Chennai Apr 25 PTI The Tamil Nadu government would establish an international conservation and rehabilitation centre to protect Olive Ridley turtles in Chennai and also initiate measures to declare the Nanjarayan tank a biodiversity hotspot in Tiruppur district as the States 17th bird sanctuary Forest Minister K Ramachandran told the Assembly on Monday Announcing a slew of measures to improve biodiversity of the state he said the mission to protect the turtles and their habitats would be set up here at a cost of Rs 63 crore The centre would foster research awareness and related activities on the turtles he said This will be implemented under the Tamil Nadu Green Mission which would go a long way towards climate change mitigation and adaptations he said Also Chennais familiar landmarks the Adyar river Buckingham Canal and Cooum river would sport a green look as the government would take up the planting of saplings on the river banks he said Further the Nanjarayan tank home to about 130 species would be developed as the 17th bird sanctuary in the State the Minister said Steps woud be taken to set up the Cauvery south wildlife sanctuary adjacent to the Cauvery north wildlife sanctuary About Rs 5 crore has been allotted for preparing a detailed project report for this Ramachandran said Meanwhile a policy-note tabled by the Minister said the government would set up a marine elite force for strategic protection of the coastal and marine biodiversity prevention of wildlife poaching and illegal trade in the coastal regions as the marine resources are constantly exploited for economic reasons Many protected marine species are also hunted illegally by the poachers and smugglers as those fetch huge prices in domestic and international illegal wildlife markets Thus many of rare and endangered species are facing constant threats to their survival due to over exploitation he said in the note Practice of prohibited trawl net fishing and other illegal fishing methods bring additional stress on the species Marine turtles sea cucumbers sea horses sharks and rays pipe fishes dugongs dolphins and sea shells face extraordinary hunting pressures In order to address the above and to strengthen protection in the ecological sensitive coastal marine areas in the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere reserve particularly the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park and the Palk Bay establishment of the marine elite force with professional training and exposure is proposed the note added Also the government would set up forest sniffer dog squad units for detection of forest and wildlife offences besides a forest and wildlife crime control bureau to detect and prevent planned wildlife crimes PTI JSP NVG NVG

Chennai Mar 22 PTI The mikeless concert aimed at providing opportunities for children below the age of 15 years organised by city headquartered non-banking finance company Sundaram Finance would be conducted after a gap of two years the company said on Tuesday The monthly concert organised on the first Sunday of every month at the Nageswara Rao Park in the city was held for 14 years till March 2020 when COVID-19 pandemic struck and halted the event The concert series in which 1400 children have performed has been included in the Limca Book of Records for the longest running open air mikeless conferences The monthly kutcheri concert in the park would be re-launched on April 3 with a one-hour flute performance between 7 am and 8 am The Sunday Kutcheri in the park has served as a launch platform for budding young artistes for 14 years and has now become an integral part of Chennais cultural fabric Sundaram Finance Managing Director Rajiv Lochan said we are excited to re-launch the open air mikeless kutcheri at the Nageswara Rao Park and look forward to providing opportunities every month to children to showcase their musical talent in front of an informal audience at the park he added PTI VIJ VIJ HDA HDA