Coonoor, natively spelt as Kunnur (), is a

Taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

and a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

of the

Nilgiris district The Nilgiris district () is one of the 38 districts in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Nilgiri ( en, Blue Mountains) is the name given to a range of mountains spread across the borders among the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Ker ...

in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

State State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

. As of 2011, the town had a population of 45,494.

Demographics

According to 2011 census, Coonoor had a population of 45,494 with a sex-ratio of 1,058 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 3,768 were under the age of six, constituting 1,871 males and 1,897 females.

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are officially designated groups of people and among the most disadvantaged socio-economic groups in India. The terms are recognized in the Constitution of India and the groups are designa ...

accounted for 27.92% and 23% of the population, respectively. The average literacy of the city was 84.79%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The city had a total of 12384 households. There were a total of 17,421 workers, comprising 50 cultivators, 152 main agricultural labourers, 266 in household industries, 15,790 other workers, 1,163 marginal workers, 6 marginal cultivators, 66 marginal agricultural labourers, 31 marginal workers in household industries and 1,060 other marginal workers. The town is the second largest in the Nilgiri hills after

Ooty Ooty (), officially known as Udhagamandalam (also known as Ootacamund (); abbreviated as Udhagai), is a city and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located north west of Coimbatore and so ...

, the district headquarters. Coonoor has 61.81%

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

s, 23.99%

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, 13.01%

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

s, 0.04%

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

s, 0.06%

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

s, 0.95%

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

s and 0.08% Others. 0.05% of the respondents follow no religion or did not state their religion. The town of Coonoor is broadly divided into two geographies - Lower Coonoor and Upper Coonoor. Lower Coonoor hosts the main Bus Depot, the Railway Station as also the bustling market complex. Upper Coonoor hosts locations like UPASI, Bedford, and Sim's Park.

Tourism

Spread over an area of 12 hectares, Sim's Park has a collection of over 1,000 plant species. The botanical garden is partly developed in the Japanese style and derived its name from J. D. Sim, the secretary of the Madras Club in 1874. The key attraction of the park is the annual fruit and vegetable show held in May. Dolphin's Nose Viewpoint is 10 km from Coonoor and provides a panoramic view of the vast expanse of the

Nilgiri Hills The Nilgiri Mountains form part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Southern Karnataka, and eastern Kerala in India. They are located at the trijunction of three states and connect the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. At le ...

and

Catherine Falls Catherine Falls is a double-cascaded waterfall located in Kotagiri, The Nilgiris District, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a major tourist spot, located on the Mettupalayam road branching off at Aravenu. The upper fall drops to the floo ...

. Tourists can trek from Lady Canning's Seat to Dolphin's Nose. Lamb's Rock, about 5½ km from Coonoor, is another vantage point. Droog Fort is located a distance of 13 km from Coonoor and was once used by Tipu Sultan in the 18th century. Law's Falls is a waterfall located 5 km from Coonoor, on the way to Mettupalayam. Pomological Station is a research center of the State Agricultural Department for persimmon, pomegranates and apricot. Pasteur Institute located near Sim's park, was started in 1907. This institute develops vaccination for

rabies Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. Early symptoms can include fever and tingling at the site of exposure. These symptoms are followed by one or more of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, vi ...

. Central Silk Board has its silkworm breeding station ( Satellite Silkworm Breeding Station of Central Sericultural Research & Training Institute-Mysuru) besides state government silk farm at Springfield. Recently,

Floriculture Floriculture, or flower farming, is a branch of horticulture concerned with the cultivation of flowering and ornamental plants for gardens and for floristry, comprising the floral industry. The development of new varieties by plant breeding is ...

and strawberry cultivation have taken root. The Bollywood film,

Kapoor & Sons ''Kapoor & Sons'', also known as ''Kapoor & Sons (Since 1921)'', is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language family comedy drama film directed by Shakun Batra and produced by Hiroo Yash Johar, Karan Johar and Apoorva Mehta under Dharma Productions, with Fo ...

, was shot in this town.

Administration and politics

Coonoor is a

headquarters, responsible for six

Panchayat The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical ment ...

villages, namely,

Bandishola Vandicholai (''Vandicholai''; Tamil: வண்டிச்சோலை) is a Panchayat village in Coonoor Taluk of The Nilgiris District, Tamil Nadu, India. The settlement takes its name from a nearby Shola (indigenous forest). Though the adject ...

, Bearhatty, Burliar,

Hubbathalai Hubbathala is a census town in the Nilgiris district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Demographics India census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given popul ...

Melur Melur is the Northern entrance of Madurai district. It is the town and municipality in the Madurai North in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Melur Old Name is Called Naduvi Nadu. The name Melur name comes from "Mela Nadu". Melur is called Thaigra ...

and

Yedapalli Yedapalli (Tamil: எடப்பள்ளி) is a Panchayat village in Coonoor Taluk of The Nilgiris District, Tamil Nadu, India. Geography Yedapalli is situated about 4.7 km from Sim's Park in Coonoor on the MDR 1073 that leads from C ...

. The Coonoor block contains the revenue villages of Adigaratty, Burliar, Coonoor Town,

Hullickal Hullickal or Pulikkal (புலிக்கல்) is a Revenue Village in Coonoor Taluk of the Nilgiris District, Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the six ...

Ketti Ketti also called Ketti Valley is a small town nestled in a large valley of the same name. It is located in The Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu State, South India and is a Revenue Village of Coonoor Taluk. Upper Ketti is another village called Y ...

Coonoor assembly constituency Coonoor is a state assembly constituency in Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu. Its State Assembly Constituency number is 110. It comes under 'The Nilgiris Lok Sabha constituency Nilgiris is a Lok Sabha (Parliament of India) constituency in Tam ...

is part of

Nilgiris (Lok Sabha constituency) Nilgiris is a Lok Sabha (Parliament of India) constituency in Tamil Nadu. Its Tamil Nadu Parliamentary Constituency number is 19 of 39. Since 2009 , this constituency is reserved for the candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes. Assembly s ...

Geography

Coonoor is located at . It has an average elevation of 1,850 metres (6,070 feet) above sea level. It features a sub-tropical highland climate (Koppen;Cfb) due to high altitude.

2021 Indian Air Force Mil Mi-17 crash

On 8 December 2021, a Mil Mi-17V-5 transport helicopter operated by the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

(IAF) crashed between

Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...

and

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, after departing from

Sulur Air Force Station Sulur Air Force Station is an air base of the Indian Air Force located at Sulur near Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu and is India's second largest air base after Hindon AFS. It is the base which is responsible for protection of India's sea area. It is ...

. The helicopter was carrying Chief of Defence Staff

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Bipin Rawat General Bipin Rawat (16 March 1958 – 8 December 2021) was an Indian military officer who was a four-star general of the Indian Army. He served as the first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Indian Armed Forces from January 2020 u ...

and 13 others, including his wife and staff. Thirteen people on board were killed in the immediate aftermath, and

Group Captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

Varun Singh died from his injuries at a hospital seven days later.

Gallery

File:Coonoor_Railway_Station_Board.jpg, Coonoor Railway Station

Notes

References

External links

*
Conoor
Official history and tourism page on www.nilgiris.tn.gov.in. {{Authority control Cities and towns in Nilgiris district Hill stations in Tamil Nadu Tourist attractions in Nilgiris district