Edappadi (also spelt Edappadi or Idappadi) is 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 ...

Salem district Salem District is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The district is now divided into Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Namakkal as individual districts. Salem is the district headquarters and other major towns in the distri ...

in the state of

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 ...

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 ...

. Edappadi was once known for its thriving power loom industry. The economy is diversified by agriculture, heavy truck transport, granite, entertainment and foundries. The rocks around Edappadi are expected to contain rare minerals.

Etymology

The name is derived from a group of family names 'Edayar' (means the people who survived with cows, buffalo and house animals).

Geography

Edappadi is located at . The

Sarabanga River Sarabanga is a river flowing in the Salem district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and larg ...

, originating from

Shevaroy Hills The Selvarayan hills, with the anglicised name Shevaroy Hills, are a towering mountain range (1620 m) near the city of Salem, in Tamil Nadu state, southern India. It is one of the major hill stations in Tamil Nadu and in the Eastern Ghats. The loc ...

passes through Edappadi town. With developments and urbanization, the river has dried, and now it's more of a sewage canal.

River Cauvery The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dis ...

flows 6 km away from Edappadi. Water is supplied by the Cauvery river and 'Periya-yeri' (Big-lake) near Edappadi. It is surrounded by many lakes, including Periyayeri, ChettiYeri, Punka-yeri, Reddipatti-Yeri, Kavadikaranoor-Yeri (Aachampalli Yeri).

Topography

Edappadi has an average elevation of . It is situated at the basin of the hill called 'Soorieya malai' (Mountain of Sun). The mountain does not have any plants due to its rocky and unusual properties. The research done by Periyar University Geologist shows it consist of rare radioactive minerals. Edappadi has a variable terrain. Sankagiri - Edappadi route via Veerappam Palayam and Sunnambukkuttai is rocky.

Location

Edappadi is located in the Salem district of the state. It is one of the most important textile areas. It is situated 34 km from Salem. River Sarabanga, Soriyankaradu mountain which is 5 km away from the town are the major geographical features of this region. Edappadi is spread over an area of 28.22 km².

Climate

The climate in Edappadi is very hot in summer and mildly cooler climate in winter. The monsoon rain starts around October to November. May, June will be windy and summer raining season starts.

Demographics

According to 2011 census, Edappadi had a population of 54,823 with a sex-ratio of 946 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 5,411 were under the age of six, constituting 2,759 males and 2,652 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 7.62% and .01% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 64.67%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The town had a total of 14560 households. There were a total of 27,764 workers, comprising 1,327 cultivators, 4,140 main agricultural labourers, 2,071 in house hold industries, 19,257 other workers, 969 marginal workers, 30 marginal cultivators, 129 marginal agricultural labors, 114 marginal workers in household industries and 696 other marginal workers. As per the religious census of 2011, Edappadi had 96.1%

Hindus 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 ...

, 3.03%

Muslims 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 Abraha ...

, 0.72%

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 ...

, 0.01%

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

, 0.0%

Buddhists 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 gra ...

, 0.0%

Jains 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 ...

, 0.13% following other religions and 0.0% following no religion or did not indicate any religious preference.

Festival

There is a festival celebration every year: "kavadi padhayathirai" by Sri

Vanniyar The Vanniyar, also spelled Vanniya, formerly known as the Palli, are a Dravidian community or '' jāti'' found in the northern part of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. From the 19th century, peasant castes typically classified under Shudra ca ...

Kula Shathriyar and the paruvatharakulam

meenavar Meenavar is the Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malays ...

community and it follows 370 years of tradition. People from Edappadi go to the dharishanam of

Palani Murugan Temple Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple is third of the Six Abodes of Murugan (Aarupadai veedugal). It is located in the city of Palani earlier it was known as ''Thiruaavinankudi(''as mentioned in the old Sangam literature Thirumurugatrupadai) ...

Palani Palani ( or ''Palni'' as in British records, is a town and a taluk headquarters in Dindigul district of the western part of Tamil Nadu state in India. It is located about south-east of Coimbatore and north-west of Madurai, from Kodaikan ...

Economy

The economy of the town revolves around the manufacture of towels and

lungi The lungi is a type of sarong that originated in the Indian Subcontinent. The Lungi, which usually multicoloured, is a men's skirt usually tied around the lower waist below the navel. it can be worn as casual wear and night wear, in places an ...

s. Most of the population depends on agriculture and power loom weaving. Thousands of power looms stand idle due to workforce migration in search of higher pay in other industries. Lack of irrigation projects has led to frequent droughts even though a large river (Cauvery) flows just 10 km away from the town. Now Former Chief Minister

Edappadi K. Palaniswami Edappadi K. Palaniswami (born 12 May 1954), also known as E.P.S., is an Indian politician and the leader of opposition in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. He served as the 7th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, from 2017 to 2021. He has been th ...

proposed diversion of 0.5tmcft of Mettur surplus water to Salem tanks for a total cost of 565 Crores. The above scheme might help plenty of non-irrigated agricultural land to irrigate in Edappadi and Sankari taluks which will enable the people in this area to be sustainable.

Transport

;By air The nearest airport is Salem Airport, situated 38 km from Edappadi. ;By rail The nearest railway station is Sankari Durg, located at a distance of 16 km. ;By road Edappadi is well-connected by road with major cities in

. Now new outer ring road was constructed around Edappadi town which connects Edappadi - Sankari Road, Edappadi - Salem Road, Edappadi - Jalakandapuram Road, Edappadi - Poolampatti Road, Edappadi - Koneripatti Road, Edappadi - komarapalayam Road to avoid high traffic in town. Edappadi bus stand is situated in center of the town.

Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Ltd. - (TNSTC) is a Government owned public transport bus operator in Tamil Nadu, India. It operates Intercity bus services to cities within Tamil Nadu, and from Tamil Nadu to its neighbouring states. It a ...

, Salem serves daily bus services from Edappadi to

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, Bengaluru,

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 ...

Trichy Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

, Kumbakonam,

Chidambaram Chidambaram is a town and municipality in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, on the banks of the Vellar River where it meets the Bay of Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Chidambaram taluk. The town is believed to be of si ...

, and Hosur.

Education

The Government Boys Higher Secondary School is one of the oldest schools. It has the second biggest playground in Salem Dt. The follow are also local schools: * Amala Matriculation Higher Secondary School * AGN Matric Hr. Sec. School, Konganapuram * Universal Public School * Government Boys Higher Secondary School * Government Girls Higher Secondary School * Saraswathi Vidhyalaya Nursery & Primary School * SKT Higher Secondary School * Acharya Group of Institutions * Reliance Matriculation School * Universal Matriculation School, Konangkuttaiyur * Wisdom Matriculation Higher Secondary School * St Marys Matriculation School, V.valasai * Kalaimagal nursery and primary school * Kalaimagal Vidhyasaram matriculation school Periyar University Constituent Arts & Science College has been functioning in Edappadi from 2016. It has been inaugurated by

Government of Tamil Nadu Government of Tamil Nadu is the subnational government for the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at Fort St George, Chennai. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature, lik ...

then Late Chief Minister Dr.J.Jayalalitha. More than 1200 students were studying in the Arts & Science College. Vidhyaa Arts and Science College Konganapuram Idappadi Taluk Salem District

References

External links

Edappadi website
{{Municipalities of Tamil Nadu Cities and towns in Salem district