‘Aadi Perukku’ celebrated

Thanjavur:‘Aadi Perukku’ was celebrated with gaiety, enthusiasm and religious fervour on Friday in the Cauvery delta districts of Thanjavur and Tiruvarur.All rivers and canals in the three districts were having water, thanks to the copious inflow into Mettur Dam and release of water from Grand Anicut on July 21.The Public Works Department has maintained the flow in the Cauvery, Vennar and Grand Anicut Canal systems since July 21.

Attired in their best, women offered pujas in the bathing ghats along the rivers and canals. Women offered worshipped mother Cauvery at the bathing ghat near Big Temple, and the bathing ghats on Vennar, Vadavar and Vettar here.At Thiruvaiyaru, women in large numbers offered pujas at the bathing ghat along the Cauvery. Children had a gala time swimming in the rivers and pulling toy cars to celebrate the festival. Camphor-lit betel leaves were set afloat in the river.Pujas were offered at Mother Cauvery temple at Thirucherai in Tiruvarur district. According to S. Ranganathan, secretary of Cauvery Delta Farmers’ Welfare Association, this is the only temple for Mother Cauvery. Legend has it that Mother Cauvery at Thirucherai has Perumal on her lap.

Following a suggestion made by Mahaperiyawal of Kanchi, pujas are being offered to Mother Cauvery at Thirucherai for the past 20 years on Aadi Perukku. The temple is mentioned in Alwar Pasurams and ancient texts.‘Aadi Perukku’ was celebrated with gaiety also in various parts Nagapattinam district.A large number of newly-married couple performed pujas on the banks of Cauvery and Vennar river systems after taking bath. They also visited various temples and worshipped deities.Heavy rush was seen in most of the temples as ‘Adi Perukku’ was celebrated on the third Friday of ‘Adi,’ said to be auspicious.

People gathered in large numbers along the banks of River Cauvery and performed customary rituals as a mark of thanksgiving here. People, especially the newly-wed and the youth, clad in bright new clothes thronged several bathing ghats along Thavuttupalayam, Vangal, Nerur, Thirumukkoodalur, Mayanur and Kulithalai took bath and paid their respects as a mark of thanksgiving to Mother Cauvery. They also partook the festive food brought from their on the river banks.

India still not developed country

Tanjore:Residents of Melaramanallur travelling in a coracle on the Kollidam river.Generally, public of a locality or a village will seek adequate basic amenities. But the residents of Melaramanallur village, located amid the Kollidam river, have a different request, that is construction of a bridge.The village, which falls under Ariyalur taluk of Perambalur district, has a population of 2,500.

If they have to move out to towns like Papanasam and Kabisthalam on Thanjavur side or Thirumanur on Perambalur side, they have to cross the Kollidam river to a distance of 1 km on either side. For this they use floats when the river is full or wade through waist deep water or use bullock carts during summer. Problems faced by them in the absence of a bridge are many, they told The Hindu on Thursday.The island village has houses, a panchayat union school, a fair price shop, a temple of Pachaiamman, which was unearthed from a mound of sand by villagers and agricultural lands in which paddy and vegetables like brinjal are grown. They get water in borewells at a depth of 15 ft. Most of the people, who are land owners, said that they have been living for generations in the island village, which is 5 km in length and 2 km in width.

But the absence of physical connectivity is the biggest problem they face.Seventy children studying in high schools in Papanasam and Kabisthalam have to go in floats during rainy season and walk across the river during the summer to reach their schools. When there are floods they cannot attend schools regularly. They even had to miss their examinations and hence failed.Many youth in the village are dropouts at VII or VIII standards and have taken to agriculture.If this is the plight of the students going to high schools in other places, for the 120 children who study in the panchayat union middle school in the village, teachers have to come from towns on the banks of Kollidam.

Sahayameri, Head Mistress of the school, said that she comes from Thirumanur.“I find it difficult to reach the village. I depend upon floats or bullock carts to come to the village. I usually reach Thiruvaiyaru from Thirumanur by bus and again from Thiruvaiyaru, I will reach Thaikkal on Thiruvaiyaru-Kumbakonam Road by another bus. From there I will cross the river either by walk (during summer) or in float during rainy season. A bridge will help a lot”, she said.It will be very difficult to reach the village even in floats when the river is in spate. During those days the people have to depend upon commodities stocked earlier.

For the fair price shop in the village commodities are brought in bullock carts when the water is less and by floats during rainy season.“We are distributing rice at Rs. two a kg to the villagers and other essential commodities. But reaching the goods is difficult in the absence of a bridge” said K. Murugesan, sales clerk, who was supervising the rice bags brought in bullock carts to the shop on Thursday.Emergency cases cannot be easily taken to hospitals in nearby towns on the banks. A pregnant woman had to be moved in a float with much difficulty to a hospital on the bank recently said G. Thiruvenkadam, a resident of the town, who is now working in the UK. He had come to the village on a holiday. When there was an unprecedented flood in the Kollidam in the year 2005 (Kollidam carried three lakh cusecs of water) the village was inundated. People moved to a sand mound in the village and stayed there.

“Our demand is for construction of bridge in the southern side connecting Papanasam and Kabisthalam villages in Thanjavur district. We have submitted a memorandum to A. Raja, Union minister and Perambalur MP, D. Amaramurthy MLA, G.K. Vasan, Union Minister, and former collectors of Perambalur. We will be thankful if a bridge is constructed,” said T. Uthirapathy, Melaramanallur panchayat president.

Cultivation started at Tanjore

A farmer Irrigating his paddy field in Thanjavur district on Tuesday.With water reaching the tail-end areas of major rivers in the Cauvery, Vennar and Grand Anicut canal divisions in the composite Thanjavur district, farmers are preparing for the samba cultivation.

As the Agriculture Department has advised farmers to take up cultivation (raising of seedlings and transplantation) after August 10, to avoid crop in the crucial stage getting caught in the northeast monsoon, farmers are now procuring samba seeds from the Agriculture Department.According to the Joint Director (in-charge), Agriculture, Senthamizhselvan, already 400 tonnes of samba seeds has been sold out of 1,200 tonnes of seeds available with the Agriculture Department.

The demand is more for CR1009, which has a duration of 155 days. The department has advised farmers to raise CR1009 after August 10. Other varieties, which the farmers can raise, if they take up cultivation after August 10 are, ADT44, CO43, ADT38 and ADT46 etc.Farmers have been advised to go for ADT 39, if they take up cultivation after August 20.“Farmers are heeding to the advice of the Agriculture Department and hence, we can hope for a successful samba this year. The plan is to raise samba on 1,20,000 hectares in Thanjavur district this year”, JDA said. The Government is meeting the 18 per cent of the seed demand and provides a subsidy of Rs.2 per kg.

Fertilisers are now needed only for top dressing. While fertilizers are available, the mindset for particular demand of fertilizers like SPIC is the problem faced by the department. But farmers have been advised to go for any brand without demanding a particular demand, the JDA said.There is a stock of 12,500 tonnes of Urea and Potash with the Agriculture and Cooperative Departments.

Committee for modernising the irrigation systems

Thanjavur:The State Government will soon appoint a committee of experts to prepare a report on modernising the irrigation system in the Cauvery delta, PWD Minister Durai Murugan said on Sunday.The committee of working and retired Chief Engineers and Superintending Engineers of the PWD would submit a report in three months. Based on it, a proposal would be submitted to the World Bank, which had promised to fund the project, he said at a seminar on irrigation organised by the PWD here.The modernisation, he said, would help to ensure water flow to the tail-end areas and provide flood relief.

A Rs. 200-crore proposal for strengthening the right bank of the Kollidam, from the Grand Anicut to Poompuhar, was submitted to the State Government.It would be sent to the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development for funding. Proposals for strengthening of bunds and repairs to shutters and regulators, at a cost of Rs. 450-500 crore, were submitted to the Government.A Rs. 1.25-crore proposal for desilting the Thirumeni lake in Nagapattinam district was submitted to the Government. It would be sent to the NABARD.He said a law had been enacted to empower engineers to arrest those who encroached upon waterbodies. The encroachers could be detained under the Goondas Act.Minister for Co-operation Ko.Si. Mani said co-operative credit, especially short-term loans, would be given to farmers soon for samba cultivation.

Minister of State for Finance S.S. Palani Manickam promised to get Central Government assistance for irrigation work in the delta region.The NABARD had been asked to fund a project for strengthening the bunds of the Grand Anicut Canal.Nagapattinam MP A.K.S. Vijayan said repairs to shutters and regulators should be given importance.S. Ranganathan, secretary, Cauvery Delta Farmers’ Welfare Association, called for chemical spraying to eradicate “Neyveli Kattamanakku.”Thiruvaiyaru MLA Durai Chandrasekaran demanded a retaining wall to protect Thokur, a village near the Grand Anicut, from floods.

Mini marathon at Tanjore

A section of the participants at the race in Thanjavur on Saturday.Over 650 persons participated in the mini-marathon, conducted to commemorate the 84th birthday of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and his 50 years as Legislator, here on Saturday.The president of the Thanjavur District Athletic Association, T. Krishnaswamy Vandayar flagged off the race from the Chozhan statue near Thilakar Thidal in the presence of S.S. Rajkumar, a lawyer.

The seven-km race passed through Melaveedhi, Vadaku vasal, Keezha raja veedhi, old bus stand, railway station, Collector’s bungalow road, Kundavai Nachiar Government Arts College for Women and ended at the Annai Sathya Stadium.P. Loganathan of Pudukottai secured the first place, while C. Sivakumar and P. Gopi, both from Tiruchi, finished second and third respectively.The Union Minister of State for Finance, S.S. Palanimanickam gave away the prizes. The District Sports Officer, S. Thamilselvan was present on the occasion.

Post-poll affairs discussed at meet

D. Chandrasekaran, State Election Commissioner, centre, addressing the meeting in Thanjavur on Thursday.The State Election Commissioner, D. Chandrasekaran, chaired a post-local body poll review meeting here on Thursday. The Secretary of the Commission, M. Veerashanmugha Moni, and the District Collector (in-charge), N. Muthukaruppan, were present at the meeting.Settlement of accounts by the candidates, poll procedures adopted and cases related to the polls were discussed.The Project Officer, District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Rajamani; the Project Officer, Mahalir Thittam, Raja Mallaiyan; and Revenue Divisional Officers of Thanjavur, Kumbakonam and Pattukottai, among others participated in the meeting.

Course to teach writing Tamil sans mistakes

Thanjavur:Tamil University has taken steps to help people write Tamil without mistakes, according to Vice-Chancellor C. Subramaniam.At the inauguration of a seminar on Tholkappiam here on Monday, he said though Tamils lived in 94 countries and though Tamil was declared a classical language, the number of those who wrote Tamil without mistakes was coming down.School and college students and government departments wrote Tamil with mistakes.So, the university launched a diploma course and a certificate course, through distance education, to teach people write Tamil without mistakes.The university’s Department of Grammar would publish a new edition of Tholkappiam.

10 Day music fete

Thanjavur: Sri Thyagabrahma Sabha here will organise a ten-day music festival here from June 22 to July 1, according to G. Naga Pillai, president of the sabha.Mr. Pillai told presspersons here on Tuesday that musicians from various states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala would take part in the festival.Some of the important programmes, according to Sivaramakrishnan, vice-president of the sabha and R. Nandakumar, treasurer, are the special music programme of Sri Guru Karaikudi Mani, Vocal by T.N. Seshagopalan, Bharatha Natyam by Swarnamalya, Devaram and Divyaprabantham recital by Balachandran and Nisha Rajagopal, Namasankeerthanam by Udayalur Kalyanaraman and Harikatha by Girija Ramaswamy.

K. Padmanabhan, secretary of the sabha said that competition to students in the recital of Thyagaraja Kritis will be conducted in three categories, 8-12 years, 12-16 years and 16-22years.
Lecture demonstrations on music will be held.The State Bank of India, BSNL, City Union Bank Limited, Nalli Silks, Thanjavur Spinning Mills Limited and the LIC will sponsor the programmes.

Ethno-Veterinary Medicine Research and Training centre

Thanjavur: The State Government has sanctioned Rs.18 lakh for establishing an Ethno-Veterinary Medicine Research and Training centre for livestock at Thanjavur, said N. Balaraman, Vice-Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, here on Friday.

The centre will have a research laboratory to test contents of medicinal herbs to be grown in-campus and produce them into tablets and medicines and supply to farmers. Already a fisheries training and research centre of the university is functioning at Soorakottai near here. It had been giving training to farmers in inland fishing and was providing seeds to farmers.Livestock could play a major role in supplementing the income of the farmers and providing an alternate livelihood. Water shortage has become a major crisis in Tamil Nadu, affecting cultivation of crops. Search for alternate water vocation was going on even in agrarian centres such as Thanjavur.

Livestock and fisheries could provide a standard income throughout the year to farmers. Crop sector alone could not fulfil food requirements of the human population in India, whereas the staple food in foreign countries was meat.Livestock and crops depend on each other. For poultry, maize and soya beans could be cultivated as feed.In Tamil Nadu, there are nine million cattle, two million buffaloes, six million sheep and seven million goats, 86 million poultry. It was not the number of animals that matter, but quality yield from them. Hence fertility rate of these animals were kept up.

The veterinary university was supplying mineral mixture at Rs. 35 a packet, to keep up fertility rate .Dr. Balaraman also said that the university entered into Memorandum of Understanding with two U.S. universities for taking up joint research and exchange of visits. The two Universities were Michigan University and Virginia tech University. Purdue University in the U.S. has also evinced interest in taking up joint research in wildlife, he added.

Ration card with in 1 month

Thanjavur: People, if found eligible, could get ration cards within one month from the date of application, said N. Muthukaruppan, District Collector (in-charge), at Kaduveli village in Thiruvaiyaru taluk on Wednesday.Speaking at a mass contact programme, he said that the Government has ordered that the cards could be printed by the district collectorate itself. Previously, cards were printed in Chennai and brought to districts. Hence there may not be delay in getting ration cards. Eligible persons who apply to get the cards will be provided with a card in one month.

Mr. Muthukaruppan received 22 petitions at the camp and referred them to various departments for consideration. He disbursed Rs. 400 each as financial assistance to four old persons. Under welfare scheme for weaker sections, he disbursed Rs. 10,000 each to five persons and maternity benefits to 10 women.

SASTRA rank list released

Thanjavur:The Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology and Research Academy (SASTRA) University rank list for the B.Tech. admission for the year 2007-08 has been released.The first rank has been jointly secured by K. Vijay Kumar of DAV HSS, Gopalapuram, Chennai, and Priya Mohan Ram DAV MHSS, Gopalapuram, Chennai, who have each secured 100 percent scoring 490 and 1182 in the CBSE and TN Higher Secondary Examinations respectively.

The second rank has been bagged by N. Aarthi also from DAV MHSS, Gopalapuram, Chennai with a score of 1181 calculated as 99.9154 percentile.Counselling for the admissions will be held between June 17 & 20, 2007 at Thanjavur and call letters for candidates selected for counselling are being dispatched.Website:The results are also available at www.sastra.edu.Applications were received till 6 p.m. on June 9, 2007 and the rank list was released at 9 p.m. the same day, said S.Vaidhyasubramaniam, Dean, SASTRA University.

Cauvery delta farmers should go for hybrid paddy

Thanjavur:Farmers in the Cauvery delta should go for cultivation of hybrid varieties of paddy to get a higher yield, said V. Muralidharan,Director, Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute, Aduthurai.Speaking at the inauguration of a training programme for farmers on cultivation of CORH-3, a hybrid paddy variety, here on Tuesday, Dr. Muralidharan said that CORH-was a short-term `kuruvai' variety that matured in 115 days. The fine variety of rice got from CORH-3 would fetch a good price. It gave an yield of 1.5 tonnes more per hectare, compared to normal variety of paddy. If cultivated using System Rice Intensification method, 12 tonnes was possible, he said.

M. Jothi, Joint director of Agriculture, Thanjavur district, said that 50 samples of CORH-3 were given to farmers and tested. They took a higher yield. Alternate crops had been raised on 12,000 hectares in the district. Out of this, pulses had been raised on 3,000 ha, gingelly on 1,500 ha, groundnut on 900 ha and maize on 200 ha.

The training programme was conducted at the Rural Training Centre (RTC) of the Indian Overseas Bank. R. Vaidyanathan, Deputy General Manager, IOB, said that 57 training programmes were conducted since the inception of the centre on August 29, 2005. The programmes were jointly conducted with Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, Agriculture, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries departments.It was necessary to increase productivity taking into consideration the population explosion. The centre would act as a link from lab to land, Mr. Vaidyanathan said. He distributed CORH-3 seeds to some farmers on the occasion. G. Jaganathan, Director, RTC, and M.Valayapathi, Chief Manager, IOB participated.

Sri Besant Lodge getting facelift

Tanjore:Front elevation of the main building being renovated in Thanjavur.Sri Besant Lodge here, which is more than hundred years old, has been given a facelift.The lodge has two buildings. The main building was declared open by Dr. Annie Besant in 1904 and another called Sri Ram Hall that was added in 1960.The two buildings have been catering to the needs of voluntary organisations, theosophical society and the public for conducting meetings.

According to R. Sivasankar, an engineer, the front elevation of the main building has been renovated without disturbing its originality. Stuckoo works and paintings have been done in the main building, which has six pillars in front. The Sri Ram hall has been fully renovated.G. Swaminathan, former MP and president of the lodge, said that there is a plan to add one more hall to the existing two buildings.

"There is a need for another hall as a lot of meetings take place in Thanjavur now. Nominal donation is collected from the organisers for using the halls," Mr. Swaminathan said.There is a good library in the lodge. It houses 2,350 books in Sanskrit, English and Tamil."There are many rare and old books older than the ones found in the Saraswathi Mahal Library. They need to be preserved. Library also will be renovated and computerised," Mr. Swaminathan said."We have also decided to form Sri Besant Lodge Literary Association and conduct literary meetings. Membership is collected for the purpose."The library is open to the public and no fee is charged for reading books.It is open every day in the morning and evening. On payment of small subscription, members of the public are allowed to take books home for study.

The objectives of the Sri Besant Lodge at Thanjavur, according to Mr. Swaminathan, are to form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity without race, creed, sex, caste and colour discrimination. It is aimed at encouraging the study of comparative religion, philosophy and science to investigate the unexplained laws of nature.Many theosophical events took place in the lodge from 1985 to 2004. The centenary of the lodge was celebrated in 2004 when the former home secretary T.V. Venkatraman and Radha Burnier, international president of Theosophical Society, participated, he said.Yoga classess are conducted in the lodge by various organisations. Sri Thyagabrahma Sabha celebrates its annual music festival in the lodge every year.

Analytical technique in food processing

Tanjore: The Paddy Processing Research Centre (PPRC) here conducted a summer training course in analytical technique in food processing for the benefit of students of various colleges in and around Thanjavur, according to its Director (in-charge), K. Singaravadivelu.

In a press release Dr. Singaravadivelu said that the working of high-tech analytical instruments, spectro photometer, image analyser and fermenter were demonstrated to them.The Centre offers courses in rice processing technology, food product development, preservation and handling of high-tech equipment throughout the year.He said that there was a need for updating the knowledge of the student community to adapt themselves with the competitive world in the field of biotechnology.

Informative interaction to know a rich tradition

Students of Raffles Institution in Thanjavur on Friday.They were here to know their roots, rich culture, tradition and history of Tamil. The twenty school students from the Raffles Institution, Singapore, who study Tamil as a subject, visited Tamil University here on Friday. They interacted with C. Subramaniam, Vice-Chancellor, and other faculty members.Explaining the tour, V. Jayakumar, Head, Tamil Department, Raffles Institution, said that the aim of the tour was to expose the students to rich Tamil culture and make them interact with people, students and teachers of Tamil University.The students arrived in Chennai three days ago and will travel up to Kanyakumari. The tour is for 10 days.

Raffles Institution was established by Raffles in 1823 and is one of the premier institutions.Students are admitted to four-year high school study in the institution after they pass an entrance examination.Speaking to the students, the Vice-Chancellor said that the Syndicate of the university had given approval for establishing a distance education centre in Malaysia. Tamil University will take steps to establish a similar centre in Singapore also in the course of time.

The university had also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Navi Mumbai Tamil Sangam in Mumbai to establish a distance education centre there, he said.Already 29 district distance education centres of the university were functioning in Tamil Nadu and 30 more taluk centres would soon be established. The students made an appeal to the Vice-Chancellor to recognise dramas and literature produced by Singapore writers. The Vice-Chancellor assured them that he would offer prizes to creations by students.G. Bhaskaran, Registrar of the university, also spoke to the students.

Buddha statue identified

Thanjavur: A granite Buddha statue has been identified by B. Jambulingam of Tamil University at Valayamapuram in Valangaiman taluk of Tiruvarur district.According to Mr. Jambulingam, who has done an extensive study on Buddha statues for his doctorate entitled `Buddhism in the Chola Country,' this is the 64th statue found in the Chola country, comprising the composite Thanjavur, Tiruchi and Pudukottai districts. The statue is 92 cm in height and without the head.

The usual sacred thread with a wider fringe on the left chest extending to the navel is found. Chakra is found on the right palm.The statue has powerful and broad shoulders and wider chest. In the `Chola Country,' Buddha statues are found without the head in three places. They are Rayapmpuram in Peramblaur district, Gopinathaperumalkoil near Patteeswaram and Keelakurichi in Tiruchi district.The prevalence of Buddha statues at many places proved the existence of Buddhism in a flourishing stage in the Chola Country, Mr. Jambulingam said in a press release.

1.15 lakh people benefitted boz of health camps

Thanjavur: Women undergoing check-up at Majonipatti in Thanjavur district on Friday.A total of 1.15 lakh people have benefitted from Varumum Kappom health camps conducted so far in Thanjavur district, according to S.S. Palani Manickam, Union Minister of State for Finance.He inaugurated the 75th Varumun Kappom camp at Majonipatti in Ramanathapuram panchayat near Thanjavur on Friday.He said that there was very good response to the camps from people.

The number of patients having heart diseases, diabetes, and cancer were on the increase nowadays.If early detection was done in camps like Varumum Kappom, patients could take better treatment and live for long.Modern equipment and technology were needed, he said. Modern treatment was given in the camps.K.T. Mahesh Krishnaswamy and Durai Chandrasekaran, MLAs, Selvi Sivagnanam, Chairperson, Thanjavur district panchayat, P. Durai Rajan, Chairman, Thanjavur panchayat union. and others participated in the camp.

Poompuhar exhibition inaugurated

Thanjavur: A sales target of Rs. 3 lakh has been fixed for Poompuhar exhibition, which was inaugurated at the showroom here on Wednesday.N. Ganesan, Secretary and Correspondent of Bharath College of Science and Management, declared it open.

Handicrafts from various States are on display.The exhibition will be held till May 31.Price range of the articles varies from Rs. 2 to Rs. 68,000. Panchaloka idols, bronze lamps from Madurai, Thanjavur art plates, stone sculptures, Thanjavur paintings, paper toys, `chappals' made of coconut fibre, handloom saris, dhoties and `chunkadi' saris are on display.N. Palanisamy, Regional Manager of Poompuhar, and K. Chidambaranathan, Manager, Poompuhar showroom, were present.