Thoothukudi District is one of the 38 districts 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 largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

state in southern

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 ...

. The district was formed by bifurcation of Tirunelveli district on 20 October 1986. Thoothukudi is the district headquarters and largest city of the district. The district is known for fishing as well as pearl cultivation, with an abundance of

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

s being found in the seas offshore. Thoothukudi district has many historical sites such as Adichanallur and the ancient trade port of Korkai.

Geography

Thoothukudi district is situated in the south-eastern corner of

. It is bounded by the districts of Virudhunagar on the north, Ramanathapuram on the north-east,

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tam ...

on the west and south-west, Tenkasi on the north-west and

Gulf of Mannar The Gulf of Mannar ( ) is a large shallow bay forming part of the Laccadive Sea in the Indian Ocean with an average depth of .

on the east and southeast. The total area of the district is .

Demographics

According to 2011 census, Thoothukudi district had a population of 1,750,176 with a sex-ratio of 1,023 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 183,763 were under the age of six, constituting 93,605 males and 90,158 females. It has a large numbers of Nadars (

Thiruchendur Tiruchendur is a municipality located in Thoothukudi District, Tamil Nadu, India. It is home to the Arulmigu Subramaniya Swamy Temple, which is one of the Six Abodes of Murugan. Etymology Tiruchendur, a temple town like many towns in the st ...

Sathankulam Sathankulam is a panchayat town in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Sathankulam town is located in the banks of the Karumeni river. It is from Tiruchendur and from Tirunelveli and from Thoothukudi and from Nage ...

, Thoothukudi, Eral), Appanad Maravars ( Kovilpatti, Tiruvaikuntam,

Ottapidaram Ottapidaram is a small town in Thoothukudi district and headquarters of Ottapidaram taluk. Ottapidaram is a tourism centre with accessibility to many places in Tamil Nadu. Thoothukudi or Tirunelveli can be easily accessed from anywhere and ...

Kayatharu Kayathar / Kayatharu is a panchayat town in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Etymology Kayathar / Kayatharu means "bitter river", from ''Aaru'' (Tamil for river) and ''kayarpu/kasappu'' (Tamil for bitter). This name m ...

), Vellalars ( Ettayapuram,

),Devendra Kula velalars( Thoothukudi, Kovilpatti,

Vilathikulam Vilathikulam is a selection grade panchayat town in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a small town near the southern tip of mainland India. Vilathikulam is a little town, on the northern bank of the Vaipar river, wh ...

, Ootaipidaram), Nayakars/Naidu (Kovilpatti and

) and Parathars (Thoothukudi and Tiruchendur).

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 19.88% and 0.28% of the population, respectively, mostly in Ottapidaram and Puthiyamputhur. The average literacy of the district was 77.12%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The district had a total of 462,010 households. There were a total of 748,095 workers, comprising 44,633 cultivators, 161,418 main agricultural labourers, 17,872 in house hold industries, 433,524 other workers, 90,648 marginal workers, 3,882 marginal cultivators, 39,226 marginal agricultural labourers, 4,991 marginal workers in household industries and 42,549 other marginal workers.

Water bodies

There are no large reservoirs in this district so the

Papanasam Papanasam is a panchayat town in Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Kumbakonam. The name literally translates to "Destruction of Sins" in the Tamil language. It is the suburban region ...

and Manimuthar dams located in the Tirunelveli district in the Thamirabarani River's flow are the main sources of irrigation. Other than the

Thamirabarani River The Thamirabarani or Tamraparni or Porunai is a perennial river that originates from the Agastyarkoodam peak of Pothigai hills of the Western Ghats, above Papanasam in the Ambasamudram taluk. It flows through Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi dis ...

, the river Vaipar in

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 ...

, the river Karumeni which traverses through

, and Tiruchendur taluks, Palayakayal are all sources.

Politics

Administrative divisions

Thoothukudi District is divided into three revenue divisions and ten taluks. There are forty-one revenue firkas and 480

revenue villages In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive revenue ...

. The district is divided into twelve revenue blocks for rural and urban development. The twelve revenue blocks are Thoothukudi, Tiruchendur, Udangudi, Sathankulam, Thiruvaikundam, Alwarthirunagari, Karunkulam, Ottapidaram, Kovilpatti, Kayathar, Vilathikulam, and Pudur. The district has one

municipal corporation A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally ...

: Thoothukudi; three municipalities: Kayalpattinam, Kovilpatti and Tiruchendur; eighteen town panchayats: Alwarthirunagiri, Arumuganeri, Athur, Eral, Ettayapuram, Kadambur, Kalugumalai, Kanam, Kayatharu, Nazerath, Perungulam, Sathankulam, Sayapuram, Srivaikuntam, Thenthiruperai, Udangudi, V. Pudur and Vilathikulam and 403 panchayat villages.

Parliamentary Lok Sabha Constituency

Tamil Nadu Assembly Constituencies

Economy

The

V. O. Chidambaranar 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 ...

contributes majorly to the economy of the district besides providing employment. Thoothukudi hosts industries such as SPIC, Thoothukudi alkaline chemicals, DCW zirconium plant and numerous salt packing companies. Many coal based power plants are at various stages of commissioning. Kovilpatti consists of many small sized industry especially match stick industries.

Agriculture

Paddy Paddy may refer to: People *Paddy (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname *An ethnic slur for an Irishman Birds *Paddy (pigeon), a Second World War carrier pigeon * Snowy sheathbill or paddy, a bird species *Black-faced s ...

is the most cultivated crop in most of the villages like Uzhakkudi, Vallanadu, Aarumugamangalam, Palayakayal, Thiruvaikundam, Sattankulam and Tiruchendur taluks.

Cumbu Pearl millet (''Cenchrus americanus'', commonly known as the synonym ''Pennisetum glaucum''; also known as 'Bajra' in Hindi, 'Sajje' in Kannada, 'Kambu' in Tamil, 'Bajeer' in Kumaoni and 'Maiwa' in Hausa, 'Mexoeira' in Mozambique) is the most w ...

, Cholam, Kuthiraivali and other

pulses In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the nec ...

are raised in the dry tracts of Kovilpatti, Vilathikulam, Nagalapuram

, and Thoothukudi taluks. Cotton is cultivated in Kovilpatti, Ottapidaram and Thoothukudi Taluks.

Groundnut Groundnut may refer to: * Seeds that ripen underground, of the following plants, all in the Faboideae subfamily of the legumes: ** ''Best Basketball Player'', Obinna Udunni ** ''Arachis villosulicarpa'', a perennial peanut species ** ''Vigna subt ...

cultivation is undertaken in Kovilpatti, Tiruchendur, and Sattankulam taluks. Groundnut cake is being used as manure and cattle feed. Nagalapuram makes its economy to be solely dependent agriculture. Sugarcane and Plantain (Banana) are cultivated on a large scale along the stretch of Uzhakkudi. Banana and Beetel cultivation is more prominent in villages like Aarumugamanagalam and Yeral. Also vegetables like tomato, chillies, brinjal, lady's finger, beans are cultivated in village of Uzhakkudi. Summers are made use to cultivate cotton on a smaller scale. Main business of this area is dry chilly, cholam, cumbu, wood charcoal, etc. With 35% share, the district is the top producer of

in Tamil Nadu.

Palmyrah ''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 ...

trees are grown mostly in Tiruchendur, Srivaikundam, Sattankulam and Vilathikulam taluks. Jaggery is produced from palmyrah juice; the production of jaggery is the main occupation of the people of Tiruchendur and Sattankulam taluks. Banana and other vegetables are raised in Srivaikundam and Tiruchendur taluks.

Salt production

The district constitutes 70 percent of the total salt production of Tamil Nadu and 30 percent of that of India. Tamil Nadu is the second largest producer of Salt in India next to Gujarat.

Transport

National Highway 45B, 7A and State Highways SH-32,33,40,44,75,76,77,93,176 connect to other parts of the State. Government buses connect the district with other parts of state. Thoothukudi and

Kovilpatti railway station Kovilpatti railway station (station code: CVP) is a train station connecting the city of Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Madurai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The station belongs to the Madurai railway division, a part of Southern Railway Zone. ...

are the major stations of

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tota ...

V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority 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 ...

in the district was declared as the tenth major seaport in

also provides container services. Tuticorin Airport is situated at Vaigaikulam and currently has flights to and from

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 ...

and

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

. Thoothukudi is the one of the cities which is having four ways of transportation (Roadways, Railways, Airways and Seaways).

Spaceport

The

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

is to set up a new Rocket launch pad near Kulasekaranpattinam in Thoothukudi district. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has begun work on its second Rocket launching pad or Spaceport, which will be Kulasekaranpattinam, Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu. Like the Sriharikota spaceport in the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Thoothukudi was selected as a spaceport due to its nearness to the equator. "A rocket launch site should be on the east coast and near the equator. And Thoothukudi district satisfies that condition", a former ISRO official stated.

Education

There are numerous educational institutions, colleges, schools providing education. The Agricultural College and Research Institute, Killikulam was established in 1984 – 85 as the third constituent College of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. These include:

Notable people

* Angela Lincy, Sportsperson who set the national record of 1.72m in high jump at the National games in Thiruvananthapuram at the age of 15. *

Appukutty Sivabalan, better known as Appukutty, is an Indian actor and comedian, who mainly appears in Tamil films. He became recognized following his performance in ''Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu''. His role as Azhagarsami in ''Azhagarsamiyin Kudhirai'' was prai ...

, Film actor * Beela Rajesh, Former Health and Family Welfare Secretary of Tamil Nadu *

Charle Velmurugan Thangasamy Manohar (born 6 March 1960), professionally credited as Charle, is an Indian actor who works in Tamil cinema. He has acted in more than 800 Tamil films as a comedian and supporting actor. He was named after the English co ...

, Film actor *

Cottalango Leon Cottalango Leon (born 1971)Alum Profile. (2016).
Mr. Cottalango(1992 BE-CSE), an Alumnus of PSG Colleg ...

, Oscar awardee * Dinesh Karthik, National cricketer *

Hari Hari ( sa, हरि) is among the primary epithets of the Hindu preserver deity Vishnu, meaning 'the one who takes away' (sins). It refers to the one who removes darkness and illusion, the one who removes all obstacles to spiritual progre ...

, Film director * J. Kanakaraj, Former State Election Commissioner of Andhra Pradesh * J. P. Chandrababu, Film actor * Jaguar Thangam, Film stunt choreographer *

K. P. Kandasamy K. P. Kandasamy was a politician from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and founder of ''Dinakaran'', a Tamil daily newspaper. He founded Dinakaran in support of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) when his father-in-law, S. P. Adithanar, chose to ...

, Founder of the dinakaran newspaper group * Ki. Rajanarayanan, Tamil folklorist and writer * Ku. Alagirisami, Tamil writer * Kadambur M. R. Janarthanan, Former Union

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. I ...

for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions * Kaali Venkat, Film actor *

Kumaragurupara Desikar Kumaragurupara Desikar (c. 17th century) or Kumaraguruparar was a poet and Saivite ascetic connected with the Dharmapuram Adheenam. Early life Kumaraguruparar was born to Shanmukha Sikhamani Kavirayar and Sivakama-Sundari Ammaiyar in Sriva ...

, Poet and Saivite ascetic *

Mari Selvaraj Mari Selvaraj is an Indian film director and author who works in the Tamil film industry. He worked as an Assistant Director for director Ram, He made his directorial debut with ''Pariyerum Perumal'', which opened to positive reviews and receive ...

, Film director *

Maveeran Alagumuthu Kone Maveeran Alagumuthu Kone (11 July 1710 – 19 July 1759), from Kattalankulam in Thoothukudi District, was an Indian polygar who revolted against the British presence. In Tamil Nadu he waged a war against the Presidency armies from 1750 - 1 ...

, Freedom fighter * Naveen Raja Jacob, Volleyball sportsperson *

Nivetha Pethuraj Nivetha Pethuraj (born 30 November 1990) is an Indian actress and model who appears in Telugu and Tamil films. She made her acting debut with '' Oru Naal Koothu'' (2016). Her successful films include '' Podhuvaga En Manasu Thangam'' (2017)'', ...

, Film actress * Oomaithurai, Indian Poligar * P. Rajagopal, Founder of

Saravana Bhavan Hotel Saravana Bhavan is the largest South Indian restaurant chain in the world, founded in 1981 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. They operate 33 locations in India (24 in Chennai) and 78 across 22 countries in Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zea ...

* P. Sri Acharya, Tamil scholar * Pon Mariappan, Barber who equipped his salon with mini library and got appreciated by PM

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

in the "

Mann Ki Baat ''Mann Ki Baat'' (, ) is an Indian radio programme hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which he addresses the people of the nation on All India Radio, DD National and DD News. Since the first show on 3 October 2014, there have been 97 ep ...

" radio programme *

Poomani Poomani (born 1947) is an Indian writer and novelist. He won the Sahitya Akademi award in 2014 in the Tamil language category for his novel Agnaadi. Life and works Poomani was born in 1947 into a family of marginal farmers in Andipatti, a vi ...

, Tamil writer and receiver of

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...

for his work

Agnaadi ''Agnaadi'' is a fictional historical novel written by Tamil writer Poomani. Set in the 19th century, it deals with the lives of people from the Kalingal, Kazhugumalai, Chatrapatti, Veppankadu, Chinnaiahpuram, and Sivakasi region over a span o ...

* R. Nallakannu, Politician and social activist *

R. Parthiban R. Parthiban (born 14 October 1958) is an Indian actor and filmmaker who works mainly in Tamil cinema. He has directed 15 films, produced 13 films and acted in more than 70 films. He started his career as assistant director for K. Bhagyaraj i ...

, Film actor * Ramanichandran, Tamil romance novelist * Rajendran, Film actor and stunt double *

S. P. Adithanar Si. Balasubramania Athithan (also known as Si. Ba. Adithanar) 27 September 1905 – 24 May 1981), popularly called as "Adithanar", was an Indian lawyer, politician, minister and founder of the Tamil daily newspaper ''Dina Thanthi''. He was th ...

, Founder of the ''

Dina Thanthi ''Dina Thanthi'' ( en, Daily Mail; known as Daily Thanthi in English language, English) is a Tamil language daily newspaper. It was founded by S. P. Adithanar in Madurai in 1942. ''Dina Thanthi'' is India's largest daily printed in the Tamil la ...

'' newspaper group * S. Anantharamakrishnan, Founder of Amalgamations Group *

Shenbaga Shenbaga also known as Shenbagam is an Indian actress in Tamil and Malayalam films. She was one of the prominent lead and supporting actress in Tamil and Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in ...

, Film actress *

Shiv Nadar Shiv Nadar (born 14 July 1945) is an Indian billionaire industrialist and philanthropist. He is the founder and chairman emeritus of HCL Technologies Limited and the Shiv Nadar Foundation. Nadar founded HCL in the mid-1970s and transformed the ...

, Founder of HCL Technologies * Sivanthi Aditanar, Tamil media baron *

Stunt Silva Stunt Silva is an Indian stunt actor, action director and stunt co-ordinator who has worked in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Hindi and Sinhala films. He made his debut with the 2005 Telugu film '' Chatrapathi'', directed by S. ...

, Film stunt actor * Subramanya Bharathi, Freedom fighter and writer * Thengai Srinivasan, Film actor *

T. S. Balaiah Thirunelveli Subramaniyan Balaiah (23 August 1914 – 22 July 1972) was an Indian actor. He is best known for playing supporting roles in Tamil films. Born in Sundankottai, near Udankudi in Thoothukudi, Balaiah was introduced to the cine fie ...

, Film actor *

Umaru Pulavar Umaru Pulavar was a Tamil Muslim poet from Tamil Nadu, India. Umaru Pulavar was born in 1642 in the town of Nagalapuram in Thoothukudi district. He is celebrated as one of the greatest Islamic poets of India. Early life and family The forefath ...

, Tamil poet * V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, Freedom fighter *

Veeran Sundaralingam Sundaralinga Kudumbanar (died 1799), also known as "Veeran" Sundaralingam Kudumbanar, was an 18th-century CE general from Tamil Nadu, India. Fight against British He was a general of the Poligar Veerapandiya Kattabomman in their fight against ...

, Freedom fighter *

Vanchinathan Vanchinatha Iyer (1886 – 17 June 1911), popularly known as Vanchinathan or Vanchi, was an Indian independence activist. He is best remembered for assassinating Robert Ashe, the Tax Collector of Thirunelveli who was instrumental in closing ...

, Freedom fighter * Veerapandiya Kattabomman, Freedom fighter * Vivekh, Film actor and social activist

References

External links

Thoothukudi corporation

Thoothukudi District
{{Authority control Districts of Tamil Nadu Thoothukudi Gulf of Mannar