| Poonamallee | |
| — suburb — | |
|
|
|
| Coordinates | |
| Country | India |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| District(s) | Thiruvallur |
| Population • Density |
42,604 (2001[update]) • 6,445 /km2 (16,692 /sq mi) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
| Area |
6.61 square kilometres (2.55 sq mi) • 25 metres (82 ft) |
Poonamallee ('Punamalli' or originally 'Pūvirundavalli") (Tamil: பூவிருந்தவல்லி) is a town in the Poonamallee taluk of the Thiruvallur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Presently considered to be a suburb of Chennai, it is a town with rich cultural heritage and also coping up with the fast developments of the adjacent city.
Contents |
The town of Poonamallee is situated at a distance of 23 kilometres from Fort St George and 17 kilometres from Sriperumbudur on the Chennai-Bangalore highway. It is located at the end of the Mount-Poonamallee Road, 11 kilometres from Guindy and 13 kilometres from Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus on the Chennai bypass. The nearest railway station is at Avadi which is nine kilometres away. It is also an important halting point for buses starting from Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus and going towards Tirupati, Kanchipuram, Vellore etc.
The name "Poonamallee" might have been derived from "Poovirundavalli", meaning "the place where jasmine is cultivated". In Sanskrit, the place is called Pushpakavalli. Pushpam' means flower and Valli denotes Goddess. There is a legend that Goddess Laxmi rose from jasmine flower and gave darashan to Thirukatchi Nambi Alwar. It is also said the Alwar worshipped God Varadaraja, deity at Kanchi with the jasmine flowers plucked from here. This place is also called "Lakshmipuram' and Ulagu Vuyya Konda Cholapuram.
Poonamallee is believed to be the birth place of Thirukatchi Nambi Alwar, a staunch devotee of Varadaraja Perumal. There is an ancient temple for lord Varadaraja Perumal with His Consort, Pushpakavalli Thayar. It is also known as Arulaperumal. There is also another temple, a medium sized one, here for Lord Vaidyanathaswami with His Consort Thaiyal Nayagi. He is known as Theera Vinai Theertha Perumal. Poonamallee is famous for its Siva temple which has three inscriptions dating to the 18th century AD.[1] There is also a mosque of an unknown date built by one "Abdullah Khattab".[1] There is also a Muhammedan fort nearby.[1]
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1881 | 7,670 | — |
| 1901 | 15,323 | +99.8% |
| 1911 | 16,342 | +6.7% |
| 1921 | 17,549 | +7.4% |
| 1931 | 20,340 | +15.9% |
| 1941 | 18,704 | −8.0% |
| 1951 | 20,677 | +10.5% |
| 1981 | 23,667 | +14.5% |
| 1991 | 28,827 | +21.8% |
| 2001 | 42,604 | +47.8% |
Sources:
|
||
Poonamallee is governed by Municipality of Poonamallee, coming under the Thiruvallur district. The town's traffic is managed by the Chennai Suburban Traffic Police (CSTP). The town's police comes directly under Greater Chennai Police department. The town elects 1 MLAs to the state legislature and comes under Sriperumpudur Parliamentary constituency. The town is famous for its 8 courts including the special courts for bomb blasts. It has gained importance since this court system dealt with the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Poonamallee assembly constituency is part of Sriperumbudur (Lok Sabha constituency).[2]
Some of the popular schools in Poonamallee are Kalashetra Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Arignar Anna Govt Higher Secondary School, St.Joseph's Matriculation Higher Secondary School, New St.Joseph's Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Sundar Matriculation School, Sathya Matriculation School.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||