Sattur / 'Saathur' is a town in Virudhunagar district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 29,398. The town is located in the bank of Vaippar river. Sattur/Saathur taluk has contents of black soil around the town, suitable for crop cultivation. The town lies in NH 7 and has very good road and railway connectivity.
Geography
Sattur is located at. It has an average elevation of 56 metres. Sattur is located between two rivers Vaippar and Uppodai. Sattur has good amenities such as banks, railway stations, bus stands and ATMs. Shiva and Vishnu temples in Sattur find historical mention. Around Sattur, Irukangudi, Sirukulam and Oodaipatti have temples of Mariamman, Arulmigu Muthalamman Temple and Vinayagar respectively. The town has very old Masjid and Eid-Ka Ground Sattur elects one MLA to the legislative assembly of the State.
Demographics
According to 2011 census, Sattur had a population of 29,398 with a sex-ratio of 1,042 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 2,691 were under the age of six, constituting 1,407 males and 1,284 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 7.68% and 0.81% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 78.85%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The town had a total of : 8093 households. There were a total of 13,065 workers, comprising 24 cultivators, 42 main agricultural labourers, 267 in house hold industries, 12,393 other workers, 339 marginal workers, 2 marginal cultivators, 5 marginal agricultural labourers, 27 marginal workers in household industries and 305 other marginal workers. As per the religious census of 2011, Sattur had 91.3% Hindus, 3.45% Muslims, 5.13% Christians, 0.01% Sikhs, 0.02% Jains, and 0.09% following other religions.
Industries
Sattur is well known as a fountain-pen nib,steel rolling mills and tongue cleaner manufacturing center. It is probably the only place in India that continues to this date, in this line of business as a Cottage Industry. These industries are run by individuals as small scale family businesses. Many illiterate people are skilled in this area and manufacture good products. These industries are not supported by State/ Central governments and the there is no social welfare schemes for these labourers and their family. Other small scale cottage units like Printing press, Fireworks and Match box/Matchstick industries are also present, scattered around the town. Stainless steel tongue cleaner is another important product that is manufactured here and supplied throughout India. Fathima Steel Rolling mill involves in this work for more than four decades. A fairly large part of the population is involved in Matchstickmanufacturing industry. Also, there are timber depots and raw material suppliers exclusively for the safety match and firework sectors in this area. Match-stick frames, Racks, and various other items for match factories continue to be supplied locally as also to various other parts of Tamil Nadu. Log-wood, another raw material for these industry, is procured from other nearby towns such as Tenkasi, Nagercoil and the neighboring stateKerala.
Transport
Railway is the main form of transport locally. The town is well-connected with neighboring places by road and railway. The surrounding places are well connected by bus government operated transport and private bus services. The Mini Bus services connects the villages nearby in effective way. The railway station has computerized reservation counter and the railway station code for Sattur is SRT. The nearest airport is Madurai and nearest sea port is Thoothukudi. Direct Trains are available to Chennai, Coimbatore, Bangalore, Mumbai, Mysuru, Kolkata and New Delhi. The National Highway, NH7 runs through the town. As Railway station and Bus Stand lies next to each other it is easy for passengers. Direct buses are available to Chennai.
Cultural Centre of Virudunagar District
Sattur is the cultural centre of Virudhunagar District. The Venkatachalapathy temple located at Sattur town attracts pilgrims from southern Tamil Nadu. The presiding deity of the temple is popularly known as Sathurappan. His divine consorts Sri Devi and Bhudevi are in nine standing postures. There is a legend that King, a devotee regained his sight because he worshipped the Lord in this temple. Opposite to this temple is another old temple of lord Viswanathar. Located eight kilometer easterly is the famous Irukkankudi Mariamman Kovil.
Sattur Sevu
Sattur is famous for its special snack "Sevu". Sattur Kara Sevu is a deep fried crispy snack. It was prepared using gram flour, rice flour and spices.
Politics
From 2009, Sattur assembly constituency is part of Virudhunagar lokSabha constituency; formerly it was known as the sivakasi.
