Tirunelveli district
Tirunelveli district is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu state in India. It is the largest district in terms of area with Tirunelveli as its headquarters. The district was formed on 1 September 1790 by the British East India Company, and comprised the present Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi, Tenkasi and parts of Virudhunagar and Ramanathapuram district. As of 2011, the undivided district had a population of 3,077,233
History
Under the rule of the Pandyan Dynasty, the district was known as Thenpandiyanadu. The Chola dynasty then named it Mudikonda Cholamandalam. The Madurai Nayaks called it Tirunelveli Seemai. Under the British East India Company, it was Tinnevelly district, which included the modern Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts and parts of the Virudhunagar and Ramanathapuram districts.In 1910, Ramanathapuram District was formed from portions of the Madurai and Tirunelveli Districts, which comprised portions of the modern Virudhunagar District.
After the Independence of India, Tirunelveli District was bifurcated on 20 October 1986 to Nellai-Kattabomman district and Chidambaranar district. Subsequently, the Government of Tamil Nadu decided to name each district according to the name of the headquarters town, so the region's name changed from Tirunelveli-Kattabomman to Tirunelveli.
On 18 July 2019 the district was again bifurcated to form a new Tenkasi district with Tenkasi as its district capital.
Geography
The district is located in the southern part of Tamil Nadu. It has borders with Tenkasi district to the north, Kanyakumari District to the south and Thoothukudi District to the east and Thiruvananthapuram district and Kollam district of Kerala to the west. The district covers an area of. It lies between 8°05' and 9°30' north latitude and 77°05' and 78°25' east longitude.Climate
Tirunelveli has rainfall in all seasons, and benefits from both the northeast and southwest monsoons. Most precipitation came from the northeast monsoon followed by the southwest monsoon and summer rains. The district is irrigated by several rivers originating in the Western Ghats, such as the Pachaiyar River, which flows into the perennial Tambaraparani River. The Tambaraparani and Manimuthar Rivers have many dams, with reservoirs providing water for irrigation and power generation. The Tamiraparani River provides consistent irrigation to a large agricultural area.Administration and politics
is the Administration centre of Tirunelveli District. It is a part of the Tirunelveli Lok Sabha constituency.Revenue Divisions
- Tirunelveli
- Cheranmahadevi
Taluks
- Tirunelveli
- Palayamkottai
- Manur
- Cheranmahadevi
- Ambasamudram
- Nanguneri
- Radhapuram
- Thisayanvilai
- Kadayam
- Pappakudi
- Kalakkad
- Valliyur
- Sankarkovil
Assembly Consistuencies
Tirunelveli :
- Alangulam
- Tirunelveli
- Palayamkottai
- Ambasamudram
- Nanguneri
- Radhapuram
Demographics
As per the religious census of 2011, Tirunelveli District had 78.82% Hindus, 9.85% Muslims, 11.12% Christians, 0.008% Sikhs, 0.012% Buddhists and 0.17% belonging to other Beliefs & Groups.
Infrastructure
The district is well-connected by a network of roads and railways. Tirunelveli city serves as the main junction. It has no airports; the nearest airports are at Tuticorin, Madurai and Thiruvananthapuram. The district has a total of 27 railway stations. The tables below list the lengths of roads and railways in the district.| Roads | National highways | State highways | Corporation and Municipalities Roads | Panchayat Union and Panchayat Road | Town Panchayat and Townships Road | Others |
| Length | 174.824 | 442.839 | 1,001.54 | 1,254.10 and 1,658.35 | 840.399 | 114.450 |
| Railways | Route length | Track length |
| Broad gauge | 257.000 | 495.448 |
| Meter gauge | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Canals, wells, tanks and reservoirs are the sources of irrigation in the district. As of 2005–2006, the district had a total of 151 canals with a length of, 85,701 irrigation wells, 640 tube wells, eight reservoirs and 2,212 tanks. The district also has 21,776 wells used for domestic purposes.
Electricity is provided by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. The district has hydroelectric power plants and windmills, with an installed capacity of ; it is one of the major producers of wind energy in the state.
The Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant project is being undertaken at the village of Koodankulam, north-east of Kanyakumari. Koodankulam also has windmills used for power generation with installed capacity of 2,000 MW.
Education and social development
Tirunelveli district has a literacy rate of 76.97%, which is above the state average. As of 2005–2006, the district had a total of 2,494 schools. It has one University, the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University. There are also four Government colleges, eleven Government-sponsored colleges and seven private colleges.Tirunelveli has 25 Arts and Science colleges, 3 Medical colleges, 20 Engineering colleges and a Law school. There are 1,501 Primary schools, 431 Middle schools and 185 Higher secondary schools.
Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, which was established in 1990, has a network of 102 affiliated colleges. In 1878, there were two colleges in the district: the Madurai Diraviam Thayumanavar Hindu College and St. John's College. The first college for women, Sarah Tucker college was established in 1895. Of the 17 arts colleges in the district, eight are co-educational institutions, five are for women and four for men. The colleges in Tirunelveli district were originally affiliated with the University of Madras. Upon the creation of Madurai Kamaraj University in 1966, they were affiliated with MKU from 1966 to 1990. In 1990, their affiliation transferred to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University. The Regional Directorate of the Collegiate Education in the district was formed on 10 September 1979 to regulate colleges in Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Kanyakumari districts. In 1996, the Government Law College, Tirunelveli was established. Tirunelveli Medical College and its teaching hospital are located at Palayamkottai. It was established in 1965 and affiliated with the University of Madras. The Government Siddha Medical College was established at Palayamkottai on 30 November 1964. Technical education in the district dates to 1844, when Mrs. Caldwell, wife of Bishop Robert Caldwell began a school to teach girls lace-making at Idyangudi. The Government of Tamil Nadu set up a State Board of Technical Education and Training and a separate Directorate of Technical Education, effective 1 October 1957. Since then, the Directorate of Technical Education has assumed the administration of both engineering colleges and polytechnics. The Government College of Engineering was established in October 1981 to fulfill the needs of people in the southern region.
In 1986, the Revenue district of Tirunelveli was divided into Tirunelveli and Thoothukkudi districts. There are three education districts.
Economy
Tirunelveli has been an agricultural area throughout its history. The district is a major producer of rice, coconuts, bananas, spices and forest-based products. The district is home to almost 50% of the buffalo population of Tamil Nadu. The district's livestock and poultry populations are as follows:| Cattle | Buffalo | Sheep | Goats | Pigs | Horses and Ponies | Donkeys | Rabbits | Total livestock | Total poultry |
| 418,694 | 78,777 | 487,273 | 390,570 | 12,752 | 245 | 961 | 2401 | 67,877 | 1,218,583 |
Since it is a coastal district, Tirunelveli is also involved in fishery development and production. For the period 2005–2006, the total inland fish catch was 1,874 tonnes, and the total marine fish catch was 7,014 tonnes.
India Cements Limited is the third largest cement company in India, and began at Sankarnagar in Tirunelveli in 1949.
The district is also rich in minerals, with a total of 407 mines and quarries. Limestone, granite and garnet sand are some of the minerals mined or produced in the district. Major industries include textile, food and forestry products.
A Special Economic Zone was introduced at Nanguneri in 2001. A pharma park and windmill spare-parts and television-manufacturing factories have been planned in this SEZ. The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation has planned a ₹700-crore high-tech industrial park in Nanguneri in association with INFAC Group and Axes Technologies Inc of the US. The state government is planning light manufacturing, design and assembly facilities, modern infrastructure facilities and amenities in this SEZ to attract a workforce from around the world.
Recreation
Manjolai Hills
Located between and of elevation, the Manjolai area is set deep within the Western Ghats within the Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve in the Tirunelveli District. Located on top of the Manimuthar Dam and the Manimuthar Water Falls, the Manjolai area comprises tea plantations, small settlements, the Upper Kodaiyar Dam and a windy view point called Kuthiravetti.The whole of the Manjolai Estates and the tea plantations are operated by The Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation Ltd on forest land leased by the Government of Tamil Nadu. There are three tea estates within the Manjolai area: Manjolai Estate, Manimutharu Estate and Oothu Estate. The Estates are located at elevations ranging from to.