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Overview

History

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 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 city, Thoothukkudi.

Origin of the name of the district

The origin of the name Thoothukkudi is that, being a coastal town, the people used to tap drinking water by digging small ponds (oothu in Tamil), and Oothukudi, meaning dig pond and drink, became corrupted into Thoothukkudi. Ptolemy refers to this as SosiKorai. Certain scholars postulate that Sosikorai became corrupted into Thoothukkudi. Tuticorin is the anglicised corruption of Thoothukkudi. From 1760 to 1998, the name of the town found in official records was Tuticorin. In 1998, the government of Tamil Nadu directed to call it Thoothukkudi both in Tamil and English.

Geography

Thoothukkudi district is situated in the south-eastern corner of Tamil Nadu. It is bounded by the districts of Tenkasi on the northwest, Tirunelveli on the southwest, Ramanathapuram on the northeast, Virudhunagar on the north, and the Gulf of Mannar in the Bay of Bengal on the east. The total area of the district is 4,707 km2 (1,817 sq mi).

Water Resources

The Thamirabarani River, which rises in Agasthyamalai of the Western Ghats, flows through Srivaikuntam and Tiruchendur taluks and joins the sea at Punnaikayal. Pambayaru and Manimutharu are the chief tributaries of Thamirabarani, which pass through the district. Thamirabarani and Manimutharu are the catchment areas of river basins, which have their place of origin in the Pothigai. The former has a length of 120 km, and the latter has a length of 98 km. Papanasam Dam, Manimuthar Dam, and Eppodumvendran Dam are the major dams built in the district.

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 929.³ 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, Sathankulam, Thoothukudi, Eral,Udangudi ,Nazareth,Arumuganeri, Athur Appanad Maravars (Kovilpatti, Tiruvaikuntam, Ottapidaram, Kayatharu,Ettayapuram,Panchalankurichi), Vellalars or Saiva Pillaimars (Ettayapuram, Ottapidaram, Thoothukudi, Tiruchendur,Tiruvaikuntam,Kovilpatti, Vilathikulam,Korkai,Vallanadu,Murappanadu), DevendraKula Velalars(Thoothukudi,Kovilpatti, Vilathikulam,), Nayakars/Naidu (Kovilpatti and Vilathikulam) and Parathars(Thoothukudi,Tiruchendur,Manappad,Kulasekarapattinam,Vembar,Soorangudi,Kayalpattinam). Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 19.88% and 0.28% of the population, respectively, mostly in Ottapidaram. The average literacy of the district was 77.12%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. 50.10% of the population lived in urban areas.⁴ 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.⁵

At the time of the 2011 census, 98.97% of the population spoke Tamil and 0.54% Telugu as their first language.⁶

Administrative divisions

Thoothukudi District is divided into three revenue divisions and ten taluks.⁷ There are forty-one revenue firkas and 480 revenue villages.⁸

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: 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 Vilathikulam⁹ and 403 panchayat villages.¹⁰

Administrative Setup

Revenue Administration

Local Bodies Administration

Elected Representatives

Lok Sabha Constituency

Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Constituencies

Economy

The V. O. Chidambaranar Port Trust 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 is the most cultivated crop in most of the villages like Uzhakkudi, Vallanadu, Aarumugamangalam, Palayakayal, Thiruvaikundam, Sattankulam and Tiruchendur taluks. Cumbu, Cholam, Kuthiraivali and other pulses are raised in the dry tracts of Kovilpatti, Vilathikulam, Nagalapuram Ottapidaram, and Thoothukudi taluks. Cotton is cultivated in Kovilpatti, Ottapidaram and Thoothukudi Taluks. Groundnut 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 Cumbu in Tamil Nadu.¹¹ Palmyrah 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 are the major stations of Indian Railways. V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority in the district was declared as the tenth major seaport in India also provides container services. Tuticorin Airport is situated at Vaigaikulam and currently has flights to and from Chennai and Bengaluru.

Spaceport

The Government of India 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.¹²

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:¹³

Further information: Holy Cross Home Science College

Notable people

See also

• Thoothukudi massacre
• Custodial death of P Jayaraj and Bennicks
• V. O. Chidambaranar Port Trust
• Tuticorin Airport
• List of districts of Tamil Nadu

External links

• Thoothukudi corporation
• Thoothukudi District

References

1. "Thoothukkudi District". Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. 5 April 2025. Archived from the original on 1 May 2025. Retrieved 15 April 2025. https://thoothukudi.nic.in/ ↩

2. "Decadal Variation In Population Since 1901". Archived from the original on 8 August 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2019. http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/PCA/A2_Data_Table.html ↩

3. "District Census Handbook 2011 – Thoothukudi" (PDF). Census of India. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/1140/download/3574/DH_2011_3326_PART_A_DCHB_THOOTHUKKUDI.pdf ↩

4. "District Census Handbook 2011 – Thoothukudi" (PDF). Census of India. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/1140/download/3574/DH_2011_3326_PART_A_DCHB_THOOTHUKKUDI.pdf ↩

5. "District Census Handbook 2011 – Thoothukudi" (PDF). Census of India. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/1140/download/3574/DH_2011_3326_PART_A_DCHB_THOOTHUKKUDI.pdf ↩

6. "Table C-16 Population by Mother Tongue: Tamil Nadu". Census of India. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/10222/download/13334/DDW-C16-STMT-MDDS-3300.XLSX ↩

7. Palanithurai, Ganapathy; Parthiban, T. & Vanishree, Joseph (2007). Empowering Women: Grassroots Experience from Tamil Nadu. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company. p. 35. ISBN 978-81-8069-454-7. 978-81-8069-454-7 ↩

8. "Administration". District Collectorate, Thoothukudi. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. https://www.thoothukudi.tn.nic.in/administration.html ↩

9. "Thoothukudi District, Tamil Nadu". Thoothukudi.nic.in. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2011. http://thoothukudi.nic.in/upinfo/drda/TUT-Map.html ↩

10. "Reports of National Panchayat Directory: Block Panchayats of Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu". Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India. Archived from the original on 13 November 2011. http://panchayatdirectory.gov.in/adminreps/viewpansumSQL.asp?selstate=594&parenttype=D&ptype=B ↩

11. Agriculture Archived 9 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Government of Tamil Nadu. State Transport Authority. http://www.tn.gov.in/deptst/agriculture.pdf ↩

12. "Why Thoothukudi was chosen as ISRO's second spaceport". www.thenewsminute.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019. https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/why-thoothukudi-was-chosen-isro-s-second-spaceport-113331 ↩

13. "Agricultural College & Research Institute, Killikulam". sites.google.com. https://sites.google.com/a/tnau.ac.in/acrikkm ↩