Chennai, Jan 31 (BPNS)
Heated arguments for and against the construction of the Kalaignar Pen Memorial took place at Marina beach on Tuesday. Ruckus prevailed at the scene and the efforts of the district collector Amruta Jyothi to pacify those involved in heated arguments turned in vain.
There were several supporters of DMK who wanted the Pen Memorial to be erected by AIADMK, BJP, and others including NTK of Actor, politician Seeman was opposed to the construction of the memorial.
The 42-metre Pen Memorial is to be constructed 360 metres from the shoreline and at a cost of Rs 80 crore. The proposed site falls under the CRZ- 1A, CRZ-II, and CRZ-IVA areas and the state government had given the green signal for the construction of the memorial.
Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) leader and actor turned politician, Seeman, while speaking to media persons said, “ If the Pen Memorial is erected in the sea, I will break it. If you (DMK) want to erect the Pen monument in memorial of Karunanidhi, then you do it at your party headquarters at Arivalayam.”
It may be noted that the environmentalists had flagged the construction of Pen Memorial stating that Marina Beach has a high accretion rate or sand accumulation and the proposed memorial could further affect the coastline. The environmentalists and naturalists are of the opinion that the construction would affect the fish population also.
The Tamil Nadu government led by Karunanidhi’s son, M.K. Stalin is already building a grand memorial to the late DMK patriarch, at his resting place near that of C.N. Annadurai, the first DMK Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
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