Govt exhibition begins, to take schemes to people

Coimbatore: Information and publicity minister M P Saminathan on Saturday inaugurated the annual government exhibition on the prison ground in the city. The show would go on for the next 45 days. Talking to the media, he said the exhibition would help the government take its achievements to the public. Various government departments have set up their stalls to sensitize people about the government schemes offered by them. The exhibition drew 2.5 lakh visitors last year, even as the government generated revenues of Rs56 lakh from it. With the schools and colleges closed for vacation, students are expected to visit the exhibition, which features a large number of food stalls, play area and shopping stalls, with their friends and family members.All the government departments, including information and publicity, Aavin, agriculture, horticulture, forest, police and fire and rescue services, have set up stalls at the exhibition. It also features a stall by the city corporation.District collector Kranti Kumar Pati, city mayor Kalpana Anandakumar and corporation commissioner M Prathap were present at the inaugural ceremony. When asked about Karnataka election results, where the Congress emerged victorious, Saminathan said the BJP was on the losing path, as people had realized its involvement in communal politics. “Victory of the Congress was expected, as opinion polls clearly indicated it. The BJP has brainwashed people on the communal lines to form back-to-back governments at the Centre and in some states. The BJP will lose wherever people have realized their mistake of voting for it,” he said.Some of the announcements, such as cash dole for women heads of families and free bus travel for women, by the Congress were received well by the voters in Karnataka, he said. “These schemes have already been announced by the TN government.”