CHENNAI: DMK Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to set up ISRO's third launch pad at Kulasekarapattinam in Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu.
In a letter to Mr Modi, Kanimozhi said setting up of the launch pad at Kulasekarapattinam, near the equator, would be useful in GSLV missions.
A resolution was recently passed in the village asking to set up the launch pad there. Kanimozhi recalled late chief minister M Karunanidhi's support for setting up the third launch pad at Kulasekarapattinam and the letter written by him to the then Prime Minister.
"If the launch pad was establied in Kulasekarapattinam it will provide job opportunities for over 10,000 people and investments of over Rs three lakh crore would be made," he had said in 2013.
Kanimozhi said she had also raised the issue in Parliament then. After French Guyana, Kulasekarapattinam was the ideal site for GSLV launches owing to its proximity to the equator.
Kulasekarapattinam's proximity to the equator would be vital in GSLV launches, as they could carry an additional 350 kg, she said.