Thoothukudi District

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.

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.

img src="/images/2_Hills_of_Vellanad.jpg" align="left" valign="absmiddle" style="margin-right:7px" alt="Thoothukudi District, Tamil Nadu" border="1"> 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.

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.

Thoothukudi is traditionally known for its pearl fishery and shipbuilding. It is one of the oldest seaports in the world. This seaport came under Pandyan Kingdom then followed by Karkoi, Portuguese, Dutch and at last in the hands of British Government in the year 1825. Thoothukudi became the centre of Indian Independence movement in the early 20th century. The lighthouse built in the year 1842 marked the beginning the history of Thoothukudi harbour development.

The economy of Thoothukudi is based on industries, ports, and saltpans agriculture. The main industries of the Thoothukudi are Power, Chemicals, Fisheries, Sterlite Copper Smelter, Fertilizer Plant, Thermal Power Plant, Tuticorin Alkali Chemicals, Heavy Water Plant, Flowers, Sea Food, and Salt Industries etc.

As per 2001 Census, Thoothukudi had a population of 216,058. Current population is about 600,000. Males constitute 50% and females constitute 50% of the total population.11% of the population is under six year of age. Thoothukudi has av average literacy rate of 82%, higher than the National literacy rate of 59.5%. Male literacy rate is 85% and female literacy rate is 79%.

Tamil is the most common spoken language used in Thoothukudi, followed by English, Kannada and Malayalam and Hindi by few people.
There are 42 permanent cinema theatres, 18 touring theatres and 3 open theatres are available for the entertainment of the Thoothukudi people.

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.

Visiting places of Thoothukudi : Thoothukudi is a district of the Indian state Tamil Nadu. The name of the district is a Tamil term and it is also known as Tuticorin. Thoothukudi is the Gateway of Tamil Nadu. This major seaport in India has various places around it. Some of them are given here:

Tiruchendur : Tiruchendur is situated in the Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu state and is the most important tourist attraction of the district. It is 56 kms from Tirunelveli and can be reached by train and by buses. This place is one of the six abodes of Lord Muruga called Arupadai Veedu. This is the only one standing on level ground among the others. Lord Muruga offered his thanksgiving prayers to his father Lord Siva here for obtaining victory over the demon Surapadman by killing him.

The temple is situated on the edge of the sea and the main deity has been cut on a rock lying on the shores. The idol of the Urchavar or festival-deity is kept in a separate shrine facing the opposite direction. A local chief called Vadamalai recovered this idol from the sea and installed it there. The silver vessels of this shrine were presented by the erstwhile collector of this district, Lushington.

It is said that the famous saint and poet Kumarakuruparar of the 17th century A.D got back his power of speech in this temple and sung hymns on the deity.

Srivaikuntam and Alwarthiru-nagari : These are two Vaishnavaite shrines, which lies on the way to Tiruchendur from Tirunelveli. It is also known as Kailasapuram and has the Nataraja shrine and 8 artistically carved pillars. The most well known among them is the Kallapiran. Vaikuntanatha is the festival deity and the presiding deity of here.

The sun rays fall on the main deity as token of worship on the 6th day of the Tamil month Chitthirai (April). The idol of the deity is most gracefully carved with club in hand. The pillars of the mandapam contain the carvings of lions, Yalis and elephants. During the patriotic war of Kattabomman with the British, the temple acted as a fort. There is a mud enclosure of 10 ft high running round with a gate in the middle in the north of the town. The women of this fort never mix with people beyond the wall. The outside world is sealed for them. They are called Kattai pillaimars as they never marry outside their tribe.

Nava Thiruppathis : Navathiruppathis are the nine holy shrines of Vishnu of the district Thoothukudi. These are Thiruvaikundam, Thiruvaraguna-mangai, Thiruppulingudi, Thirukkulandai, Thirutholaivilli Mangalam, South Thirupperai, Thirukkolur and Alwar Thirunagari. The Sri Aravinda Lochana sanctum in Thiruvaikuntam is also considered as one Thiruppathi. The Nava Thiruppathis are near one another in this district.

Panchalamkurichi : This place is situated 54 kms from Tirunelveli and 3 kms from Ottappidaram. This is the home town of a 17th century freedom fighter named Kattabomman. Kattabomman`s original fort is damaged now and under the custody of Archaeological Survey of India. The Government of Tamil Nadu constructed the Kattabomman memorial fort in Panchalamkurichi in 1974.

The temple of Jakkamma, the family deity of Kattabomman is situated near the fort.

A cemetery of British soldiers too is found near the fort.

Ettaiyapuram : The national poet Bharathiar was born here. It is situated 71 kms from Tirunelveli. Manimandapam was constructed here for Bharathiyar. A memorial for Bharathiyar can also be seen here.

Manappadu : It is situated 71 kms from Tirunelveli on the shores of the Bay of Bengal. A 400-year-old Holy Cross Church is seen here. Some fragments of the True Cross from Jerusalem are enshrined here. It is one of the churches connected with St. Francis Xavier.

Temples of Thoothukudi District : The limited number of temples of Thoothukudi District, are well known for their architecture and forms. Thoothukudi District , also known as Tuticorin District, is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. Thoothukudi District is also known for Pearl cultivation with abundance of pearls found in the seas of Thoothukudi.

Amongst the temples of Thoothukudi District, the main Thoothukudi temple is dedicated to Lord Subramanya; it offers a spectacular sight with spiritual aura having the sea at the backdrop. Panchalankurchi temple is one of the famous temples of Thoothukudi District, lying18 km from Thoothukudi and is the place where the great warrior Katta Bomman known as `Veerapandiya Kattabomman` put up resistance against the British command in the 17th century AD. There is also a fort standing after his name as `Kattabomman Memorial Fort`, maintained by Archeological Survey of India.