CM Stalin inaugurated the Kalaignar Centenary library on Education development day

Kalaignar Centenary library constructed as a part of Karunanidhi's centenary birthday celebrations was inaugurated by CM Stalin today evening (July 15) in Madurai. The announcement for the construction of a library was made by CM Stalin on June 3, 2021. Standing tall on an area of around 2.13 lakh square feet, built at a cost of 120.75 crores, the library is a 6 storeyed building excluding basement and ground floor.

Holding within itself more than 3.30 lakh books, the library serves as an epitome of educational development for not just Madurai but also most of the southern districts. For easy accessibility, the arrangement of books was done genre wise such as history, politics, literature, economy, culture, children's literature, science and even astronomy.

Entire library was departmentalised to ensure smooth functioning. Separate sections are available for Karunanidhi's works, rare books and for children, researchers etc. The highlight of the departmentalisation is the exclusive section for aspirants of competitive exams and the section for visually impaired people. All the sections are stacked in each storey of the library in a way of not obstructing the administrative functioning of the library and equally ensuring easy accessibility. Besides e-books, audiobooks, manuscripts, a collection of the Justice periodical published in 1918 and an art gallery depicting Tamil culture are also found in the library.

Situated in Puthunatham road, near Madurai, the magnificent structure was inaugurated by CM Stalin on Saturday (July 15). The Kalaignar Centenary Library, equipped with modern facilities including a digital section was inaugurated on the birth anniversary of former CM K.Kamaraj, a person who worked for the eradication of illiteracy. CM Stalin unveiled Karunanidhi's statue which adorned the entrance of the gigantic library and paid floral tributes to the portrait of former CM Karunanidhi.

After the inauguration ceremony, a special address was given by CM Stalin, in which he said..." Former CM Karunanidhi built Anna centenary library in the capital during Anna's centenary celebrations. Now I feel elated that I have built and inaugurated a library in the name of Kalaignar during his centenary birthday celebrations. Education and health are the two important aspects of the Dravidian model of government. The Kalaignar centenary hospital in Chennai and library in Madurai stands testimony to this fact. The multidisciplinary modern library in Madurai is going to revolutionise education in Madurai."

He continued ".....Karunanidhi was a versatile person, to be specific he was an all-rounder. He himself was a library who indulged in social services right from his youth days. In fact, DMK is not a political movement, it is an intellectual movement. He set an example for us to educate ourselves in order to reach great heights in life. The fighter within Karunanidhi is the reason for the reach of education into the nook and corners of Tamil Nadu. The first step in the ladder of development of a community is education, which was given to people by the parent organisation of DMK, the Justice party. DMK is the reason for revolutionising education in Tamil Nadu..." said CM Stalin.

Also Stalin said that his government is gearing up to launch the biggest ever socio-economic scheme of providing Rs.1000 monthly financial assistance to women heads of households on September 15, the birth anniversary of former Chief Minister C N Annadurai. CM Stalin's speech invoked a sense of spirit about the significance of education among the public.

As Nelson Mandela said..."Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."