Udumalaipettai

Udumalaipettai
Udumalpet
Town

Udumalai bus at thirumoorthi reservoir
Udumalaipettai

Location in Tamil Nadu, India

Coordinates: 10°35′N 77°14′E / 10.58°N 77.24°ECoordinates: 10°35′N 77°14′E / 10.58°N 77.24°E
Country  India
State Tamil Nadu
District Tirupur district
Elevation 400 m (1,300 ft)
Population (2011)[1]
 • Total 61,133
Languages Tamil, English
 • Official Tamil
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 642126
Telephone code 04252
Vehicle registration TN-78(formerly TN-41,TN-42)
Website UDUMALPET.COM

Udumalai also known as Udumalaipettaiis a town in Udumalaipettai taluk of the Tirupur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Earlier it was under Coimbatore District[2] Indian state of Tamil Nadu. As it is called, Udumalpet town is one of the famous summer resorts of Tamil Nadu, surrounded by Mountains on three sides. Along with Pollachi, it is one of the twin cities separated from Coimbatore. As of 2011, the town had a population of 61,133,

History

The town has grown into a Municipality in the year 1918 and later upgraded to Second Grade Municipality in 1970. By status it was declared as first Grade Municipality in 1979 and then a Selection Grade Municipality from 1984. The extent of the Municipality is 7.41 km2 of which 6.582 km2 are under urban use and 0.828 km2. are under non-urban such as agricultural etc.

The town was previously under Coimbatore district but was moved under the newly formed Tirupur district in October 2008. The change was opposed by many of the residents but it was not reverted.[3] In short known as Udumalai, the city is surrounded by the high mountains of Western Ghats on three sides. This Municipal town has a population of about 60,000. Udumalpet is an industrial town with number of textile, paper and farming related industries established here. Famous landmarks and monuments in and around the town includes Thirumoorthy Hills, which has the Thirumurthi water reservoir that provides water supply to the town, Mariamman Temple, an old worshiping place in the town center and Amaravathi Reservoir, across Amaravathi River which provides irrigation to the agricultural lands around the town. Both Thirumoorthy Hills and Amaravathi Reservoir provide recreational activities such as boating, fishing and hiking and attract tourists from other parts of the state. Udumalpet lies in the midway between the famous temple town of Palani (35 km)and Pollachi (28 km)on the National Highway No.209. Udumalpet is also connected by a metre gauge railway line. Now Broad gauge railway line work is in progress. These railway lines will connect Coimbatore JN to Rameswaram JN and Coimbatore to Howrah Junction trains will be routed through Udumalpet Junction.Another name recently given to Udumalpet is Poultry City. Most of the famous Poultry companies are based from Udumalpet. Udumalpet assembly constituency is part of Pollachi Lok Sabha constituency

Demographics

According to 2011 census, Udumalaipettai had a population of 61,133 with a sex-ratio of 1,041 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929.[4] A total of 4,939 were under the age of six, constituting 2,489 males and 2,450 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 8.67% and .07% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 83.85%, compared to the national average of 72.99%.[4] The town had a total of 17132 households. There were a total of 24,756 workers, comprising 226 cultivators, 289 main agricultural labourers, 450 in house hold industries, 21,403 other workers, 2,388 marginal workers, 51 marginal cultivators, 70 marginal agricultural labourers, 46 marginal workers in household industries and 2,221 other marginal workers.[5]

Education

There are about eleven higher secondary schools and three colleges. Some of the educational institutes are Govt Hr Sec School(Boys),G.K.N (Gandhi Kala Nilayan), Sri GVG Visalakshi School for Women,GVG matriculation school,R.G.Matric Higher Secondary School,Srinivasa Vidyalaya,R.K.R Higher Sec School, Government Arts College, which is a state funded college, Sri GVG Visalakhi College, Vidhysagar College of Arts and Science Rudhraveni Muthusamy Polytechnic and the Suguna Institute of Poultry Management studies.

Economy

The town, in the 1980s and 1990s, had a well-developed spinning industry but it has since declined due to labor shortages and other labor related issues. One of the biggest poultry companies in India, Suguna Foods Limited (Formerly Suguna Poultry farm Limited), was founded in this town. There are many paper manufacturing plants located alongside the Amaravathi River. Recently, surrounding areas of the town has seen a huge rise in windmill installations because of the location of the town across the Palghat Gap.

The average altitude of the town is 1208 feet above MSL. The topography is undulated and general slope is from west to North. Black clay soil is the predominant soil of the area. Only 1.25% of land to the total area of the town is covered under agricultural usage. Mainly coconut trees and vegetables are grown in this area., where as, agricultural activities are developed mainly in the hinterlands of the town, wherever water facility is available, wet crops like paddy, sugarcane, etc., are grown in those areas.

According to 1991 Census 33.82% of the total population of the town constitutes the working force. The Secondary and tertiary sectors were the major components of the working population accounting for 32.22% and 60.27% respectively. The primary sector accounted only for 7.81%. The predominant occupation of the town is trade and commerce activities. Trade and Commerce, Manufacturing industrial activities and other services accounts to 27.52%, 24.74% and 23.50% respectively of the total working force.

The town gets major rainfall during the south west monsoon period. The average annual rainfall is 501.40 mm. Black and red soil types are found in the town. The soil contains more of alumina and gypsum. While black soil area is utilized for agriculture, the areas with red soil has more urbanized usages.

Transport

Udumalpet town is well connected with Coimbatore, Thiruppur the District Headquarters and other nearby urban settlements by an articulate system of railway and road transport facilities (Dindigul-Mysore NH and Major District roads). The total length of roads, streets within corporate limits is about at 83.022 km. Consisting of 8.983 km of concrete road, 47,772 km. Of B.T roads and 26.627 km of other types of roads. The National highways NH 209, Dindigul-Mysore road and two major district roads (MDR) connecting the Udumalpet town with important urban centers in Coimbatore –Nilgiris Region. The main arterial road for this town is Dindigul-Mysore Road (NH-209). Udumalpet-Dharapuram road, Udumalpet-Tiruppur road and Udumalpet-Dhali road are the sub arterial roads linking with the main west-east arterial namely Dindigul Mysore NH road. The street pattern with in the town are generally narrow about 83.022 km of roads are within the corporate area and about 9.0 km belonging to the category of Major District Roads and National Highways. The town is located in the train route from Rameshwaram to Palakkad / Rameshwaram to Coimbatore / Coimbatore to Howrah Station.currently the conversion of broad gauge is over three trains are passing through the town. pollachi-palani-chennai express train, pollachi-palani-trichendur passenger and pollachi-palani-madurai passenger is running.

Tourism

Thirumurthy temple

The town is surrounded by hills and has a good weather throughout the year. Waterfalls in Thirumoorthy hills draw quite a few tourists. It takes half an hour to reach the falls by trekking from the Thirumoorthy Temple. Arjuneswarar Temple is a notable temple and is in Kadathur.

A drive on the Udumalpet - Munnar road (SH 17) gives one unforgettable views of the Western Ghats. Chinnar is 25 km (16 mi) from Udumalpet and along the way one passes through the Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park which is famous for the Elephants that inhabit the area. The road to Chinnar crosses the border over the Chinnar River between Tamil Nadu and Kerala. As you enter Kerala, you can see a distinct change in the vegetation upon entering the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary. While the Tamil Nadu areas have vegetation dominated by shrubs and thorny trees, the vegetation in Kerala is lush green with tall trees. Marayur is 20 km (12 mi) from Chinnar, famous for its sandalwood forests which often fall prey to poachers.

As you drive past Marayur towards Munnar, you can see Anamudi, the highest mountain peak in south part of India to your right. This area also houses the Eravikulam National Park famous for its population of the Nilgiri Tahr, a mountain goat. This area offers abundant scope for mountain trekking. On the trekking route to the Anamudi peak, you can see a trout farm. The rest of the drive towards Munnar is through neatly manicured tea estates owned by Tata Tea Limited and Waterfall Estate. The landscape is also dotted by tea factories and labour lines.

There is also a trekking route from Amaravathi Dam to Kodaikanal which is frequented by the students of the Sainik School, Amaravathinagar (the only Sainik School in Tamil Nadu). Villages are criss-crossed by Amaravathi River and various irrigation canals. Coconut tree farms are common sight and this area is one of the leading producer of coconuts in the region. The countryside is a popular film shooting spot, providing scenic backgrounds and greenery.The climate is pleasant throughout the year.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.censusindia.gov.in/pca/SearchDetails.aspx?Id=707525
  2. ↑ "New Tirupur district formed". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 2008-10-26.
  3. ↑ "Udumalpet-Tirupur merger agitation takes a new turn". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 2008-11-27.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Census Info 2011 Final population totals". Office of The Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  5. ↑ "Census Info 2011 Final population totals - Udumalaipettai". Office of The Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2013. Retrieved 26 January 2014.

External links