Karaikudi is the largest city of Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the centre of the Karaikudi Metropolitan Area, the 21st largest urban Agglomeration of Tamil Nadu based on 2011 census data. It is part of the area commonly referred to as Chettinad and has been declared a City Municipal Corporation by the Government of Tamil Nadu,
Karaikudi comes under the Karaikudi Assembly constituency, which elects a member to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly once every five years, and it is a part of the Sivaganga Lok Sabha constituency, which elects its member of parliament (MP) once in five years. The city is administered by the Karaikudi City Municipal Corporation. This metropolitan city had a population of 303,291 in 2023.Metropolitan area consists of Karaikudi City Corporation and neighbourhood towns of Kottaiyur, Koviloor, Kandanur, Puduvayal, and Sankarapuram (census town) and villages of Amaravathiputhur, Ariyakudi, Iluppakkudi, Managiri, Mathur, Peyampatti, Thiruvelangudi and Soorakudi.
This city is famous for Kandangi a special type of sarees which come from and are woven in this area. The geographical indication presents the government of India of this Kandangi sarees.
The Chettinad cuisine originated in the areas around Karaikudi.
It is one of the few towns and cities in Tamil Nadu selected for AMRUT Schemes
History
The city derives its name from the thorny plant
Karai, referred to in ancient literature as
Karaikudi. The town was established in the 19th century, and the oldest known structure is the Koppudaiya Nayagi Amman Temple.
delivered two speeches in Karaikudi in 1927
[Pushpa Joshi (2002) Gandhi on Women: Collection of Mahatma Gandhi's Writings and Speeches on Women, Navajivan Publishing House, ] and
Bharathiyar visited Karaikudi in 1919 to participate in an event.
[Malarmannan article on Madhabhimana Sangam in Thinnai e-zine, 17 Jan 2011, [1] ] After independence, the city saw significant growth in the industrial sector.
Karaikudi and surrounding areas are generally referred as "Chettinad".
Chettinad comprises a network of 73 villages and 2 towns forming clusters spread over a territory of 1,550 km
2 in the districts of Sivagangai and Pudukottai in the state of Tamil Nadu. Karaikudi is the largest town in Sivaganga district. Karaikudi and surrounding areas are very popular for their unique palaces, Chettinad Architecture based buildings and palatial mansions. Kannadasan Manimandapam, Kamban Manimandapam and Thousand windows house are other visitor attractions in Karaikudi.
The first Tamil Thai, Tamil Thai Kovil is located in Karaikudi and was established in 1993.
Demographics
As calculated for the town extension processes, the district administration office confirmed the population of Karaikudi is 303,291 in 2023.
According to 2011 census, Karaikkudi had a population of 181,125 with a sex-ratio of 1,000 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929.
A total of 19,619 children were under the age of six, constituting 10,405 males and 10,214 females. The average literacy rate of the town was 81.48%, compared to the national average of 72.99%.
The town had a total of 47504 households. There were a total of 60,069 workers, comprising 244 cultivators, 314 main agricultural labourers, 1,303 in household industries, 30,836 other workers, 17,372 marginal workers, 162 marginal cultivators, 2496 marginal agricultural labourers, 1345 marginal workers in household industries and 9,469 other marginal workers.
In Karaikudi, Hinduism is the majority religion with 83.9% of the total population, followed by Islam, 11.39%, Christianity, 4.3%, Jainism, 0.05%, Sikism, 0.01% and Others, the rest.
Geography
Karaikudi is located in Sivagangai district of Tamil Nadu State. The
Trichy–
Rameswaram Highway passes through Karaikudi. The
Thennar River flows through South Karaikudi. Karaikudi is located at . It has an average elevation of . The terrain of Karaikudi is predominantly flat. Rocky areas are found in the surrounding areas of Karaikudi town with more rocks towards the western side of the town. The soil is of the hard red lateritic type and is not suitable for cultivation.
The
water table in the area is generally at depths of and rises to nearly below the ground level during rainy seasons. Since the 1970s, the water supply of the Karaikudi residents has depended on the deeper aquifers.
The average maximum temperature is about , and average minimum temperature is about . The annual average rainfall in Karaikudi is about .
Administration and politics
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S. Mangudi Indian National Congress |
Karthi Chidambaram |
Karaikudi was constituted as a municipality in 1928 and was upgraded to a Grade II Municipality in 1973, to Selection Grade in 1988, to special grade in 2013 and City Corporation in 2024 consists of 100 wards in total.
Karaikudi is a part of the Karaikudi assembly constituency and it elects a member to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly once every five years.
Law and order in the city is maintained by the Sivaganga sub division of the Tamil Nadu Police headed by a Deputy Superintendent. There are three police stations in the city as North police station, south police station, Azhagappapuram police station are mainly being an all-women police station and town police station. There are special units like prohibition enforcement, district crime, social justice and human rights, district crime records and special branch that operate at the district level police division headed by a Superintendent of Police.
Culture
Landmarks
Some prominent temples around the city are:
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Karaikudi Nagara Sivan Kovil, located at the center of Karaikudi, built by Nagarathars/Chettiars in according to Dravidian Temple architecture
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Koppudaiya Amman Kovil, Kallukatti, Temple in Karaikudi
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Ariyakudi Thiruvenkatamudayan Temple,
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Pillayarpatti Karpagavinayagar temple located at away.
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Kundrakudi Shanmughanathar Temple located at away.
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Mathur Ainootreeswarar Temple
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Kandanur Kandaneswarar Sivan Temple located at away.
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Koviloor Kotravaaleeswarar Sivan Temple located at away.
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Vairavanpatti Valarolinathar-Vadivudai ambaal temple is located at 14 km away from the city.
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Thirumayam fort 20 km away from the city
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Thousand window house, Kanadukathan palace, Athangudi palace, Kannadasan manimandapam, Kamban manimandapam, Azhagappar museum, Sankarapathi Fort in Amaravathiputhur are other tourist attractions in and around the city.
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Siraavayal Manjuvirattu (A type of jallikattu like sports playing with bulls brought from various parts of the Tamil Nadu state) will be performed here annually during the time of Pongal festival in the month of January each year.
Economy
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Karaikudi is a developing urban center in Sivaganga district in Tamil Nadu.
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Tourism is the main focus in recent years as the places are getting tourists from both domestically and internationally throughout the year since the government identified Karaikudi
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Chettinad Kottan are palm leaf baskets woven by the women of the region. Chettinad Kottan has been noted for its unique style and colors and was granted a Geographical Indication tag in 2013.
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Athangudi tiles are cement tiles like mosaic used for building the palatial houses in the town and in modern times, is a source for handicraft industry.
Major Companies and Govt Organisations
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C.E.C.R.I Central Electrochemical Research Institute under CSIR is located here in Alagappapuram is working on the development of new and improved products and processes as well as novel innovations in electrochemical technologies. It is operating from 25 July 1948. It also has its ocean research bench at Thondi & Mandapam in Ramanathapuram District.
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TNSTC head Karaikudi Regional Office - Div - III is serving people transportation services for Sivaganga and Ramnathapuram Districts. It is operating from 1 April 1983.
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BSNL Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited Regional Headquarters in Karaikudi is serving Telecommunication services for Karaikudi Telecom District areas comprising Sivaganga District and Ramanathapuram District.
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AAVIN Karaikudi Dairy in Sivaganga Union is supplying milk and milk products to most of the southern districts commercial and residential needs by collecting sources from Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram Districts. It is operating since 1983.
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Karaikudi has the Postal Sorting office and serves as the Headquarters of the Postal Sorting District of the Madurai Sub-Zonal postal region since 1972, so the entire postage received for both Sivaganga district & Ramanathapuram district will be received & handled here from Madurai and then dispatched to the rest of areas in the postal circle. It also serving as the Postal Intra Circle Hub (ICH) of Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram Districts.
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Karaikkudi Sarvodaya Sangam is the only Sarvodaya Sangh in entire Sivaganga district which is headquartered at Karaikudi and it's area of operation area extends to entire of Sivaganga district and parts of Pudukkottai district.
Transport
Air
Nearby airports include Tiruchirapalli International Airport () and
Madurai Airport ().
Karaikudi also has an unused airstrip called Chettinad airport also known as Karaikudi airport. This old British era airfield had been used during World War II. The government of India is planning to reopen this airfield under the UDAN.
Rail
Karaikudi is well connected by rail through the Karaikudi Junction railway station. It is a major rail hub and serves the city and its suburbs.
A complete list of railway stations within Karaikudi city limits can be found in this list.
Bus
The town has two bus terminals, including the Rajaji bus stand. Buses that connect Karaikudi with nearby villages and smaller towns terminate at the Rajaji. The State Transport Corporation Buses run Chennai, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Madurai, and Trichy. Nearby cities run moffusil buses terminating at the town's other terminal, the Karaikudi Bus Terminal.
Education
Karaikudi serves as one of the two headquarters of the Educational District in Sivaganga district. As of 2011, there were several government and many private schools in Karaikudi and surrounding areas. The town is home to Alagappa University, and Alagappa Chettiar College of Engineering and Technology, the oldest college here, established in 1953.
Government Law College, Karaikudi and Government Agriculture College, Karaikudi are also located in the town, providing specialized education in law and agriculture respectively. Other prominent institutions include Alagappa Government Arts College and Alagappa Polytechnic College.
Many educational institutions in the town benefited from donations made by the businessman and philanthropist Alagappa Chettiar, who attended Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Vidyalaya.
Utility services
Electricity supply to Karaikudi is regulated and distributed by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB). The town along with its suburbs forms the Sivaganga Electricity Distribution Circle.
Water supply is provided by the Karaikudi Municipality from seven borewells is located at Sambai Oothu (
Aquifer).
As per the municipal data for 2011, about 45 metric tonnes of solid waste were collected. The underground drainage system in the city is on board at process and the sewerage system for disposal of sullage is through septic tanks, open drains and public conveniences.
The municipality maintained a total of of storm water drains in 2011.
As of 2011, there was one government hospital and 13 private hospitals in the town.
The municipality operates one daily market namely the Anna Daily Market and there are three weekly markets (Uzhavar Santhai) that cater to the needs of the town and the rural areas around it.
Future Projects
Karaikudi is experiencing a hike in development in recent years. Part of this development Karaikudi is getting these projects below to enhance its development:
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Karaikudi Local Planning Authority (KLPA)- KLPA oversees sustainable urban and rural development through master planning, zoning, and infrastructure improvements in the city.
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Karaikudi Neo TIDEL Park - A new Tidel Park is being developed in Kalanivasal Village near Karaikudi at a cost of 35 crores. This TIDEL Park will accommodate an efficient telecommunication system, ATMS and food courts, this will enhance the IT infrastructure of the city and surrounding areas giving World Class Infrastructure.
See also
[2]
External links
