Tirunelveli

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Coordinates: 8.73° N 77.7° E

Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli
State  - District(s)	Tamil Nadu  - Tirunelveli
Coordinates	8.73° N 77.7° E
Area  - Elevation	4621 km²  - 47 m
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Population (2001)  - Density	411,298  - 52.75/km²
Worshipful Mayor	Tmt. A. Jayarani B.E
Codes  - Postal  - Telephone  - Vehicle	- 627xxx  - +91 (0)462  - TN-72
Website: http://tirunelveli.nic.in/

Tirunelveli is a 2000 year old city,^[1] located on the west bank of the perennial Thamirabarani River. It is situated 80 km to the north of Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of India. The Thamirabarani contains traces of copper, hence its name (Thamiram means copper in Tamil). Across the river on the east bank stands Tirunelveli's twin city, Palayamkottai.

Contents 1 Name 2 Geography 3 Climate 4 Demographics 5 History 6 Civic administration 7 Transport 7.1 Roads 7.2 Railways 7.3 Airport 8 Media 8.1 Print 8.2 Local cable TV 8.3 Radio stations 9 Pincodes 10 Temples 11 Education 12 Science Centre 13 Language 14 Cuisine 14.1 Halwa 14.2 Local dishes 15 Some places of interest 16 Local problems 17 Palayamkottai, Tirunelveli's twin city 18 Tirunelveli District 19 IT Park 20 References 21 External links

[edit] Name

The name 'Tiru-Nel-Veli' comes from a Hindu mythological story in which Lord Shiva is said to have protected the nel (paddy) by creating a veli (fence). The city also goes by the name Nellai and is sometimes called the "Halwa City" after the characteristic sweet produced there.

Tirunelveli is also spelt Thirunelvelli. In the British period the name of the city was anglicized as Tinnevelly or Tinnevelli.

[edit] Geography

Tirunelveli is located at {{c oord|8.73|N|77.7|E|}}^[2]. It has an average elevation of 47 metres (154 feet).

[edit] Climate

The climate of Tirunelveli is tropical - hot and humid. The average temperature during the hot season (March to September) is 38°C and during the mild season (October to February), 32°C. The average annual rainfall is 68cm, most of which occurs during the North-East monsoon (October-December).

Date	Sunrise	Sunset	Length	Change	Dawn	Dusk	Length	Change
Today	06:11	18:32	12:21		05:50	18:53	13:03
+1 day	06:11	18:31	12:20	00:01 shorter	05:50	18:53	13:03	00:00 equal length
+1 week	06:11	18:28	12:17	00:04 shorter	05:50	18:49	12:59	00:04 shorter
+2 weeks	06:10	18:24	12:14	00:07 shorter	05:49	18:45	12:56	00:07 shorter
+1 month	06:08	18:15	12:07	00:14 shorter	05:48	18:36	12:48	00:15 shorter
+2 months	06:07	18:00	11:53	00:28 shorter	05:46	18:21	12:35	00:28 shorter
+3 months	06:14	17:56	11:42	00:39 shorter	05:52	18:18	12:26	00:37 shorter
+6 months	06:36	18:30	11:54	00:27 shorter	06:15	18:51	12:36	00:27 shorter

[edit] Demographics

As of 2001 India census^GRIndia, Tirunelveli had a population of 411,298. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. Tirunelveli has an average literacy rate of 78%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 83%, and female literacy is 73%. In Tirunelveli, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Projected Population

Year	Population	Type	Source
1991	345,772	census	official
2001	431,603	census	official
2006	467,413	calculation	[3]

Sl.No	Domain	Rank in population	Rank in agglomeration	Source
1	World	not-defined	not-defined
2	Asia	434	398	[4],[5]
3	India	90	87	[6],[7]
4	Tamil Nadu	6	7	[8],[9]

[edit] History

Tirunelveli first came into prominence under the Pandya kings, ^[10] serving as their capital for some time. It was an important city of the Chola kingdom (c.900–1200)^[11] and of the Vijayanagar empire. Thereafter it fell under the rule of local nayaks and of the nawab of Arcot, who in 1781 granted its revenues and local administration to the British. In 1801 it was annexed by the British, who governed it until India achieved independence.

[edit] Civic administration

Tirunelveli City officials
Mayor	Mr. A.L. Subramanian
Deputy Mayor	Mr. K. Muthuramalingam
Collector	G.Prakash I.A.S
Police Commissioner	Umaganapathi Sastri
Member of Parliament	Dhanushkodi Athitan

Total Voters in Tirunelveli Municipal Corporation as per 2001 census.

Tirunelveli City voters
Number of Wards	55
Total Voters	411,831
Male Voters	203,232
Female Voters	208,599

[edit] Transport

[edit] Roads

Tirunelveli is well-connected by road. The city is located on the NH 7, 150 km to the south of Madurai and 80 km to the north of Kanyakumari. NH 7A, an extension of NH 7, connects Palayamkottai with Tuticorin Port. Tirunelveli is accessible by road from Madurai (3 hours) or Nagercoil (1 1/2 hours). Tirunelveli is also connected by major highways to Quilon, Tiruchendur, Rajapalayam, Ambasamudram and Nazareth.

The Tirunelveli sub-division of the TNSTC (Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation), Madurai Division services the district's road transport needs with a string of local and mofussil (out-of-town) services. The State Express Bus Corporation (SETC) operates express services to Chennai, Bangalore, Salem, Coimbatore, Nagapattinam, Erode, Villupuram, and Tirupati originating from Tirunelveli.

The bus station has four platforms for each direction and 17 buses can be accommodated per platform. Totally 68 buses can be stationed at a time.

[edit] Railways

A majestic looking structure with a high elevated façade, the Tirunelveli Junction railway station is an extremely busy and important one in Tamil Nadu. It connects to major destinations in all four directions, Madurai to the north, Nagercoil to the south, Tenkasi/Senkottai to the west and Tiruchendur to the east.

This railway station invariably produces profit for the Madurai Railway division. The Nellai Express — a superfast train connecting Tirunelveli and Chennai Egmore — runs jam packed almost throughout the year. It is one train in India which always seems to run on time. The station has six platforms, three for metre gauge and three for broad gauge. Tirunelveli Junction is coded as TEN.

Six major trains run through Tirunelveli Junction:

• Nellai Express
• Kanniyakumari Express
• Ananthapuri Express
• Koodal Nagar Express
• Nagarcoil-Mumbai Express
• Quilon Mail

There are local railway stations at

• Palayamkottai
• Town
• Pettai
• Melapalayam
• Talaiyoothu

[edit] Airport

The nearest airport is Tuticorin airport, located at Vaagaikulam, about 28 km from Tirunelveli city. The Madurai and Trivandrum airports are about 150 km away by road. An unused runway at Kayatar, which is 30 km from the heart of the city, will become operational once the IT park at Gangaikondan is set up.^[12]

[edit] Media

[edit] Print

Dina Thanthi, Dina Malar, Dinakaran, Dina Mani, Kathiravan, Tamil murasu, Maalaimalar (an evening paper) are the prominent Tamil news dailies currently printed in the city.

[edit] Local cable TV

Air Media Network, Karan TV, Sathya, Krishna TV are the local cable television networks.

[edit] Radio stations

Suriyan FM, frequency 93.5 MHz, run by the Sun Network, and Tirunelveli Vanoli Nilayam (AIR), by the Government of India

[edit] Pincodes

Pincode is the postal numbering system used in India.

Location	Pincode
Tirunelveli Junction	627 001
Palayamkottai	627 002
Varnarpettai	627 003
Pettai	627 004
Melapalayan	627 005
Nellai Town	627 006
Perumalpuram	627 007
Gandhinagar	627 008
Kokkirakulam (Collectorate)	627 009
Industrial Estate, Pettai	627 010
Maharajanagar	627 011
Abisheikapatti	627 012
Karungulam, Radhapuram Taluk	627 114

[edit] Temples

The Nellaiappar Temple with Kanthimathi is situated in the centre of town at a distance of two km from the railway station. This is a twin temple dedicated to Goddess Parvathi and Lord Shiva. Rare jewels, the Golden Lily Tank, Musical Pillars, the hall of a thousand pillars are worth seeing. From a distance one can have a beautiful view of the great gopuram towers. Both the gopurams were built according to the rules laid down in the agamasastras by Rama Pandyan.

Nindrasir Nedumaran, who reigned in the seventh century A.D., contributed by constructing and renovating important parts in this temple. A beautiful garden founded in A.D. 1756 next to this chain mandapam welcomes visitors with many colourful fragrant flowers. This garden was designed by Thiruvengadakrishna Mudaliar. A square vasantha mandapam with 100 pillars is found in the midst of this garden.

The Nellaiappar Temple is in fact bigger than the Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple, though the latter is more famous owing to its historical importance.

[edit] Education

The Manonmaniam Sundaranar University is located in Nellai, on the Tenkasi road, about 11 km from the junction. The university is named after a famed poet who was the author of Tamil thai Vazhthu (Praise to Mother Tamil), which is the official state song.

The city has government and private colleges in the medical, legal, engineering, arts, pharmacy, and physiotherapy fields. Tirunelveli Medical College^[13] and the Government College of Engineering, Tirunelveli^[14] are professional colleges run by the government of Tamil Nadu. M.D.T. Hindu College and Sadakathulla Appa College are well-known arts colleges.

Students from the city's schools have been consistently performing well in the state public academic examination.

Sl No	Educational Institutions	No of Institutions
1	University	1
2	Arts and Science College	21
3	Medical College	2
4	Sidha Medical College	1
5	Engineering College	12
6	Law College	1
7	Pre Primiary School	201
8	Primary School	1521
9	Middle School	394
10	High School	114
11	Higher Secondary	148
12	Teacher Training Institute	6

[edit] Science Centre

The city is fortunate to have a District Science Centre, a satellite unit of Visvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum, Bangalore. The centre is committed to the cause of science education through fun and entertainment. The Centre has an evergreen science park in sylvan surroundings and is located adjacent to the perennial river Tamirabharani, along the highway to Kanyakumari. Permanent exhibitions, science shows, interactive guide tours, a mini-planetarium, sky observation through a telescope are some of the activities of the Centre.

[edit] Language

Main article: Tamil language

There is a tradition that the Tamil language originated from the Pothigai Malai, a hill situated in Papanasam, a small village in the Tirunelveli district. Legends say that Lord Shiva sent the two saints Vyasa and Agatyar (in Sanskrit Agastya) to create the divine languages Sanskrit and Tamil. Agatyar came to Papanasam and established the Tamil culture from the Pothigai Malai.

To-day the Tamil language as spoken in the Tirunelveli district is considered to be especially lucid. The Tirunelveli accent really appeals to all Tamil speaking people.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Cuisine

[edit] Halwa

The city is noted for the sweet halwa (pronounced alva) which is made from wheat and sugar. Tirunelveli halwa is said to owe its peculiar taste to the water from Thamirabarani river. Irutu Kada halwa (Dark Store halva) is one of the local specialities. Other famous halwas come from Lakshmi Villas near the Tirunelveli Railway Junction and Shanthi Sweets in the same locality. Many of the hot spots to buy halwa are around the Nellayappar temple and near the main railway station[20].

[edit] Local dishes

Some of the unique and popular dishes in Tirunelveli are Sodhi, Mutton Varuval, Kootan Choru and Ulunthamparupu choru with yellu thovayal. Sodhi is a delicious gravy made of coconut milk and vegetables. This is served at marriage feasts, especially during the Maruveedu (return marriage) ceremony which takes place the day after a marriage. Kootan Choru is a hot spicy vegetable rice made with dhal, rice, vegetables and a mixture of coconut and red chillies. Ulunthamparupu choru is rice and ulunthamparupu (Urad Dhal) cooked together. Ulunthamparupu choru is taken with yellu (Sesame seeds) thovayal (chutney).

[edit] Some places of interest

The two tier over Thiruvalluvar Bridge at Tirunelveli Junction was constructed to avoid the railway line crossing. The total length of the bridge is 800 metres. This bridge is the first of its kind ever constructed in India. It was opened for traffic in 1972. It consists of 25 spans, of which 13 are bow string arch, each with a width of 30.3 metres, and 12 are single tier R.C.C. girder, each having a width of 11.72 metres.

District Science Centre at Vannarpet.

V. O. Chidhambaram Pillai Memorial Hall at the Exhibition Ground

[edit] Local problems

Although Tirunelveli is one of the major cities in Tamil Nadu, the dearth of industries and the climate result in many people migrating to other parts of Tamil Nadu such as Chennai, Coimbatore, and Tirupur, both for higher education and for job opportunities. It has been speculated that failure of the government to create job opportunities could also be a factor in this migration.^{[citation needed]}

People here are normally considered as rough and tough, perhaps because of outbreaks of communal violence, murders, etc. in the outskirts of the city in the late '80s and early '90s, even though these have now been controlled well, apart from a few stray incidents.^{[citation needed]}, padmanabhan sir courttalam samy

[edit] Palayamkottai, Tirunelveli's twin city

The twin city of Tirunelveli is Palayamkottai, on the eastern bank of the Thamirabarani river, while Tirunelveli is on the western bank.

Palayamkottai is known for its educational institutions and is sometimes referred to as the South Indian Oxford. The town, surrounded by paddy fields, has a rich heritage in education dating back to the pre-independence era. Almost all the colleges and institutions of higher education for the area are in Palayamkottai, some of them having been in existence for more than a century and a half. They include the Tirunelveli Medical College, Siddha College, Engineering College, St. Xavier's College, St. John's College and Sarah Tucker College.

The city is a main centre in South India for Christian missions and there are quite a few churches, the major church being Holy Trinity Cathedral, the cathedral church of a diocese of the Church of South India.

The city also has several Hindu temples: the Gopalaswamy temple, Siva Temple, Ramar Temple, Uchini Makali temples and a number for the goddess Amman.

It has two sports grounds: the Anna Stadium and the VOC maithanam. The latter holds field hockey and kabbadi matches at both district and state level. Republic Day and Independence Day ceremonies are also conducted here.

There is a large market in Palayamkottai, along with the Ulavar Santhai where farmers sell their products directly.

Palayamkottai is also known for its Central Prison, which housed a lot of freedom fighters during the struggle for Indian Independence. It is still notable for its capacity and security.

Tamil language poet Subramanya Bharathy spent a part of his life here.

[edit] Tirunelveli District

Tirunelveli District has an area of 6,838 km². It is bounded by Virudhunagar District to the north, Thoothukudi District to the east, the Indian Ocean to the south, Kanyakumari District to the southwest, and Kerala state to the west. The chief towns, in addition to Tirunelveli, are Courtallam (also called Kuttalam), Sankarankoil and Tenkasi. Tirunelveli is also one of the Ayyavazhi populated districts in Tamil Nadu.

The famous Courtallam waterfalls are located in Tirunelveli District along such rivers as the Chittar River. It is said that a dip in any of the nine waterfalls rejuvenates the body and the mind. The water is supposed to have healing properties due to the herbs which grow in the area. The waterfalls are often dry and August is considered to be the best time to go. Thamira Sabhai is located in Courtallam. Special fruits like Mongostaan and Ramtaan are available only in Courtallam.

Many of India's freedom fighters have originated from this land. Veera Pandiya Kattabomman, V.O. Chidambaram Pillai and Bharathiar are from Thoothukudi District, which was a part of Tirunelveli District before 1990.

The great Tamil poet Subramanya Bharathy is from Ettayapuram in the erstwhile Tirunelveli District. He composed poems foreseeing India's freedom. He wrote many articles on many subjects. He emphasized the unity of India in spite of its variety in languages, religions, and cultures.

Mukkudal village, located in the Tirunelveli District, is famous for its beedi (tobacco) industry and its situation on the Thamirabarani River. Some of the famous textile showrooms of Tamil Nadu are also in Tirunelveli.

[edit] IT Park

The state and Central government^[15] has agreed a bid to set up a Information Technology park in the view to develop this district^[16]. Time has now ripened for the development part in the lower part of Tamil Nadu.^[17] [21].The government of India has approved Naguneri, a town which is 28KM away from the city as Special Economic Zone (SEZ)(Earlier known as Hi-tech Industrial Park^[18]) for the promotion of Electronic/Telecom/Computer Hardware manufactures,Manufacture of white goods/entertainment electronics,Software development,Agro based Industries,Food Processing and Precision Engineering Industries.The promoter for this project are M/s. INFAC India Group, USA., and Axes Technologies Inc., USA.The estimated cost of this project is around Rs 7000 million. More than 2500 hectares of lands were earmarked for this project; 90% of the land had already be acquired. Utilities viz Water at 6.77 Million Gallons per Day from the river Tamiraparani and Uninterrupted Power supply assured by TNEB by stalling a dedicated sub-station in the vicinity, are tied up for this project. A company viz. ATMAC Ltd was incorporated to implement the project. It is reported that JTC, Singapore has prepared the Master Plan.

Once the IT park is in full-fledged operation, it is expected to provide a colossal opportunity for about 100 thousand ^[19] jobs directly and 200 thousand indirectly in Tirunelveli district and the adjoining districts such as Tuticorin, Nagarcoil, Virudhunagar.

This city is expected to be upgraded to cosmopolitan city due to the new establishment of IT sector in this area and fast development of industries in and around the city centre^[20].

[edit] References