Karunanidhi in Coimbatore to fulfil literary dream

All roads lead to Coimbatore, a tier-II city about 500 km from Chennai, as it hosts the first world classical Tamil conference from June 23 to 27.

Conducting a massive literary jamboree has been a dream for 86-year-old Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi, called Kalaignar (artiste) because of his exploits in Tamil with the pen.

Though eight such conferences have been held, including in Malaysia, France, Sri Lanka and Mauritius, this is for the first time that a mega literary conference is being organised after Tamil was conferred the ‘classical’ status by the Centre in 2004.

“It gives me great pleasure to host the first such summit after Tamil was conferred the ‘classical’ status. It also gives me great pleasure as University of California’s professor George L Hart and Finland’s professor Emeritus Asko Parpola are attending,” Karunanidhi, who left for Coimbatore on Monday, said.

“This conference will be the harbinger of a new era in classical Tamil. Telecom minister A Raja will launch a special postal cover on the occasion,” he said.

Meanwhile, security in Coimbatore has been beefed up for the conduct of the five-day conference. “We have mobilised 10,000 police personnel, 4,000 NSS volunteers, 1,000 NCC cadets and 1,000 home guards,” director general and inspector general of police Letika Saran told reporters after reviewing security in Coimbatore.

Sixty bomb disposal squads with sniffer dogs will ensure smooth conduct of the event. CCTVs have been installed at strategic locations and screening of vehicles as well as people has begun, police sources said.