A grand library named Periyar Arivulagam has been built in Gandhipuram, Coimbatore, at a cost of Rs. 300 crore, spanning 1 lakh 98 thousand square feet with 7 floors. It houses more than one lakh books. It is a science center created for the benefit of students. Chief Minister Vijay will inaugurate the Periyar Library today (Friday). For this, he will leave Chennai this morning on a special flight and head to Coimbatore. Meanwhile, DMK leader Stalin said on his X page, ``Following the Poonamallee–Vadapalani metro corridor, another major project of our Dravidian model government is set to be dedicated to public use today.

With self-respect and rationalism as his lifelong mission, the rationalist beacon, Father Periyar, who worked tirelessly until his last breath for the upliftment of the Tamil people, has an institution of knowledge named after him opening today in Coimbatore. My heart is dancing with joy!
In the 2024-25 budget, we announced that a grand library and science center would be established to further inspire the thirst for knowledge among the people of Coimbatore, especially the younger generation.
Following that, on 6-11-2024, we laid the foundation stone and completed this on land belonging to Coimbatore Central Prison, over an area of 1.98 lakh square feet, with a ground floor and seven upper floors, at an estimated cost of around 300 crore rupees. The Periyar Knowledge World is truly a temple of knowledge that we have built swiftly and with care in this way.
We have designed this in a world-class manner to captivate the eyes and stimulate the mind, with an auditorium, a library for persons with disabilities, and a space travel elevator on the ground floor; a reception area and science center on the first floor; a children’s library and a self-reading section on the second floor; a library for competitive examinations and the chief librarian’s office on the third floor; a Tamil book section and periodicals section on the fourth floor; an English book section and incubation center on the fifth and sixth floors; and a science center and digital library on the seventh floor.

With 125,000 books, this is set to become a vast treasure trove of knowledge for the western region. When I visited Coimbatore this February, most of the work had already been completed. When many people then said it could be inaugurated at that time, I said, “There is no need to rush; it is enough to open it after all the work has been fully completed.”
Who cares who opened it! Is merely opening it something to be proud of? The real pride lies in creating something with planning and purpose! In Tamil Nadu, that pride belongs only to the creative force of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. In commemoration of Perarignar Anna’s centenary, his beloved younger brother, Muthamizh Arignar Kalaignar, created the grandest and most beautiful library in Asia at Kotturpuram, Chennai. After Kalaignar’s tenure, many attempts were made to move it from there and ruin it. Putting a stop to all of them, when the Dravidian model government came to power in 2021, we revived the Anna Centenary Library.
Even today, it continues to serve as a sanctuary for thousands of students every day. Following that, in commemoration of the centenary of Leader Kalaignar, the architect of modern Tamil Nadu who created colleges, universities, parks, libraries, hospitals, factories, IT parks, flyovers, and symbols of Tamil culture across Tamil Nadu, I established and inaugurated the Kalaignar Centenary Library in Madurai.
I established and opened Chief Minister’s reading rooms and libraries across Chennai. We renovated Tamil Nadu’s first public library, the Egmore Connemara Library, in an excellent manner and also created and opened new facilities such as a modern children’s library, a science center, a self-reading section, and a modern conference hall. In addition, we restored the dilapidated Koshan Library in Chintadripet, preserving its old character as it marked its centenary. Both were inaugurated by the then Deputy Chief Minister, Mr. Udhayanidhi.

After Chennai and Madurai, we decided in our Dravidian model government to establish grand libraries in other regions as well. Accordingly, the Periyar Arivulagam inaugurated today is the one we have set up in Coimbatore for the people of the western region. Not only in Coimbatore, but also in Tiruchirappalli, a magnificent library in the name of Perunthalaivar Kamarajar at an estimated cost of Rs. 290 crore; in Nellai, a grand library in the name of the dignified Thendral Quaid-e-Millath at a cost of Rs. 100 crore; in Salem, Bharathidasan Arivulagam at a cost of Rs. 104 crore; and in Cuddalore, the Anjalai Ammal Arivulagam to be established at an estimated cost of Rs. 98.26 crore—we have been setting up grand libraries in every direction across Tamil Nadu under the Dravidian model government.
All of these will soon be inaugurated one after another. In that sense, it is not only while in power, but even when out of power, that the achievements of the Dravidian model government shine every day. Party comrades can proudly say with their collars raised that no government other than the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government has ever established libraries like this. These monuments of knowledge standing tall in every corner of Tamil Nadu were conceived in the Dravidian party government’s mind. Built by the party. Done by no other government.

Not just libraries, but the new government may continue inaugurating for many years to come only the projects set up by the Dravidian model government, such as the flyover in Chennai from Saidapet to Teynampet, the remaining routes of Phase II of the Chennai Metro Rail Project, and the Kalaignar International Convention Centre established in Muttukadu. We have left behind such a strong foundation in every district.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a movement that has functioned with knowledge, knowledge, and knowledge at its core. That is why our beloved Anna named the party’s first headquarters Arivagam. We address him as “Arignar,” and Kalaignar as “Muthamizh Arignar.” The office building established by Leader Kalaignar, which continues to serve as the party’s headquarters to this day, was also named “Arivalayam” by Anna. As a continuation of this tradition of knowledge, an Intellectual Festival was held last year on behalf of the party’s Youth Wing. We created libraries across Tamil Nadu with the aim that the flame of knowledge should spread everywhere, knowledge should be democratized, and Tamil society should develop a reading habit and emerge as a cultured society.

We organized book festivals. We created museums such as Keezhadi and Porunai. We held the Great Tamil Dream lectures. All of these have been etched into the hearts of the people of Tamil Nadu like a lasting impression. But I saw the current rulers engaging in some foolish acts, like trying to hide the rising sun with the palm of their hand. They have apparently concealed the name “Naan Mudhalvan,” engraved on the pyramid-shaped computer desk in the science and technology hall of the Periyar Knowledge World.
Even after he has become Chief Minister, if our opponents themselves fear that when people see the word ‘Muthalvan,’ they will think only of this Stalin, then that is our victory! The victory of our Naan Mudhalvan scheme! The rule of this band of fools, who have no connection to intellectual pursuits and are hostile to an enlightened society, will surely come to an end! In bringing that about, the libraries we have established and the books we have published will certainly contribute!

The Periyar Knowledge World, which is being opened today, will now stand as one of Coimbatore’s proud landmarks! My dear people of Coimbatore, just as we have been visiting the Semmozhi Park that we opened in the Dravidian model government, I urge everyone to visit and see the Periyar Knowledge World too. Visit it every day. Even when your relatives or friends come to Coimbatore, proudly take them along and show them our Knowledge World. Let the doors of Periyar Knowledge World open! Let ignorance be eradicated! Long live Periyar!
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