Tiruvallur


Tiruvallur is a Grade I municipality and a fast developing city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of Cooum river about from downtown Chennai and just 5 km from megacity border, in the western part of the Chennai Metropolitan Area. It is the administrative headquarters of Tiruvallur district. The city has less dense population spread all over with large area.
The city is known for the Veera Raghavar temple, one of the 108 sacred shrines of Vaishnavites. The tank festival is held at a pond near this temple. A Siva temple near this shrine which is popular among the locals. There is also a tall Viswaroopa Panchamukha Hanuman temple, where the murti is made of a single green granite stone.
Poondi reservoir, from which drinking water is drawn to Chennai city, is about from Tiruvallur. The neighborhood is served by Tiruvallur railway station of the Chennai Suburban Railway Network. As of 2016, the city had a population of 176,435. It is one of the fast-developing suburbs of Chennai.

Etymology

The name Tiruvallur is supposedly derived from the Tamil sentence tiru evvull? – Tiru meaning god, a common prefix in South India for temple towns, and evvull meaning where do I sleep?. Tiruvallur is said to mean a place or town where the god Veera Raghavar asked a saint for a place to sleep for a night.
In one telling of the story, a rishi named Saalihothirar came down from Badrinath, now in Uttaranchal State, and settled in this place in order to reach Paramapadam. He bathed in Hiruthaapanasana Theertham and started the vow of silence for one year. Daily he collected rice and after a year of fasting, he purified and cooked the rice, offering some to God and duly kept the rest for himself. He waited for a guest, probably a muni or rishi, so that he could invite him to eat and end his fasting.
At that time the God Narayana, intending to test the devotion of the rishi, came there as an old muni looking very hungry and thirsty. On seeing him, Saalihothirar greeted him and offered a portion of the rice he had kept for himself, but Narayana wanted the entire quantity of rice. Saalihothirar was very happy to give all of the food to his guest, starving himself. After eating the food, Narayana asked, "where do I sleep?". Saalihothirar asked him to sleep in his own hut.

History

In the far past, this region was under a chain of regimes commencing from the Pallavas during the 7th century. In 1687, the Golkonda rulers were defeated and the region came under the Moghul emperors of Delhi. The towns and villages of this region were the scene of Carnatic wars. Battles are said to have been fought in this region during the struggle for supremacy between the English and French. The town of Pulicat was the earliest Dutch possession in India, founded in 1609; it was ceded to the British in 1825. British rule continued until India's independence in 1947.

Politics

Tiruvallur assembly constituency is part of Tiruvallur. It is represented by:
Currently Baskaran is the AIADMK candidate for Tiruvallur constituency in the Tamil Nadu May 2016 Assembly Elections.

Demographics

According to the 2016, Thiruvallur had a population of 176,435 with a sex-ratio of 999 females for every 1,000 males, above the national average of 929. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 19% and 0.6% of the population, respectively. The literacy rate of the city was 79.77%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. As per the religious census of 2011, Thiruvallur had 86.45% Hindus, 5.88% Muslims, 6.17% Christians, 0.02% Sikhs, 0.02% Buddhists, 0.35% Jains, 1.12% following other religions and 0.0% following no religion or with no religious preference.

Places of worship

The city attained district-headquarters status in 1997. Tiruvallur houses many industries including manufacturing facilities of Hindustan Motors, Caterpillar earth-moving equipment, Hanil Lear, Delphi TVS, India Japan Lighting, Kingfisher's brewery division, Style SPA furniture, TI India, TCL, and Mitsubishi. Tiruvallur is also home to the Pandurangan family of pen makers operating under the brand name Ranga.
Tiruvallur is surrounded by industrial hubs in and around Chennai, such as Ambattur Industrial Estate and Sriperumbudur Industrial Estate, which connect to Tiruvallur by suburban train and buses.

Developments

The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority drafted a master plan to develop Tiruvallur as a satellite township around the city. This development is encouraged by developing infrastructure, such as affordable housing, in order to relieve congestion in the metropolis and provide a better standard of living.
The Tamil Nadu government plans to develop a satellite township at Thirumazhisai, a town in Thiruvallur district about from Tiruvallur. According to Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, it would build on of land owned by the Tamil Nadu Housing Board, at a cost of .
The state government was to decide on the expansion of the Chennai Metropolitan Area before the end of fiscal year. Minister for Housing and Urban Development R Vaithilingam told the State Assembly on 25 August 2011 that, in view of the fast-paced development taking place in areas beyond the present metropolitan-area jurisdiction, it had become necessary to review the Chennai Metropolitan Planning Area of 1973–74.

Industries

Tiruvallur is a fast-developing district. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy. The major crops cultivated are paddy, sugarcane and groundnut, with smaller crops of millets, pulses, gingelly and chillies. Vegetables, flowers and fruits are also grown. Three cropping seasons are being followed in the district for paddy, viz, Sornavari, Samba and Navarai.
Peripheral areas of the district have industrial units, with industry and commerce gaining a prominent position.

Transport

Tiruvallur is situated on the Chennai–Tirupati trunk road. Other major roads connecting Chennai and Tiruvallur include a route through Kakalur, Putlur, Sevapet, Veppampattu, Tiruninravur, Avadi, Tirumulaivayal, Ambattur and Villivakkam, and another route through Poonamallee and Koyembedu.
Chennai International Airport is southeast of the city.
Tiruvallur lies on the Chennai–Bangalore broad gauge railway line and is a stop for some of the WestNorth trains. There are two suburban railway lines: the West line from Chennai Central to Arakkonam and the WestNorth line from Chennai Central to Tiruttani. These two lines have many frequent suburban trains.
The Metropolitan Transport Corporation runs an extensive city bus system, with service from Tiruvallur to most of the important places in Chennai and its metropolitan area. MTC Services from Tiruvallur include:
Route NumberDepartsDestinationVia
501PoondiVadapalaniTiruvallur, Aranvoyal, Poonamallee, Iyyappanthangal, Porur, Valasaravakkam
505TiruvallurRed HillsEkkadu, Kilanur, Vishnuvakkam, Velliyur, Tamaraipakkam crossroad
505ATiruvallurPeriyapalayamEkkadu, Kilanur, Vishnuvakkam, Velliyur, Tamaraipakkam crossroad
538KadambathurVadapalaniTiruvallur, Aranvoyal, Poonamallee, Porur, Virugambakkam
566ATiruvallurTambaramPallavaram, Pammal, Kundrathur, Poonamallee, Aranvoyal
571TiruvallurBroadwaySevvapet, Veppampattu, Thiruninravur, Avadi, Central Railway Station, Tailors Road, New Avadi road
572TiruvallurAmbattur Industrial EstateSevvapet, Thiruninravur, Avadi
572ATiruvallurAvadiSevvapet, Veppampattu, Pattabiram
583ATiruvallurSriperumpudurManavalaNagar
153ATiruvallurCMBTPoonamallee, Aranvoyal
153BPandurCMBTTiruvallur, Poonamallee, Aranvoyal
153TTiruvallurCMBTChembarambakkam, Poonamallee, Aranvoyal
597TiruvallurT Nagar/MandaveliAranvoyal, Thirumahizhai, Poonamallee, Iyyappanthangal, Porur, Guindy

Education

There are a large number of educational institutions in Tiruvallur. Many professional institutions, particularly the veterinary university, add to education in this district. Tiruvallur has many higher secondary schools including private and government schools. There are a few engineering, medical, and arts and science colleges around Tiruvallur.

Colleges

Schools