The Periyar Science Centre Coimbatore will be inaugurated in Gandhipuram on Friday during Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay’s visit, with around 3,500 police personnel deployed and traffic security measures put in place across the city, according to a report by the Times of India.
The chief minister’s programme will include a public reception, the inauguration of facilities, distribution of welfare assistance and other official engagements. He is also scheduled to visit the facilities at the Periyar Knowledge Centre, including its main library, children’s library and reading section.
The centre has been built on approximately seven acres of land belonging to the prison department on Nanjappa Road, opposite the Gandhipuram central bus stand. Construction was initiated by the previous DMK government, with the Public Works Department beginning work in November 2024.
The location places the facility close to one of Coimbatore’s key transport and commercial areas. The Gandhipuram central bus stand is a major interchange for city and intercity commuters, while Nanjappa Road and Avinashi Road carry substantial daily traffic. The scheduled visit is therefore expected to bring additional security checks and movement restrictions around the central city area.
Barricades have been erected along Avinashi Road and at several other locations, including the airport, Peelamedu and Red Fields. Security has also been intensified around the venues connected with the chief minister’s visit.
After completing the programme, Vijay is scheduled to leave for the Armed Reserve Police grounds in Coimbatore. A dedicated helipad is being set up there for his onward travel by helicopter to Thrissur in Kerala.
The facility’s public components indicate that the project is intended to combine knowledge access, reading spaces and science-related public infrastructure in a single urban campus. Its location opposite the central bus stand could make it accessible to residents and visitors travelling through Gandhipuram, although the report does not specify the centre’s operating hours, visitor capacity, programme schedule or arrangements for public access after the inauguration.
The reported deployment of about 3,500 police personnel reflects the scale of the security operation planned for the visit. Residents and commuters using Avinashi Road, the airport approach, Peelamedu, Red Fields and roads near Gandhipuram may encounter barricades or altered movement arrangements during the official engagements.
The inauguration and the chief minister’s subsequent departure from the Armed Reserve Police grounds are the next scheduled milestones for the project and the visit.
