Thoothukudi
Thoothukudi is a port industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. The city is capital and headquarters of the district. According to the Confederation of Indian Industry, Thoothukudi has the second highest Human Development Index in Tamil Nadu, next to Chennai. Thoothukudi City serves as the headquarters of Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Limited, one of the leading private sector banks in India. Major educational establishments in the city include the Government Thoothukudi Medical College, Fisheries College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Maritime Academy, V.O. Chidambaram College, Kamaraj College, Anna University, and Government Polytechnic College. The V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority is one of the major ports in India. Thoothukudi is an emerging energy and industrial hub of South India.
Thoothukudi is known as "Pearl City" due to the pearl fishing carried out in the town. It is a commercial seaport that serves the inland cities of southern India and is one of the sea gateways of Tamil Nadu. It is also one of the major seaports in India, with a history dating back to the 6th century CE. The city is believed to be of significant antiquity and has been ruled, at different times, by the Early Pandyas, Medieval Cholas, Later Cholas, Later Pandyas, Ma'bar Sultanate, Tirunelveli Sultanate, Vijayanagar Empire, Madurai Nayaks, Chanda Sahib, Carnatic kingdom, Portuguese, Dutch, and the British. Thoothukudi was settled by the Portuguese, Dutch, and later the British East India Company.
The city is administered by the Thoothukudi Municipal Corporation, which covers an area of and had a population of 500,000 in 2024.The urban agglomeration had a population of 526,000 as of 2011. The majority of the people of the city are employed in salt pans, sea-borne trading, fishing, and tourism.
The 21 islands between Thoothukudi and Rameswaram shores in the Gulf of Mannar are noted as the first Marine Biosphere Reserve of India and have around 3600 species of flora and fauna. This protected area is called the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park. Our Lady of the Snows Basilica festival is celebrated annually in August. This and the Shiva temple festivals, including Adi Amavasai, Sasti, and Chittirai chariot festivals, are the major festivals of the area. Roadways are the major mode of transport to Thoothukudi, while the city also has rail, air, and sea transport.
History
Thoothukudi is also known by the name 'Pearl City'. It is also called the "Sea Gateway of Tamil Nadu." Thoothukudi is part of the Pearl Fishery Coast and is known for its pearl fishing and shipbuilding industries.The ancient town of Korkai, near present-day Thoothukudi, has been a center for maritime trade and pearl fishing for more than 2000 years. Ptolemy's geography refers to Korkai as a center of pearl fishing while describing commercial relations between western India and Alexandria, the chief eastern emporium of the Roman Empire. The Periplus says that the Pandyan Empire extended from Comari towards the north, including Korkai, where the pearl fisheries were. Eventually, the Vijayanagara Empire took over Thoothukudi. Conducted trade with the Portuguese. The Empire split into Nayak kingdoms, which were overthrown by the Nawab of Arcot. The Nawab eventually ceded the land to the British in 1801.
In the 16th century, the Portuguese established ports in Thoothukudi, which they called Tuticorim, and the Dutch occupied these ports in the 17th century as evidenced by Pagoda coins. During the 18th century the British overpowered and occupied the town. Being a port town, the town received attention from the rulers for improving their trade, and so it was brought to Municipal status in 1866. Rao Bahadur Cruz Fernandez and J. L. P. Roche Victoria as the chairmen of municipal corporation made significant contributions, laying the foundations for a modern Thoothukudi.
On 20 October 1986, a new district, carved out of the erstwhile Tirunelveli district was born in Tamil Nadu and named after V. O. Chidambaranar, a prominent national leader hailing from Ottapidaram who led the Swadeshi Movement in the south. Since 1997, the district has been named after its headquarters town, Thoothukudi.
Thoothukudi became the citadel of freedom struggles in the early of the 20th century.
History of the ports
The major harbour of Thoothukudi is well known as a pearl diving and fishing centre. It is one of the oldest seaports in the world and was the seaport of the Pandyan kingdom after Korkai, near Palayakayal. It was later taken over by the Portuguese in 1548, captured by the Dutch in 1658, and ceded to the British in 1825. The lighthouse built in 1842 marked the beginning of the history of harbour development in the city. Thoothukudi was established as a Municipality in 1866 with J.M.B. Roche Victoria as its first chairman.It attained the status of corporation on 5 August 2008, after 142 years of being a municipality. Thoothukudi Corporation is divided into 60 wards after its expansion in 2011, and these wards comprise four zones—i.e., East, West, North, and South. East zone has 14–16 and 19–33 wards; West zone has 34–47 wards; North zone has 1–13 and 17, 18 wards; and South zone has 48–60 wards.
The minor port of the Thoothukudi anchorage port with lighter-age facilities has had flourishing traffic for over a century. The first wooden jetty at this port was commissioned in 1864. This port was used for the export of salt, cotton yarn, senna leaves, palmyrah stalks, palmyrah fibers, dry fish, country drugs, and other goods to neighboring countries and for the import of coal, cotton, copra, pulses, and grains. The minor port of Thoothukudi has the distinction of being the intermediate port, handling the highest traffic tonnage of over 1 million per year.
Geography and climate
Thoothukudi is a port town situated in the Gulf of Mannar, about north of KanyaKumari, and its environs form part of the coastal belt, which forms a continuous stretch of flat country relieved here and there by small rock outcrops. The region surrounding Thoothukudi is liberally dotted with rain-fed tanks. The red soil found on the southern side of Thoothukudi town is composed of quartz and variable quantities of fine red dry dust. The port is an all-weather one. The bay formed by Hare Island, Devils Point, and the main land gives ample protection to the lighters from monsoonal weather. The beach of Thoothukudi is characterized by a calm breeze and very low waves, giving the image of a big river.Thoothukudi is located at. Thoothukudi is located in South India, on the Gulf of Mannar, about south of Chennai and north of Kanyakumari. The hinterlands of the port of the city are connected to the districts of Madurai, Tirunelveli, Ramanathapuram, and Tiruchirapalli. The city mostly has flat terrain and is roughly divided into two by the Buckle Channel. Being in a coastal region, the soil is mostly clay and sandy, and the water table varies between below ground level. The city has loose soil with thorny shrubs in the north and salt pans in the south.
It is located about southeast of Chennai, northeast of Thiruvananthapuram, and southeast of Bangalore.
Thoothukudi experiences a tropical savanna climate characterized by sweltering summers, hot winters, and occasional heavy rain during the northeast monsoon. Summer extends from March to June, when the climate is very humid. Thoothukudi registers a maximum temperature of and a minimum temperature of. The city receives adequate rainfall only during the months of October and November. The city receives around rainfall from the northeast monsoon, during the summer, during the winter, and during the south-west monsoon season. The coolest month is January, and the hottest months are from May to June. The city has very high humidity being in the coastal sector.
The 21 islands between Thoothukudi and Rameswaram shores in the Gulf of Mannar are notified as the first Marine Biosphere Reserve of India. About 36,000 species of flora and fauna exist in the region, which is covered with mangroves, sandy shores, and sea grass beds that are conducive to turtle nesting. The region around the Thoothukudi shores is home to rare marine flora and fauna. Coral reefs and pearl oysters are some of the exotic species, while algae, reef fish, holothurians, shrimps, lobsters, crabs, and Mollusca are very common. Out of the 600 recorded varieties of fish in the region, 72 are found to be commercially important. The thermal discharge from the thermal plants and excessive brine runoff from the salt pans impact the flora and fauna in the region to a large extent.
Thoothukudi has been ranked 29th best “National Clean Air City” under in India.
Demographics
Thoothukudi was a port town during the period of Portuguese, Dutch and British in the 16th–19th centuries. The city expanded after 1907 due to the presence of public establishments. Residential and industrial growth was maximum around Palayamkottai and Ettaiyapuram roads between 1907 and 1930.According to 2011 census, Thoothukudi city had a population of 237,830 with a sex-ratio of 1,010 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. Thoothukudi had an average literacy rate of 92.10% with male literacy being 94.84%, and female literacy being 89.37%.
A total of 24,959 were under the age of six, constituting 12,684 males and 12,275 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 7.42% and 0.1% of the population, respectively. The city had a total of 60,714 households. There were a total of 83,669 workers: 114 cultivators, 154 main agricultural labourers, 1,498 in house hold industries, 77,420 other workers, 4,483 marginal workers, 69 marginal cultivators, 25 marginal agricultural labourers, 280 marginal workers in household industries and 4,109 other marginal workers.
At the time of the 2011 census, Thoothukudi urban agglomeration had a population of 411,628. A total of 42,756 of the population was under 6 years of age.
Tamil is the predominant language in the city and is spoken by almost 99% of the population. The dialect is the Thoothukudi Tamil which is related to Nellai Tamil. English is also widely spoken.
In Thoothukudi Municipal Corporation 65% of the population are Hindus, 30% Christians and 5% Muslims. In the urban agglomeration overall, 71% are Hindus, 25% Christians and 4% Muslims.