Thoothukudi district was carved out of the formerly Tirunelveli district on 20th of October 1986. The district is located in the extreme south-eastern corner of the state of Tamil Nadu and bounded on the north by the Tirunelveli district, Virudhunagar district and the Ramanathapuram district, on the east and south-east by Gulf of Mannar and on the west and south-west by the district of Tirunelveli. The total area covered by the Thoothukudi district is 4621 square kilometres. The administrative headquarters of this district is an urban agglomeration and also one of the taluk headquarters within the district.
Geography of Thoothukudi District
The total geographical area of this district is 4,621 square kilometres. The forest area in this district is spread over 11,012 hectares which works out to be 2.47 percent of the total geographical area of the Thoothukudi district. There is a deer sanctuary which is maintained in the hills of Vallanad. Apart from the Vallanad and the Kurumalai hills, there are no other mountains or hills in this district.
Administration of Thoothukudi District
The administrative head of the district of Thoothukudi is the collector who he assisted by several revenue officers in his general work of administration. There are three revenue divisions in this district including Tiruchendur, Thoothukudi and Kovilpatti and there are eight taluks. In the district of Thoothukudi there are forty firkas and four hundred and sixty eight revenue villages. Apart from these, there is a corporation, two municipalities, twelve panchayat unions, twenty town panchayats and four hundred and eight village panchayats.
Education in Thoothukudi District
In this district of Thoothukudi the percentage of effective literacy (excluding children in the age group from one to six) is seventy four percent. There are twelve arts and science colleges, one medical college, three engineering colleges, one agricultural college, one fisheries college, about one thousand and seventy six primary schools, about two hundred and eighty four middle schools, about ninety seven higher secondary schools, three teachers training colleges, etc. A Government Polytechnic in the name of the greatest Tamil Poet Subramania Bharathiyar is functioning in this district from the year 1982, exclusively for girls at Ettayapuram.
Tourism in Thoothukudi District
The district of Thoothukudi in the Tamil Nadu state is known for the presence of some of the famous temples of south India. A Shiva temple called Sri Sankara Rameswarar temple and one Sri Vaikundapathy temple at Thoothukudi were constructed by the Pandya King Sankara Pandyan. These temples draw a large number of tourists from different parts of the state. Another attraction of this place is a famous Church named Panimaya Matha which was constructed by the Portuguese in the year 1714.
Tiruchendur in the Thoothukudi district is very famous for the seashore temple of Lord Subramanya. The tower of this temple and the sculptures of the temple are worth seeing. This temple is one among the six abodes of Lord Subramanya. Lord Subramanya, after defeating Soorapadma came to this place and prayed to Lord Shiva. That victory is still observed by the pilgrims during the Tamil month `Aippasi` as a festival.
Apart from these, there are various other places of interest in this district which nclude Navathirupathi, Athichanallur, Korkai, Vanchi Maniyachi, etc.
