Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay inaugurated the Periyar Arivulagam knowledge centre in Coimbatore on October 16 after a construction delay postponed its planned opening in January 2026, according to a report by Dinamalar. The seven-storey public facility in Gandhipuram has been developed on 6.98 acres of land previously owned by the prison department.
The chief minister reached Coimbatore to inaugurate and lay foundation stones for various projects. He travelled from the airport to the knowledge centre through Avinashi Road in a roadshow covering about 10 kilometres, during which volunteers and members of the public gathered along the route, the report said.
After arriving at the facility, Vijay was received by ministers, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam legislators and officials. He formally opened the centre, toured its interior and signed the library register as its first reader. A robot reportedly greeted him, after which he interacted with school students and children.
The facility was announced in the 2024-25 budget during the previous Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government. Construction began after the foundation stone was laid by then Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on November 6, 2024. The opening had been planned for January 2026, but the project was not ready at that time. The report said construction was completed after the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam government came to power.
The building covers 1.98 lakh square feet across a ground floor and seven upper floors. Its architecture is designed to resemble an open book. Dinamalar described the project as costing about Rs 300 crore, while its detailed account put the overall expenditure at Rs 301 crore, including Rs 245 crore for construction, Rs 50 lakh for books and e-books, and Rs 5 lakh for computers, reading facilities and information-technology infrastructure.
The ground floor includes a library for persons with disabilities, an auditorium and a planetarium. The first floor houses a reception area and science centre, while the second includes a personal-book reading space and children’s library. The third floor contains a competitive-examination training centre, library and administrative section. Tamil and history books, along with periodicals, are planned for the fourth floor. The fifth and sixth floors include English-language books and incubation centres, while the seventh floor has a science centre and digital library.
During the Coimbatore programme, the chief minister also inaugurated 89 completed projects valued at Rs 408 crore and distributed welfare assistance worth Rs 34.72 crore to 9,343 beneficiaries. The report said he personally handed assistance to persons with disabilities and elderly beneficiaries after coming down from the stage.
The visit also included a roadshow interaction involving the family of a child named Arudhra. After seeing a poster seeking assistance for the child, Vijay stopped his vehicle and noted the family’s telephone number. He told the parents that they should not worry and that he would look after the child, according to the report.
His planned visit to Kerala after the inauguration was cancelled because heavy rain could affect helicopter services. Arrangements were made for the chief minister to return to Chennai from Coimbatore by a special aircraft.
