Curtains came down on the First World Tamil Classical conference at Coimbatore, with the Tamil Nadu chief Minister Mr. M. Karunanidhi announcing a slew of measures and steps for the promotion and development of the language. Delivering the valedictory address of the five day conference Mr. Karunanidhi urged the centre to take immediate steps to impress upon neighbouring Sri Lanka to rehabilitate and resettle Tamils who continue to live in camps. He expressed concern over the delay in rehabilitation of Tamils in the island country. <br/>Requesting the centre to declare all 18 national languages as official languages, Mr. Karunanidhi said if there is any difficulty in implementing it, Tamil which has been accorded classical language status, should be made an official language first. Announcing a series of steps for promoting Tamil, Mr. Karunanidhi said a corpus fund with 100 crore rupees will be created for ensuring the development of the language. He said priority in employment will be given to those who have their education in Tamil. Classical works of Tamil will be translated to other languages and similarly other notable literary works would be made available in Tamil. Mr. Karunanidhi also said the frequency of organizing Tamil conference would be increased.<br/> Union finance minister Mr. Pranab Mukerjee who presided over the function said the UPA government lent its strong support in declaring Tamil as a classical language. Quoting linguistic experts including Asko Parpola of Finland, Prof George Hart of the California University, Mr. Mukerjee said Tamil had fulfilled all the requirements to qualify as a classical language and justified according the status. He congratulated chief minister Mr. Karunanidhi for ensuring the grand success of the five day event.<br/> Union Home minister Mr. P. Chidambaram in his address said people in the state need to converse in sweet Tamil, to ensure that the language continues to flourish. He impressed upon professionals in various fields including medicine, law and information technology to venture in writing in Tamil so that the language keeps pace with changing times. New literary works need to be promoted to sustain the richness of the language. Union Telecommunications and Information technology minister Mr. A. Raja released three special postage stamps on the occasion.<br/>