Chithirai 1 back as Tamil New Year Day

CHENNAI: The Tamil New Year would no longer be celebrated along with Pongal. An Act brought in by the previous DMK government, making the first day of the Thai month as the new year, was repealed in the State Assembly on Tuesday.Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa said that since time immemorial, Tamils celebrated the first day of the month of Chithirai as the new year day. The previous regime changed the system, which was in vogue for many years, “with the sole intention of gaining publicity,” she said.