Madurai Exclusive Report 2011 - 1700th article of Madurai247.com - From Chief Editor's Desk - Glimpse of Madurai 2011

Picture: Bollywood actress Vidya Balan wearing Saree in Photo. No relation to the article below, but just added for some spice/masala to the serious article.

Introduction and Thanks!

Before we begin with the article, it is a great pleasure meeting you all via this exclusive report from the Chief Editor of Madurai247.com. Thanks to all for your support as always in 2011 and visiting Madurai247.com.

Madurai Politics and Administration:

Recently Tamil Nadu Government has changed, hence Madurai Government has changed too. Ruling party takes over and there are lot of changes - good or bad - depends on the reader's perspective!

U Sagayam, stays as the Madurai Collector and it seems to be totally safe in his hands. He handles lot of issues proactively and takes action immediately on reactionary issues.

Law and Order:

Lot of land grab cases are being filed and most of the main previous government's party people are jailed - it is alleged that some are genuine and some are false cases.

Still the theft, crimes are going on in Madurai and around Madurai. There is no change on that.

Couple of criminal cases are filed against the opposition party leaders and also "Sothu kuvippu vazhakku" on few opposition party people.

Overall, lot of work to be done by the police for the common man, in terms of safety and security. Today, I and likewise any common Madurai citizen cannot have lot of cash or jewels in Home and leave for one day trip. I cannot be at 100% peace on that. My mom or wife or daughter cannot walk wearing a thaali chain in the neck in a dark streets of Madurai! Will the situation change for better?

Parks, Entertainment and Recreation:

As always, Madurai's entertainment is still movies. Those days there were many theatre goers, but these days, people watch in their home with pirated CDs/DVDs. However, there is a claim that, the piracy is kind of reduced in Madurai. Even a director recently mentioned, Madurai is their pulse reader for any movie. If a movie is hit in Madurai, then it is hit commercially in all the other cities.

Not all common people go to theme parks for entertainment, however many get away to Kodaikanal. Eco parks, exhibitions in North Madurai helps lot of people in terms of relaxation and parks, recreation etc., in the evenings.

People with money go to Hawa valley, Clubs in Madurai.

Health Care in Madurai:

Awesome health care facilities in Madurai. New facility from Government Rajaji Hospital extension, Madurai Meenakshi Mission Hospital, Vadamalayan Hospital, Aravind Eye Hospital and much more hospitals and clinics in Madurai. People or Tourists from outside the city and state and country come to Madurai to get treated for the low cost and friendly treatment.

AIIMS will come soon. Tired of same message, but there is nothing stopping it. Just that the process is slow.

Spiritual:

There is no question about Spiritual, because Madurai is already a Temple City. Majority of the temples are here in Madurai and anybody making a spiritual tour, must be visiting Madurai and can be spotted in the Spiritual Map very easily.

Religion:

All types of people and people from all religion and castes live in Madurai united. We have mentioned in one of previous articles about all the types of people in Madurai.

Madurai IT Park:

Though the IT park in North Madurai - Ilandaikulam is complete and let for occupation, there were very few companies matching the criteria and took over the offices. There is more vacancy in the IT park for the companies to occupy. More promotion is needed from the government for IT park occupancy.

The current government claims that the IT park is not built properly, hence need to renovate little bit - might be a political statement!

International Airport in Madurai:

All approval and infrastructure is ready for Madurai International Airport. Customs facility is also approved. Hence, only the space for customs facility is being made and that will be done too soon.

Business and Entrepreneurship:

Business is always great in Madurai. Entrepreneurship is not booming as expected and when compared to that of the Coimbatore, Madurai has to improve a lot. Wake up Madurai!

Festivals:

Pongal, Independence Day, Chithrai Festivals celebrated over half of the year. Ramzan, Navaratri Golu, Vinayagar Chathurthi, Deepavali, Christmas to come.

Education:

Number of colleges and schools in Madurai has increased to address the number of students studying. Pre-schools on rise. Standardization of education for pre-schools is happenning. Government is pressurizing on fees in schools, which hinders the running of Schools!

Given the raise of number of colleges and schools, question is - is it the same standard of education as in past by certain schools and colleges in Madurai. Number of private colleges on raise commercially and just for the sake of having a College under the portfolio does not help much in the education system.

Cooking and Food Industry:

Many NRIs search for Parotta Kuruma (Saalnaa) to try in their home. Many search for avicha kadalai and they definitely miss that in their country.

There is lot of eating out trend in Madurai too, though it was a traditional place where the localites would not eat outside in olden days, except for the tourist people and except for the Parotta Kadais:)!

These days, Branding of restaurants has started like Dindigul Velu Biriyani, Bell Hotel, Puppys, Jayaram etc., Also foreign chains like Dominos etc., is on the raise. Even there are copy cats of KFC in the name of SFC and CFC in By-pass road Madurai! Unusually the originals like McDonalds and KFC are not coming into Madurai. May be they are Underestimating Madurai market!

Shopping:

New shopping mall is planned near Pandiyan Hotel - Vishal Mall. Already Milan-em mall is of great use for many youngsters!

Teen Care and Parental:

Problems are there in every place, given the technological advancements. It all depends on how we bring up and the time we spend on the children. If both of the couple work, children are let loose and they don't grow up well. Though both of the couple work, somebody should be able to spend some quality time then and there. Anywhere in the world teen care is same and similar problems are there. It is not the same myth goes true - only in east children are safe! Given the technological advancements, West and East are kind of same in terms of bringing up the kids these days. The point I am trying to make here is - In India also dating etc., are there and it is not that it is only in west! Premarital sex is on the raise in India too!

Sex and Prostitution:

Major outlet for sex has been internet in these days, as Internet came handy for many folks! I believe prostitution is under control in Madurai. But, I might be wrong!

Companies:

There are many companies either starting up in Madurai or they are having a branch in Madurai for tapping the human resources here and the lesser cost of expense compared to Chennai. There are many software companies with 100+ employees, serving worldwide. While doing a survey, I called up one company and the company said they serve only Fortune 500 companies and do not serve local companies domestic at all!

Employment:

Youngsters are choosing jobs out of number of jobs in Madurai. For the Madurai localites, there are so many jobs to pursue, but they migrate only for better prospects outside Madurai. More industrialization will help soon in Madurai for more better jobs in Madurai itself. However, there are many job openings in Madurai as per Sana Placement Services - 9629559591. we don't have appropriate candidates (though we have lot of candidates) to fill, says Vinodh, Operational Manager, Sana Consultants, Madurai. +91-9629559591 or sanaconsultantsin@gmail.com

NGOs and Self-help groups:

There is a strong and silent revolution going on in the name of Self-Help groups, Micro financing and the entrepreneurship among women! Many women are self employed now and there is increasing economy growth silently and this would revolutionize in a big way in future!

There are other organizations who feed the beggars - may be they can host a house for those people, instead of serving them in the road - just a suggestion. Great work overall by all the NGOs in Madurai.

Even government is taking appropriate action for the beggars etc., but the beggars are not willing to stay in those night-stay places provided by Corporation.

Real Estate in Madurai:

As always, investing in Real estate of Tier-II cities of India is a wonderful idea. In future, tier-2 cities will come to the top, like Tier-I cities. Just take the example of USA and you can see many cities in a state on good growth. Same thing will happen in Madurai also, as a tier-2 city in Tamil Nadu.

Currently, due to recession there is a little dull market, however still transactions are going on day-in- and day-out in Registrar offices in Madurai and the officers there are very busy anyway registering lands, houses and apartments. In some cases, NRIs don't have that much money, but the real estate developers and dealers here make lot of money in Madurai.

Professionalism and Standardization has to be implemented in the Real Estate Market in Madurai and that is what we do in OruAcre.com. Good growth path is expected for Real Estate in Madurai, says Mrs.Surya, Managing Director of OruAcre.com, Tamil Nadu. +91-9994262942 or oruacre@gmail.com

Environment Friendly:

Civic government of Madurai is on full-swing to make the Tourist spots in Madurai cleaner, avoiding/banning plastics and reusing plastic for building roads. Isn't that great thinking! and way to go!!

Future Events:

By December 2011, "Calling Madurai" event will happen - purely self-funded event to be conducted by Sana Consultants. This event is mainly for NRIs from Madurai and interested in Madurai. Please register by sending an email to Madurai247@gmail.com.

About the Chief Editor:
Tamil Selvan has more than 12 years of experience in his career and had lived in many places in the world, starting from Madurai. Though a past NRI, now he is settled in Madurai for good. Passionate about Madurai. Can be reached at madurai247@gmail.com.

Sponsored by Sagana Enterprises Private Limited.