Kallakurichi is one of the 38 districts 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 ...

. The district headquarter is

Kallakurichi Kallakurichi is a Municipality in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Kallakurichi district in Tamil Nadu. As of 2019, the town had a population of 73528. Member of the L ...

. Kallakurichi District was announced on 8 January 2019 and it came into existence on 26 November 2019.

History

During Ancient times, the region was under the rules of

Cholas The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...

, Pallavas and various Local Chieftains like Tirukoilur king Malaiyaman. Due to its location between Chola naadu and Thondai naadu, the region was aptly called Nadu naadu (Mid-land). In later times, it passed between the hands of Gingee Nayaks, Arcot Nawabs. During the British Rule, the whole region was a part of the South Arcot District of Madras Presidency. Prior to 1960, the town of Kallakurichi was considered a village. In 1960, Kallakurichi became a town panchayat, and then was subsequently upgraded to special-grade town panchayat. On 20 October 2004, it was further upgraded to the third-grade municipality. On 7 September 2010, the municipality was upgraded to first-grade municipality. On 8 January 2019, the region surrounding the municipality of Kallakurichi was announced as the 33rd district of Tamil Nadu by bifurcating Villupuram. The area of this municipality is 11.69 km² divided into 21 wards.

Geography

Kallakurichi District is bounded by

Thiruvannamalai Tiruvannamalai (Tamil: ''Tiruvaṇṇāmalai'' IPA: , otherwise spelt ''Thiruvannamalai''; ''Trinomali'' or ''Trinomalee'' on British records) is a city, a spiritual, cultural, economic hub and also the administrative headquarters of Tiruvanna ...

district in the north,

Villupuram Viluppuram, Villupuram, or Vizhuppuram () is a Municipality and the administrative headquarters of Viluppuram district. Located south west of a Tiruvannamalai and north west of Cuddalore null The town serves as a major railway junction, ...

district in the east,

Dharmapuri Dharmapuri is a special grade town in the north western part of Tamil Nadu, India. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Dharmapuri district which is the first district created in Tamil Nadu after the independence of India by splitti ...

and Salem districts in the west,

Perambalur Perambalur is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of Perambalur district and Perambalur ''taluk'' (sub-district). census, the town had a population of 49,648. There are a set of 11th century Buddha statues aroun ...

and

Cuddalore Cuddalore, also spelt as Kadalur (), is the city and headquarters of the Cuddalore District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Situated south of Chennai, Cuddalore was an important port during the British Raj. While the early history of Cudda ...

districts in the south. The greater part of the district is covered by the metamorphic rocks belonging to gneiss family. There are also three great groups of sedimentary rocks belonging to different geological periods. The

Kalrayan Hills The Kalvarayan Hills are a major range of hills situated in the Eastern Ghats of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Along with the Pachaimalai, Alavaimalai, Javadi, and Shevaroy hills, they separate the Kaveri River basin to the south f ...

in the North represents a continuous range of hills covered with some thorny forests and vegetation, which are part of

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut ...

. Major rivers in the district include the Thenpennai, Manimukthar, Gomukhi, and Gadilam. Major source of irrigation is through lakes, canals and wells.

Kalvarayan Hills

The Kalvarayan Hills are a major range of hills situated in the Eastern Ghats. Along with the Pachaimalai, Alavaimalai, Javadi, and Shevaroy hills, they separate the Kaveri River basin to the south from the Palar River basin to the north. The hills range in height from 2000 feet to 3000 feet and extend over an area of 1,095 square kilometres.

Climate

The climate is moderate to hot, with the maximum temperature being 38 °C and the minimum at 21 °C. The District gets its rainfall from the northeast monsoon during the winter months and the southwest monsoon during the summer months. The average annual rainfall is 1,070 mm.

Politics

Divisions

The district is divided into the 6 taluks of Kallakkurichi,

Sankarapuram Sankarapuram is a Town Panchayat of Kallakurichi district in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu Theatres NVN Theatre Barkath Theatre. Schools in sankarapuram # Government Boys Higher secondary School # Government Girls Higher Secondar ...

Chinnasalem Chinnasalem is a Special Grade Town Panchayat in Kallakurichi district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is also the headquarters of Chinnasalem Taluk. Demographics As of 2001 India census A census is the procedure of systematically a ...

Ulundurpet Ulundurpettai or Ulundurpet (உளுந்தூர்பேட் / உளுந்தூர்பேட்டை) is a Municipality in Ulundurpet taluk of kallakurichi district of Tamil Nadu, India. It is at the intersection of NH 68 an ...

, Tirukkovilur and Kalvarayan Hills. Administrative Divisions Municipalities 1) ''Kallakurichi'' 2) Thirukovilur 3) Ulundurpet Town Panchayats 1) Sankarapuram 2) Chinnasalem 3) Thiyagadurugam 4) Vadakanandhal 5) Manalurpet Unions 1) Kallakurichi 2) Sankarapuram 3) Thirukovilur 4) Rishivandiyam 5) Thiyagadurugam 6) Ulundurpet 7) Chinnasalem 8) Thirunavalur 9) Kalvarayanmalai

Economy

Kallakurichi is an emerging agricultural district. It is also known as "Home of Agriculture". There are numerous rice-processing units or modern rice mills, both small and big throughout the district. Textiles, jewellery and agricultural feeds are major businesses. The District has two government co-operative sugar mills and one private sugar mill, and one solvent extraction plant. There are many poultry farms in and around Kallakurichi. The name is derived due to the green nature of this town along the banks of the river Gomuki which nourishes the town by its water.

Education

The District has numerous colleges and schools, both government and private. Notable colleges are Government Kallakurichi Medical College,Government arts college, Polytechnic college in Sankarapuram, A.K.T Engineering College. There was an announcement by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in March 2020 to build a medical college with the initial funding of 370 crores near Pumputhottam, in Siruvangur village, which is 3.5 kilometers from Kallakurichi town and 1st batch of 150 students have started from the academic year 2021/2022.

Transport

The District is connected by roads and railways to major cities and to the rest of the state. The major roads are, National Highway, NH – 79 connecting Salem to Ulundurpet, The District is connected by Railway through Chinnasalem Railway Station on Salem – Vridhachalam Railway Line. NH-79 Salem-

NH-534

- Veppur-

Vridhachalam Virudhachalam or Vriddhachalam is a Town and taluk headquarters in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The ancient name of this town is Thirumudhukundram. As per the 2011 census, the town had a population of 73,585 of which ...

SH-9 Cuddalore-Panruti-Tirukoilur-Tiruvannamalai-Vellore SH-9A Tiruvannamalai-Thiyagadurugam SH-6

Tiruvannamalai Tiruvannamalai (Tamil: ''Tiruvaṇṇāmalai'' IPA: , otherwise spelt ''Thiruvannamalai''; ''Trinomali'' or ''Trinomalee'' on British records) is a city, a spiritual, cultural, economic hub and also the administrative headquarters of Tiruvanna ...

SH-68 Cuddalore-Thirukovilur-Sankarapuram SH-69

SH-7 Thirukoilur-

SH-204

- Koothakudi-

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 ...

SH-211

Thirukovilur Tirukoilur also spelt as ''Tirukkoyilur'' or ''Tirukovilur'' is a city and the headquarters of Tirukoilur taluk in Kallakurichi District, Tamil Nadu, India. The town is located on the southern bank of Thenpennai River and famous for Ulagala ...

Byepass Road -

Kandachipuram Kandachipuram is a village in the Kandachipuram taluk of Viluppuram district, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of its namesake taluk, but was previously in Tirukkoyilur taluk, when that taluk and the entirety of Kallakur ...

SH-135 Kallakurichi-Kachirayapalayam-Sankarapuram SH-137 Thirukoilur-Asanur

References

External links

Official website
{{Tamil Nadu Kallakurichi district 2019 establishments in Tamil Nadu Districts of Tamil Nadu