Tuticorin, also known as
Thoothukudi is a port city and a
Municipal Corporation and an
Industrial city in
Thoothukudi district of the
Indian state of
Tamil Nadu.
The City lies in the
Coromandel Coast off
Bay of Bengal.Thoothukudi is the headquarters of
Thoothukudi District. It is located about 590 kilometres (367 mi) south of
Chennai and 190 kilometres (
118 mi) northeast of
Thiruvananthapuram (
Trivandrum).According to
Confederation of Indian Industry,Tuticorin has the second highest
Human Development Index in Tamil Nadu next to Chennai.[4] Tuticorin
City serves as the headquarters of
Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Limited.
Major Educational establishments in the city includes
Thoothukudi Government Medical College,
Fisheries College and Research Institute,[5]
Marine Training Academy,
V.O.C. Arts &
Science College,
Government Polytechnic College,[6] and
Anna University Tuticorin
Campus.[7]
Tuticorin Port is one of the
Fastest growing Major
Ports in India in terms of
Total Volume of
Twenty-foot equivalent unit handled.
Thoothukudi is known as "
Pearl City" due to the pearl fishing carried out in the town. It is a commercial seaport which 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 AD. 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 by the
British East India Company. The city is administered by a
Thoothukudi Municipal Corporation covering an area of 90.663 km2 (35.
005 sq mi) and had a population of 237,830 in
2011.The
Urban agglomeration had a population of 410,760 as of 2011.[2]
Majority of the people of the city are employed in salt pans, sea-borne trading, fishing and tourism.
A major attraction in the city is
Our Lady of Snows Basilica, a
16th-century site. The 21 islands between Thoothukudi and
Rameswaram shores in the
Gulf of Mannar are notified as the first Marine
Biosphere Reserve of India having around 36,
000 species of flora and fauna.It is a protected area and is called as Gulf of Mannar Marine
National Park. Our Lady of Snows Basilica festival celebrated annually during August and the
Shiva temple festivals -- like 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.
Tuticorin (Thoothukudi) is also known by the name '
Thiru mandira
Nagar'.It is also called as "Sea
Gateway of Tamil Nadu"[8] Thoothukudi is part of the
Pearl Fishery Coast, and is known for its pearl fishing and shipbuilding industries.[9] Thoothukudi was the seat of Portuguese during
16th century, and the Dutch occupied in
17th century. During
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.[10]
On the
20th, October 1986 a new district, carved out of the erstwhile
Tirunelveli district was born in Tamil Nadu and named after V.O.
Chidambaranar, a great national leader hailing from
Ottapidaram who led the
Swadeshi Movement in the south. Since
1997 as in the case of other districts of Tamil Nadu, this district has also been named after its headquarters town, Thoothukudi.
Thoothukudi became the citadel of freedom struggle in the early of the
20th century. It was in Thoothukudi that the illustrious patriot, V.O.
Chidambaram established the first swadesi
Stream Navigation Company, sailing the first steamer
S.S.Gaelia to Thoothukudi on 1 June 1907.[11]
The minor port of the Thoothukudi anchorage port with lighter age facilities has had flourished traffic for over a century. The first wooden Jetty of this port was commissioned in
1864. This port was being used for export of salt, cotton yarn, senna leaves, palmyrah stalks, palmyrah fibres, dry, dry fish,
Country drugs etc. to neighboring countries and for import of coal, cotton, copra, pulses and grains. The minor port of the Thoothukudi hand the distinction of being intermediate port handling the highest traffic tonnage of over 1million per annum[11]
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.
- published: 15 May 2014
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