Tirunelveli

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Nickname: Nellai
Tirunelveli
Area • Elevation	4,621 km² (1,784 sq mi) • 47 m (154 ft)
District(s)	Tirunelveli
Population • Density	411,298 (2001) • 3,781 /km² (9,793 /sq mi)
Mayor	Mr. A.L.Subramanian B.Sc, B.L
Codes • Pincode • Telephone • UN/LOCODE • Vehicle	• 627xxx • +91 (0)462 • INTEN • TN-72
Website: http://tirunelvelicorp.tn.gov.in/
Portal: Tamil Nadu

Coordinates: 8°44′N 77°42′E / 8.73, 77.7

Tirunelveli (Tamil: திருநெல்வேலி) is a Municipal Corporation, sixth largest city in Tamil Nadu (after Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore, Trichy and Salem) in southern India and the district headquarters of Tirunelveli district. The city is considered to be one of the oldest in the Indian subcontinent, with a history that dates back to 1000 BC. The city is located on the west bank of the perennial river, Thamirabarani.

Contents 1 Brief history of Tirunelveli 2 Geography 3 Climate 4 Demographics 5 Economy 6 Civic administration 7 Transport 7.1 Roads 7.2 Bus stand 7.3 Railways 7.4 Airport 8 Media & Communications 8.1 Print 8.2 Local cable TV 8.3 Radio stations 9 Internet 10 Sports 11 Pincodes 12 Religion 12.1 Temples 12.1.1 Nellaiappar Temple 12.1.2 Sri Varadharaja Perumal Temple 12.1.3 Mela Thiruvenkatanathapuram Temple 13 Education 14 Science Centre 15 Language 16 Cuisine 16.1 Halwa 16.2 Local dishes 16.3 Filtered coffee 17 Some places of interest 18 Notable Person In Tirunelveli 19 Local problems 20 Palayamkottai 20.1 Tirunelveli's twin city 20.2 Palayamkottai central prison 21 Industries Proposed 21.1 SEZ 21.2 STPI 22 References 23 External links

[edit] Brief history of Tirunelveli

Tirunelveli is culturally a very old city, as evidenced by the findings of archaeological excavations that have been carried out since 1840s to till-date in the outskirts of the city in Adichanallur (now under Tuticorin district). At this site, the archaeologists have unearthed urns^[1] containing human skull, skeleton and Urns and red and black clay vessels with some Tamil Brahmi script on them.^[2] Along with skeletal finds, husks, grains of rice, charred rice and Neolithic Celts have also been found. More recent excavations at this site has led to the discovery of habitational site of the Iron Age people. Archaeologists opine that it as 3000-3800 years old of Neolithic period.^[3][4] The same has been published in The Hindu English daily on May 26, 2004. Further, this assured that Tirunelveli has been the abode for human habitation from Neolithic period around 3,000 years old. Now, Adhichanallur has been announced as an archaeological site for further excavation and studies.^[5][6] This culturally old city is called in another name also "Nellai". In fact, the exact translation in Tamil for paddy is "Nell". So, both the name Tiru(nel)veli or (Nel)lai directly associates with paddy. Just in glance even on satellite pictures, it can be seen that the city is surrounded by fertile paddy fields enriched by a perennial river "Tamirabarani".^[7] It flows through out the year, which supplies water through various canals to agricultural field.

It has a deep rooted history on puranical perspective to get this name. It is said that a devotee was invited by God in his dream to settle with his family near the Tamirabarani River. He collected paddy from various other people as the way of begging due to famine. And he spread out the paddy to dry under the sunlight and went for ablution in Tamirabarani river. He prayed to Lord for rain. Suddenly a thunder strom broke out and rained heavily. Al though his prayer answered, he worried about the paddy he spread out to dry under the sun light. So he ran there and what he saw was a miracle. Despite the heavy rain, that the paddy he spread did not even get a drop of rain or even soaked. Since then the city is called as Tirunelveli, the meaning is like this - 'TIRU' means Respectable, 'NEL' means paddy and 'VELI' means Fence. As having the rain become the fence for the paddy he spread out, it is called as Tirunelveli. In other words the city is having paddy fields as fence

In the period of the Pandian Empire, the city served as the south capital for them. The city was the chief commercial town in the period of Arcot Nawabs and Nayaks. They were one of the various ruling dynasties of Tamilnadu. In fact, they called the city as "Nellai Chemmai", cheemai means foreign developed town.^[8] Tirunelveli first came into prominence under the Pandya kings,^[9] serving as their capital for some time. It was an important city of the Chola kingdom (c.900 – 1200)^[10] 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 in 1947.

On acquisition from the Nawab of Arcot in 1801, the British named it as Tinnevelly district though their headquarters was first located in Palayamkottai the adjacent town, where they had their military headquarters during their operations against the Palayakars. Two reasons may be attributed for naming it after Tirunelveli. One is because, it was and is the chief town of the district and the other is that it was already called as Tirunelveli Seemai under the Nayaks and Nawabs. Both Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai grew as the twin towns of the district.

Apart from the above, it has one more name "Halwa City". A wheat based sweet Halwa is very famous in Tirunelveli, which brought this nick name. The city has Swamy Nellaiappar and Sri Kandimathi Ambal temples, which are saivites. The city has been trifurcated in to three administrative provinces such as Tirunelveli, Palayamkottai and Melapalayam.

The city has become a corporation from 1989 and possesses the title of seventh largest city in the state of Tamilnadu. Generally, the corporation status has been given to a city according to its income generation and the population. The city is well connected by roads. From Madurai it is 150 km south in NH7 and 80 km north of Kanyakumari or Cape Comerin in NH7. An NH 7A connects Tirunelveli with Tuticorin port in 47 km and a major highway connects to Quilon, Kerala in 150 km.

Tiruneveli has two tier flyover called the Tiruvalluvar Flyover, which is the second longest double-decked flyover in Asia.

[edit] Geography

Tirunelveli is located at 8°44′N 77°42′E / 8.73, 77.7.^[11] It has an average elevation of 47 metres (154 feet). It is in the southern most tip of the Deccan pleateu in the Indian peninsular. Tirunelveli is located in the National Highway 7 stretch. The nearest landmarks are: Gangai Kondan in the north, Vallanad in the east, Alangukulam in the west, Ambasamudram in the south west and Nanguneri in the south. It is bound by the State of Kerala, Gulf of Mannar and the districts of Virudhunagar, Thoothukudi and Kanniyakumari.^[12] The perennial river Thamiraparani splits the city in to Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai. The major lake present in the city are Nainar lake and Udayarpetti lake. Three rivers converge at a place called sivalai.The river names are chitraru,thamiraparani and kothandarama river. This place nearest to the kuppakkurichi.

[edit] Climate

The climate of Tirunelveli is usually tropical and unpredictable, viz.,^[13] hot and humid. The average temperature during the hot season (March to September) ranges from 23 to 36°Celsius and during the mild season (October to February) ranges from 19 to 30°C. The average annual rainfall is 680 mm, most of which occurs during the northeast monsoon (October-December). No earthquake has been reported in Tirunelveli city so far.

[edit] Demographics

As of 2001 India census,^[14] 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.Among the Municipal Corporations, Tirunelveli has returned the best sex ratio with 1024 females for every 1000 males.^[15] The growth rate of Urban Agglomeration is 20.22%.^[16]

The Tirunelveli City spreads over an area of 128.65 km². The population density of the Corporation had increased to 3781 persons per km² in 2001 from 2218 Persons per km² in1971. The disabilities in the City as per Census 2001 are 1308246, out of which male 645142 and female 663104. Hindus are the most in urban population. Followed by Muslims and then Christians.

The language mainly spoken in the city is Tamil. The usage of English is common. Majority of office matters and teachings in Educational Institution are dealt in English. The Tamil dialect spoken in this region is very lucid and is popular throughout Tamil Nadu.

Projected Population

Year	Population	Type	Source
1991	345,772	census	official
2001	431,603	census	official
2009	597,979	calculation	[17]

Sl. No	Domain	Rank in population	Rank in UA	Source
1	World	not-defined	not-defined
2	Asia	440	400	[18][19]
3	India	91	89	[20][21]
4	Tamil Nadu	6	7	[22][23]

[edit] Economy

The economy of Tirunelveli district is chiefly agrarian in nature and people are engaged in the cultivation of cumbu, ragi, pulses, groundnut, gingelly, coconut, chillies, indigo and cotton. It is rich in mineral resources of limestone, sulphides and ilmenite - garnet sands.^[24] The city of Tirunelveli has a quite a number of industries in its area[2] like cement factories, cotton textile mills, spinning and weaving mills, beedi companies, steel products and so on. A large number of small scale industries supported by NELSIA (Nellai Small Scale Industries Association) are active. Tannery industries in small scale are also found in this city. In addition to these industries, a few small scale units of brick kilns and oil mills exist in the industrial area of this town. Most of the middle class population in Tirunelveli city are either office goers in government offices or teachers,professors&others working in educational institutions.

Recently Tata groups have signed a significant project of titanium dioxide plant for Rs 2,500 crore in Tirunelveli and Tuticorin districts. The project will create job opportunity for 1,000 persons directly and 3,000 indirectly.

The living cost of the city is less when comparing with other cities. Many of the basic raw materials for food are easily available in affordable price.

[edit] Civic administration

Tirunelveli City officials
Mayor	Mr. A.L. Subramanian
Deputy Mayor	Mr. K. Muthuramalingam
Collector	G. Prakash I.A.S
Police Commissioner	Ashokkumardos I.P.S
Member of Legislative Assembly-Tirunelveli	N. Malai Raja (D.M.K)
Member of Legislative Assembly-Palayamkottai	T.P.M.Mohaideen Khan (D.M.K)
Member of Parliament	Dhanushkodi Athitan(I.N.C)

Total population in Tirunelveli Municipal Corporation as per 2001 census.

Tirunelveli City voters
Number of Wards	55
Total population	411,832
Male population	203,232
Female population	208,599

[edit] Transport

[edit] Roads

Tirunelveli is well-connected by road. The city is located on 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. Now 4 lane track has been under progress and NH 7A stretch is almost in finishing stage. Tirunelveli is accessible by road from Madurai (3 hours) or Nagercoil (1 1/2 hours). Tirunelveli is also connected by major highways to Kollam, Tiruchendur, Rajapalayam, Sankarankovil, Ambasamudram and Nazareth.

[edit] Bus stand

The main mofussil bus stand is located in Veinthaankulam. This bus stand was opened for public usage from 2003 onwards. Here buses from and to outside the city and state operates services. The other bus stand for local services (within the city) Junction (Nellai Santhippu Perunthu Nilayam) Palai Bus stand (PalaiPerunthu Nilayam). Both Government and private buses are being operated for city travel round the clock.

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,^[25] Bangalore, Salem, Coimbatore, Tirupur, Nagapattinam, Erode, Villupuram, and Tirupati.

[edit] Railways

A majestic looking structure with a high elevated façade,Tirunelveli Junction Railway Station is one of the busiest and most important ones in Tamil Nadu. It is connected to major cities in all four directions, Madurai/Sankarankovil to the north, Nagercoil to the south, Tenkasi/Kerala (kollam) to the west and Tiruchendur to the east.The segment Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur broad gauge conversion is under progress and is expected to complete March 2008. Train Engine maintenance service station in under construction at Tirunelveli Junction railway station. At present, the engine and coaches are being sent to Nagarcoil for maintenance. The railway station is facilated with computerized ticket booking and touch screen to know the train schedule and train running status. It is proposed computerized ticket booking center at Palayamkottai to clear the extra rush at Junction station. Although Tirunelveli Junction station is one of the most important stations in the state, only two express trains having origination, one Nellai Express and Kollam Mail.

This railway station produces profit for the Madurai Railway division. The Nellai Express — a super-fast train connecting Tirunelveli and Chennai Egmore — runs packed almost throughout the year. The station has six platforms, three for metre gauge and three for broad gauge. Tirunelveli Junction is coded as TEN. Any train passing through the station halts in Tirunelveli Junction station. It is one of the popular stations in Indian RailwayList of Popular Railway stations in India.

The major trains at Tirunelveli Junction:

• Nellai Express
• Kanniyakumari Express
• Ananthapuri Express
• Guruvayur Express
• Nagarcoil-Mumbai Express
• Kollam Mail
• Thirukural Express
• Kanyakumari - Howrah Express
• Nagercoil-Coimbatore Express

There are Six local railway stations in the city

• Tirunelveli Junction
• Palayamkottai
• Town
• Pettai
• Melapalayam
• Thalaiyoothu
• Maharajanagar(Requested)^[26]

[edit] Airport

The airport of this city is Tuticorin airport (TCR), located at Vaagaikulam,Thoothukkudi Dt, about 22 km east of Tirunelveli city. Connections to Chennai are via Air Deccan, once a day. The Madurai Airport and Thiruvananthapuram International Airport are about 150 km away by road. An unused runway at Kangaikondan, which is 22 km north of the city, will become operational once the IT park at Gangaikondan is set up.^[27]

[edit] Media & Communications

[edit] Print

Dina Thanthi, Dina Malar, Dinakaran, Dina Mani, Dina Vel, Tamil Sudar, Kathiravan, Tamil Murasu, Malai Malar, Malai Murasu (an evening paper) are the prominent Tamil news dailies currently printed in the city. The Hindu is the most widely read English daily. The news daily The Hindu published at Madurai is being circulated here. Published at Trivandrum for Tamil Nadu editions are also being circulated occasionally. Both the cities are almost equidistance from the Tirunelveli city.

[edit] Local cable TV

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

[edit] Radio stations

Tirunelveli is served on the FM dial by Suriyan FM, frequency 93.5 run by SUN NETWORK and another FM Started by Malai Malar 'Hello FM', frequency 106.4 MHz,and Tirunelveli Vanoli Nilayam (AIR), by the Government of India. Tirunelveli has been identified as one of 40 cities in India to have FM station. IGNOU has planned to air its distant education lecture (named Gyan Vani) soon via FM, Tirunelveli.

[edit] Internet

Internet facilities are limited with BSNL being the only provider.Even though there is a broadband service the bandwidth is shared by too many users which makes it very slow.

[edit] Sports

Many sport events such as Hockey, Kabbadi, Volley ball, Kokko are being conducted at Anna Stadium and V O C grounds. Both are situated at Palayamkottai. School students uses these ground for playing cricket during lesiure hours and holidays.

[edit] Pincodes

Pincode is the postal numbering system used in India.

Location	Pincode
Tirunelveli Junction	627 001
Palayamkottai	627 002
Vannarpettai	627 003
Pettai	627 004
Melapalayan	627 005
Tirunelveli Town	627 006
Perumalpuram	627 007
Gandhinagar	627 008
Kokkirakulam (Collectorate)	627 009
Industrial Estate, Pettai	627 010
Maharajanagar	627 011
Abisheikapatti	627 012
Sankarnagar	627 357
Thachanallur	627 358

[edit] Religion

Though the roots of the city trace back from Hindu Mythology, Tirunelveli is populated by people of all religions, with Hindus, Christians, Muslims and Jains forming a major portion. Accordingly, the city has places of worship for people of all these religions, several of which are of historical importance. Tirunelveli has rich tradition in Religion. Palayamkottai is populated mostly by Christians. Mellapalayam is mostly populated by Muslims. Tirunelveli Junction Place has mixed people. Here many Hindu people used to get converted to Christians during the time of marriage.

[edit] Temples

[edit] Nellaiappar Temple

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 view of the great gopurams (towers). Both the gopurams were built according to the rules laid down in the agamasastras by Rama Pandyan.

Nindrasir Nedumaran (நின்றசீர் நெடுமாறன்), who reigned in the seventh century CE, contributed by constructing and renovating important parts in this temple. A beautiful garden founded in 1756 CE, next to this chain mandapam, welcomes visitors with many colourful and 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 bigger than the Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple, though the latter is more famous owing to its historical importance.The main sanctum sanctorium has a vishnu deity in lying pose as seen in famous srirangam temple.the deity is called "NELLAI GOVINDAR".why there is a vishnu deity inside a socalled shiva temple is yet a mystery.

[edit] Sri Varadharaja Perumal Temple

Sri Varadharaja Perumal Kovil at Tirunelveli is situated in Tirunelveli Junction. This temple is an ancient and reputed Vishnu temple. It lies on the banks of perennial river Thamirabarani. This area is also known as Veerarahavapuram.

[edit] Mela Thiruvenkatanathapuram Temple

The Mela Thiruvenkatanathapuram temple's sanctum sanctorum has Lord Srinivasa deity. The temple is located 7 to 10 km south west of Tirunelveli in the banks of perennial river Thamirabarani (தாமிரபரணி). This temple/place is also called Thirunankovil.

[edit] Education

The Manonmaniam Sundaranar University is located in Nellai, on the Tenkasi road, about 11 km from 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.

In the view to improve the quality of education in the southern parts of Tamil Nadu, the Finance ministry has stated in the budgetary note that one more Anna University is to be created in the city of Tirunelveli.^[28][29]

The city has many prestigious old government and private colleges in the medical, legal, engineering, arts, pharmacy, and physiotherapy fields. Tirunelveli Medical College^[30] and the Government College of Engineering Tirunelveli^[31] are professional colleges run by the government of Tamil Nadu. St. Xavier's College run by Jesuits, St. John's College and Sarah Tucker College run by CSI Diocease, 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 examinations.

Sl No	Educational Institutions	No of Institutions
1	University	2 (Anna University Tirunelveli, M.S.university)
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 Kindergarten 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 has 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 Thamirabharani, 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. Many scientific experiments proto-types planted in the campus. The building has two floors. Many school students from various nearby villages, towns and cities use to visit throughout the year. Exhibitions and Competitions are also be conducted here up to school levels. The visiting charges collected to enter into it is just two rupees.`Fun science gallery' inaugurated in Tirunelveli — The Hindu.

[edit] Language

Main article: Tamil language

There is a tradition that the Tamil language originated from the Pothigai Malai, a hill situated in western Ghats near Papanasam, a small village in the Tirunelveli district. As per Brahminical legend, 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.

Today the Tamil language as spoken in the Tirunelveli district is called as Nellai Tamil.Since Tamil is born in Pothigai Malai,Nellai Tamil is the first from of Tamil and pure form also. It is said to be the sweetest from of Tamil. Nellai Tamil uses the word 'Annachi' which is to call elder person.Nellai Tamil is very fast compareto other type of Tamil. The Tirunelveli accent appeals to all Tamil speaking people.^{[citation needed]} The version spoken here is considerably different than Madras Bashai, which is a more anglocized version of Tamil.Tirunelveli version is often mimicked funnily in Tamil films

[edit] Cuisine

[edit] Halwa

The city is noted for the sweet halwa (pronounced locally as ulva) which is made from wheat and sugar. Halwa is brown and semi-solid in texture and contains lots of ghee/Vanaspati which gives it the oily look. It tastes the best when fresh and hot. Tirunelveli halwa is said to owe its peculiar taste due to the recipe of this region. The Halwa was made famous by a Marwari family which settled here more than 300 years ago. The original shop started by them is the Lakshmi Vilas. Slowly others borrowed the formula from them and now the halwa has become synonymous with this city.

There are many hot spots to buy halwa around the Nellayappar temple and near the main railway station.^[32] Two of the famous halwa stores are Irutu Kadai halwa (Dark Store halwa), situated near the Nellayappar temple and Shanthi Sweets. The name Irutu Kadai of the former store derives from the fact that the looks of the store had been kept unchanged from the date it was started. Till date, there is no bright electrical lamp or even a board display to show the shop name.

[edit] Local dishes

Some of the unique and popular dishes in Tirunelveli are Sodhi, Kootan Choru and Ulunthamparupu choru with yellu thovayal. Sothi 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).Porotta of tirunelveli with the kuruma(salna) gives an added taste. In vegetarian item, Avieal is a famous side dish. It is prepared by mixing all vegetables and boiled. The taste of the Avieal is bit of sourness and sometimes called as "Nellai Avieal", which is one of the main side dishes served during marriage functions.

[edit] Filtered coffee

Tirunelveli has numerous coffee houses which open in the wee hours of the morning, even before 4 am. A local favourite is that of the famous filter coffee from Pothi Hotel at Chandipillaiyar Kovil Mukku. Its exceptional quality and flavour addictively pulls elderly people to rise early and energize them, first thing in the morning. Unfortunately The Pothi hotel has been closed.

[edit] Some places of interest

The two tier over Thiruvalluvar Bridge at Tirunelveli Junction was constructed to avoid the heavy traffic and 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 to 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.

Additional places of interest include:

• District Science Centre at Vannarpet.
• V. O. Chidhambaram Pillai Memorial Hall at the Exhibition Ground
• Krishnapuram Temple
• Papanasam, Manimuthar dam
• Panathirtham Falls, near Papanasam Dam
• Agasthiyar falls, Papanasam
• Courtallam (the Spa of the South, 50 km from Nellai)
• Mancholai, Kakaachi, Kuthiravetti Hill Stations and Tea estates
• Sankarankovil Arulmigu Gomathi Amman Temple (50 km from Nellai)
• Tenkasi Kasiviswanathar temple (50 km from Nellai)
• Tiruchendur subramaniyaswamy temple (50 km from Nellai
• Koodankulam Water Birds Sanctuary
• Navaneethakrishnan Temple in Melasevel Village- 16 km from Tirunelveli to Ambasamudram
• Navathirupathis- Nine temples in and around on the Highway leading to Tuticorin from Tirunelveli Anciednt temples at Nanguneri and Thirukurungudi-40 km from Nellai
• Navaneethakrishnan, Megalingeswarar temples at Melasevel Village-16 kilometers from Tirunelveli
• Sivasailappar Temple, Sivasailam (around 50 km from Palayamkottai)

[edit] Notable Person In Tirunelveli

• MaaVeeran Sundaralinga Devendrar (World First Human Sucide Bomber) Indian Freedom Fighter
• Thalapathy B.John Pandian King of Nellai & Chairman of Devendrar College of Physiotherapy

[edit] Local problems

Although Tirunelveli is one of the major cities in Tamil Nadu, the dearth of industries and the climate has resulted 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]} which results slowest development among all the cities in Tamil Nadu. Many of the development proposals initiated and suddenly become standstill due to various reasons. Even though Nanguneri Special Economic Zone announced on the year 2000, it is yet to take off. ^[33] Here is dearth of world class medical facilities. For major surgery one has to travel to nearby cities like Madurai and Chennai despite basic medical facilities and hospitals available.

Even though Madurai - Kanyakumari through Tirunelveli, rail stretch is profitable one in Southern railways, it has not been double tracked, nor electrified which hampers the railway traffic heavily and people are forced to choose alternate mode of transport say buses and therefore many private buses take this opportunity to take a most of it. Moreover, the city does not have airport, which is the main instrument for IT parks and companies/other industrial developments.

[edit] Palayamkottai

[edit] Tirunelveli's twin city

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

Palayamkottai is known for its educational institutions and is referred to as "Oxford of South India ." 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 located in 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, Government Siddha College, Government Engineering College, Francis Xavier Engineering College, St. Xavier's College, St. John's College and Sarah Tucker College.This area is one which is well suited for IT sectors since it is in the city centre with all the facilities around.

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: Anna Stadium and the VOC Ground. The latter holds field hockey and kabbadi matches at both the district and state levels. Republic Day and Independence Day ceremonies are also held 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 poet Subramanya Bharathy spent a part of his life here.

[edit] Palayamkottai central prison

The Palyamkottai Central Prison is another historically important land mark as some eminent personalities like Kalaignar M. Karunanithi and other political leaders had served their prison terms here.

[edit] Industries Proposed

[edit] SEZ

Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (January 2007)

The state and Central government has agreed a bid to set up an Information Technology park^[34] in the view to develop this district.^[35] Time has now ripened for the development part in the lower part of Tamil Nadu.^[36] T^[37][38]

[3].The government of India has approved Naguneri, a town which is 28 km away from the city as Special Economic Zone (SEZ, previously known as Hi-tech Industrial Park^[39]) 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 25 km² 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. Further Tirunelveli is having better rail link, road link and air link compare to the past. Moreover better higher education institutions including professional education is situated in Tirunelveli. The skilled labour is cheaper and its availability is in abundance. Nearest Port at Thoothukudi will be a boon for export / import. Koodankulam Power Project is also a boon. Industrialist and entrepreneurs must invite foreign direct investment by inviting them to Tirunelveli. A company viz. ATMAC Ltd was incorporated to implement the project. It is reported that JTC, Singapore has prepared the Master Plan.

Jurong International, Singapore, has submitted its conceptual master plan, according to which the industrial sector would include ready built factories, custom built factories, units of multi-national corporations, science, business and hi-tech or information technology parks.

The final hurdle for establishing a hi-tech park in the proposed Nanguneri Special Economic Zone (SEZ), transfer of 412 acres (1.7 km²) of land by the Department of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments to the promoter, was cleared on Wednesday.

With the transfer, the minimum area of land required for establishing an SEZ – 10 km² – has been achieved.

This has revived hopes of people here that work on the Rs. 14,000-crore project may take off soon.^[40][41]

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

[edit] STPI

Tirunelveli is one of the Software Technology Parks of India.^[42][43] With major cities like Madurai, Trivandrum, Kollam, Tuticorin and Nagercoil in close proximity, and with good rail and road connectivity to various parts of India, the state government has laid the foundation stone for the emerging software park. STPI has registered Rs.0.43 Crores of software exports during 2003-04 and the Software Development activity is excepted to grow in the coming years. STPI-Tirunelveli is one of the international gateways of STPI-Chennai, which is located in premises of M/s.Global Software Solutions (TVL) PVT LTD. Moreover, BSNL is ready to provide high speed data communication facilities for STPI and thus Tirunelveli is on the verge of becoming an emerging IT destination.^[44][45]

The STPI centre, Tirunelveli is situated in Vasanthapuram Tirunelveli bypass road.

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Central Theatre	Nellaiappar Gopuram	Tirunelveli Arch	Ther (Temple Car)
Tirunelveli Town	Holy Trinity Cathedral, Palayamkottai

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Complete up-to-the-minute Arrival/Departure Status of Trains at Tirunelveli Junction Railway Station
• Tirunelveli City Municipal Corporation
• Tirunelveli district government website
• Tirunelveli Medical College

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