📚 CM Vijay Opens ₹300 Crore Periyar Arivulagam in Coimbatore

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Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay opened Periyar Arivulagam (“Periyar World of Knowledge”) at Gandhipuram, Coimbatore, on Friday, October 16, 2026. The ₹300 crore library and science centre stands on Dr Nanjappa Road, near the town bus stand. It was his first visit to Coimbatore as Chief Minister.

The Day in Coimbatore

• Vijay flew in from Chennai and travelled about 11.4 km along Avinashi Road from the airport to Gandhipuram. Residents and TVK workers lined the route and showered flowers.
• At the entrance he unveiled a statue of Periyar E.V. Ramasamy and the inscription stone, then cut the ribbon.
• He spent about 40 minutes touring the reception, science centre, children’s library, reading halls, digital library and planetarium, spoke with corporation school students, planted a sapling and signed the visitors’ book.
• At the government function that followed, he opened 89 completed projects, laid foundation stones for 144 more and gave welfare aid to 9,343 people — see the full story ›

Floor by Floor

For Students and Young People

• About one lakh books across Tamil and English literature, linguistics, mathematics, science, engineering, medicine, law, sociology, management and technology, plus e-books.
• A STEM laboratory with virtual-reality and augmented-reality equipment in the science centre.
• Study halls and material for TNPSC and UPSC aspirants, and an auditorium for seminars, debates and cultural events.
• A start-up incubation centre for young entrepreneurs.
• Parking for 130 cars and 450 two-wheelers, escalators, lifts, a sewage treatment plant and drinking water.

The Building

The complex stands on about seven acres of Prisons Department land. Of the ₹300 crore, about ₹245 crore went into construction and ₹50 crore into books. The Public Works Department built it. The foundation stone was laid on November 6, 2024, under the previous government, and the present government completed and opened it.

Who Was There

Ministers N. Anand, K.A. Sengottaiyan, A. Rajmohan, V. Sampath Kumar and K. Vignesh, local legislators, School Education Secretary J. Innocent Divya, Director of Public Libraries S. Jayanthi, District Collector Pavankumar G. Giriyappanavar and Corporation Commissioner Katta Ravi Teja attended.

A planned afternoon helicopter trip to a private Navaratri event in Thrissur, Kerala, was called off because of heavy rain, and the Chief Minister returned to Chennai.

Why It Matters

Coimbatore’s students and job-seekers now have a free, modern public library with a competitive-exam floor, a start-up incubator and a hands-on science centre under one roof. Opening a project begun under the previous government, and naming it after Periyar, fits the Chief Minister’s stated approach of finishing useful public works whoever started them.

Periyar Arivulagam Coimbatore Library Science Centre Students Day 160