Date:20/02/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/02/20/stories/2008022053590200.htm

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

Focus on agro products, healthcare

MADURAI: The 24th edition of All India Ideal Home Exhibition, organised by Madurai District Tiny and Small Scale Industries Association (MADITSSIA) here from February 22 to March 3, will showcase products and opportunities in agro and village industries.

A concurrent show, ‘Agro Tech Expo,’ would be organised at the exhibition from February 22 to 24, the MADITSSIA president, P. T. Krishnamoorthy, told a press conference here on Tuesday. The expo, featuring 80 stalls, would provide information on latest agro equipment, machinery, technology, raw materials and finance available for agriculture-related projects. Progressive farmers from other States also would participate in the expo.

The chairman of organising committee, K. S. Serma Pandiyan, said that the other highlight of the partly air-conditioned exhibition would be a healthcare pavilion, ‘Care and Cure.’ To be organised from February 28 to March 2, it would feature new healthcare products and services. The Khadi and Village Industries Commission would showcase products of its beneficiaries in the southern States in an exclusive pavilion.

In all, the exhibition, to come up on the Tamukkam Grounds, would feature 250 stalls.

Power cut

On frequent power cuts faced by the industry, Mr. Krishnamoorthy said that the situation had improved after streamlining power distribution to industrial estates. The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board had told them that the present fluctuation in supply was only a “temporary phenomenon” and steps had been taken to bridge the gap between demand and supply. He pointed out that Chennai did not face any power cut while it had become regular in the districts. The MADITSSIA, he said, had appealed to the TNEB to devise a strategy to sustain power supply to existing connections, by deciding on a cut-off date.