| Mannargudi | |
| — city — | |
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| Coordinates | |
| Country | India |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| District(s) | Tiruvarur |
| Municipal Chairperson | SUDHA T[1] |
| Population | 61,588 (2001[update]) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
| Area |
• 6 metres (20 ft) |
Mannargudi is a town in the Tiruvarur district of Tamil Nadu, India. Situated at a distance of 20 kilometres from the district capital Tiruvarur and 310 kilometres from the city of Chennai, Mannargudi is the largest town in the district. Apart from being a rice-production centre, Mannargudi is known for the Rajagopalaswamy Temple, which is an important Hindu pilgrimage site.
Mannargudi was founded as an agraharam village by the Medieval Cholas. Mannargudi was a part of Tanjore district till 1991, when it was transferred to the newly formed Tiruvarur district. The town is located on a elevated highland and is drained by the rivers . The town is known for metal working and weaving. The region around Mannargudi also has considerable mineral deposits.
Mannargudi is administered by the Mannargudi municipality which was established in 1866. Mannargudi is a part of the Mannargudi Tamil Nadu assembly constituency which is a part of the Nagapattinam Lok Sabha constituency. The town is well-connected by road and rail with other towns and cities in Tamil Nadu. The nearest seaport is at Nagapattinam while the nearest airport is at Tiruchirappalli.
Mannargudi was founded as an agraharam village, Rajadhiraja chaturvedimangalam, by the Medieval Cholas.[2][3] The Medieval Cholas, Pandyas and the Hoysalas constructed a lot of temples in Mannargudi.[2] The Rajagopalaswami Temple was constructed by Kulothunga Chola I in the 11th century AD.[2] There are also the remains of a fort constructed by the Hoysalas.[4]
Mannargudi was conquered was by the Delhi Sultanate in 1311. Following brief periods of occupation by the Madurai Sultanate and the Hoysalas, Mannargudi became a part of the Vijayanagar Empire. On the decline of the Vijayanagar Empire, Mannargudi was ruled by the Thanjavur Nayaks and the Thanjavur Marathas till its annexation by the British East India Company in 1799. Mannargudi was a part of Tanjore district from 1799 till 1991, when it was included in the newly created Tiruvarur District.
Present-day Mannargudi dates from the time of the Thanjavur Nayak king, Vijaya Raghava Nayak (1633-1673), also called "Mannaru dasan" who carried out extensive renovations of the Rajagopalaswami temple complex and is credited by some with having reclaimed the land from the surrounding forest.[3]
Mannargudi is located at .[5] It has an average elevation of 6 metres (19 feet).
Agriculture is the principal occupation of the people of Mannargudi. Mannargudi is also known its cloth weaving and metal industries.[6]
Being an agricultural town, Mannargudi's economy largely depends on the income from agriculture. The crops cultivated include rice, cotton, sugarcane, and pulses like urad and mung bean. The agriculture around this area mainly depends on the rivers Koraiyaru, Mullaiyar, Pamaniyar. Other sources of irrigation are bore-wells. There are no big industries around this town except for, a beer factory and a chemical factory in vadaseri. Apart from this, there is indane gas (LPG)filling plant in Edayarnatham, Mannargudi. Another working fertilizer industry is Pamani Fertilizers. Also a 107.8 MW Combined Cycle Power Plant of TNEB is functioning actively in Kovilkalappal Thirumakottai a village which is just 12 km away from Mannargudi town.
Mannargudi town has a large coal reserve. The total quantity of lignite reserves in Mannargudi, Tamil Nadu identified is around 19,500 million tonnes.[7] The quality of the lignite is moisture 40 to 50 per cent, ash 4 to 12 per cent, volatile matter 18 to 23 per cent, fixed carbon 17 to 20 per cent, calorific value 2200 to 3200 k.cal./kg. Exploration in the area has not yet started. The reserves were located under built up and agricultural areas making exploitation difficult. Steps are being taken to accelerate exploration and identify blocks which can be exploited in Mannargudi.Due to coal reserves availability government has identified exploration of Coal bed Methane CBM which can be used as fuel in pwer generation and for vehicles, projects awarded to few private sector companies, basic works expected to complete by 2011-12 at the investment of 100 Cr, if the basic work is successful then exploration will start, investment will come to the tune of approx 3000 Cr over a period of five years
The most famous landmark in Mannargudi is the 1,000-year-old Hindu Sri Rajagopala Swami Temple. It was built by Raja Cholas in 1000 A.D. A festival called Panguni Tiruvizha is celebrated every year during the Tamil month of Panguni (March/April) in the Sri Rajagopala Swami Temple. People around the town gather in great numbers to celebrate Panguni Tiruvizha. In 2011, it was celebrated from March 23 to April 9. Vennaiththazhi was held on April 7 and Thiruthther (Chariot) Festival was held on April 8. There is also Ani thirumanjanam held in Ani month (June/July).
Adi-Pooram is day for the goddess Sengamalath Taayar (Mother who sits on the Red Lotus). On this day the Goddess' Chariot (Ther) Festival is held. The recent one celebrated on 02nd August 2011.
Other temples of importance in and around this town are Vishanivarthi Vinayagar temple in east second street mannargudi, Sri Subramaniya Swamy Temple and Sri Valathiyamman Temple (Melavasal), Kulandayi Mariyamman Temple and Saethu Mariyamman Temple (at Ullikkottai), Kaliamman temple Neduvakkottai, Kailasanathar temple (Siva), Meenakshi Amman Temple, Othai street Ananda Vinayagar Temple and Sri Ramar Temple (at Vaduvoor). Alangudi (Guru sthalam, one of the Navagraha Stalam) Temple is about 23 km en route to Kumbakonam. Sree Gnanapureeshwarar temple is at Thirumakkottai and a very famous Sri Pillayar Koil in Kelathirupalakudi.
Rail Service between Mannargudi and Nidamangalam was discontined by mid 1970s. However, Direct Rail services commenced from October 2011 between Chennai to Mannargudi. There has been many proposals to connect Mannargudi with rest of the State and Country and at present work is going to connect with District Capital Tiruvarur.
There is a Siva Temple north of Pamani river called Thirupaadaleeswaram. It is also known as Pamani Kovil. It is believed to be a swaambu (meaning it came into existence of its own, not built by any known person). It is a wonderful temple that gives peace and tranquility. One can reach this temple from the town by crossing Pamani river.
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1871 | 17,735 | — |
| 1881 | 19,409 | +9.4% |
| 1891 | 20,395 | +5.1% |
| 1901 | 20,449 | +0.3% |
| 1911 | 21,398 | +4.6% |
| 1921 | 21,636 | +1.1% |
| 1931 | 22,764 | +5.2% |
| 1941 | 23,288 | +2.3% |
| 1951 | 29,860 | +28.2% |
| 1961 | 33,556 | +12.4% |
| 1971 | — | |
| 1981 | 51,738 | — |
| 1991 | — | |
| 2001 | 61,588 | — |
As of 2001[update] India census,[11] Mannargudi had a population of 61,588. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Mannargudi has an average literacy rate of 79%, higher than the national average 59.5%: male literacy is 84%, and female literacy is 74%. In Mannargudi, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age. Mannargudi town is a mixture of Hindu, Muslims and Christians.
The municipality of Mannargudi was established in 1866 and initially consisted of twelve members.[12] The municipality was periodically enlarged and expanded and currently consists of 33 members.[13] Till the early years of the 20th century, Mannargudi remained the smallest municipality in the then Tanjore district.[12] The municipal council is headed by a Municipal Chairperson assisted by a Deputy Chairperson. The executive wing is headed by a Municipal Commissioner.
Mannargudi is represented in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly by the Mannargudi assembly constituency which forms a part of the Thanjavur Lok Sabha constituency.[14] Mannargudi is a regional stronghold of the Communist Party of India which has won the assembly seat six times. The city gets 4.66 million litres of portable water every day.[15]There are a total of 10 over head tanks in the town.[15]The municipality collects about 20 MT of solid waste every day.[16]There are a total of 55 kilometres of storm water drains in the town.[17]The municipality has allocated a budget of Rs. 8,751,164 for the year 2010-11.[18]Water supply to the city comes from a 12-kilometre-long channel dug from the Vadavar canal.[2]
The Findlay College (now known as the Findlay Higher Secondary School), founded by the Wesleyan Mission in 1845, is the oldest educational institutions in Mannargudi.[2][19] It was affiliated to the Madras University in 1898.[2]
National Higher Secondary School, Mannargudi (NHSS) is more than 100 years old. Established in the year 1899. Sri Ramadurai Iyer and Sri Singaravel Udaiyar are the founders of the school. This is the second oldest educational institutions in Mannargudi. It has laboratory facilities, play ground and a basketball court with flood lights. The school has English and Tamil as the medium of instruction.
Mannargudi has a number of primary, high and higher secondary schools, as listed below.
http://www.dharanischool.co.in/
Mannargudi is the Educational Capital of Thiruvarur district.
There is one unit 'Office of the Regional Transport Officer' (RTO) at Mannargudi under Tiruvarur RTO district and gives Registration numbers starting TN 50 .
Mannargudi is connected by roadways with Tanjore, Trichy, Kumbakonam, Pattukottai, Thiruthuraipoondi, Tiruvarur, Muthupet, Orathanadu.The conditions of the road are poor with lot of curves and bends. The curvy amongst all roads is Mannargudi to Thiruvaur the total distance is 27 km, but the time taken to reach Tiruvarur is one hour and 20 minutes on an average. Also government and private operated buses connect this town with Chennai, Coimbatore, Tirupur and Tirupathi, Kanchipuram, Vellore, Arani.
SH 28 -> Thanjavur - Mannargudi - Thiruthuraipoondi - Vedaranyam - Kodiyakarai
SH-66 -> Kumbakonam - Mannargudi - Pattukkottai- Athiramapattinam
S.No City Distance (km)
The TNSTC - Kumbakonam division and SETC operate 10 buses of Ordinary, Super Deluxe and Ultra Deluxe categories to Chennai daily. Also the following private parties operate omnibuses in all categories to Chennai.
Mannargudi Railway Station is just 2 km away from the town, in Mannai Nagar, Jayamkondanathar Street. Daily trains to Chennai, "Mannai Express" is running and in return daily train from Chennai to Mannargudi is also running. There is a proposal to operate train services to Tiruchirappalli, southern districts of Tamil Nadu and Coimbatore from Mannargudi. As Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee in her Railway Budget 2011 had made an announcement to conduct 'New Line Survey' between Mannargudi and Pattukkottai, southern railway has sanctioned the fund to start the works to lay new line to Pattukottai from Mannargudi. Mannai Express starts from Mannargudi at 09:15 pm and starts from Chennai at 10:00 pm.
The nearest airport is the Tiruchirapalli Airport (TRZ), 90 km away and connects to Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Colombo and various Indian cities of Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore etc. The nearest major international airport is the Chennai International Airport.
As Mannargudi is not a major commerce and finance center, but public sector and private sector banks are present in this small town and used by village folks for around 25 to 30 km radius, Banks and other finance institutions do not play an important role in the town's economic growth. Most PSU banks look always crowded. The ATM centers are becoming bustled with younger generation. The various banks in the town are:
Several prominent Retail giants have their shops in Mannargudi.
Apart from the retail stores, notable groceries shops are available in the heart of the town.
The major entertainment/ Cinema theatres are
As the Cauvery delta region is known for temples, people also visit holy towns like Kumbakonam, Thanjavur, Velankanni, Tirunallar and Nagore.
All Tamil Dailies like Dinathanthi, Dinamani, Dinamalar, Dinakaran, Kalaikadhir and English dailies such as The Hindu, The New Indian Express, Business Line and Deccan Chronicle are available in Mannargudi. This town has various local TVs like CTN, Tamil TV, Achi TV, Om TV besides the satellite channels like Star Vijay, Sun, Raj, Jaya and others. Among Radio channels, All India Radio's Tiruchirapalli AM station and FM channels like Kodai Rainbow FM and FM channels of Tiruchirapalli and Karaikal are being listened by people here.
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