Chief Minister M.K. Stalin will inaugurate the renovated tank of Arunachaleswarar temple and the widened four-lane Cuddalore-Chittoor Road during his two-day visit to Tiruvannamalai on October 21 and 22.
Officials of the State Highways Department, which executed the widening work of the stretch, said the foundation stone for the ₹209-crore (Tiruvannamalai ₹140 crore; Kallakurichi ₹69 crore) four-lane work was laid at Edapalayam near the town in June 2022.
“The stretch connects key districts of Kallakurichi, Tiruvannamalai, Ranipet, Vellore, and Tirupattur before ending in Chittoor (A.P), covering a distance of 205 km. Of this, 28 km between Kallakurichi (8.5 km) and Tiruvannamalai (19.5 km) has been widened,”K. Raghuraman, assistant director (AD), State Highways (Tiruvannamalai), toldThe Hindu.
On an average, 40,000 vehicles use the stretch daily. The widened stretch has 15-metre wide carriageway, 1.2-metre wide median, 1.5-metre wide storm-water drain on both sides of the stretch, LED streetlights, tiled pavement, rainwater harvesting system and native trees. The stretch has 24 bus stops with more frequency of bus services and 41 small bridges to prevent inundation.
Temple tank
Mr. Stalin will inaugurate the renovated Ayyankulam, also known as Ayyan Theerthavari Kulam, built in 1860 and belonging to the temple on October 22 (Sunday). Spread over three acres near the temple, the tank, maintained by the Tiruvannamalai municipality, is at least 15-ft deep and has around 30 granite steps on each of its four sides. The tank was desilted and deepened by Thuimai Arunai, a local non-governmental organisation. Clogged and damaged drains and inlets to the tank were repaired to allow inflow of rainwater from the town. The temple tank was previously renovated in the 1960s by a group of residents from Puducherry.
The tank remained closed after four persons drowned in it during a stampede when a large number of devotees took a holy dip on the occasion of Mahodaya Amavasya in February 2016. With safety features in place, the tank is being reopened to the public.
Mr. Stalin will attend the wedding reception of the daughter of V. Nirmala, chairperson, Tiruvannamalai Municipality, on October 21 (Saturday).
A new medical block at Arunai Medical College Hospital, the widened stretch of the highway and the temple tank will be inaugurated on Sunday.
Later, he will hold a meeting with DMK booth committee office-bearers from 13 districts in north zone.
