| Salem District சேலம் மாவட்டம் |
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| Coordinates | |
| Country | India |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| Subdistrict(s) | Attur, Edappadi, Gangavalli, Mettur, Omalur, Salem, Sangagiri, valapady, yercaud. |
| Headquarters | Salem |
| Collector | K Maharabhushanam, IAS |
| Municipal Corporations | Salem |
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| Town Panchayats | |
| Official languages | Tamil |
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| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
| Central location: | |
| Website | Official website of Salem District |
Salem District (Tamil: சேலம் மாவட்டம்) is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The city of Salem is the district headquarters. Other major towns in the district are Mettur, Omalur and Attur. The district is well connected by rail and road networks.
Salem district is known for its mangoes, steel and Mettur dam, which is a major source of irrigation and drinking water for the state of Tamil Nadu.
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The vibrant culture of the region including Salem district dates back to the ancient Kongu Nadu. Salem was the largest district in Tamil Nadu before it was bifurcated into two districts: Salem and Dharmapuri. Later, Salem district was again divided with the formation of the Namakkal district. The first cinema theater named Modern Theaters was in Salem. Salem city, the seat of the district, is the fourth most urbanized city in Tamil Nadu (following Chennai, Coimbatore, and Madurai).
Located approximately midway between Bengaluru and Madurai, Salem district is a geologist's paradise, surrounded by hills and the landscape dotted with hillocks. As a district, Salem has its geographic significance in various aspects. Yercaud, a mild-weather hill station, is an important tourism destination in the district.
Modern Theatres was started by T R Sundaram in 1937, soon after the era of silent films ended in the South Indian film industry. It was built on nearly nine acres of land at the foot of the picturesque Yercaud hills. Sundaram was able to access verdant and beautiful shooting sites for his films, all within a 50 km radius of his studios. He was also able to hire cheap and efficient labour in lightboys, cameramen (and starstruck locals!) to assist in the production of his films. He produced nearly 117 films in Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Sinhalese and other languages. Most of them were box office hits and he is credited with bringing to stardom writer M Karunanidhi and popular actors such as M G Ramachandran, M N Nambiar and Jayashankar to films.
After Sundaram's death in the 1970s, his son continued his tradition, shooting cowboy remake films with actor Jayashankar in the lead roles. However by then, the focus of the south Indian movie industry had shifted to studios in Chennai. After the younger Sundaram died, his widow Kalavani gave the studios to building promoters in 2004. The studios were demolished entirely, save for a small signpost and the gigantic stone arch with the Modern Theatres sign. The arch currently serves as the entrance to a township of bungalows and small flats known as Sundaram Gardens.
Salem district has Nine Taluks.
Salem is known for its quality educational institutions including Government schools, Arts and Science colleges, prestigious Engineering colleges like the Government College of Engineering, Sona College of Technology and Thiagarajar polytechnic college. Salem has 2 Universities - Periyar University and Vinayaka Missions University. There are several medical schools (including Dental, Homeopathy, Siddha, Yogic and Naturopathy Colleges).
Salem is famous for its SAIL (Steel Authority of India Limited) steel company near Salem, MALCO (Madras Aluminum Company Limited), Chemplast Sanmar Limited (a big chemicals manufacturer) at Mettur Dam and JSW Steel company at Potaneri near Mettur Dam. Mangoes are widely cultivated, especially Malgova (a variety of mango). Mettur dam Thermal Power station is located about 50 km from Salem. Megawin Switchgears company located at the heart of the city (near five roads). They manufacture electical switchgear panels, transformers, isolators and a variety of electrical components.
According to the 2011 census Salem district has a population of 3,480,008,[2] roughly equal to the nation of Panama[3] or the US state of Connecticut.[4] This gives it a ranking of 89th in India (out of a total of 640).[2] The district has a population density of 663 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,720 /sq mi) .[2] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 15.37 %.[2] Salem has a sex ratio of 954 females for every 1000 males,[2] and a literacy rate of 73.23 %.[2]
It had a population of 3,480,008 as of the census of 2011.[5] It is 46.09% urbanised.[6] The district has a literacy rate of 73.23%. It has a large Gounder population.
| Dharmapuri district | Viluppuram district | |||
| Erode district | Perambalur district | |||
| Salem district | ||||
| Namakkal district | Tiruchirappalli district |
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