Madurai - Promise and Potential Industries

I hit on an article, which is dated as year 2002, but it is still a valid article.
If you are really interested about the improvement or updates of Southern Tamil Nadu, then you have to read this article.

Some of the excerpts from this particle article --

R. Dinesh, executive director, T.V. Sundram Iyengar and Sons Limited, Madurai, feels not enough is being done to promote southern Tamil Nadu as a destination for industries. It was seen as a tourist centre. "Even there, people visit the pilgrim centres of Madurai and Rameswaram in transit, and not as destinations in themselves."

Although southern Tamil Nadu does not lack in any major infrastructure, what deters investors is the lack of easy accessibility. It has poor air links. There is no airport in Tirunelveli or Kanyakumari. Madurai has air links only with Chennai and Mumbai, that too one flight a day. Dinesh said: "The perception of foreign companies is that Madurai is difficult to reach." A company from Spain gave up the idea of setting up shop at Madurai because it would take their executives three days to reach Madurai or any place in the south. Road connections are also poor. The East Coast Road, from Chennai to Kanyakumari, has not been completed. Train facilities are inadequate.

Lack of information is another deterrent. Dinesh said: "You have to create an impression among people that Madurai and Tirunelveli are the places to be in. The Confederation of Indian Industry should try to promote southern Tamil Nadu as a destination."

Sekar Ponniah's friends "ridiculed" him for returning to his home town of Tirunelveli from the United States and told him about the area being a "communal hotspot" and of the lack of infrastructure. But he stuck to his decision. His Global Software Solutions (Tirunelveli) Private Limited, on the outskirts of Tirunelveli town, employs about 30 engineers. "For software, the main infrastructure needed is communication. To develop data, you can be anywhere. You can be at Tirunelveli or Courtalam, and transfer the data from a hut," Sekar Ponniah said. Global Software Solutions concentrates on providing the software for supply chain management and logistics, inventory control, warehouse management, enterprise resource solution, and the health care industry.

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