The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Dindigul District

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Monday, Feb 15, 2010
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Tamil Nadu

Dindigul District - A Profile

A view of the Perumalkoundanpatti Samathuvapuram in Vedasandur panchayat union of Dindigul district to be opened by Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Monday.

Dindigul district was carved out of the composite Madurai district on September 15, 1985. Its first Collector was M. Madhavan Nambiar. Dindigul district, during the course of time, had names like Dindigul Anna , Quaid-e-Milleth and Mannar Thirumalai.

Dindigul, which was under the rule of Tipu Sultan, has a glorious past. The historical Rock Fort of Dindigul was constructed by the Naik King Muthukrishnappa Naicker. .

This district is bound by Erode, Coimbatore, Karur and Tiruchi districts in the North; Sivaganga and Tiruchi districts in the East; Madurai district in the South and by Theni and Coimbatore districts and Kerala in the West. It is spread over on an area of 6266.64 square km. It comprises three revenue divisions, eight taluks and 14 panchayat unions, According to the 2001 census, its population is 19,23,014.

For a long time, Dindigul town has been associated with iron locks and safes of good quality and durability. A lock manufacturing unit under co-operative sector is functioning here. Another industry for which Dindigul is noted is leather tanning.

This district has a flourishing handloom industry at Chinnalapatti, which is located at 11 km away from Dindigul on the Madurai-Dindigul highway. Art silk saris and Sungudi saris produced in Chinnalapatti are famous throughout India. More than 1000 families are engaged in this industry.

Dindigul town, which is an important wholesale market for onion and groundnut, has a network of inter-district roads connecting Coimbatore, Erode, Tiruchi, Karur, Madurai and Sivaganga. On the education front, Dindigul is a well developed and popular centre. It has many high and higher secondary schools of repute. St. Mary’s Higher Secondary School, an institution known for the discipline of its students, is one of the oldest in the town. The district has two universities -- Mother Teresa Women’s University at Kodaikanal and Gandhigram Rural University at Gandhigram. Also a number of engineering colleges, arts and science colleges, polytechnics and ITIs are located all over the district.

Dindigul is privileged to have one of the six celebrated abodes of Lord Muruga at Palani Hills, where the famous Dhandayuthapani Temple is situated on a hill at a height of about 450 metres.

Thousands of pilgrims visit this temple every day, particularly during festival days like Thai Poosam, Adi Krithigai, Panguni Uthiram, and Vaikasi Visagam. Three electric winches and rope car are unique features of the temple. They facilitate the aged, children and the disabled to reach the temple in eight minutes. The income of the temple, which is the largest in the State, is growing year by year.

Besides the Palani temple, there is also another Murugan temple at Thirumalaikeni, 25 km away from Dindigul town, which is becoming popular as a pilgrim Centre. Abirami Amman Temple in Dindigul and Raja Kaliamman Temple at Thethupatti 20 km away from Dindigul are the other important temples which attract thousands of pilgrims.

Kodaikanal, a popular summer resort located at an altitude of 2133 meters in the Western Ghats, is the ’Princess of Hill Stations.’ A notable feature of Kodaikanal is the ’Kurunji’ flower that blooms once in 12 years . The next blooming will be in 2018.

Peranai and Sirumalai are the two picnic spots of this district. There are nine dams -- Palar Porundalar, Varathamanathi and Kuthiraiaru in Palani block; Parappalar and Nangachiar in Oddanchatram block; Maruthanathi, Kamarajar Sagar in Athoor block; Mavoor in Nilakottai block and Kudaganar in Vedasandur block. They augment irrigation facilities to agricultural fields in the district. Nilakkottai town is famous for brass vessels and jewellery. Nilakottai Taluk is famous for flowers and grapes. Oddanchatram is a famous market for vegetables. Batlagundu is an important market for tomato.

Pattiveeranpatti in Batlagundu Block is famous for cardamom and coffee curing enterprises.

Source: Internet

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