Nagercoil
Nagercoil, natively spelt as Nāgarkovil, is a Municipal Corporation 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 undulating terrain between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea.
Nagercoil is a centre for a range of economic activities in the small but densely populated Kanyakumari District. Economic activities in and around the city include tourism, wind energy, IT services, marine fish production and exports, rubber and cloves plantations, agro-crops, floral production, manufacture of fishnets, rubber products among other activities.
'Nagercoil Cloves' is a distinct quality of dried cloves in the spices market, noted for its aroma and medicinal value. Cloves, pepper and other spices are grown in estates in the Western Ghats, outside the town.
Nagercoil is also the nearest city to the ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri and the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant.
The city, along with the district of Kanyakumari, stands at the top in many Human Development Index parameters in Tamil Nadu state, including education, per capita income, health indices, etc.
The municipality of Nagercoil was upgraded as a Municipal corporation on the eve of its 100th year as a city on 14 February 2019.
Etymology
Nagercoil derives from the Tamil expression Nagaraja koyil, meaning "temple of Nagas".History
Nagercoil was formerly known as Kottar.Demographics
According to the 2011 census, Nagercoil had a population of 289,916 with a female-male sex ratio of 1.05, well above the national average of 0.929 females/male. A total of 20,241 were under the age of six, constituting 10,119 males and 10,122 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 4.19% and 0.17% of the population respectively. The literacy rate of the city was 96.99%. The city had a total of 59,997 households. There were a total of 76,345 workers, comprising 244 cultivators, 1,155 main agricultural labourers, 2,271 in household industries, 67,050 other workers, 5,625 marginal workers, 110 marginal cultivators, 361 marginal agricultural labourers, 447 marginal workers in household industries and 4,707 other marginal workers.Economy
The city is one among the 50 Indian cities to be ranked in the World Startup Index of 1,000 cities.The major software companies present in Nagercoil are CapeStart Inc., Hinduja Global Solutions, Navigant Consulting.
The city also has small aerospace manufacturing plants and satellite fabricating firms serving the Indian Space Research Organisations facility in ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri. The Regional Academic Centre for Space by Indian Space Research Organisation, one among the only six incubation centres for Space Startups in India, is under construction in Nagercoil. The Integral Coach Factory has a small scale windmill unit.
Also, the District Industries Centre in Konam, Nagercoil operates under the Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, India.
The export of 95 tons of fruits and vegetables to the Gulf Countries through the Thiruvananthapuram airports is a major source of revenue for the city, with food processing companies generating a daily revenue of ₹16.7 lakh and an annual revenue of ₹6.1 billion. The flower market of Thovalai exports 350 tons of Flowers to Kerala, Europe and Middle Eastern countries generating an annual revenue of ₹250 crore.
The major cottage industries like fish-net manufacturing, rubber industries, and jewellery manufacturing are industries serving the domestic and export markets. The minor cottage industries include surgical gloves, coir-making, floral trade, handloom-weaving, cashew nut, spices, food-processing units, and lace-making.
Nagercoil has the highest per capita income of ₹2,76,454, making it among the richest small cities in India.
Energy
The city has an installed windmill capacity of 1500 MW catering to 20% of the state's renewable electricity needs. Muppandhal has emerged as the wind power hub, with plant owners eager to cash in on the ₹2.90 per unit purchase price being offered by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board.Architecture
The architecture of Nagercoil consists of an eclectic combination of architectural styles, ranging from those that predate the creation of the town, from the early Dravidian architecture and Kerala Architecture, to English Gothic Revival, to the 21st century contemporary. Although there are prehistoric and classical structures in the city, the architectural history of Nagercoil effectively begins with the first small settlements from 3 AD. The Roman naturalist and writer Pliny the Elder mentions Nagercoil as a commercial metropolis, having trade links with his contemporaneous Roman merchants, who traded and stayed in unique rock-walled, clay-roofed structures. This legacy can be found in some of the town's old heritage structures like the Nagaraja Temple, Nagercoil. The temple has two main deities, Krishna and Nagaraja. The upadevathas are Shiva, Subrahmanya Swami, Ganesha, Devi, and Dwarapalaka. As an ancient tradition, the priests are Namboothiri Brahmins who are referred by the Pambumekkat mana in Thrissur, Kerala. Later on, Dravidian and Kerala architectural styles began to appear in the area. This can be attributed to the construction of the Thanumalayan Temple in the 16th century.The 14th century St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Kottar serves as a testimony to the mix of Roman and native architecture. While Saint Xavier was doing missionary work at Kottar and its neighbourhood, he averted an invasion of Padagas and thus protected the people of the Venad kingdom from that attack which was appreciated by the king, Unni Kerala Varma. In recognition of Xavier's services, the king allotted him a piece of land to construct a Catholic church, as a gesture of goodwill, as per the church records. There was already a small church, in the same place where St. Xavier's church stands at present, dedicated to Mary the Mother of God, since AD 1544.
The artistic influence of Kerala and British architecture marvels are seen in the Nagercoil Palace, Nagercoil Clock Tower, Home Church, Scott Christian College, Scott School, Carmel Higher Secondary School, St. Joseph Convent, Sethu Lakshmi Bai School, Nagercoil Court, The Concordia Seminary, Filter House, The Salvation Army Catherine Booth Hospital and many more heritage structures in and around the town.
The Nagercoil Clock Tower is the most visible to the outside world, situated in the heart of the town, which was built to commemorate the visit of Sri Moolam Thirunal, the ruler of Travancore, in 1893, and was designed by Hogeorf and S. Horesly of England. The Maharajah himself inaugurated it on 15 February of that year. The pendulum of the clock was made in Derbyshire by Smith of Derby Group, London. The clock is attached to a 60-foot-long chain with a weight, operated with pulleys through gravitational force. The clock in the Nagercoil Clock Tower was presented to the Maharajah by Rev. James Duthie. of the London Missionary Society. The total cost for constructing the Nagercoil Clock Tower was ₹ 3,258, 9 Chakrams and 12 Kasu. The Maharajah of Travancore donated ₹ 1017, and the balance was donated by the public.
Politics
Law
Kanniyakumari District Police Department
The Kanniyakumari District Police Department operates under the leadership of the Superintendent of Police, Tamil Nadu Police and is supported by two Additional Superintendent of Police.Structure
Superintendent of Police – Overall in charge of the district police.
Additional Superintendent of Police – Assist the SP in administrative and operational functions.
Deputy Superintendent of Police
- Kottar Police Station
- Vadasery Police Station
- Aralvaimozhy Police Station
- Bhoothapandy Police Station
- Nesamony Nager Police Station
- Asaripallam Police Station
- Central Crime Station, Nagercoil
- All Women Police Station, Nagercoil,
- Traffic Investigation Police Station
- Traffic Regulation Wing, Nagercoil.
In addition to the Police Stations, the following specialized wings and units operate under the control of the Superintendent of Police, Kanniyakumari District:
Education
Tamil is the official language in Nagercoil and is spoken by the majority of the population. In addition to Tamil, English and Malayalam are widely spoken. There are many schools and colleges in Nagercoil that are known for their national reputation and were established more than 150 years ago; colleges such as Scott Christian College, South Travancore Hindu College, Holy Cross College, Women Christian College and schools such as Scott Christian Higher Secondary School, Duthie Girls School, St. Joseph's Convent Higher Secondary School, Carmel Higher Secondary School, S.L.B. Government Higher Secondary School, S.M.R.V. Higher Secondary School.Also, there are several private primary, secondary, and higher secondary schools, Central Board of Secondary Education, and Indian Certificate of Secondary Education schools in the city that provide learning diversity to the local & surrounding students.
There are various approved higher education and skill development institutions in and around the city, including autonomous colleges, aided colleges, and self-financing colleges serving diverse fields like Science and Technology, Commerce, Economics, Arts, Humanities, Medical, Engineering, and Management studies.
There is a Government ITI, Government Polytechnic, University College of Engineering, Nagercoil, and Government Arts And Science College which are all situated in Konam, Nagercoil.
There are two Government Medical Institutes in Nagercoil, Kanyakumari Government Medical College, Acharipallam, and Government Ayurvedic College, Kottar.