Surathkal is one of the major localities in the northern part of

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka– ...

city located on National highway 66 (previously as NH-17) in the

Dakshina Kannada district Dakshina Kannada district is a district of Karnataka state in India, with its headquarters in the coastal city of Mangalore. It is part of the larger Tulu Nadu region. The district covers an area nestled in between the Western Ghats to its ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

state,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

on the shore of Arabian sea. It is a municipality merged with Mangalore City Corporation. It lies between

Gurupura Gurupura, Karnataka, India is a small town situated on the Phalguni, or Gurupura River. It is located about 345 kilometres (214 miles) west of Bangalore, the state capital, and 13 kilometres (8 miles) east of Mangalore, Karnataka's chief port ...

(Phalguni) and Pavanje (Nandini) rivers. It is the northern suburb & can be considered as the northernmost area of

Mangalore City The Mangalore City Corporation is the municipal corporation responsible for overseeing the local administration of the Indian city of Mangalore and it's suburbs, which are a major urban area and the most important port city of karnataka state. ...

until

Mukka Mukka is a suburb of Mangalore city on the shore of the Arabian Sea along Coastal Karnataka. It is located along NH-66 very close to NITK, Surathkal towards Udupi. It is the gateway to Mangalore city from the north & an educational centre. It was ...

. Surathkal has a railway station on

Konkan railway The Konkan Railway (abbreviated KR) is one of the 19 railway zones in India with its headquarters at CBD Belapur in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The first passenger train ran on Konkan railway tracks on 20 March 1993, between Udupi and ...

route which connects cities of Mumbai to Mangaluru. Surathkal is 8 km north of New Mangalore seaport, 4 km west of Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Limited and 16 km west of

Mangalore International Airport Mangalore International Airport , is an international airport serving the coastal city of Mangalore, India. It is one of the only two international airports in Karnataka, the other being Kempegowda International Airport, Bangalore. Mangalo ...

This region has developed educationally, industrially & commercially can be regarded as one of the crucial localities in

Mangaluru Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka– ...

coastal Karnataka Kanara, also known as Karavali is the historically significant stretch of land situated by the southwestern coast of India, alongside the Arabian Sea in the present-day Indian state of Karnataka. The region comprises three civil districts, ...

. The only NIT of Karnataka is situated here which is adjacent to the national highway

NH 66 National Highway 66, commonly referred to as NH 66 (erstwhile NH-17 and a part of NH-47), is a mostly 4 lane long busy National Highway that runs roughly north–south along the western coast of India, parallel to the Western Ghats. It con ...

a popular name in Indian surfing is also situated close to Surathkal. Surathkal beach is well known for its cleanliness and well maintained like other beaches in

Etymology

According to legend, the name Surathkal is derived from "shiratakal" meaning "headstone" in

Tulu Tulu may refer to: People *Derartu Tulu (born 1972), Ethiopian long-distance runner *Walid Yacoubou (born 1997), Togolese footballer nicknamed "Tulu" India *Tulu calendar, traditional solar calendar generally used in the regions of southwest Kar ...

. The famous Sadashiva temple on the shores of

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channe ...

(Lakshadweepa Samudra) is said to be built around the linga that a

Rakshasa Rakshasas ( sa, राक्षस, IAST: : Pali: ''rakkhaso'') lit. 'preservers' are a race of usually malevolent demigods prominently featured in Hindu mythology. According to the Brahmanda Purana, the rakshasas were created by Brahma when ...

by name Kharasura carried on his head. Another legend is that when

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic '' Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. He ...

threw in fit of rage the atma shivalinga, some of the pieces from

shivalinga A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary ''murti'' or devotional ...

fell at place where Sadashiva temple is situated at present. Noted historian Padoor Gururaj Bhat is of opinion the temple might have been constructed around 11 C.E. (11 A.D).

Administration

Surathkal was once a

Grama panchayat Gram Panchayat () is a basic village-governing institute in Indian villages. It is a democratic structure at the grass-roots level in India. It is a political institute, acting as cabinet of the village. The Gram Sabha work as the general bod ...

, then

town panchayat A nagar panchayat (town panchayat; ) or Notified Area Council (NAC) in India is a settlement in transition from rural to urban and therefore a form of an urban political unit comparable to a municipality. An urban centre with more than 12,000 ...

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 ...

vide Government notification No.S.O. 2658 dated 31 December1974 now merged with Mangalore City Corporation. Surathkal was once a separate constituency of Karnataka Legislative Assembly. Now it has been renamed as

Mangalore City North (Vidhan Sabha constituency) Mangalore City North Assembly constituency (Previously Surathkal) is one of the Karnataka Legislative Assemblies or Vidhan Sabha constituencies in Karnataka. Mangalore City-North is part of Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency along with ...

after change in its geographical limits and it comes under

Dakshina Kannada (Lok Sabha constituency) Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency formerly Mangalore Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 28 Lok Sabha (lower house of the Indian parliament) constituencies in Karnataka, a state in southern India.This constituency is closer to Kerala. T ...

at present. The Suratkal legislative assembly constituency was part of Udupi (Lok Sabha constituency) till the year 2009.

Education

Surathkal is home to one of India's premier technical institutes - The

National Institute of Technology Karnataka National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK), also known as NITK Surathkal, formerly known as Karnataka Regional Engineering College (KREC), is a public technical university at Surathkal, Mangalore. It was founded in 1960 as KREC while tod ...

(NITK), formerly known as ''Karnataka Regional Engineering College'' (KREC). Surathkal also houses Vidyadayanee High School and Govindadasa College run by Hindu Vidyadayanee Sangha, Surathkal. Other notable educational institutes include Sri Mahalingeshwara English Medium school, NITK English Medium School, Holy Family School and Anjuman English Medium High School, Mukka. The Srinivas Institute of Medical Science and Research Centre is located in Mukka, Surathkal. NITK mangalore

Travel

Surathkal can be easily accessed by various bus services from Statebank by both city buses and the Mangalore-Udupi Express buses. The nearest airport is

( Bajpe), 16 kilometres from Surathkal that connects Mangalore with major cities in southern and western India as well as many major cities in the Middle East, with direct flights available to Dubai, Doha, Muscat and Abu Dhabi. Surathkal railway station, which is located 2 km away from the National Institute of Technology campus and half kilometre from national highway NH-66 falls on the famed Konkan railway route on which Rajdhani, Duronto, and other express trains ply regularly from Mangaluru to Mumbai,

Thane Thane (; also known as Thana, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city in Maharashtra, India. It is situated in the north-eastern portion of the Salsette Island. Thane city is entirely within Thane taluka, one of the seven taluk ...

, Ernakulam, Gujarat and New Delhi. The nearest metropolitan cities, Mumbai and Chennai, are 16 hours away by train. The Mangalore Sea Port (NMPT) is situated 8 km away from this town on the Arabian Sea and primarily used for importing and exporting goods all over the world.

Places Of Interest

Surathkal Beach. There is a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses m ...

at Suratkal beach which was commissioned in 1972 A.D.(C.E) Surathkal Lighthouse1

. NITK Beach. Abish Mall Kudva's Grandeur Shoping Mall Surathkal Lighthouse. Krishnapura matha Shri Sadashiva Mahaganapati Temple. Iddya Shri Mahalingeshwara Temple.

Padre Shree Dhoomavati Temple, Padre. Shri Ganesha Bhajana Mandira (R.) Janatha Colony.

Geography

Surathkal is located at 12°58'60 N 74° 46' 60E.Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Surathkal
/ref> The maximum and minimum temperature in a year varies between 37 °C and 25 °C. But ambient temperature occasionally touches 40 °C during summer season (usually March, April, May) recorded in 21st century.

Industry

Some of the major industries in and around Surathkal are MRPL,

BASF BASF SE () is a German multinational chemical company and the largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters is located in Ludwigshafen, Germany. The BASF Group comprises subsidiaries and joint ventures in more than 80 countries ...

and

Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers, MCF. The Baikampady Industrial Estate is located at around 6 kilometres from Surathkal and houses many small and medium-sized industries. The raw materials to these industries are imported through the

NMPT New Mangalore Port is a small water af, all-weather port at Panambur, Mangalore in Karnataka state in India, which is the deepest inner harbour on the west coast. It is the only major port of Karnataka and the seventh largest port in India. I ...

and goods produced here are exported to several places in India and abroad through this port.

External links

Surathkal

References

{{Reflist Localities in Mangalore