport in particular, how can they expect good returns from them. The airport at Madurai has managed over the years with just 6000 feet runway, which had deterred many private players from operating A320 flights fearing load penalty. For this very reason they havent come forward to operate long distance domestic flights.

The runway expansion to 7500 feet has been going on for more than 3 yrs. The land necessary was handed over to AAI way back in mid 2003.

The government carrier hasnt come forward to operate flights except for the one service to Mumbai via Chennai, while it has shown favour to many other smaller airports.

Unless all these changes MDU airport will remain a loss making one.

This statistics is for 2005-06 and not 06-07..there were only 4 flights... Only in 06-07 paramount introduced flights and the number of flights doubled to 8. the revenue for airport would mostly come from the companies operating the flights. I believe, the figures will improve for 06-07.. and even it does not go into profit zone..the loss will be minimal...

I totally agree with the highlighted quotes. The government carrier is happy to introduce flights to/from Trichy, Mangalore, Coimbatore etc., But, they have neglected Madurai and are neglecting even now. It is not even a customs airport. Even though private foreign airlines show interest, the governments sleep over such demands.
I also feel that the losses will be less with more flights. Is this loss, taking the modernisation into account? Nevertheless, with more flights having come already in the past 1 year and some more to come, it should improve.
The current runway expansion needs to be completed. The terminal needs to be improved. AAI should stop cheating people in the name of airport runway expansion for such a long period.

^^ Ya its true the 06-07 figure would look lot better. There has been many talks about getting international status but i dont think anything is happening on the ground.

Its sad that due to petty politics by the ruling government Madurai collector has been trasfered to Erode. He was the former MD of ELCOT and was instrumental in bringing various development activities in Madurai. He played important role in identifying and speedy transfer of land to ELCOT and AAI for IT parks and airport expansion respectively. He was also responsible for removing the delay in setting up the passport office in MDU. He promised to bring about an IT revolution in MDU. Before he could fulfill his promises and carry out various development activities he has been transfered. :bash:

http://epaper.dinamalar.com/Web/Madurai/Article/2007/02/21/014/21_02_2007_014_009.jpg

^^ Ya its true the 06-07 figure would look lot better. There has been many talks about getting international status but i dont think anything is happening on the ground.

Its sad that due to petty politics by the ruling government Madurai collector has been trasfered to Erode. He was the former MD of ELCOT and was instrumental in bringing various development activities in Madurai. He played important role in identifying and speedy transfer of land to ELCOT and AAI for IT parks and airport expansion respectively. He was also responsible for removing the delay in setting up the passport office in MDU. He promised to bring about an IT revolution in MDU. Before he could fulfill his promises and carry out various development activities he has been transfered. :bash:

http://epaper.dinamalar.com/Web/Madurai/Article/2007/02/21/014/21_02_2007_014_009.jpg

Very much true.. he was in the news daily for something or the other.. He brought the book fair to madurai..which attracted 5 lakh visitors.. but to my suprise, there is no there news article about this transfer.. and according to dinamalar already there are some protests againts transfer.. there has been cases where they have reconsider such transfer and revoked such orders.. lets hope for the best.. and at least. lets hope the New collector is also as good as Mr.Udhayachandran..

http://www.dinamalar.com/2007feb21/general_tn12.asp

Place has been identified for Passport offices at Madurai and Coimbatore which would reduce the burden of Chennai and Trichy Passport offices.

Paramount Airways' service between Chennai and Madurai from Monday

Staff Reporter


HONOUR: M. Thiagarajan, Managing Director, Paramount Airways, right, receiving an award from Jose. E. Preito, President and Chief Executive Officer of Business Initiative Directions, at Frankfurt.


MADURAI: Paramount Airways will operate its fourth flight service between Chennai and Madurai from February 26.

Talking to presspersons here on Wednesday, its Managing Director, M. Thiagarajan, said the additional flight service was introduced to cater to the growing requirements of international passengers. Many of the passengers had to take the afternoon flights to Chennai to make their onward international journey from Chennai. "With the introduction of the new service, passengers could save half a day," he said.

The flight would depart from Chennai at 4 p.m. and arrive Madurai at 4.55 p.m. In the return direction, it will leave Madurai at 5.20 p.m. and reach Chennai 6.15 p.m.

Paramount Airways has received the prestigious Arch of Europe award for innovation and technology. Mr. Thiagarajan received the award from Jose. E. Preito, President and Chief Executive Officer of Business Initiative Directions at Frankfurt on February 19.

The recognition is based on the criteria of the QC 100 quality model, implemented in over 100 countries. Mr. Thiagarajan also announced two new frequent flier schemes. The business class passenger could get a free upgrade to first class on the purchase of fifth business class ticket. Besides, passengers could get a free first class ticket on producing five first class boarding passes. Paramount would strengthen its fleet by another 15 aircrafts in a year, he added.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/22/stories/2007022219830200.htm

Special Correspondent

Only products of village industries would be used in its construction, which would conform to Indian cultural tradition.

MADURAI: Efforts have been initiated to provide a new look to the Gandhi Museum here. They include construction of new structures and aesthetic improvements to existing ones.

Addressing reporters here on Wednesday, the Chairman of the museum, `Pollachi' N. Mahalingam, said that a `jothi mandapam' would come up for people to offer prayers at the Gandhi memorial.

Only products of village industries would be used in its construction, which would conform to Indian cultural tradition.

Expert advice would be taken, especially from the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage.

The `Gandhi Kudil' and `Kumarappa Kudil' would also be spruced up.

Mr. Mahalingam said that it had been proposed to float an organisation, `Friends of Gandhi Museum'.

The Secretary, K. Lakshmikanthan Bharathi, said that efforts would be made to encourage use of khadi and indigenous products among the younger generation. M. Mariappan, has been entrusted with the task of redrafting the society's rules (governing the museum) to provide for inclusion of donors, said the Madurai museum would join with other Gandhian organisations in the centenary celebrations of `Hind Swaraj.'

http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/22/stories/2007022222010300.htm

HCL is looking at setting up additional campuses in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Tier 2 cities.

According to Mr. Asija, "we are in discussions with the Tamil Nadu government for Tier 2 cities and are looking at a couple of options outside of Chennai.
http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/22/stories/2007022205071900.htm


Will HCL consider MDU for setting up its campus??.

With the recent announcements like the 500 crore educational campus near Tuticorin, i feel finally Shiv Nadar has turned his attention to the south TN and mainly to his native town(Thiruchendur) region.

When Honeywell has proved that it can operate and expand from MDU, im wondering why other IT companies havent followed suit.

At inception in 2002, Honeywell occupied an area of 600 sq.ft, before moving over to the Thiagarajar Advanced Research Centre the following year to occupy an area of 15,000 sq.ft.

In 2005, it expanded its operations to Thirunagar with additional working area of 14,000 sq.ft.

http://www.blonnet.com/ew/2006/09/11/stories/2006091100020100.htm

I didnt know that they had a campus in Thirunagar. So that means they had a working area of nearly 30,000 sq.ft by 2005.

Madurai , April 16, 2006

Honeywell Corporation has opened the Honeywell Technology Solutions Laboratory at the Thiagarajar College of Engineering (TCE) here. Declaring open the new facility , built at a cost of Rs 7 crore, the Senior Vice-President, Honeywell Corporation, Mr Larry Kittelberger, said the company envisages major expansion in the next five years.

http://www.blonnet.com/2006/04/17/stories/2006041701111500.htm

Any info on Size of working area(interms of square feet) of this campus.

`Abrupt transfer of Collector may derail development works'

S. Annamalai




MADURAI: The sudden and abrupt transfer of T. Udhayachandran, as Collector of Erode from Madurai, has led to fears that the development process, set in motion in the last eight months, will derail.

People from different walks of life, including the Madurai MP, P. Mohan, have urged the Government to reconsider its order.

Besides ensuring the election of Dalit presidents and councillors for the reserved Pappapatti, Keeripatti and Nattarmangalam panchayats, Mr. Udhayachandran also initiated steps to restore the ancient glory of the city as a seat of culture, by organising a mega book fair and cultural festivals.

He was instrumental in triggering industrial and economic growth by finalising the blueprint for several projects, including three information technology parks and an industrial park.

Mr. Mohan, who has made a formal appeal to the Chief Minister to reconsider the transfer, said that Mr. Udhayachandran worked for "multifaceted development" of Madurai.

He not only ensured "efficiency in execution" but also was against malpractices. The MP said that the Government should look at the precedents of cancelling transfer orders in public interest and restore Mr. Udhayachandran as Collector of Madurai.

The Chairman of Madurai region of Confederation of Indian Industry, Ligi George, described Mr. Udhayachandran as a "proactive official" who cleared all the bottlenecks in the allotment of land for IT parks and in the beautification of the environs of Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple. His efforts forced the country to look at Madurai as a preferred destination for industrial investment. The Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry president, S. Rethinavelu, said that Mr. Udhayachandran always had "innovative ideas" and meticulously followed up all proposals sent to the Government.

Residents, who preferred to be anonymous, felt that the abrupt transfer would send "wrong signals," especially when the southern districts were craving for development. An industrialist pointed out that the transfer did not look routine and would discourage dynamic officials from discharging their duty in a fair manner.

The impact of the transfer was seen on Wednesday when the presidents of the three reserved panchayats expressed their intention to quit, fearing threat to their lives.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/22/stories/2007022219840200.htm

Will HCL consider MDU for setting up its campus??.

With the recent announcements like the 500 crore educational campus near Tuticorin, i feel finally Shiv Nadar has turned his attention to the south TN and mainly to his native town(Thiruchendur) region.

When Honeywell has proved that it can operate and expand from MDU, im wondering why other IT companies havent followed suit.



I didnt know that they had a campus in Thirunagar. So that means they had a working area of nearly 30,000 sq.ft by 2005.



Any info on Size of working area(interms of square feet) of this campus.

The new Honeywell building must be roughly in the size of 20 cents considering only the building area. I think it has four floors. So, the total building area could be around 30000 sqft. I am not an expert in calculating this and I am just giving an idea about it. I recently went through this route and saw the building. It doesn't look very big but it looked nice from outside and much better and modern than it's old building.

Also, Motorola was supposed to have set up its shop there for TV Antenna related manufacturing. Nothing seems to have happened so far on this.

HCL can definitely look at Madurai. They are setting up one in Nagpur in a big way.

^^ I just googled and found the answer.

It was a day of expansion for Honeywell Technology Solution Lab (HTSL), the R&D wing of IT blue chip Honeywell International. The company decided to set up an R&D facility in Hyderabad at an investment of Rs 45 crore and a new facility on 40,000 sqft at its Madurai lab campus, as part of consolidating its training operations there.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1488234.cms

So that means they have a total working area of 70,000 sq.ft which could literally translate into 700 to 750 jobs. In 2006 they were employing 300 people and had a plan to increase to 500 the very next year.

^^

I think this 40000 Sqft is a replacement of the Thirunagar(Thanakankulam) building and not an additional building. Someone who knows more on this can clarify.

Glad to see more support pouring in for the dist. admin officer. Will the TN govt re-consider its order?...lets see if they are going to give importance to people's interest or CM's son?

Lanxess to set up new mfg facility at Moxi

Press Trust of India

Mumbai, February 21: Germany-based chemicals company Lanxess is planning to scale up its India business, including setting up a new facility in Gujarat for colouring plastics, as parts of its Asia expansion strategy.

The new facility, which is to come up at Moxi, is a step toward the expansion of its plastic capacity from 60,000 to 80,000 tonne per year, which can be further raised to 100,000 tonne if needed, Lanxess said in a statement here.



It, however, did not disclose how much the company would be investing in the new unit.

"For us, India is the most important growth market in Asia after China. We are working on the assumption that the country will take over from Japan and move into second place in terms of sales by 2010," Lanxess Management Board Chairman Axel C Heitmann said.

In the first nine months of 2006, India accounted for about 15 per cent of the company's sales in the Asia-Pacific region just two percentage points behind Japan, it said.

Lanxess had recently launched two projects to accelerate profitable growth in India. The company has also set up a plant in Madurai for the production of the polymer-bound rubber chemical Rhenogran. The plant became operational in January.

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=223572

Glad to see more support pouring in for the dist. admin officer. Will the TN govt re-consider its order?...lets see if they are going to give importance to people's interest or CM's son?

Well said. But, people's interest might end up being rejected. Definitely, its nice to see that the MP, TN Chamber of Commerce and others coming up to voice their support for him. Let us hope that he will come back soon.

Well said. But, people's interest might end up being rejected. Definitely, its nice to see that the MP, TN Chamber of Commerce and others coming up to voice their support for him. Let us hope that he will come back soon.

I think they will probably take back their order.....thanks to the Panchayat chiefs who met at Usilampatti this evening and issued a joint statement announcing their decision to resign if the Collector was not retained.

This could come as a big blow to the DMK government which had showcased its achievement of holding elections in -Pappapatti, Keeripatti and Nattamangalam-for the first time.

I think they will probably take back their order.....thanks to the Panchayat chiefs who met at Usilampatti this evening and issued a joint statement announcing their decision to resign if the Collector was not retained.

This could come as a big blow to the DMK government which had showcased its achievement of holding elections in -Pappapatti, Keeripatti and Nattamangalam-for the first time.

Weren't those panchayat chiefs virtually hijacked by the Sholavandan MLA and Madurai rural district Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam secretary P. Moorthi. I think they must have threatened these chiefs to withdraw from their earlier stand, which they finally did.

The presidents of Pappapatti, Keeripatti and Nattarmangalam reserved panchayats on Wednesday withdrew their threat to resign from their positions over the abrupt transfer of Madurai Collector T. Udhayachandran. After meeting Collector D. Karthikeyan who took charge this evening, they said officials had promised to execute the ongoing development works in the three panchayats

After the three men on Tuesday night threatened to quit, Sholavandan MLA and Madurai rural district Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam secretary P. Moorthi, sought to pacify them. He met all three at their respective villages on Wednesday morning.

He then brought them, along with the vice-presidents, to the Collector's bungalow in Madurai.

When reporters tried to interact with the presidents, a few DMK men wanted them to first meet the Collector. But the elected representatives spoke out. "Why was the Collector transferred?" asked V. Palanichamy, vice-president of Keeripatti panchayat. "He brought the administration of all these panchayats under control. Hence, we want this Collector."

http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/22/stories/2007022207060400.htm

oh! i did'nt knew that they withdrew their threat...lets see what unfolds in next few days..

The Hosur sub collector Dr.Anand Kumar has been promoted and been posted as Additional Collector to Madurai. He seems to be more proactive and seem to have done a good job in Hosur. Hope he along with Karthikeyan would continue the good work done by Mr.T.Udhayachandran..

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IET20070221105821&Page=T&Title=Southern+News+-+Tamil+Nadu&Topic=0

MADURAI: Paramount Airways, the country's only all business class airline, has chalked up plans to have a national footprint by end 2009, which will be done by acquiring 15 new aircraft in three years.

Speaking to TOI here, Paramount MD M Thiagarajan said the airline, which started operations a year ago, connects eight destinations through 50 flights daily.

"We are now a South Indian airline with a dominant market share. Our share (in the sectors that we operate) is 24% as against Jet with 21%, Indian 20% and Air Deccan 18%. Our plan is to saturate the southern market by this year and then replicate the model in the West, North and East, in that order."

Paramount is the lone carrier in the HVC (high value carrier) segment, while most airlines follow a LCC (low cost carrier) or full service carrier (FSC) model.

"We believe in pampering our passengers. This year we will connect Trichy, Mangalore and Calicut after which we will interconnect all the sectors that we currently operate in,"Thiagarajan said.

On Wednesday, the airline announced one more flight between Madurai and Chennai, taking the total number of daily flights between the two destinations to four.

The funding of the 15 new jets will be through internal accruals and debt. Paramount has opted for Embraer airplanes. "These jets are far better than what competition offers in terms of safety,"he said.

I hope we could expect more connections from Madurai from Paramount...

Kingfisher Airlines to operate from Madurai from this month end (likely)..
The trolleys and ladders have already arrived at madurai airport..
They are looking for office space in Airport

http://www.dinamalar.com/2007feb15/general_dist3.asp

I just checked their website and it looks like this flight plan is off as its not coming up when I searched for Madurai-Chennai. :ohno:

^^

I tried the schedule option and its showing up. :) Hoping to see some confirmation about this.

Madurai Feb. 22

Paramount Airways has added an additional flight between Madurai and Chennai, which is effective from February 26.

Introduced as an evening flight, it will leave Chennai at 16.00 hrs and reach Madurai at 16.55 hrs.

It will return from Madurai at 17.20 hrs and reach Chennai at 18.15 hrs.

New service


Announcing the new service at a press meet, the Managing Director, Mr M. Thiagarajan, said the additional connectivity has been introduced keeping in mind the growing requirements of international passengers, who can take the connecting international flights leaving from Chennai conveniently.

Promoting tourism


Also, the focus is to improve business development in tier II towns and promotion of tourism, he added.

He further said that the airline has received the `International Arch of Europe' award for innovation and technology in a function held at Frankfurt on February 19. The recognition is based on the criteria of QC100 quality model, implemented in over 100 countries.

Referring to the performance since the introduction of the airline, he said the network load factor has been around 85 per cent and year-on-year passenger growth has been phenomenally high at 30 per cent, and the group enjoyed a market share of 24 per cent.

More aircraft


In the next three years, 15 more aircraft will be added to secure a dominant presence and provide more connectivity.

There is a proposal to cover Tiruchi soon.

Direct connection to Bangalore and Mumbai from Madurai is also under consideration.

Expansion to western India will be done by the end of the year, he mentioned.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/02/23/stories/2007022301842100.htm

Direct connection to Bangalore and Mumbai from Madurai is also under consideration.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/02/23/stories/2007022301842100.htm

Direct connection to Bangalore can be expected soon but to Mumbai i guess it would take time. First Paramount has to expand to western India, which as stated by them would only be by the end of this year.

With no help whatsoever from the government for the development of Madurai over the years, we need more entrepreneurs from Madurai like Mr. M. Thiagarajan to overcome those setbacks.

^^

In Sun Tv News they showed some clippings about Paramount MD's speech while announcing this 4th flight. All the questions were about the Madurai-Bangalore direct connection. He was telling them that all the flights will have Bangalore connections. As I mentioned before, once they get the slot at Bangalore, they will introduce this. As you mentioned, Mumbai flight might take some more time. My guess is that Air Deccan's Mumbai-Bangalore-Madurai might take more time than this.

PTI[ FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2007 05:40:16 PM]

MUMBAI: Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines plans to launch more flights on new routes in its summer schedule, beginning March besides introducing services connecting Tier-II cities in the western and southern regions.
"We will increase the number of flights on our trunk routes like Mumbai-Delhi, Mumbai-Bangalore, and Mumbai-Kolkata from March this year in our new summer schedules," Kingfisher Airlines general manager (sales) Manoj Chacko told PTI.
The airline, which has a fleet of 25 aircraft, will also fly two daily flights connecting Delhi-Chennai, he added.
Currently, Kingfisher has seven Mumbai-Delhi flights daily, to which a couple of more would be added, while the Mumbai-Bangalore sector, which currently has five services daily, will be increased to six, he said.
The airline was also looking to start services from Mumbai to Baroda, Jamnagar, Bhuj, Indore and Nagpur.
It will also start services on the Bangalore-Lakshwadeep, Chennai-Madurai, Chennai-Trichy and Chennai-Coimbatore routes, thereby connecting all important cities around Chennai, said Chacko.
The summer schedule begins on March 26 and will continue till October.
The airline had already filed this new schedule with the Slot Committee for approval and expects to get it very soon, Chacko said.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Transportation/Airlines__Aviation/Kingfisher_to_fly_new_routes_add_more_flights/articleshow/1667610.cms

Paramount seeks extension of sales tax concession on ATF
Madurai | February 22, 2007 5:45:56 PM IST



Calling for a level-playing field for regional air-carriers, Paramount Airways Managing Director M Thiagarajan has appealed to Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram to extend them the four per cent sales tax concession on Air Turbine Fuel (ATF), being given to the Turbo craft.

Talking to newspersons, on the sidelines of the launch of Paramount's fourth regular flight on Madurai-Chennai sector here yesterday, he opined that the concession granted to turbo craft at a time when aircraft modernisation was yet to take place had turned out to be discriminatory.

There was no reason why new generation aircraft, like Paramount’s Embraer, entering the scene, be forced to pay higher price for ATF, he said, adding that the high ATF price spurred the air ticket fare as the ATF accounted for 40 per cent of the operational cost.

Emphasising the need to rationalise ATF price, he said there was no need to levy the notional import duty since the country was an exporter of the fuel.

The price, highest in the international market, could be brought down, he noted.

Apart from voicing their concern with Civil Aviation Minister, the Private air operators had recently met the Finance Minister ahead of the budget and placed the demand along with dispensing with the Aircraft Lease Tax.

He said Tamil Nadu unlike Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka had not come forward to provide sales tax discount on ATF which could help bring down air fare and to promote air traffic to smaller towns.

On company's expansion, Mr Thiagarajan said the company, which was operating 50 flights a day with five aircraft, would add 15 aircrafts to its fleet in the next three years.

Though the immediate target was to cover all airports in the south, it was planning to commence operations in the western sector by the end of this year.

Stating that the company was contemplating a Madurai-Bangalore and Madurai-Mumbai direct service, he said connecting Tiruchirapalli and other places was also on the cards.

To a question, he said Paramount was studying the prospects of introducing helicopter service in Madurai.

Paramount, with a market share of 70 to 80 per cent and a net load factor of 75 to 80 per cent, was running on profit in all the routes for the last six months, he claimed.

http://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/India/20070222/599248.html

Kudos to Mr.Thiagarajan (and his family) for making so many efforts....

^^

Stating that the company was contemplating a Madurai-Bangalore and Madurai-Mumbai direct service, he said connecting Tiruchirapalli and other places was also on the cards.

To a question, he said Paramount was studying the prospects of introducing helicopter service in Madurai.

Paramount, with a market share of 70 to 80 per cent and a net load factor of 75 to 80 per cent, was running on profit in all the routes for the last six months, he claimed.

--------------

Kudos to Mr.Thiagarajan and Paramount group in their plans to connect Madurai with other places. Hope they implement those plans faster. Having the Bangalore flight will be a good start.

To a question, he said Paramount was studying the prospects of introducing helicopter service in Madurai.

Kudos to Mr.Thiagarajan (and his family) for making so many efforts....

It would be nice when Paramount introduces Helicopter service. With that there would be 2 players, Paramount and Pawan Hans.

Any updates on the Pawan Hans helicopter service from Tamil new year?.

^^

In Sun Tv News they showed some clippings about Paramount MD's speech while announcing this 4th flight. All the questions were about the Madurai-Bangalore direct connection. He was telling them that all the flights will have Bangalore connections. As I mentioned before, once they get the slot at Bangalore, they will introduce this. As you mentioned, Mumbai flight might take some more time. My guess is that Air Deccan's Mumbai-Bangalore-Madurai might take more time than this.

Dear Madurai,
Could you please explain on what exactly this (the bolded portion) means..?? and which news (date & time in particular) was that.. regular sun tv news at 8??

^^
It was the regular Sun Tv news @ 8PM. It came on the 22nd night news. The questions were not audible, but he was responding to those by saying that currently the 3 Madurai-Chennai flights have connections to Bangalore and that the 4th flight will also have connections to Bangalore. I guess he was trying to avoid giving any commitment on the direct Bangalore-Madurai flight.

With the TN governments IT initiative in Tier II cities kick starting in Coimbatore, can we expect similar move in Madurai before the end of this year???.

MK had previously hinted that TIDEL parks in Madurai and Coimbatore will be established almost the same time. But that doesn't seem to be a possibility now. In coimbatore it had taken almost 1 year for the foundation stone to be laid from the date land was handed over to the ELCOT.

The land for the TIDEL and IT park was transferred to ELCOT last month. If things proceed the same way we would have foundation stone for TIDEL park by end of this year or early next year.

January 7th, 2007
The Collector, T. Udhayachandran, said that a private TIDEL park spread across 35,000 sq.ft. would be hopefully inaugurated by the middle of the year.
http://www.hindu.com/2007/01/08/stories/2007010821060300.htm

Which private player is building it?. 35,000 sq.ft isn't large enough to be called an IT park. I think it must be a building the size of the Honeywell building. Does anyone know who is building it and where is it coming up.?

`Eco park' for electroplating units at a cost of 30 crore Rs.

The `Eco park' to come up at T. Karisalkulam was expected to function in the next few months, Mr. Dhanasingh said. Small and tiny electroplating units, which were functioning at Jaihindpuram and K. Pudur, had been directed to shift their operations to T. Karisalkulam. The Rs. 30 crore-park would house 80 units, altogether generating wastes up to 330 kilolitres a day.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/25/stories/2007022512630100.htm

`Eco park' for electroplating units at a cost of 30 crore Rs.



http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/25/stories/2007022512630100.htm

This has taken a long time to materialize since the initial announcements. Hopefully it should start soon thereby reducing pollution inside the city from the units.

With the TN governments IT initiative in Tier II cities kick starting in Coimbatore, can we expect similar move in Madurai before the end of this year???.

MK had previously hinted that TIDEL parks in Madurai and Coimbatore will be established almost the same time. But that doesn't seem to be a possibility now. In coimbatore it had taken almost 1 year for the foundation stone to be laid from the date land was handed over to the ELCOT.

The land for the TIDEL and IT park was transferred to ELCOT last month. If things proceed the same way we would have foundation stone for TIDEL park by end of this year or early next year.



Which private player is building it?. 35,000 sq.ft isn't large enough to be called an IT park. I think it must be a building the size of the Honeywell building. Does anyone know who is building it and where is it coming up.?

Yeah, that looks like a small area. But, there were reports earlier saying that the parks will start in temporary location till the actual parks come up. Though its a small area, it will be a good start if they actually do it and some big companies start their shops with 100 people each.

With the TN governments IT initiative in Tier II cities kick starting in Coimbatore, can we expect similar move in Madurai before the end of this year???.

MK had previously hinted that TIDEL parks in Madurai and Coimbatore will be established almost the same time. But that doesn't seem to be a possibility now. In coimbatore it had taken almost 1 year for the foundation stone to be laid from the date land was handed over to the ELCOT.

The land for the TIDEL and IT park was transferred to ELCOT last month. If things proceed the same way we would have foundation stone for TIDEL park by end of this year or early next year.



Which private player is building it?. 35,000 sq.ft isn't large enough to be called an IT park. I think it must be a building the size of the Honeywell building. Does anyone know who is building it and where is it coming up.?

I dont think you could expect further delay in Madurai Tidel Park... The air is really thick for establishing it pretty soon.. there were various reasons which delayed coimbatore park..(in fact it was announced 3 yrs ago!!).. Now things are happening pretty fast and hope the work would start well within this year..

Chennai based Ceedeeyes, a housing and financing company, is planning to promote an IT Park in Madurai.

I donno if this news came in the press.

Chennai based Ceedeeyes, a housing and financing company, is planning to promote an IT Park in Madurai.

I donno if this news came in the press.

Wow... Where did you get this information from??.. It wud be great if you could post the link....

Wow... Where did you get this information from??..

From ELCOT MD's appointment details given in the elcot's website

^^
I just found this info from the appointment details of ELCOT MD. On the 20th November Mr.C.Devadasa Sundaram, Chairman & Managing Director of CeeDeeYes had met the ELCOT MD for promoting an IT park in Madurai.

I am surprised that this news wasn't published in any print media. I tried the website of CeeDeeYes but its down.

MADURAI: Pollution levels in the city are very much within specified norms of Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board . They are being monitored round-the-clock and the levels are not alarming, according to J. Dhanasingh, Joint Chief Environment Engineer.

Air pollution in Madurai was very low as there were only a few industries operating and they have all conformed to the stipulated pollution norms. Industries were classified into three categories and periodical checks conducted to ensure compliance. Pollution levels were recorded at three monitoring stations — Kochadai, near Central Market and Alagarkoil Road — covering residential, commercial and industrial areas.

The levels of sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, suspended particulate matter and `respirable particulate matter' were also recorded. Samples from the readings were being taken every eight hours, twice a week from each station. Readings were also being taken during occasions such as `Bhogi.'

The sound levels were also monitored to see if they fall under `ambient air quality standards.'

Madurai was one among five places in Tamil Nadu to possess National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations.

The `Eco park' to come up at T. Karisalkulam was expected to function in the next few months, Mr. Dhanasingh said. Small and tiny electroplating units, which were functioning at Jaihindpuram and K. Pudur, had been directed to shift their operations to T. Karisalkulam. The Rs. 30 crore-park would house 80 units, altogether generating wastes up to 330 kilolitres a day.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/25/stories/2007022512630100.htm

^^

Stating that the company was contemplating a Madurai-Bangalore and Madurai-Mumbai direct service, he said connecting Tiruchirapalli and other places was also on the cards.

To a question, he said Paramount was studying the prospects of introducing helicopter service in Madurai.

Paramount, with a market share of 70 to 80 per cent and a net load factor of 75 to 80 per cent, was running on profit in all the routes for the last six months, he claimed.

--------------

Kudos to Mr.Thiagarajan and Paramount group in their plans to connect Madurai with other places. Hope they implement those plans faster. Having the Bangalore flight will be a good start.



Madurai Airport terminal needs vast improvement in a quick time. There are many flights than the 2 or 3 we had some time ago. Even if one flight is delayed, there would be commotion in the airport or people have to wait outside the building.

More importantly, they shouldn't be building the terminal like the one they have currently. They should be building it with the modern looks aligning with the standards of any new airports. Also, they should build it to handle atleast 500 departing passengers. There were reports about the plans for installing two aerobridges. What happened to those? Anyone has any updates on this?

^^
Under the non metro airports development plan we could see some dovelopments in Madurai airport, both air-side and city-side. Since Madurai airport has been placed in phase I of the expansion plan we could hopefully see developments in the near future.

The following link shows the list of airports to be covered in the phase I and II and much more.

http://www.hindu.com/2006/02/25/stories/2006022504930500.htm

The present terminal building is too small and i guess is capable of handling only 50 passengers at one time. With the passenger traffic already touching 1000 per day, i feel it would be right to develop a terminal capable of handling 500 passengers at any point of time taking future into account. Already Pawan Hans is to operate helicopter service and if paramounts plan for copter service also materialise then we could see more tourists traffic at the airport.

Have they finished the runway expansion work?. When will the work on expanding to 9000 ft commence?. I think the authorities must have already handed over the 441 acres needed for expansion to AAI. I hope this time around AAI does not delay as it had previously. Will they establish customs at the airport atleast this year, which could give way for international flights from Madurai. I have serious doubts on why AAI is delaying international or atleast customs airport status.

Moving on to the approach road to the airport, i think they should think about expanding the road if possible to a 4 lane road. Also it would be better if they plan for a new link road to ring road directly.

Samayanallur-Thirumangalam-Virudhunagar 4 laning update

On this 48 km stretch most of the road work between Thirumangalam and Virudhunagar has been completed. Bridge work on the Thirumangalam by-pass is fast progressing. There will be 7 bridges in the 6km long Thirumangalam by-pass. The contractors have said that the once the bridge works get completed then this stretch would be thrown open for traffic. The bridge works are expected to be over in 2 months time.

http://epaper.dinamalar.com/Web/Madurai/Article/2007/02/26/104/26_02_2007_104_025.jpg

Bridge work on the Rajapalayam road in Thirumangalam

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/1379/26022007104027001xt9.jpg

^^
Under the non metro airports development plan we could see some dovelopments in Madurai airport, both air-side and city-side. Since Madurai airport has been placed in phase I of the expansion plan we could hopefully see developments in the near future.

The following link shows the list of airports to be covered in the phase I and II and much more.

http://www.hindu.com/2006/02/25/stories/2006022504930500.htm

The present terminal building is too small and i guess is capable of handling only 50 passengers at one time. With the passenger traffic already touching 1000 per day, i feel it would be right to develop a terminal capable of handling 500 passengers at any point of time taking future into account. Already Pawan Hans is to operate helicopter service and if paramounts plan for copter service also materialise then we could see more tourists traffic at the airport.

Have they finished the runway expansion work?. When will the work on expanding to 9000 ft commence?. I think the authorities must have already handed over the 441 acres needed for expansion to AAI. I hope this time around AAI does not delay as it had previously. Will they establish customs at the airport atleast this year, which could give way for international flights from Madurai. I have serious doubts on why AAI is delaying international or atleast customs airport status.

Moving on to the approach road to the airport, i think they should think about expanding the road if possible to a 4 lane road. Also it would be better if they plan for a new link road to ring road directly.

I heard that lot of land was acquired on the Tirumangalam side of the airport, which I assumed, is for the 9000 ft runway expansion. I am not sure how reliable this news is. But, by looking at the way the surroundings are, there is no issue for expansion on that side and they should act fast on the acquisition.

A 500 people terminal is the need of the hour. Even the aerobridges are secondary. So far, nothing much seems to have happened on the city side developments while keeping the public in dark about the actual status of the runway expansion's latest status.

Railway Electrification

44. The electrified network will be extended over the Golden Quadrilateral and its diagonals, and in all directions from Kashmir to Kanniya Kumari and Guwahati to Amritsar by the end of the 11th Five Year Plan. Electrification of Thiruvananthapuram-Kanniya Kumari, Thrichur-Guruvayur, Tiruchirapalli-Madurai, Barabanki-Gorakhpur-Barauni-Katihar-Guwahati and Jallandhar to Baramullah sections will be completed during the 11th Five Year Plan. In the first phase, electrification of Jalandhar -Jammu, Barabanki-Gorakhpur-Barauni and Tiruchirapalli-Madurai sections are proposed to be taken up in 2007-08. Similarly, doubling and electrification of Pune-Wadi-Guntkal and electrification of Daitari-Banspani, Haridaspur-Paradeep new lines will be undertaken by Indian Railways’ Public Enterprise RVNL in the coming years.

Gauge Conversion

During 2007-08, a target of completion of about 1,800 km of following gauge conversion works has been fixed:

15. Karaikkudi-Manamadurai

http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/

New train which can benefit Madurai

1. Coimbatore-Nagercoil Express via Madurai (Daily)
2. Bhubaneswar-Rameswaram Express (Weekly)
3. Chennai Egmore-Rameswaram Express (6 Days in a week)

Im not sure if they will really benefit, cos none starts from Madurai. Any way new broadgauge connectivity to Rameshwaram and better connectivity to CBE might benefit.

http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/

Surveys for new lines :

On the demand of the Hon’ble Members the following survey works are proposed to be taken up:

1. Madurai-Karaikkudi
2. Dindigul-Kumuli via Bodinayakkanur

http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/

I didn't find anything regarding MDU-Dindigul doubling in the Railway Minister's speech. But from other sources came to know that 62 crore Rs. have been allocated for the MDU-Dindigul doubling and 60 crore Rs for Karaikudi-Manamadurai gauge conversion. Waiting for news in print media to confirm this.

No news on doubling between Chengalpattu-Trichy-Dindigul and MDU-Tuticorin.

It would be nice if this stretch is ready before mid 2009. T.R Baalu is very much keen to finish the sethu samudhram project before the parliament elections in mid 2008, inorder to prove DMK's acheivement.

Madurai needs to capitalise on the Tuticorin port once the sethu project is completed. I think this stretch between MDU and Tuticorin would be the road to look out for in the near future. This 125 odd kms of 4 lane, bypassing all towns would cut down drastically the travelling time to less than 2 hrs.

With land becoming a scarcity in and around Chennai for port based manufacturing and other industries this stretch could be an alternative. TN government should take efforts to convince the companies to setup their units here. This could be a win-win situation for both Madurai and Tuticorin.

When this works out they can also think about the Tuticorin-Tirunelveli stretch of 50 kms. This stretch is also at present being 4 laned.

As the Information Technology (IT) sector gets ready for take-off in Tier II cities of the State, the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT) has decided to go in for social infrastructure in the proposed IT parks.

The parks will have housing, school and shopping facilities and a hospital too, if possible, says C. Umashankar, Managing Director of ELCOT.

The Corporation has acquired 195 acres in Hosur, 236 acres in Madurai, 235 acres in Tiruchi and 165 acres in Salem for IT parks. A minimum of about 200 acres is needed to have the social infrastructure along with the business facilities of the IT companies.

"In case a park gets the Special Economic Zone status, then the infrastructure can come up in the non-processing zone or on a contiguous site," he says.

A market survey on the demand for space by IT companies in Tiruchi and Hosur was done a year ago and this will be updated. "We are creating a layout diagram for all the places to accommodate the social infrastructure," adds Mr. Umashankar. Though it is proposed to standardise the design, the facilities are site-dependent.

On the demand for space by IT and IT Enabled Services (ITES) companies, he says apart from Coimbatore, the demand gained momentum during the last seven to eight months for Madurai and Tiruchi. "Hosur has an inherent demand," he adds.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/27/stories/2007022706780500.htm

I didn't find anything regarding MDU-Dindigul doubling in the Railway Minister's speech. But from other sources came to know that 62 crore Rs. have been allocated for the MDU-Dindigul doubling and 60 crore Rs for Karaikudi-Manamadurai gauge conversion. Waiting for news in print media to confirm this.

No news on doubling between Chengalpattu-Trichy-Dindigul and MDU-Tuticorin.

Madurai-Dindigul got Rs.70 crores and this completes the required funds for the completion of this project. Hopefully they should close the MG line soon for the GC.

http://www.dinamalar.com/2007feb27/general_ind1.asp

New train which can benefit Madurai

1. Coimbatore-Nagercoil Express via Madurai (Daily)
2. Bhubaneswar-Rameswaram Express (Weekly)
3. Chennai Egmore-Rameswaram Express (6 Days in a week)

Im not sure if they will really benefit, cos none starts from Madurai. Any way new broadgauge connectivity to Rameshwaram and better connectivity to CBE might benefit.

http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/

I am not sure if #1 is a new train or an upgrade of the current passenger train to an express train. I am hoping that it will be a new train.

#3 is a temporary train which will be routed via Pudukkottai once that line is ready.

#2 will be useful for some East Coast connection which Madurai and surrounding needs. I hope this train will not be rerouted later.

Surveys for new lines :

On the demand of the Hon’ble Members the following survey works are proposed to be taken up:

1. Madurai-Karaikkudi
2. Dindigul-Kumuli via Bodinayakkanur

http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/

This will be useful for some politicians and officials. Nothing will materialise from such surveys. So many of the past survey reports are gathering dust.

I am wondering why you guys missed out the allocation of 20crores for the Salem-Karur BG line.
Perhaps, you might not be knowing how important the line to Madurai and the other southern districts.

I am wondering why you guys missed out the allocation of 20crores for the Salem-Karur BG line.
Perhaps, you might not be knowing how important the line to Madurai and the pther southern districts.

Thanx vijayan for the addition. Ya you are right, it would reduce the time taken to reach say Bangalore or Salem from Madurai and southern districts.

Koodal Nagar ROB ready to be thrown open to traffic

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/3547/27022007104001001fv6.jpg

Rainwater drainage canals and storage tanks to be developed at a cost of 165 crore Rs.

Central government has given its nod for carrying out this project under JNNURM. Wilbur Smith Associates had prepared the plan for this project. Work such as concreting would be carried on 13 canals and tanks. As part of this work 660 kms of rainwater drainage canals are to be laid within the city limits.

Source : Dinamani

The total cost seems to be Rs.424 crores.

http://epaper.dinamalar.com/ArticleImageEx.aspx?article=27_02_2007_104_010&type=1&mode=1

I am wondering why you guys missed out the allocation of 20crores for the Salem-Karur BG line.
Perhaps, you might not be knowing how important the line to Madurai and the other southern districts.

This is not targeted to be completed this year. We very well know the importance, but also know about the way this project has been lingering forever. Hopefully they should complete it soon. May be the establishment of Salem division should help in this matter.

Paramount Airways' 4th flight between Madurai and Chennai started yesterday.

http://www.dinamalar.com/2007feb27/district/madurai.asp

New train which can benefit Madurai

1. Coimbatore-Nagercoil Express via Madurai (Daily)
2. Bhubaneswar-Rameswaram Express (Weekly)
3. Chennai Egmore-Rameswaram Express (6 Days in a week)

Im not sure if they will really benefit, cos none starts from Madurai. Any way new broadgauge connectivity to Rameshwaram and better connectivity to CBE might benefit.

http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/The coimbatore-nagercoil train would really benefit the people frm southern districts working here.It was even a long pending demand for better connectivity to madurai n trinulveli.
I prefer it should be a new train.

The coimbatore-nagercoil train would really benefit the people frm southern districts working here.It was even a long pending demand for better connectivity to madurai n trinulveli.
I prefer it should be a new train.

Yes, it is a long pending demand. It is useful for Southern districts people working not only in Coimbatore but also mainly in Tiruppur. This has to be a new train or else it should be considered a cheating by Indian Railways having announced it in the budget as a new train.

Railway Electrification

44. The electrified network will be extended over the Golden Quadrilateral and its diagonals, and in all directions from Kashmir to Kanniya Kumari and Guwahati to Amritsar by the end of the 11th Five Year Plan. Electrification of Thiruvananthapuram-Kanniya Kumari, Thrichur-Guruvayur, Tiruchirapalli-Madurai, Barabanki-Gorakhpur-Barauni-Katihar-Guwahati and Jallandhar to Baramullah sections will be completed during the 11th Five Year Plan. In the first phase, electrification of Jalandhar -Jammu, Barabanki-Gorakhpur-Barauni and Tiruchirapalli-Madurai sections are proposed to be taken up in 2007-08. Similarly, doubling and electrification of Pune-Wadi-Guntkal and electrification of Daitari-Banspani, Haridaspur-Paradeep new lines will be undertaken by Indian Railways’ Public Enterprise RVNL in the coming years.

The railway budget is full of false promises. I was expecting from the above report that Madurai-Trichy track would be electrified in the next financial year 2007-08. But this is not possible as government has only allocated 25 lakhs against the required 86 crore Rs. to complete the project :bash: .

The Ministry also extended the electrification of the Villupuram-Tiruchi project to Madurai.

Work is in progress between Villupuram and Tiruchi (178 route km) at a cost of Rs 87.81 crore and is scheduled to be completed by December.

The extension of the project to Madurai would involve electrification of another 154 route km.

The project cost is Rs 86 crore and a token amount of Rs 25 lakh has been sanctioned in the budget.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/28/stories/2007022815220600.htm

I can't find any official details regd the 4th flight b/w Madurai-chennai sector in Paramountairways.com. Any updates regd this?

I can't find any official details regd the 4th flight b/w Madurai-chennai sector in Paramountairways.com. Any updates regd this?

The 4th flight service has already commenced and you can find it in their website when you try booking for a flight. They havent updated their schedules yet. For further updates and information regarding this you can read through the previous posts.

MADURAI: The Mayor, G. Thenmozhi, presented a Rs. 6.27-crore deficit budget at an outlay of Rs. 702.05 crore for the year 2007-08 on Wednesday. The deficit has come down by Rs. 1.9 crore when compared to Rs. 8.20-crore deficit incurred in the revised budget for the last fiscal.

Several development works including the second pipeline from Vaigai dam (Rs. 59.31 crore), improvement of drainage channels (Rs. 165 crore), solid waste management (Rs. 74.89 crore) and construction of apartments to replace 30,651 hutments (Rs. 454.89 crore) and works to improve infrastructure around them (Rs. 117.30 crore) will be taken up under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

The Corporation has planned to shift the Central Vegetable Market to Mattuthavani at a cost of Rs. 60 crore. The market site will be used for a multi-storey parking lot to be constructed at a cost of Rs. 22 crore.

Two electric crematoriums, one at Moolakarai cremation yard and another at K. Pudur (with private participation), beautification of four Chithirai Streets around the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple and renovation of maternity hospitals were other highlights of the budget.

more : http://www.hindu.com/2007/03/01/stories/2007030120040300.htm

Madurai seems to be ahead of Chennai and Coimbatore interms of getting projects approved under JNNURM. I hope they carryon the same way in getting those approved projects implemented.

I was hoping for it and rightly the corporation has decided to construct multi-storey parking lot once the cetral market is shifted.

^^
After so many years, the prospects of moving this central vegetable market is looking better. Hope they implement this sooner.

I am looking forward to see further utilization of JNNURM for the road projects.

The railway budget is full of false promises. I was expecting from the above report that Madurai-Trichy track would be electrified in the next financial year 2007-08. But this is not possible as government has only allocated 25 lakhs against the required 86 crore Rs. to complete the project :bash: .



http://www.hindu.com/2007/02/28/stories/2007022815220600.htm

Electrification of Madurai-Trichy track will be taken up in 2007-8. It doesn't say that it will be completed by 2007/8. It will be nice if they can do the preliminary things this year. In one year, if they complete Madurai-Dindigul doubling, it will be appropriate to have electrification for the double line instead of the single line.
I am eager to see the closure of MG line between Madurai and Dindigul. Let us see when it happens.

It is really good news that 60Crs has been alloted for MDU-DG BG conversion.:) :banana:

Round the clock work is going on for New Vaigai bridge.

Also Ellis nagar ROB work is going on round the clock.

Koodal nagar ROB is in final stage and our train is going @ 15kmph(Already Mr Madurai informed me earlier - I too noticed)

Sellur bridge - nothing happening

I saw so many concrete slabs called as "precast RCC boxes" on the way between DG and MDU,which is used for widening during Gauge Conversion.

Shurbs and bushes were cleared in some places b/w DG and MDU

^^

Hi Vignesh,
Thanks for the updates. Did you notice those concrete slabs on the Kodai Road-Dindigul stretch also? Also, did you notice the clearance of bush all through the stretch?

^^
Hi Madurai,
Yeah I noticed all the way between MDU-DG and Shurbs and bushes were cleared in some places b/w DG and MDU...

So both MDU - MNM pass. will be extended to RMM as mentioned in last budget right?

^^

Thanks Vignesh. Yes, both the Madurai-Manamadurai passengers are supposed to be extended to Rameswaram after completion of GC. Besides that, there will be a new passenger between Madurai and Rameswaram as per last year's budget(2006-7). So, totally there should be 3 passengers pretty soon between Madurai and Rameswaram.

Vaigai bridge construction in progress

http://http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/848/28718034vr3.th.jpg (http://img170.imageshack.us/my.php?image=28718034vr3.jpg)

45 crore Rs plan to develop Vandiyur lake into a Tourist spot

The local administration department has chalked out a 45 crore Rs. plan to develop vandiyur lake into a tourist spot. The plan has been handed over to the corporation for approval.

According to the plan the depth of the lake would be increased by another 1.5 metre and the recovered sand would be used to lay 60 feet road running through the entire perimeter of the lake and create 3 man made islands.


http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/7364/01032007101013003gd9.jpg


http://epaper.dinamalar.com/Web/Madurai/Article/2007/03/01/101/01_03_2007_101_013.jpg

http://epaper.dinamalar.com/Web/Madurai/Article/2007/03/01/104/01_03_2007_104_002.jpg

^^
This plan looks promising, especially the creation of a new 60 feet road running through the entire perimeter of the lake. You can notice one portion of this road will be running behind the bus stand, paddy and flower market, and the proposed central market. This would definetely reduce the traffic on the Melur road.

^^

Any idea how much wide that road (marked in RED in that picture) will be? I hope it has atleast 4 lanes.

Ideally all the main roads like the Melur road should be of minimum 6 lanes near the bus stand.

Hi Vignesh,
The Vaigai bridge construction seems to be progressing well. They should show similar progress in the entire doubling. Then only it will get completed in time.

Tirupparankundram gets the facility to accomodate two trains at a time. Work is in progress.

http://www.dailythanthi.com/article.asp?NewsID=319354&disdate=3/2/2007&advt=2

This is a good thing. But I am not sure about the terminology mentioned in that report.

^^

Any idea how much wide that road (marked in RED in that picture) will be? I hope it has atleast 4 lanes.

Ideally all the main roads like the Melur road should be of minimum 6 lanes near the bus stand.

It should definitely be 4 lanes... as 60 ft comes around 18m...(this is the width of the 4 lane road from court to ring road jn..)

Madurai corporation is building a shopping complex at the site where kunnathur choultry is located. The cost is 2.5 crs and will have 245 stores ..
Mayor has laid the foundation for it..

http://203.101.40.168/mducorp/web/r1_271206.html

does anyone know where exactly this place is??

^^

This must be near to the Pudhu Mantapam I guess.

Here is report I searched in Google,
----------------------------------------------

The officials said the board, which met in Madurai recently, had also received the assurance from the city corporation that parks would be created, road development undertaken and stormwater drainage facility provided at a cost of Rs 22 crore.

The Kunnathur choultry is being converted into a shopping complex where the book and utensil shops housed in Pudhu Mandapam would be shifted.
http://www.chennaionline.com/hotelsandtours/PlacesofInterest/2005/11madurai.asp

Tirupparankundram gets the facility to accomodate two trains at a time. Work is in progress.

http://www.dailythanthi.com/article.asp?NewsID=319354&disdate=3/2/2007&advt=2

This is a good thing. But I am not sure about the terminology mentioned in that report.

A picture about this in Dinakaran,

http://www.dinakaran.co.in/epaperdinakaran/232007/TPK_RAIL__2_Thirumangalam%20-%20clr.jpg

Madurai corporation is building a shopping complex at the site where kunnathur choultry is located. The cost is 2.5 crs and will have 245 stores ..
Mayor has laid the foundation for it..

http://203.101.40.168/mducorp/web/r1_271206.html

does anyone know where exactly this place is??

It is near Pudhu Mantapam, as per the report in this link.

http://www.dailythanthi.com/article.asp?NewsID=319346&disdate=3/2/2007&advt=2

Ellis Nagar bridge will be completed by July.

http://dailythanthi.com/article.asp?NewsID=319149&disdate=3/1/2007&advt=2

Ellis Nagar bridge will be completed by July.

http://dailythanthi.com/article.asp?NewsID=319149&disdate=3/1/2007&advt=2

Ellis Nagar bridge when completed would look massive, especially with report saying that 6 way traffic would be possible on the bridge and with the bridge coming up at a cost of 25 crore Rs.

It would be nice if the future ROB's are built like the once near Madura college, Tamil nadu polytechnic and Ellis Nagar.

^^

Any idea how much wide that road (marked in RED in that picture) will be? I hope it has atleast 4 lanes.

Ideally all the main roads like the Melur road should be of minimum 6 lanes near the bus stand.

It would certainly be a 4 lane road. As Madurai fanatic said 60 feet would be 18.3 meters. Normally 3.5 to 4 meter is the width for a single lane, so there would be enough place for a 4 lane road with proper median and shoulders on either side.

I hope the corporation gives a green signal for this project. Vandiyur lake when developed could increase the water table in the city, provide entertainment for the citizens, and the road network would certainly reduce traffic along melur road, lake view road and melamadai road (sivagangai road).

^^ The Kunnathur choultry is being converted into a shopping complex where the book and utensil shops housed in Pudhu Mandapam would be shifted.
http://www.chennaionline.com/hotelsandtours/PlacesofInterest/2005/11madurai.asp

What is Kunnathur Choultry?

I lived my whole life, until 6 years ago, in Madurai and dont know about this.

Any updates on the following :

1. Runway expansion to 7500 feet. Is AAI having any plans in the near future for expanding it further to 9000 feet?

2. i)Road projects such a 4 laning of MDU-Trichy, MDU-Tuticorin, MDU-Dindigul and MDU-Virudhunagar highways.
ii) Road expansion(4 laning) between K.K Nagar Arch and Uthangudi(MMHRC).
iii) By-pass road expansion between Palanganatham and Fatima college.
iv) Other road projects within the city which i might have missed.

^^

Madurai-Trichy - Work is going on as per press reports
Madurai-Tuticorin - No work
Madurai-Dindigul - No work other than some base work for the Samayanallur ROB, but press reports mentioned about some preliminary work for overall stretch.
Some minor work seems to be happening on KK Nagar - Mattuthavani road but press reports show about cutting trees and widening small bridges.
No work on the Palanganatham bypass.

Chennai may have its own gold souk by the end of this year. Developed on the lines of gold souks in the Gulf countries, `The Souk, Chennai,' as it will be called, would be a 8-lakh sq ft mall on the GST road.

Speciality retail real estate developer Aerens Goldsouk International Ltd is building the mall. Its first souk in Gurgaon, set up a few years ago on 1.8 lakh sq ft, houses over 100 jewellery brands and outlets. Each outlet today sells about Rs 3-lakh worth of jewellery per day.

Buoyed by this, the company set up another souk in New Delhi. Last July it decided to build 100 souks in India in the next 100 months.

Talking to Business Line on the sidelines of the Gem and Jewellery India International Exhibition (GJIIE) 2007, Mr G.S. Pillai, Director, Aerens Goldsouk, said the company had started constructing souks in Ludhiana, Jaipur and Kochi and would soon start work in Chennai and Amritsar. Each souk would be spread across 8-10 lakh sq ft and cost Rs 80-100 crore excluding land cost.

Besides jewellery stores, these souks will also have restaurants, toilets, multiplex cinema screens and high-end lifestyle brands dealing in leather goods, luggage, wedding attire for men and women and watches.

"We are also planning to add some budget hotels inside the souk so that people travelling from far off places can stay the night and shop the next day," said Mr Pillai. All souks would come up at city outskirts and near highways so that people can have a traffic-free drive and enjoy shopping, he said.

The Chennai souk will be able to house 500 stores. Mr Pillai said this would help small players compete with established jewellery brands on a common platform. "A small jeweller today is likely to be overshadowed by established jewellers if he sets up shop in T. Nagar (Chennai's jewellery hub). But at the souk, no matter how small a space he takes up, he can innovatively showcase his products to gain visibility," he said.

In Tamil Nadu, more souks are planned in Coimbatore, Salem, Madurai, Tiruchi and Tirunelveli.

The company is also targeting overseas markets to set up `India Souk,' a mall with goods imported from India. These could include art, crafts, jewellery, sculpture, handloom work and furniture besides Indian food. "We are looking at the US, UK, Thailand, China, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and will finalise a mall in at least one country this year," said Mr Pillai.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/03/03/stories/2007030303612100.htm

Chennai may have its own gold souk by the end of this year. Developed on the lines of gold souks in the Gulf countries, `The Souk, Chennai,' as it will be called, would be a 8-lakh sq ft mall on the GST road.

Speciality retail real estate developer Aerens Goldsouk International Ltd is building the mall. Its first souk in Gurgaon, set up a few years ago on 1.8 lakh sq ft, houses over 100 jewellery brands and outlets. Each outlet today sells about Rs 3-lakh worth of jewellery per day.

Buoyed by this, the company set up another souk in New Delhi. Last July it decided to build 100 souks in India in the next 100 months.

Talking to Business Line on the sidelines of the Gem and Jewellery India International Exhibition (GJIIE) 2007, Mr G.S. Pillai, Director, Aerens Goldsouk, said the company had started constructing souks in Ludhiana, Jaipur and Kochi and would soon start work in Chennai and Amritsar. Each souk would be spread across 8-10 lakh sq ft and cost Rs 80-100 crore excluding land cost.

Besides jewellery stores, these souks will also have restaurants, toilets, multiplex cinema screens and high-end lifestyle brands dealing in leather goods, luggage, wedding attire for men and women and watches.

"We are also planning to add some budget hotels inside the souk so that people travelling from far off places can stay the night and shop the next day," said Mr Pillai. All souks would come up at city outskirts and near highways so that people can have a traffic-free drive and enjoy shopping, he said.

The Chennai souk will be able to house 500 stores. Mr Pillai said this would help small players compete with established jewellery brands on a common platform. "A small jeweller today is likely to be overshadowed by established jewellers if he sets up shop in T. Nagar (Chennai's jewellery hub). But at the souk, no matter how small a space he takes up, he can innovatively showcase his products to gain visibility," he said.

In Tamil Nadu, more souks are planned in Coimbatore, Salem, Madurai, Tiruchi and Tirunelveli.

The company is also targeting overseas markets to set up `India Souk,' a mall with goods imported from India. These could include art, crafts, jewellery, sculpture, handloom work and furniture besides Indian food. "We are looking at the US, UK, Thailand, China, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and will finalise a mall in at least one country this year," said Mr Pillai.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/03/03/stories/2007030303612100.htm

it would definitely be good..and big in Madurai too.. the madurai bullion market is one of the biggest in India and the bullion market association has more than 2500 members (according to 'Nanayam Vikatan').. Already both the alukkas, thangamayil have pretty big showrooms.. TVM based Bhima is going to start shortly...kalyan jewellers also have major plans..hence the market would still expand.. such a 'Souk' will definitely benefit the small players in the city..

MADURAI: The State Government is speeding up the establishment of a regional Centre of Excellence for HIV/AIDS Care here, with funding support from international donors. At a review meeting held in Chennai on Friday, Health Minister K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran asked health authorities and the Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society (TANSACS) to expedite the process . The centre would be located on the Madurai Medical College premises. A `concept note' was to be forwarded to the Government.

Supriya Sahu, Project Director of TANSACS, told The Hindu on Saturday that the Madurai centre would be developed on the lines of a similar facility at Tambaram near Chennai. She said that people from the southern districts had been travelling to Chennai for medical intervention. Once the regional centre was established, the same treatment regimen could be available here.

The regional centre would have modern laboratory services, treatment for `people living with HIV-AIDS' and training facility for counsellors. "We are finalising the project details, and work will commence soon," Ms. Sahu said. She said the district administration was engaged in preparing the `concept note.'

Apart from the State Government, many donors and organisations from abroad and the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) will support the project.

Site inspected

S.M. Sivakumar, GRH Dean-in-charge, said the Madurai Medical College site was finalised after an inspection a few weeks back. He indicated that it could be a 100-bed facility, and that a U.S.-based organisation was monitoring the progress of the project. Joint Director of Public Health S. Elango said the Health Minister wanted officials to consider whether the foundation stone laying ceremony could be had by the March-end.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/03/04/stories/2007030413520100.htm

^^ So this would be the Thoracic hospital which was planned before. Since they say it would be on lines of the Thoracic hospital in Tambaram, i hope this would also be near to being the biggest Thoraic hospital in south east asia.

Is there any work happening on the Anna bus stand site were it was proposed to extend the Rajaji GH ?.

Any updates on the following Hospital projects

Ms. Reddy, MD Apollo hospitals had announced during SPPED 2006 about plans for expansion of Madurai centre. Any updates on the expansion of Apollo hospital to 500 beds.

Also Apollo hospitals in collaboration with CBCC based in California had plans to setup a 5 million $ Comprehensive Blood and Cancer Centre in Madurai. They had promised that the facility would be ready in 6 months from the SPEED conference. Has the work started? and where will this centre come up?.

I visited Madurai yesterday and travelled along all the Major roads - Ring Roads and Radial Roads (In Tamil the Radial Roads are beautifully called as AARA CHALAI). I was quite impressed by the knowledge of the Highways officials. Though they were not scintifically trained in traffic studies and other transport related matters, their acumen and understanding were really amazing.

Probably, Madurai has planned for the future (may be till 2020) in traffic management of suburban roads and bye pass roads. (Internal roads within the city need to be studied and regulated a lot). All the leading gateways in and out of Madurai have been covered. When IT revolution comes, traffic may not be an issue at all.

With JNNURM funds pouring in during the next few years, Madurai is set to rock.

Hats off to Madurai

I can't find any official details regd the 4th flight b/w Madurai-chennai sector in Paramountairways.com. Any updates regd this?

Atlast, they updated in their website. :)

MADURAI CHENNAI I7 402 0830 0930
CHENNAI I7 404 1350 1445
CHENNAI I7 480 1720 1815
CHENNAI I7 458 2050 2145
Via MAA BENGALURU I7 402 0830 1040
Via MAA BENGALURU I7 480
/449 1720 2205

http://www.paramountairways.com/check_schedule.html

I visited Madurai yesterday and travelled along all the Major roads - Ring Roads and Radial Roads (In Tamil the Radial Roads are beautifully called as AARA CHALAI). I was quite impressed by the knowledge of the Highways officials. Though they were not scintifically trained in traffic studies and other transport related matters, their acumen and understanding were really amazing.

Probably, Madurai has planned for the future (may be till 2020) in traffic management of suburban roads and bye pass roads. (Internal roads within the city need to be studied and regulated a lot). All the leading gateways in and out of Madurai have been covered. When IT revolution comes, traffic may not be an issue at all.

With JNNURM funds pouring in during the next few years, Madurai is set to rock.

Hats off to Madurai

Thanx Kannan for the above report on your visit :). You are right, the suburban road infrastructure is good and more needs to be done on traffic management within the old city. The corporation over the years has taken good steps to decongest the city by moving various establishments to the outskirts. Additionally under the JNNURM many flyovers are planned, i think these would address the above concern.

Was your visit just a casual one or a business visit?. Please update us on residential and commercial developments likely in the near future.

Paramount Airways to setup pilot training academy in Madurai

If you have chosen Arts instead of Science for your graduation and yet dream of becoming a pilot, the airlines are lending wings to your hope. They are now planning to recruit Arts graduates too for the job of pilots. Chennai-based full service carrier Paramount Airways is planning to set up a pilot training academy.

M Thiagarajan, Managing Director, Paramount Airways, says: "Why would one restrict an Arts graduate from pursuing the dream of becoming a pilot. Flying is all about aptitude of a candidate." Thiagarajan, one of the youngest airline chief in the world and a pilot by himself, says the proposed training school would select fresh graduates on the basis of written test and interview which will be followed by training.

The training academy will be housed in Madurai (Tamil Nadu) and have a tie-up with an international university. "We are in talks with two leading international univeristy in Australia and United States. These universities are offering various courses in aviation," Thiagarajan adds.

Sources say Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer may partner with Paramount Airways in setting up the academy.

"The investment details, capacity and courses offered will finalised after tying with the university. The airline is also in the process of acquiring two seater Cessna aircraft for basic flying training," they add.

more : http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?autono=276526&leftnm=6&subLeft=0&chkFlg=

^^

Wonderful news. Hope this becomes a reality soon and as a stepping stone for an Aviation University at Madurai.

Staff Reporter

Expected to give fillip to IT initiatives in southern districts A memorandum of understanding was signed with IBM for various academic initiatives


MADURAI: Madurai district is all set to get impetus in information technology sector as the global software major, IBM, has established its `Rational Center of Excellence' that is equipped with latest software, hardware and networking technologies.
The centre, to be inaugurated on Monday by IBM (India) Director R. Damodharan was set up in collaboration with the K.L.N. College of Engineering here on the college premises where about 30 `high-end work stations' are ready to take up the software delivery process.

The entry of IBM is expected to give fillip to the IT initiatives in southern districts. Already, the plans of setting up an IT Park in Madurai are under way.

According to K.N.K. Ganesh, college president, a memorandum of understanding was signed with IBM for various academic initiatives and training students and faculty members.

"This facility will be like a research centre of IBM and our college was chosen for this project due to the association we had since 2004," S.V.S. Shivnath, Secretary, told reporters on Sunday.

The centre would develop the State's IT resources on the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) platform with focus on greater efficiency, cost saving and productivity.

N. Lakshmi Narasimhan, Head of Computer Science and Engineering Department, said IBM was supplying latest modules that focused on tools to address all dimensions of software quality.

Companies in the State and research candidates/faculty members could utilise the centre where `high platform software modules' were available.

Asked about the investment, Mr. Lakshmi Narasimhan said IBM was spending a `few crores' for the Madurai centre and it would constantly monitor the progress.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/03/05/stories/2007030510490400.htm

^^ Good news. Entry of IBM and presence of Honeywell, the two IT majors could attract more IT/ITES companies to Madurai.

^^
Wonderful news. Hope this becomes a reality soon and as a stepping stone for an Aviation University at Madurai.

I hope the Aviation university also becomes reality.

Paramount Airways to setup pilot training academy in Madurai



more : http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage.php?autono=276526&leftnm=6&subLeft=0&chkFlg=

Once again Kudos to Mr.Thiagarajan (and his family..who own the Thiagarajar college which was instrumental in bringing Honeywell, motorola, MICO to madurai..) for so many efforts to develop madurai...

http://epaper.dinamalar.com/ArticleImageEx.aspx?article=05_03_2007_102_015&type=1&mode=1

Foundation Stone will be laid for the Vaigai Water Project II for Madurai.

Picture showing the Four laning work near Tirunagar as part of Samayanallur-Thoppur work.

http://epaper.dinamalar.com/ArticleImageEx.aspx?article=05_03_2007_104_006_001&type=2&mode=1

News related to that,

http://epaper.dinamalar.com/ArticleImageEx.aspx?article=05_03_2007_104_004&type=1&mode=1

Once again Kudos to Mr.Thiagarajan (and his family..who own the Thiagarajar college which was instrumental in bringing Honeywell, motorola, MICO to madurai..) for so many efforts to develop madurai...

I agree, Thiagarajan family had a big role in these developments. TVS group family should get a little lesson from them. Except that they owned the city bus service, which later was took over by Govt. they havent done anything.

4 laning work near Tirunagar

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/4954/05032007104006001nn5.jpg

http://epaper.dinamalar.com/Web/Madurai/Article/2007/03/05/104/05_03_2007_104_004.jpg

Dear Madurai, the links doesnt work. The best way to provide link to dinamalar epaper would be, first maximise the article then right click on the article and select properties. Under properties you will find URL. Copy it and paste it here. That would be the best way.

I agree, Thiagarajan family had a big role in these developments. TVS group family should get a little lesson from them. Except that they owned the city bus service, which later was took over by Govt. they havent done anything.

TVS group of companies in Madurai :

1. IRIZAR TVS (P) Ltd - IRIZAR TVS (P) Ltd. is a joint venture between three equal partners Sundaram Industries Ltd, Ashok Leyland Ltd and IRIZAR S. Coop of Spain. Building of Bus Bodies for Export and Domestic market

2. Southern Roadways Limited - Parcel service booking and delivery.

3. Sundaram Brake Linings Limited - Manufacturers of brake linings

4. Sundram Fasteners Limited

5. Sundaram Industries Limited - (Rubber division and Coach division)

6. Sundaram Textiles Limited

7. TVS Cherry Limited - Manufacturers of precision miniature, sub-miniature, selector switches and hall effect sensors for the appliances industry, office automation and industrial applications.
Key switches and advanced performance/special purpose keyboards for the IT Industry.

8. TVS Interconnect Systems Limited - Manufacture and assembly of Electronic connectors, Rf Coax Product, Cable Assemblies, Fiber Optic Products and accessories.

9. TVS Sewing Needles Limited


Madurai selvam im not sure why you came to such a conclusion. Apart from those companies, they also established TVS school.

TVS group of companies in Madurai :

Yea every one from Madurai knows that but they also would know that its head office is registered at Bangalore. I didnt mean that they didnt prosper, but I said they never promoted Madurai or made effort to develop their home city.

I agree, Thiagarajan family had a big role in these developments. TVS group family should get a little lesson from them. Except that they owned the city bus service, which later was took over by Govt. they havent done anything.

Dear MaduraiSelvam..
I understand that most of the factories we have around Madurai is from TVS family..(TVS Rubber, TVS Srichakra Tyres, TVS Cherry, the new plant for manufacturing Cellphone base antennas, sundaram fasteners, sundaram brakelinings, TVS coach factory, Southern Roadways, Textile mills are among them..I might have even missed few..).. They have also been instrumental in revamping the education system with more schools in and around madurai..(there are not much schools with CBSE syllabus in madurai.. and now TVS has one..).. Now they have created a Education Research and Development center in the TVS School..
My intension is not to trigger any argument on this.. and I too agree that they could bring in bigger plants to Madurai.. still, i just wanted to clarify that TVS too has got lot of establishments in Madurai..

Yea every one from Madurai knows that but they also would know that its head office is registered at Bangalore. I didnt mean that they didnt prosper, but I said they never promoted Madurai or made effort to develop their home city.

Whats there if they have their head office in Bangalore. Don't companies keep their head office in big cities. Even Paramount airways has its corporate office in Chennai.

TVS group has nearly 10 companies in and around Madurai. They have been expanding their base in Madurai over the year. TVS cherry Ltd and TVS interconnect systems were established only few years back.

Lets not continue this argument.

Yea every one from Madurai knows that but they also would know that its head office is registered at Bangalore. I didnt mean that they didnt prosper, but I said they never promoted Madurai or made effort to develop their home city.

Guys,
i believe only TVS motors might have the headquarters in Bangalore.. the reason could be the factories are in Hosur and Mysore.. both close to bangalore.. and still the TVS iyengar is headquartered in 7B, West Veli street.. they also have few divisions headquartered in Chennai.. where they have the related factories.. the automobile dealership division having dealership all over south india is headquartered in Madurai.. I am not sure on which one you are talking about..

Whats there if they have their head office in Bangalore. Don't companies keep their head office in big cities. Even Paramount airways has its corporate office in Chennai.

TVS group has nearly 10 companies in and around Madurai. They have been expanding their base in Madurai over the year. TVS cherry Ltd and TVS interconnect systems were established only few years back.

Lets not continue this argument.

Yup.. may be you could take this offline... and send private messages and discuss..

^^ So this would be the Thoracic hospital which was planned before. Since they say it would be on lines of the Thoracic hospital in Tambaram, i hope this would also be near to being the biggest Thoraic hospital in south east asia.

Is there any work happening on the Anna bus stand site were it was proposed to extend the Rajaji GH ?.

An update from Today's Dinamani on this,

http://www.dinamani.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=DND20070304213400&Title=Districts+Page&lTitle=U%F4YhPeLs&Topic=0&dName=U%D5%FBW&Dist=4

Foundation stone to be laid soon for a 6 stories building at Rs.15 crores, as per Madurai GRH Dean S.M.Sivakumar. Design has been sent for approval.

Gates Software..(not sure if the spelling is correct..) is setting a branch in Madurai...

dinakaran.co.in/epaperdinakaran/showxml.aspx?id=105610&code=17277 (please add www. in front..)

4 laning work near Tirunagar

...........

Dear Madurai, the links doesnt work. The best way to provide link to dinamalar epaper would be, first maximise the article then right click on the article and select properties. Under properties you will find URL. Copy it and paste it here. That would be the best way.


Thanks, I will do so.

Thanx Kannan for the above report on your visit :). You are right, the suburban road infrastructure is good and more needs to be done on traffic management within the old city. The corporation over the years has taken good steps to decongest the city by moving various establishments to the outskirts. Additionally under the JNNURM many flyovers are planned, i think these would address the above concern.

Was your visit just a casual one or a business visit?. Please update us on residential and commercial developments likely in the near future.

It was two days business visit to Maduaria and Tuticorin. Let me publish the developments once I get clearance from our clients.

By the way, I noticed that Madurai has not been fully covered by Google Earth. While the southern portion of Vaigai river even upto the Airport is covered, Northern portion is not covered with more layers. Madurai Lovers can request Google to speed it up.

Kingfisher seems to have got the approval for it's Chennai-Madurai flights besides Chennai-Trichy and twice daily Chennai-Coimbatore flights.

Chennai - Madurai IT2713 1505 1625 Daily 19/03/2007 28/10/2007 ATR72

Madurai - Chennai IT2714 1650 1810 Daily 19/03/2007 28/10/2007 ATR72

http://www.flykingfisher.com/schedule.htm

New facility to test software

Staff Reporter

IBM centre of excellence inaugurated


FOR STUDENTS: R. Dhamodaran, Director, Software Group, IBM India, inaugurating the rational centre in Madurai on Monday. — Photo: G. Moorthy


MADURAI: The International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation Rational Centre of Excellence established at the K.L.N. College of Engineering near here would serve as a common facility to test any software application, besides software development, said R. Dhamodaran, Director, Software Group, IBM India, on Monday.

Inaugurating the centre, he said that the Rational software was one of the widely acknowledged standard tools used by many multinational companies. Given the economical vibrancy of the country, the centre would focus on enhancing software development skills of students, he said.

The "context-sensitive" tool happened to be the market leader in software development platform and learning the product in depth would increase the chances of employability.

The best performing students from the institution would have the privilege of working with some of the bright talents in the field of software development at IBM research facilities, Mr. Dhamodaran said.

Ajay Mittal, Director, Relationship Sales, Lenovo India, said that the education industry had enormous potential in the fast growing personal computer segment. Within three years, the PC requirement in this sector would increase by three times, he added.

Presiding over the function, K.N.K. Ganesh, president of the college, said that the centre would become the regional hub of standard and technology in service oriented architecture. Software professionals and students from other colleges would be permitted to use this centre, he said.

T.K. Mahendra Babu, Dean, Academic, Research and Development, said that the centre had been established with the purpose of research and development for students, staff and IT industry.

Manojit Mujumdar, Country Manager, IBM Academic Initiative, K.N.K. Karthik, vice-president of the college, S.V.S. Shivnath, Secretary, PL. Meyappan, Director, N. Lakshmi Narasimhan, Professor and Head of Department of Computer Science Engineering, took part.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/03/06/stories/2007030619470300.htm

It was two days business visit to Maduaria and Tuticorin. Let me publish the developments once I get clearance from our clients.

By the way, I noticed that Madurai has not been fully covered by Google Earth. While the southern portion of Vaigai river even upto the Airport is covered, Northern portion is not covered with more layers. Madurai Lovers can request Google to speed it up.

Thanks Kannan.. did you get a chance to take any pictures around madurai?..if so, could you please post it on the forum..

checked ELCOT MD's appointments...
It seems he has been involved in scrutinizing the IT park tower model for Madurai this week.. hope we could see some action regarding this soon..

Here is the picture of expansion going on in avaniyapuram bye pass road..
Hope they make this into a four lane road considering the volume of traffic flowing through this..

http://epaper.dinamalar.com/Web/Madurai/Photographs/2007/03/06/103/06_03_2007_103_008_001.jpg

checked ELCOT MD's appointments...
It seems he has been involved in scrutinizing the IT park tower model for Madurai this week.. hope week could see some action regarding this soon..

Thanks Madurai Fanatic for the Good news. Hopefully something good should happen soon.

http://www.dailythanthi.com/article.asp?NewsID=320317&disdate=3/6/2007&advt=2

This report says that there is more international passengers from Madurai than cities like Coimbatore and Jaipur. Also, it says that passengers from Madurai are travelling to 31 different countries.

He has demanded flights to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Gulf.

-------------------------

Hope the crappy authorities do something on this. They definitely need :bash: for their ill treatment to Madurai.

http://www.dinamani.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=DND20070305223451&Title=Districts+Page&lTitle=U%F4YhPeLs&Topic=0

A report about the need for increasing Corporation limit.

MADURAI: Eighteen months from now, Madurai residents will get daily drinking water supply on commissioning the second main pipeline from Vaigai dam.

The bhoomi puja marking the inauguration of work on the Rs. 68-crore project, funded by Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, was held at Vaigai dam on Tuesday. Mayor G. Thenmozhi, Deputy Mayor P.M. Mannan, councillors and officials were present.

Detailing the project, the Superintending Engineer, K. Sakthivel, said the city had 1,500 million cubic feet (mcft) a year of water reserved in the Vaigai dam. However, it could draw only 900 mcft through the existing pipeline. The remaining water was drawn through riverbed wetting. "We could not realise the entire 600 mcft due to percolation and evaporation loss. Hence, the second pipeline project," he said.

The project will enable the city to draw an additional 47 million litres of water a day (MLD) taking the total to 115 MLD. Apart from supplying 110 litres of water for every individual daily, the project will also ensure equitable distribution. Besides, many unserved areas will be catered to by way of laying new distribution lines for 119 km.

One of its kind

The city boasts of having the only `all-gravity, no-pumping water project' of the State. Water flows due to gravitational pull along the entire 55-km stretch — from the pick up well in Vaigai dam to the overhead tanks. "We save at least Rs. 1 crore a month on electricity charges when compared to similar projects that work on motor pumping," Mr. Sakthivel said. Five additional overhead tanks would be constructed under the new project.

24-hour supply

A pilot project of 24-hour water supply to select 10 wards in the city is to be experimented. Existing distribution line will be replaced and imported pressure control valves fixed. The work, along with metering individual connections, will be implemented with 70 per cent JNNURM grants and 30 per cent contribution from beneficiaries.

The Madurai East MLA, N. Nanmaran, and the Madurai Central MLA, S.S. Ghouse Basha, were present.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/03/07/stories/2007030717670100.htm

CHENNAI: The global positioning system (GPS) and the geographical information system (GIS) will be introduced, on a trial basis, in the Chennai - Madurai bus services and in the Metropolitan Transport Corporation service between Avadi and Tambaram to collect real-time traffic data.

Depending on their success, they will be introduced in other services, Transport Secretary Debendranath Sarangi said, inaugurating a workshop on "Vehicle tracking using GPS and GIS" here on Tuesday.

Mr. Sarangi said the systems were being used worldwide for optimum utilisation of fleets, operational efficiency and monitoring and punctual service through improved and accurate information on position. The technology would help to increase productivity, cut operational costs, improve customer service and enhance security for both crew and vehicles.

The Centre had sanctioned Rs. 3 crore to the State for introducing the technology in State Transport Corporation buses. Based on the report of the committee set up by the State, the Government would take a decision.

R. Sivanandan, of the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, said the vehicle detection technologies, coupled with information and communication technologies, would help to collect real-time traffic data. The technologies were good in that they required minimal manpower.

Talking to journalists later, Mr. Sarangi said the Government was planning to introduce an inter-modal system linking the Metro Transport Corporation, the Mass Rapid Transit System and the proposed metro rail system. Single ticket could be used for all these services.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/03/07/stories/2007030705500500.htm

http://www.dailythanthi.com/article.asp?NewsID=320317&disdate=3/6/2007&advt=2

This report says that there is more international passengers from Madurai than cities like Coimbatore and Jaipur. Also, it says that passengers from Madurai are travelling to 31 different countries.

He has demanded flights to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Gulf.

-------------------------

Hope the crappy authorities do something on this. They definitely need :bash: for their ill treatment to Madurai.

There was a survey done by CII. There were demands from Airline companies like Air Asia, Deccan Lanka etc., They have statistics to support the need for making Madurai airport an international one, atleast a customs airport. I don't who is blocking the possibility of this. If not, what is the reason for successive central governments to ignore these surveys, pleas and demands. On the sametime they have been promoting other smaller airports. Something is fishy here.
I don't know why the successive state governments also ignore this.

There was a survey done by CII. There were demands from Airline companies like Air Asia, Deccan Lanka etc., They have statistics to support the need for making Madurai airport an international one, atleast a customs airport. I don't who is blocking the possibility of this. If not, what is the reason for successive central governments to ignore these surveys, pleas and demands. On the sametime they have been promoting other smaller airports. Something is fishy here.
I don't know why the successive state governments also ignore this.

I could point out dat recently mangalore airport was given a status of International airport. Indian started the operations frm there.similarly Trichy International airport was also incurring losses, but Indian continues start new opertaions frm there, infact the users of trichy airport were mainly frm southern n western parts of TN.
Infact the trippur exports have to done through kochi airport only.So TN govt. should ensure coimbatore n madurai become an international airports.
I suppose coimbatore is already a customs airport,For time being,madurai should be given customs airport status.
But the exisisting airport terminal in madurai is so bad,they should improve it immediately. I have a serious doubt that even in ROB constructions TN govt is keepin silent to urge Railways to complete earlier, In case of Airports it would never open its mouth for the name sake also.

http://img187.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bodicp9.jpg
the photo shows the picture of bodi bus stand near madurai

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/9707/maduhu5.th.jpg (http://img410.imageshack.us/my.php?image=maduhu5.jpg)

the condition of buses in the TNSTC- madurai division are not gud. Only few buses in the city named city express are in gud condn.
http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/2374/busts6.th.jpg (http://img252.imageshack.us/my.php?image=busts6.jpg)

http://img187.imageshack.us/my.php?image=bodicp9.jpg
the photo shows the picture of bodi bus stand near madurai

Im not sure why you have posted it here. Firstly Bodi is a small town nearly 65kms from Madurai. Secondly it does not show the place in good light.

There is thread called Meenkashi temple under the section heritage buildings and monuments, please post temple pics there.

New Delhi: Low cost flier Air Deccan has announced that it will add four more aircraft to its fleet strength before the year end.


The Budget airlines Chief Operating officer Warwick Brady, who made the announcement in Chennai on Wednesday, was quoted by news agency PTI as saying that with the addition, the airlines fleet strength would go upto 53, including 23 Airbuses.


Jodhpur, Udaipur, Dharmasala, Dimapur and Jamshedpur would be brought under the airlines map before the year-end.


For the first time in aviation history, Chennai would have a direct daily flight to Agartala from March 26.


Brady also said that Chennai would also have direct flight to Bhubaneshwar from that day.


The airlines would also introduce additional daily flight to Madurai from that day, he said.


The company expected to start earning profit from 2008-09, he added.

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/air-deccan-to-expand-its-fleet/35447-7.html

Air Deccan flights to Bhubaneswar, Agartala from Chennai (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/03/08/stories/2007030802460700.htm)

In addition, the airline also announced another daily flight on the Chennai-Madurai route.

An ATR 72-500 aircraft has been deployed on this sector. This flight will leave Chennai at 6.40 a.m. and reach Madurai at 7.55 a.m. It will leave Madurai at 8.10 a.m. and reach Chennai at 9.25 a.m.

Chennai, March 7 Air Deccan on Wednesday said that it was not affected by the change made by the recent Budget to the effect that all small aircraft — not only ATRs — up to a maximum weight of 40,000 kg would be eligible for a concessional central sales tax duty of 4 per cent, (instead of 30 per cent otherwise).

Thirty of Air Deccan's fleet of 53 aircraft are ATRs. The only other airline that has a non-ATR with a maximum weight of 40,000 kg is Paramount Airways, which has five Embraer jets.

Answering a question at a press conference here on Wednesday as to whether the change the Budget had brought about would not lower Air Deccan's competitive advantage, Mr Warwick Brady, Chief Operating Officer, Air Deccan, said that the airline would still remain competitive.

He said that ATRs were cheaper and easier to maintain and the cost per passenger km worked out cheaper than a jet.

Mr Samyukth Sridharan, Principal Sales and Marketing Officer, Air Deccan, noted that only ATRs could land at several small airports, which had short runways. Even small jet planes would not be able to land there, he observed.

He pointed out that Air Deccan had many "monopoly routes" such as Chennai-Tuticorin, Chennai-Rajahmundry and Chennai-Vijayawada, and only ATRs could land at these airports.

In fact, Air Deccan's fleet expansion programme includes acquisition of eight more ATRs, he said. (The airline intends to acquire four Airbus aircraft, in addition to the one that it recently got.)

When pointed out that there were destinations where jets could land and where currently Air Deccan was flying ATRs (such as Chennai-Madurai), Mr Brady said that the airline would gradually replace the ATRs on those segments with Airbus.

Because an Airbus' carrying capacity was more (180 seats on A-320), the cost per seat would come down drastically, Mr Sridharan said. He, however, agreed that the availability of load was a key factor in this calculation.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/03/08/stories/2007030806210200.htm

Staff Reporter

State Bank of India signs MoU with Railways

PASSENGER-FRIENDLY: N. Sadasivam, DGM, State Bank of India, second from left, and Hemant Kumar, DRM, Southern Railway, third from right, exchanging documents after signing a MoU in Madurai on Wednesday. — Photo: K. Ganesan


MADURAI: State Bank of India (SBI) and the Madurai Division of Southern Railway signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) here on Wednesday to install Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) at eight railway stations for the convenience of the public.

Briefing presspersons, N. Sadasivam, Deputy General Manager, SBI, said the ATMs would be installed at Madurai, Tuticorin, Tirunelveli, Dindigul, Virudhunagar, Kovilpatti, Kodaikanal Road and Ambathurai railway stations within a month. Efforts were on to set up ATMs at Karaikudi and Manapparai.

The bank also plans to set up Internet ticketing kiosks as an additional service to passengers at Madurai, Tirunelveli, Dindigul, Virudhunagar and Tuticorin stations.

Divisional Railway Manager Hemant Kumar said more than 45,000 passengers were using the services of the Madurai Division every day. Madurai Junction alone catered to more than 11,000 commuters each day. He appealed to the bank to consider installing `point of sales swiping machines' in Tuticorin railway station to ensure hassle-free freight transaction.

State Bank of India Assistant General Managers, E. Lakshmanan, (Operations), B. Rajagopalan (ATM Projects), Local Head Office, and S. Venkataraman (Madurai), took part. M. Suyambulingam, Additional Divisional Railway Manager, Alexander Gnanaolivu, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, participated.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/03/08/stories/2007030815600100.htm

Staff Reporter

Number of CISF personnel has come down from 88 to 55

MADURAI: The reduced manpower of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) deployed at the airport here is a concern for airport authorities.

Eighty-eight personnel were on duty when the paramilitary force took over the airport security from the State police in 2003. But since 2005 summer, it has come down to 55 personnel under "rationalisation of manpower".

"Then, only four flights were operated every day. But, the number of services doubled last year and it has now gone up to nine," an official said.

Major duties


The CISF personnel had two major duties - to guard the entire perimeter of the airport round-the-clock and the operational duty, to check every passenger entering the airport.

"Earlier, when there were only four flights for the entire day, the personnel had the opportunity to take rest in-between two services. There was enough time for them to return to duty. But now, those on operational duty cannot leave their points," the source added.

At least 10 men have to be deployed for perimeter guarding, including static duty at the watch points and patrolling for every shift. Hence, 30 men have to be spared for this duty.

A minimum of 26 persons is required for the operational duty daily.

Over and above there should be enough men on the reserve so that every one gets weekly off and leave. The force keeps sending their men for training programmes also.

100 personnel required


Officials claim that they require around 100 personnel.

When the strength was reduced, two inspectors and 5 sub-inspectors were called back.

This has left them with only one Inspector working under the Assistant Commandant.

"No day passes off without a VIP using the airport. And hence, the Inspector has to be present during the flight operational time," the official said.

The security issue was brought to the notice of the Inspector General of Police (Intelligence), when the State police reviewed security measures of all airports recently.

Threat perception


Stating that the threat perception too has changed in the southern districts in recent times, officials believe that the security of the airport could not be left to chances.

With more number of new flight services in the offing, officials only expect the security strength to be enhanced at the airport.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/03/08/stories/2007030822960300.htm

When pointed out that there were destinations where jets could land and where currently Air Deccan was flying ATRs (such as Chennai-Madurai), Mr Brady said that the airline would gradually replace the ATRs on those segments with Airbus.

Because an Airbus' carrying capacity was more (180 seats on A-320), the cost per seat would come down drastically, Mr Sridharan said. He, however, agreed that the availability of load was a key factor in this calculation.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/03/08/stories/2007030806210200.htm

Introduction of A-320 sooner would be better for Air Deccan. This could further bring down the rates on this sector and help it to compete with Paramount airways.

The budget has come as a shot in the arm for Paramount Airways. With the centre reducing sales tax for aviation turbine fuel from 30 to 4 percent on all small aircrafts with maximum takeoff mass of less than 40,000 kgs. This could further bring down the price of paramount airways flights.

Will the Madurai-BLR direct flight materialise this summer?.

Introduction of A-320 sooner would be better for Air Deccan. This could further bring down the rates on this sector and help it to compete with Paramount airways.

The budget has come as a shot in the arm for Paramount Airways. With the centre reducing sales tax for aviation turbine fuel from 30 to 4 percent on all small aircrafts with maximum takeoff mass of less than 40,000 kgs. This could further bring down the price of paramount airways flights.

Will the Madurai-BLR direct flight materialise this summer?.

Dear Madurai Veeran,
I think it's the other way. With the reduction in ATF taxes for Paramount, their rates will be competitive with Air Deccan. However, they will have better services than the No-Frills Air Deccan, and that will be an advantage if Paramount reduces the rate.
While talking about the reduction in ATF Taxes, Paramount MD suggested that this will be useful in opening up more regional routes. I hope that Madurai-Bangalore and Madurai-Mumbai materialise due to this atleast.
If they introduce those flights, this will be useful for many more international connections. Also, with more flights they can plan for a night parking for atleast one of their flights at Madurai.

Final works on Koodal Nagar ROB

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/8481/08032007104016001ec0.jpg


http://epaper.dinamalar.com/Web/Madurai/Photographs/2007/03/08/104/08_03_2007_104_016_001.jpg

According to the Airport controller, the runway expansion will be completed by July 30. By april 30, the existing runways would have been strenghtened.
A new apron to hold 3 big planes (current apron could hold 1 big plane and 2 small planes) is being constructed..
Hope they stick to this schedule..

http://epaper.dinamalar.com/ArticleImageEx.aspx?article=08_03_2007_101_048&type=1&mode=1

The above news is a great shock to me. I was expecting AAI to finish the expansion by March end. This work has been dragging on for years. The way progress is happening at the airport, i doubt wheather we could see any international flights in the near future.

By the time Madurai has a 7500 feet runway, works on expanding Coimbatore and Trichy runway further might have commenced.

When Madurai airport handles more passengers and flights than Trichy airport, why is it getting step motherly treatment???.


http://epaper.dinamalar.com/Web/Madurai/Article/2007/03/08/101/08_03_2007_101_048.jpg

Yeah, its a shame that this expansion work has been lingering forever.
This report is also a bit confusing. There is a mention about the Apron work being completed already. In the next statement itself, it contradicts by saying that the work is being undertaken.

If the new Apron can hold 3 big planes and with the current Apron capable of holding 1 Big Plane Plus 2 Small planes, it will be really good. There won't be any scheduling conflicts due to this and also night parking could be utilized.

Nice to see that Helicopter tourism could start as early as next month.

The wiring work for installing 48 video surveillance cameras at various points of the station and connecting them with the main control room with 12 TVs is underway..

http://www.dinamani.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=DND20070307224127&Title=Districts+Page&lTitle=U%F4YhPeLs&Topic=0

The rail bridge at a cost of 2.63 crores across vaigai river is being constructed as a part of the Dindigul madurai doubling project. The work is progressing fast and expected to be over by July..

http://www.dinamani.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=DND20070307224115&Title=Districts+Page&lTitle=U%F4YhPeLs&Topic=0

According to the Airport controller, the runway expansion will be completed by July 30. By april 30, the existing runways would have been strenghtened.
A new apron to hold 3 big planes (current apron could hold 1 big plane and 2 small planes) is being constructed..
Hope they stick to this schedule..

http://epaper.dinamalar.com/ArticleImageEx.aspx?article=08_03_2007_101_048&type=1&mode=1

Think AAI is more prudent now, particularly, observing on the international passenger traffic pattern at Trichy airport first , before deciding on the fast track mode developments for Madurai&kovai airports.

Nevertheless, base on the travel agents in Trichy, Dubai & Singapore, tickets are fast selling for the newly introduce&yet to be operated Air India Express to Trichy now.

Well, with such huge response, perhaps, AAI would consider starting the works both at Kovai&Madurai airports earlier than of late.

The Government today appealed to Chief Ministers to join hands with it and share costs for modernisation and upgradation of airports across the country.

"I appeal to the Chief Ministers to come forward and help the Government in its programme of modernisation and upgradation of airports," Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told Lok Sabha during Question Hour.

He said the Chief Ministers could help in augmenting Centre's efforts by sharing costs in the exercise of airport modernisation.

Patel was replying to a volley of questions from members with regard to various projects for modernisation and upgradation of airports.

The airports which have been taken up for modernisation and upgradation are Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Trivandrum, Amritsar, Dehradun, Jaipur, Khajurao, Kullu, Lucknow, Pantnagar, Srinagar, Udaipur, Bhubaneshwar, Gaya, Agartala, Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Silchar, Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Belgaum, Gondia, Nagpur, Pune, Raipur, Vadodara, Surat, Agatti, Calicut, Hubli, Mangalore, Madurai, Mysore, Tirupathi, Trichy and Visakhapatnam.

In addition, new greenfield airports were coming up at Hyderabad and Bangalore, Patel said.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI), he said, had spent Rs 566.22 crore, Rs 606.49 crore and Rs 876.08 crore for airport modernisation and upgradation in each of the last three years respectively.

more : http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/218200703081421.htm


Will the TN government come forward to share cost for the modernisation of the above mentioned 3 airports ???. The state government must take proactive steps in this regard, otherwise we will just be seeing long delays in development works.

With Madurai finding a place in phase I of the 7000 crore non metro airport modernisation, have the AAI worked out plans for air side development?. Have they finalised the plans and private partner for city-side development?. They were planning to complete the phase I by the end of 2008.

^^

Hopefully more news should be coming up on the City side developments on the Madurai airport. Also, better clarity is needed on the status of the Air side developments.
Surprising to see that Coimbatore is not in that list. It must be a typo as it is supposed to be in the same phase with Trichy.
TN Govt should come forward to do it's part in upgrading all these airports before it's too late.

^^

Hopefully more news should be coming up on the City side developments on the Madurai airport. Also, better clarity is needed on the status of the Air side developments.
Surprising to see that Coimbatore is not in that list. It must be a typo as it is supposed to be in the same phase with Trichy.
TN Govt should come forward to do it's part in upgrading all these airports before it's too late.

With current revenue mechanism followed by GoTN and the efficiency of state govt employees in collecting VAT/sales tax, TN govt is heavily dependent on central funds for its employee's salary itself. So, I don't think GoTN will come forward for fund sharing for this airport. They are not even ready to hire Mr.Parasaran for appeal at Cauvery tribunal due to fund problems. Thanks to populist annoucements. Otherwise GoTN will have to borrow from IMF and ADP like Jaya govt, to handle the situation like this.

PTI[ FRIDAY, MARCH 09, 2007 04:20:08 PM]


NEW DELHI: Moving ahead with modernisation of non-metro airports, government would in the next two months come out with proposals for development of non-aero side of ten such airports across the country, a top official said on Friday.

While the air side would be modernised totally by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the non-aero side of these airports would be developed through private participation, creating shopping malls, food joints and other facilities.

"We will come up with proposals on ten non-metro airports in the next 45 to 60 days on which the parties can respond", Civil Aviation Secretary Ashok Chawla said at CII's India Aviation Forum.

He said the Infrastructure Committee of the Planning Commission was working on a model concession agreement for development of airports through the public-private partnership (PPP) model.

Replying to questions, Chawla said the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority Bill to deal with airport tariffs and other disputes, would be introduced in the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament.

Regarding the proposal to impose three per cent import duty on aircraft, the Secretary said the total taxes on aircraft import would now amount to about 25 per cent as the other taxes were three per cent education cess, three per cent special duty and 16 per cent countervailing duty.

The proposal of imposing the import duty "took the industry as well as us in the Ministry by surprise", he said.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Transportation/Govt_plans_to_modernise_non-metro_airports/articleshow/1741382.cms

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I hope Madurai is in that initial 10 airports as planned before.

HAL ground-handling gets no-frills lot’s goat
http://dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1083344

HAL ground-handling gets no-frills lot’s goat
Praveena Sharma
Tuesday, March 06, 2007 21:43 IST

BANGALORE: It’s one of the busiest airports in the country and every airline want to add more frequencies to Bangalore, but four carriers are not happy flying to this city.

Their unhappiness stems from the discriminatory policy on the ground- handling activities at the airport, which is operated by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).

These four airlines - SpiceJet Ltd, IndiGo, GoAir and Paramount Air - have to compulsorily utilise the ground-handling services of HAL/Indian Airlines joint working group (JWG). This turns out to be much costlier for them than self- handling or outsourcing.

..........................................


Is this the reason why Paramount is delaying it's Madurai-Bangalore flight?

Madurai Airport traffic statistics

October 2006

Category - Oct 06(05) - % change

Aircraft movement - 444(249) - 78.3
Passengers - 19,478(13,247) - 47
Freight(in Ton) - 38(29) - 31

November 2006

Category - Nov 06(05) - % change

Aircraft movement - 480(246) - 95.1
Passengers - 22,869(14,641) - 56.2
Freight(in Ton) - 45(35) - 28.6


December 2006

Category - Dec 06(05) - % change

Aircraft movement - 494(246) - 100.8
Passengers - 28,378(16,629) - 70.7
Freight(in Ton) - 32(22) - 45.5

http://www.aai.aero/traffic_news/traffic_news.jsp

^^

Hopefully more news should be coming up on the City side developments on the Madurai airport. Also, better clarity is needed on the status of the Air side developments.
Surprising to see that Coimbatore is not in that list. It must be a typo as it is supposed to be in the same phase with Trichy.
TN Govt should come forward to do it's part in upgrading all these airports before it's too late.


http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/27/stories/2006082705970500.htm

CBE airport has already 8500 feet runway and it can handle 6 flights at a time. Prelim terminal expansion work is already started as AAI approved it.