Madras, September 18: The Chief Minister, Mr. M. Karunanidhi, today laid the foundation for a memorial for Saint Tiruvalluvar at the Lake Maidan in Nungambakkam.

To come up on a 15-acre site, recently reclaimed in the Lake area, the memorial will have an artistic hall, 225-feet long and 105 feet broad. The hall will be in front of a model of Tiruvalluvar Temple chariot, wherein the statue of Saint Tiruvalluvar will be installed. The entire work will be in granite from Vairakundu in North Arcot district. The 1,330 Tirukkural couplets will be inscribed in marble stones and fixed in the hall. Apart from an auditorium, arrangements will be made for an international research centre and a training school to be started there.

Mr. Karunanidhi, who inaugurated the construction work, said the proposed building would reflect the architecture of Tamil Nadu. About 500 sculptors and 1,000 workers would be engaged for a year in putting up the structures. The hall, one of the biggest in the country, would also be used for holding seminars, discourses, etc.

The Chief Minister referred to the work done by the State Government in reviving the ancient glory of Tamils. The State Government would bear the cost of the project, which is likely to be about half a crore of rupees. The renovation work of the Tiruvalluvar Temple in Mylapore was in progress, he said.