Chennai
Aimed at ensuring a second green revolution in the state, the government move aims to reduce the gap in agriculture production through use of proper techniques, provide storage facilities to stock produce and increase marketing facilities to enable farmers receive a good price for their crops, an official release added.
The integrated agriculture extension centres aimed to provide farmers with the latest crop production technology, provide inputs for increased yields and issue advice to farmers on all issues from the nursery to the crop harvest stage. The scheme also included new soil testing labs in Tirupur and Tirunelveli districts at a cost of Rs 75 lakhs and Rs 60 lakhs respectively and new horticulture information and training centres at Tirunelveli and Sivaganga districts at a cost of Rs 60 lakhs and Rs 65 lakhs respectively. EPS also inaugurated a Rs 3.70 crore horticulture management centre at Madhavaram on the outskirts of Chennai.
Electricity minister P Thangamani, social welfare minister V Saroja, agriculture minister R Duraikannu and chief secretary Girija Vaidyanathan participated.
State government provides articles of worship for village temples
Extending an existing government scheme to issue village temples with articles related to worship, the state government provided such articles worth Rs 2.50 crore to 10,000 minor temples recently. Chief minister Edapadi K Palanisamy who did the honours at the Secretariat stated that the 2014 scheme formulated by the then chief minister Jayalalithaa to ensure daily poojas were conducted in 10,000 village temples, was now being extended to another 10,000 temples.
The Chief Minister also inaugurated a Rs 11 lakh scheme for the provision of 20 gram panchamirtham to 2,000 devotees after the sayaratcha pooja in the Palani Dandayuthapani temple.
Similarly, he also inaugurated a Rs 1.70 crore icon centre and music school in Tiruvarur while laying the foundation stone for a Rs.85 lakhs music school at Tiruvanamalai under the aegis of the state tourism and culture departments.
Inaugurating an icon centre at the Kaparthiswaram temple at Tiruvalanchuzhi estimated at Rs 95 lakhs, he said this scheme was to ensure that devotees were provided all facilities when they visited temples and to retrieve encroached upon temple lands which would help the latter increase their income.
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