Anna Arch

The Anna Nagar Twin Arches are ornamental structures in Chennai, India, built in 1986 to honor the platinum jubilee of C. N. Annadurai, Tamil Nadu’s former Chief Minister. They are located at the junction of Poonamallee High Road and Third Avenue. They act as southern entrance for Anna Nagar, a suburb named after Annadurai. They were deisgned by the sculptor ''Ganapathy Sthapathi''. Each arch stands 52 feet tall, weighs 82 tonnes, and cost . Then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. G. Ramachandran inaugurated the arches on January 1, 1986, to commemorate Annadurai. In 2012, protests erupted between government and local, when a plan was proposed to demolish the arches for a flyover, later they were forced to redesign in order to save the arches.

History

The Anna Nagar Twin Arches were built to celebrate the platinum jubilee of C. N. Annadurai, which marks 75 years since his birth on September 15, 1909. Annadurai, or "Anna", was founder of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), and served as Chief Minister from 1967 to 1969. In 1984, the Corporation of Madras proposed the Twin Arches in Anna Nagar, a suburb named after him. Anna Nagar was planned by the Tamil Nadu Housing Board in the 1970s.
Ganapathy Sthapathi, known for his traditional Tamil designs was assigned as sculptor for the arches in 1985. Each arch is 52 feet high and, weighs 82 tonnes. The project was completed in 105 days with a budget of . A statue of Annadurai was erected in front of the arches. They were inaugurated on January 1, 1986 by then Chief Minister, M. G. Ramachandran.

Recent Developments

The Chennai Corporation planned to construct flyovers and a subway at the Poonamallee High Road and Third Avenue junction to fix traffic jams with a budget of . The arches were proposed to be ddemolished to incorporate this development. Early plans called for demolition, and workers even started cutting into them with diamond cutters. However, local residents staged protest against the government's plan to demolish the arches. Localities argued the arches wasn’t just concrete but a piece of Chennai’s soul, tied to Annadurai’s legacy. The Corporation and Highways Department scrapped the demolition idea and redesigned the flyover to curve around the arches. Government had placed a crane to support the arches, but removed them following a local unrest and then erected a temporary pillar to support them. The Annadurai statue, moved during construction was placed back in its original location. By December 2013, the flyover opened, easing traffic while keeping the arches intact.

The twin arches were renovated from their plain cream with dark green lettering. The city government in 2012, incorporated six colors, the color of letter was not changed, but the dome-shaped decorations on top were changed to red. Different shades of ivory and pink were also be used, while the leaves will be of a lighter green.

See also

* Anna Nagar Tower Park
* Architecture of Chennai

References

{{Chennai topics

Buildings and structures in Chennai
Monuments and memorials in Chennai
Memorials to C. N. Annadurai
Arches and vaults in India