Tamil Nadu CM inaugurates memorials for freedom fighters

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today inaugurated a commemoration pillar and memorial dedicated for freedom fighters Dheeran Chinnamalai and Vanchinathan, respectively. The Chief Minister inaugurated them through video conferencing from the Secretariat, a government release said.

In 2012, Jayalalithaa had announced allocating Rs 60 lakh towards the construction of a commemoration pillar for Chinnamalai at Sankagiri (Salem dt.) where he was hanged by the British.

Similary, she inaugurated a memorial with the bust size statue of Vanchinathan, who is known for gunning down an English Collector inside a train at Maniyachi railway station before shooting himself to death during India's freedom struggle. His memorial has been constructed at a cost of Rs 50 lakh at Senkottai in Tirunelveli.

Further, she laid the foundation stone for construction of modern auditorium at Omandurar Government Estate in Chennai at an estimated Rs 61 crore. A State Infomation Centre will also come up there, the release added.