South India`s first science city to come up in Kottayam

Kottayam: The first Science City of South India is to come up at Kurvilangadu in Kottayam district offering a hands-on-experience to visitors on growth and development of science over the centuries.

The facility is to be created at a 30-acre site at a cost of Rs 100 crore as a joint venture of the Kerala state and the Centre, Jose K Mani, Lok Sabha member from Kottayam, told reporters. The first phase of the project would involve a cost of Rs 51 crore. "The Science City has been conceived as a facility where the visitors would get a feel of various spheres of science," Mani said. It will have popular science gallery, animation theatre, state-of-the-art observatory, water theme park and science education pavilions. Mani said this was the first major science park being set up outside the metros or big cities in the country. He said the Science City was part of his dream of making Kottayam as a key educational and scientific hub of the country.