Kavalkinaru is a village panchayat in the Tirunelveli district 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 ...

. It is located 24 km (15 Miles) from

Nagercoil Nagercoil, also spelt as Nagarkovil ("Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the Indian peninsula, it lies on an ...

, 69 km (43 Miles) from Tirunelveli, and 99 km from Trivandrum International Airport. The nearest port,

Tuticorin Port Trust V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority is a port in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, and is one of the 13 major ports in India. It was declared to be a major port on 11 July 1974. It is second largest port in Tamil Nadu and third largest container terminal i ...

, (also known as V.O.Chidambaram Port), is 111 km from Kavalkinaru. The town, once dependent on agriculture, livestock, stone mining, flower cultivation and the processing of

Borassus ''Borassus'' (palmyra palm) is a genus of five species of fan palms, native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Papua New Guinea. Description These massive palms can grow up to high and have robust trunks with distinct leaf scars; in so ...

(Palmyra Tree – பனை மரம்), is now embracing new technologies and professions. The high tunneling-effect of the Western Ghats has enabled this region to be a major

Wind Power Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to electricity generation, generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable energy, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller Environmental impact of wi ...

generation area for India, with thousands of windmills. There are also the test facilities for

ISRO Propulsion Complex The ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC), located at Mahendragiri of Tamil Nadu, is an Indian Space Research Organisation centre involved in testing, assembling, and integrating propulsion systems and stages that are developed at ISRO's Liquid Propu ...

, a part of

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman of ...

, on the lower slopes of the Mahendragiri mountain near Kavalkinaru.

History

Kavalkinaru has its roots in the early Dravidian Civilization and its history can be traced from the early 17th century (around 1698 A.D). This region was predominantly ruled by the majestic Pandyan Dynasty; as their kingdom was established from the south of Kaveri River till Kanyakumari. The name originated from the well which provided fresh water for the soldiers of the Cheras, Cholas and Pandiyas Kingdom, which is still preserved in the town.

Kavalkinaru Junction

Kavalkinaru Junction adds to Kavakinaru's growth in many ways. National Highway 44, which connects

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

and Kanyakumari, bypasses through the center of this junction, making it a trade point in the entire region. Almost all basic facilities can be availed from the junction. There is a vegetable market, 'Kamaraj Market', situated besides the Junction, which attracts traders from all the regions of Tamil Nadu, making it a prime hub for trade and distribution to the Tirunelveli district and vegetables are loaded to adjacent states of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

Landmarks

As Kavalkinaru is set in the high tunneling-effect region in the Western Ghats it has enabled this entire region to be a huge

generation region in India. Hence, there are thousands of

Windmills A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...

deployed in this region to generate safe energy. The Central Government of India has constructed the test facilities for

, a part of

, on the lower slopes of the Mahendragiri mountain near Kavalkinaru. Kavalkinaru has a well constructed Railway Station (now defunct) where the Chennai-Kanyakumari line runs on; passenger trains used to stop at Kavalkinaru Railway Station in its early days.{{CN, date=March 2022 There are two ponds in Kavalkinaru both the ponds usually are full during the Monsoon, these ponds are not used for drinking water but they are used for irrigation and cleaning the Cattle.

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

leader and the former chief minister of Tamil Nadu

Bharat Ratna The Bharat Ratna (; ''Jewel of India'') is the highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest orde ...

Kamaraj Kumaraswami Kamaraj (15 July 1903 – 2 October 1975, hinduonnet.com. 15–28 September 2001), popularly known as Kamarajar was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the Chief Minister of Madras State (Tamil Nadu) ...

, has two statues, one in the centre of their landscape and the other statue at Kavalkinaru Junction.

Notable People

The growth of the village is also supported by local leaders like

M. Appavu Muthuvelayudha Perumal Appavu is an Indian Tamil politician and Member of the Legislative Assembly (India), Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in Tamil Nadu. He is the current Speaker (politics), Speaker of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembl ...

who is also the Speaker of Tamilnadu Legislative Assembly. The other M.L.A of this region is

S. Michael Rayappan Siluvai Michael Rayappan (born 19 March 1963) is an Indian politician and former Member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from the Radhapuram constituency. He represented the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam party. He is also a film produ ...

a film producer by producing films like " Naadodigal", "

Goripalayam ''Goripalayam'' is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by ''Mayandi Kudumbathar'' fame Rasu Madhuravan. The film stars Vikranth, Harish, Ramakrishnan of '' Kunguma Poovum Konjum Puravum'' fame, Manivannan's son R ...

" and "Sindhusamaveli" under Global Infotainments banner. Tamil movie Kovil (film) was also shot in Kavalkinaru

References

"Modern flower market to be opened today - The Hindu"

Kavalkinaru (Facebook Account)
Cities and towns in Tirunelveli district