Erode (; īrōṭu), is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Kaveri river and is surrounded by the Western Ghats. It is the seventh largest urban agglomeration in Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative capital of Erode district and is administered by the Erode Municipal Corporation which was established in 2008.
Erode formed part of the Kongu Nadu region ruled by the Chera dynasty during the Sangam period between the 1st and the 4th centuries CE. The medieval Cholas conquered the region in the 10th century CE. The region was ruled by Vijayanagara Empire in the 15th century followed by the Madurai Nayaks who introduced the Polygar. In the later part of the 18th century, the it came under the Kingdom of Mysore and following the Anglo-Mysore Wars, the British East India Company annexed it to the Madras Presidency in 1799. The region played a prominent role in the second Poligar War (1801) when it was the area of operations of Dheeran Chinnamalai.
Post Indian Independence in 1947, Erode was part of Coimbatore district. It was established as the capital of the newly formed Erode district in 1979. It forms part of Erode Lok Sabha constituency that elects its member of parliament. The city is a major agricultural, industrial and educational hub. It is amongst the largest producers of turmeric in the state and Erode Turmeric is recognized as a Geographical Indication by the Government of India. The textile boom in the early 20th century and rapid growth due to industrialization has seen Erode becoming a major producer of handloom and knitwear.
Etymology
There are two theories regarding the origin of the name Erode. It might have its origin in the
Tamil language phrase
Eeru Odai meaning
two streams based on the water courses Perumpallam and Pichaikaranpallam canals.
Alternatively, it might have been derived from the Tamil phrase
Eera Odu meaning 'wet skull', based on the temple of
Shiva in the city and the
Hindu mythology associated with it.
History
During
Sangam period, the region formed a part of the
Kongu Nadu region ruled by
Chera Dynasty and then by
Kalabhra dynasty. The region came under the
Pandya dynasty around 590
Common Era. Afterward, it was ruled by
Rashtrakutas and by
Cholas from the 10th to early 13th century. Erode was annexed by Vijayanagara Empire in 1378 CE till 1559 CE. After the Vijayanagara Empire fell in the 17th century, the
Madurai Nayaks established their state as an independent kingdom introducing the
Polygar.
Erode became a part of the Hindu
Wadiyar dynasty-ruled Mysore Kingdom in the early 1700s CE before coming under the control of the British East India Company with Maharaja of Mysore still as a nominal ruler. Erode remained under
British Raj rule until the Indian independence in 1947.
Climate
Erode has a semi-arid climate with hot to sweltering temperatures throughout the year and relatively low rainfall. Temperatures range from with an average rainfall of . Like the rest of Tamil Nadu, March to June are the hottest and December to January the mildest months of the year. Because the Southwest monsoon (June to August) brings scanty rainfall, the bulk of Erode's rainfall is received during the Northeast monsoon in October and November. The city covers an area of .
Demographics
As of 2011, Erode has 521,776
in population with a sex-ratio of 996, above the national average of 929. A literacy rate of 85% compares favorably to the national average of 73%.
The city had 43,184 households, with Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounting for 11% and 0.15% of the population respectively. Of its 66,135 workers, 61,382 are classified as other workers and the rest in agriculture and household industries.
As per the 2011 census,
Hinduism was the majority religion with 83% adherents followed by
Islam (12%) and
Christianity (4%).
is the major spoken language in the city.
Economy
The economy of Erode is dependent majorly on
agriculture and
textiles. It is a major textile hub specializing in
handloom and
knitwear.
Erode is among the largest producers of
turmeric in the state.
[Prasad S., Aggarwal, B., Turmeric, the Golden Spice; in: Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects; editors: Benzie IFF, Wachtel-Galor S.; CRC Press/Taylor & Francis; Boca Raton, 2011. [1]] is recognized as a Geographical Indication by the Government of India.
Several food processing industries and
poultry farms operate in and around the city.
It is one of the largest markets for
coconut and
coconut oil in South India.
The GDP of Erode district grew at 15.5% in 2008 ahead of the state's GDP growth by 4%.
Administration and politics
|
|
S. Nagarathinam |
V. Sivakrishnamurthy |
K. E. Prakash |
S. Muthusamy (Erode West) |
V. C. Chandrakumar (Erode East) |
Erode is the headquarters of
Erode District which was bifurcated from Coimbatore District in 1979.
The city is administered by Erode Municipal Corporation. The town was constituted as a municipality in 1871, promoted to special-grade during 1980 and upgraded as a corporation in 2008.
The city is sub-divided into 60 wards represented by elected councillors, who form part of the city council headed by a mayor.
The functions of the corporation are devolved into six departments: general administration/personnel, Engineering, Revenue, Public Health, city planning and Information Technology under the control of a Municipal Commissioner who is the executive head.
Law and order is maintained by Erode sub division of Tamil Nadu Police headed by a Deputy Superintendent of Police. There are seven police stations located at Karungalpalayam, Bazaar, Surampatti, Veerappanchatram, Rangampalayam, Chithode and Government hospital. There are special units like armed reserve, prohibition enforcement, district crime, social justice and human rights, district crime records and a special branch.
Public services
Electricity supply is regulated and distributed by Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. The city along with its suburbs form a part of Erode Electricity Distribution Circle, headed by a chief distribution engineer.
Water supply is provided by Erode Municipality, and is drawn from the
Kaveri river and stored across eight reservoirs. For 2000–01, 14 million litres of water was supplied every day for households in the city.
About 110-125 metric tonnes of solid waste were processed by the sanitary department in 2011.
As there is no underground
drainage system, disposal of
Greywater is through
,
Open collector and public conveniences
with its of
Storm drain.
Government General Hospital serves as primary center of healthcare with several private hospitals providing supporting care.
As of 2011, municipality maintained 4,678
Street light.
The corporation operates two vegetable markets and a textile market.
As of 2006, there were 46 public and with four technical institutes. These include government run schools, schools funded by the government (aided schools) and private schools. These schools come under the purview of the Erode education district and follow Tamil Nadu Anglo Indian School Board, Tamil Nadu State Board, Matriculation or CBSE syllabus. There are four playgrounds in the city.
Transport
Road
Erode maintains of local roads with of
concrete and rest
Asphalt concrete. Additionally, of
is maintained by State Highways Department.
NH 544 connecting Salem and
Coimbatore bypasses the city and the National Highway NH 381A and NH 544H pass through the city. The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation has a sub-divisional headquarters at Erode (jeeva) under the Coimbatore division. Erode Central Bus Terminus, is the second Largest main bus station complex for Tamil Nadu State Express Transport Corporation and is well connected with the major cities in Tamil Nadu and neighboring states. Private carriers operate long-distance buses connecting to major cities like
Chennai,
Bangalore etc.
The main arterial roads include:
Rail
Erode Junction railway station is a major rail junction in Salem division of Southern Railway with a diesel locomotive shed and an electric locomotive shed attached. It also serves as a hub for water filling facilities, food provisions and cleaning services for long-distance trains that run via Erode.
The following are the lines running from Erode junction:
|
|
| 1 | Salem Junction | Sankagiri | Broad, Electrified – Double Track |
| 2 | Coimbatore Junction | Tiruppur | Broad, Electrified – Double Track |
| 3 | Trichy Junction | Karur | Broad, Electrified - Single Track |
Air
The nearest airport to Erode is Salem Airport at a distance of which is connected to and from Chennai. The major international airport is Coimbatore International Airport at a distance of with regular flights to domestic destinations and select international destinations including Sharjah and
Singapore.
Places of interest
Thindal Murugan Temple, situated from the city center, Periya Mariamman Temple, and Natadreeswarar Temple, are prominent religious destinations in the city. While the city was built around a demolished fort, a temple for Arudra Kabaleeswar (
Shiva) praising the
Saiva and one for Kasthuri Ranganatha Perumal (
Vishnu) praising the
Vaishnava aspects of
Hinduism were built. The E.V.R. Museum, Vellode Bird Sanctuary, and Thanthai Periyar Memorial House, the former residence of Periyar E. V. Ramasamy, who was born in the city, are other major attractions.
CSI Brough Memorial Church, located on Meenatchi Sundaranar Road was consecrated in 1933 by Antony Watson Brough (1861 -1936), an Australian missionary.
Notable people
-
Iswarya Menon (born 1995), actress
-
J.Prabu (born 1986), actor and director
-
Periyar E. V. Ramasamy, (1879 - 1973), social reformer
-
Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887 - 1920), mathematician
External links
