‘Auto and cab drivers are the ambassadors of Madurai’

Madurai auto/cab drivers are the real face of the city, said speakers at World Tourism Day celebrations. Collector flagged off rally, students held placards, artistes played music. Govt investing in renovation of old structures. Training programme held for drivers to be ambassadors of city, share historic importance of spots, speak in visitors' mother tongue.

Auto drivers and tourist cab drivers are the real face of Madurai city, said speakers at the World Tourism Day celebrations held in Madurai on Wednesday.

Collector M.S. Sangeetha flagged off a rally from Pudumandapam. Students holding placards’ reached Thirumalai Nayak Palace. Artistes played nagaswaram, ‘thappu’ and “poikkaal kuthirai” along the procession which drew the attention of the public.

The Collector said that Madurai, with its rich heritage and monuments, has been attracting visitors from far and near throughout the year. Be it domestic or international, the tourist spots were widely appreciated by the visitors. The government had been continuously investing on renovation of the old structures without disturbing their heritage value.

The Tourism Department and Travel Club Madurai and India Tourism jointly organised photographic contest and other competitions for the students in which 15 colleges participated, said Travel Club president G. Raveendran.

On Tuesday, a day-long training programme was organised at Hotel Tamil Nadu on Alagarkoil Road for autorickshaw and tourist cab drivers.

Speaking on the occasion, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Thirumalai Kumar said that the city had modern tracking systems for monitoring traffic movement in different parts of the city.

The objective of the enforcement authorities was to make people travel safely by obeying traffic rules and not to slap fines. An accident-free city could become a reality only with the cooperation of road users and enforcement agencies alone cannot do it.