Kalaiarangam to turn into a marriage hall- The Hindu Trichy 6 2 2018

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/kalaiarangam-to-turn-into-a-marriage-hall/article22663817.ece

Kalaiarangam to turn into a marriage hall
TIRUCHI, FEBRUARY 06, 2018 00:00 IST
UPDATED: FEBRUARY 06, 2018 05:04 IST SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Rs. 2 crore to be spent for the project, says Collector
The Thiyagarajar Bhagavathar mandram, popularly known as Kalaiarangam, has been one of the popular movie screens in Tiruchi for more than four decades. It was among the first cinema halls in the State to introduce air condition facility in the 80’s.
But now, Kalaiarangam is all set to become a marriage hall.
The hall, which is under the control of the District Welfare Fund Committee headed by the Tiruchi District Collector, was usually given on lease. But, due to issues over renewing the lease and leasing out to other players, the matter which was even taken to the High Court, the theatre has been lying idle for the past few months.
The decision to convert the cinema hall into marriage hall was taken at a meeting of the District Welfare Committee recently.
As a first step of remodelling the cinema hall into a marriage hall, the District Welfare Committee (DWC) launched construction works with a customary “Bhoomi Puja” on Monday. Collector K. Rajamani, who is also the president of District Welfare Committee, inaugurated the construction works in the presence of members of DWC.
“I have no doubt that the marriage hall will be a major hit as it can accommodate about 1,000 guests and it is located very close to the central bus stand. Moreover, the rent will be affordable to all sections of the society,” says Mr. Rajamani.
Explaining the reasons behind the move, Mr. Rajamani told The Hindu that the infrastructure had been kept idle on regular interval due to various reasons in the past.
It could no longer be kept idle. Hence, it has been decided to remodel the hall into marriage hall. It would serve the people in a great way.
He added that a sum of Rs. 2 crore would be spent for the project. Of this, Rs. 1.60 crore would be spent for bringing out necessary changes inside the hall. Remaining Rs. 40 lakh would be spent on construction of dining hall and rooms for bride and bridegroom and provision of chairs. The works would be completed within six months.