Gangaikonda Cholapuram is legacy, says Minister Thennarasu

TIRUCHY: Gangaikonda Cholapuram is the only capital that carries victory in its name, said Minister for Finance, Environment and Climate Change Thangam Thennarasu during the birth anniversary celebrations of King Rajendra Cholan, on Wednesday.

Addressing the participants of the Aadi Tiruvathirai festival, which is the birth anniversary of Rajendra Cholan, Thennarasu said, the state government is honoured to celebrate the occasion. The king is remembered for creating several water sources in the present Ariyalur and Cuddalore districts.

“Chief Minister MK Stalin has sanctioned a fund of Rs 19.25 crore to renovate the Ponneri, otherwise called Cholagangam lake carved out by Rajendra Cholan. This waterbody currently irrigates around 550 acres of land,” he said.

Stating that the Gangaikonda Cholapuram is not merely a name but it has a legacy, the minister said that the name itself has a story, and this is the only capital that carries victory in its name.

“Rajendra Cholan, who was very careful not to exceed the grandeur of the Big Temple but was keen on transferring Gangaikonda Cholapuram better than Thanjavur in terms of facilities,” the minister said.

Until the historian Kudavayil Balasubramaniam found that Rajendra Cholan was born on Aadi Tiruvathirai, it was known that he was born during Margazhi Thiruvathirai.

“The historian had read the inscriptions carefully and cleared the doubt about his birth star,” he said.

Rajendra Cholan was behind taking the Tamil culture and civilisation to the world, and his regime is a golden era in the past, and it is a lesson for everyone, said the minister.

He also said that the Chief Minister ordered an excavation to uphold the legacy of Rajendra Cholan and sanctioned a fund of Rs 22 crore for a museum to display the findings.

Minister MP Saminathan said that the state government has allocated a fund of Rs 55 crore for the Chola Museum at Thanjavur, in which a 35-foot statue of Raja Raja Cholan would be erected. “The Cholas, Raja Raja Cholan and Rajendra Cholan, who had ruled our land and brought honour to the Tamils across the world and thus, the Dravidian Model government is very keen on venerating these kings,” the minister said.

Minister SS Sivasankar said that the present Ariyalur and Perambalur, which were once jungles, were transformed into a dwelling place by the king Rajendra Cholan.

“The Chief Minister sanctioned a fund of Rs 35 crore for the desilt of Cholagangam lake and the renovation of inlet canals for the benefit of the farmers. Apart from this, a fund of Rs 7 crore was sanctioned for the tourism development of Gangaikonda Cholapuram,” the minister added.

VCK Chief and Chidambaram MP Thol Thirumavalavan and others also spoke on the occasion.