Chief Minister M K Stalin unveiled a logo - Kalaignar 100 - to mark the birth centenary celebrations of former chief minister of Tamil Nadu and DMK stalwart M Karunanidhi, here on Friday.
Also, he announced that an international convention centre with a seating capacity of 5,000 would be established in Chennai and it would be named after Kalaignar (as Karunanidhi is fondly addressed).
"It will be a best-in-class convention centre that will be set up on 25 acres of land. It will meet growing needs in the future," Stalin said unveiling the logo, which was received by former Governor of West Bengal Gopalkrishna Gandhi, at a function held at Kalaivanar Arangam here.
Although the Chennai Convention Centre at Nandambakkam covers 10,000 square meters and additional construction has been taken up on 12,000 square meters area, it is not sufficient to meet growing needs. Hence, the Kalaignar convention centre will be designed to meet future requirements. It would host international conventions, have exhibition halls, provide quality accommodation, contain restaurants, parks, besides spacious parking lots, the chief minister said.
He came up with the idea of such an international convention centre following his recent visit to Singapore and Japan to woo investors to Tamil Nadu, Stalin said. Paying rich tributes to the late chief minister, Gopalkrishna Gandhi said that in public life Kalaignar symbolised maturity, and in administration and governance he symbolised balance.
Earlier, Stalin inaugurated a photo exhibition organised by the state public relations department in the presence of Gandhi and state ministers. The government has planned year-long celebrations to mark the 100th birth anniversary of Karunanidhi, who was born on June 3, 1924.
