Madurai emphasises on improving infrastructure projects

The Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, P Moorthy, has emphasised on implementing eight different infrastructure projects in Madurai that will benefit a cross-section of the masses in a pre-budget memorandum to Rajan and commercial taxes. It also covers introducing metro rail services and a bus port in the city. N Jegatheesan, Chamber president, told the media that Madurai is the second most affected by traffic crisis in the state after Chennai, with more than 25 lakh of population. The lack of adequate wide roads and necessary flyovers and the increasing number of vehicles day-by-day are attributed to traffic congestion. Introducing the Metro Rail project would greatly help in overcoming the problem. The non-announcement for Madurai is a huge disappointment to the southern districts of Tamil Nadu, while the metro rail has already been announced in Coimbatore. The chamber told the media that it is likely to extend the same to Madurai as the central government would permit if the state approves to cover 50% of the overall price incurred in a city with more than 10 lakh of population. The Trade body told the media that the offer to set up bus ports in Coimbatore, Madurai and Salem were made simultaneously by the Indian Government. They also said that the sanction was granted for the other two states. The work of establishing the port at Rs 1,600 crore has commenced in Salem. They pressed for an acceleration of the project, saying that the district administration found a location at Karaikal, near AIIMS, as suitable for the project. Image Source