The southern metropolis on Thursday added a new attraction, ‘Namma Chennai’, a selfie spot at the famous Marina Beach in Chennai under the Smart City Mission. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami unveiled the Rs 24 lakh facility, set up to celebrate the pride of the city and its ethos and to express one's love for Chennai.
The Tamil word 'Namma' (our) in red colour is featured on the top and the word Chennai in white finds a place in English beneath it in the structure installed on the arterial Kamarajar Salai opposite the Queen Mary's College.
CM Palaniswami, along with his Cabinet colleagues, including Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and Local Administration Minister SP Velumani, inaugurated the facility, an initiative of the Greater Chennai Corporation.
Soon after the inauguration, people flocked the premises and eagerly clicked selfies with 'Namma Chennai' logo in the background.
Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar and Chennai Corporation Commissioner K Prakash took photographs in front of the new structure.
On Thursday, the opening ceremony of the 'Veda Nilayam' memorial, residence of late Chief Minister and AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa in Poes Garden, was held. CM Palaniswami unveiled a plaque that declared Veda Nilayam a memorial in Jayalalithaa's honour. The CM, along with Panneerselvam and Speaker P Dhanapal paid floral tributes to a portrait of Jayalalithaa. A day earlier, the Madras High Court had allowed the government to conduct the opening ceremony, but did not allow the building to be opened to the public.
Deepak and Deepa, nephew and niece of the late AIADMK supremo, had sought a stay on the inauguration. They filed separate petitions challenging the government notification for acquisition of Veda Nilayam to convert it to a memorial. However the court ordered the opening ceremony alone can take place as scheduled.
CM Palaniswami also unveiled a life-size statue of Jayalalithaa in the premises of a state-run college in Kamarajar Salai in front of the Marina Beach.
(With PTI inputs)