Karur – General Information

Karur – General Information

Karur District is a district located along the Kaveri and Amaravathi rivers in the Indian state of Tamilnadu. The main town in Karur District is the city of Karur, which is also the district headquarters. The district had a population of 1,064,493 with a sex-ratio of 1,015 females for every 1,000 males.

Karur is the administrative headquarters of Karur District in the South Indian State of Tamil Nadu. Located on the banks of River Amaravathi, it has been ruled, at different times, by the Chera, Vijayanagar Empire, Madurai Nayaks, Hyder Ali, Carnatic kingdom, and the British. It is located at a distance of 370 kilometers (230 mi) southwest of the state capital Chennai. It is well known for hand loom, power loom textile products, paper and bus body works industries.

Karur has important government educational institutes, colleges and schools. Karur is a part of Karur constituency and elects its member of legislative assembly every five years, and a part of the Karur constituency that elects its member of parliament. The town is administered by a municipality established in 1874 as per the Municipal Corporation Act. The town covers an area of 5.96 km2 and had a population of 70,980 (as of 2011). Roadways are the major mode of transportation to the town, but Karur also has rail connectivity. The nearest airport is at Tiruchirapalli International Airport, located 77 km southeast from Karur.

Karur Taluk, which was once a part of Coimbatore district, was merged with Tiruchirappalli district during 1910. A separate Karur district was formed on 30th September 1995 by trifurcating Tiruchirappalli district. Initially, Karur District was carved out of the composite Tiruchirapalli district, consisting of three taluks namely, Karur, Kulithalai and Manaparai. Subsequently Manaparai Taluk was decoupled and Musiri Taluk was included in Karur District. Later Musiri Taluk was decoupled from Karur District.

Karur district is bounded by Namakkal District in the north, Dindigul District in the south, Tiruchirapalli District on the east and Erode District on the west.

Karur district was formed through Government Order 913 dated 30.10.1995. 

Country	India
State	Tamil Nadu
Language	Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, English
Time zone	IST (UTC +5:30)
Importance	Major export centre of Home Textiles
Population - Total - Male - Female - Density	9,33,791 4,64,489  4,69,302 322/km2
Literacy - Total	6,41,888
Area	2,895.57 km2
Geographical Position -Latitude - Longitude - Altitude	11.00° N to 12.00° N 77.28° E to 77.50° E 122 meters (400 feet)
Temperature - Maximum - Minimum	37.1° C 19.1° C
Rainfall - NE Monsoon - SW Monsoon	341.8 mm 209.5 mm
Pin code	639 xxx
Phone Code	04324
Vehicle Registration No.	TN-47

Etymology

It is mentioned in inscriptions and literature by two names, Karuvoor and Vanji. It had other names too: Adipuram, Tiruaanilai, Pasupatheechuram, Karuvaippatinam, Vanjularanyam, Garbhapuram, Thiru vithuvakkottam, Bhaskarapuram, Mudivazhangu Viracholapuram, Karapuram, Aadaga maadam, Cherama nagar and Shanmangala Kshetram. Among them, the name Adipuram, meaning the first city seems to indicate that it was held as the foremost city by the medieval writers. It was also called Vanci moothur, the ancient city of Vanji. In the foreign notices of Ptolemy, it was called Karoura - an inland capital of the Cheras.

History

One of the ancient cities in Tamil Nadu, Karur was ruled by the Cheras, Cholas, the Naickers, and the British successively. There is proof that Karur may have been the centre for old jewellery-making and gem setting (with the gold imported mainly from Rome), as seen from various excavations. According to the Hindu mythology, Brahma began the work of creation here, which is referred to as the "place of the sacred cow."

Karur has a very long history and has been sung by various Sangam poets. In history, it has been the battleground of various Tamil Kings like Chera, Chola, Pandya and Pallavas because of strategic location. The district has a very rich and varied cultural heritage.

Karur is one of the oldest towns in Tamil Nadu and has played a very significant role in the history and culture of the Tamils. The history dates back to the Sangam period when it was a flourishing trade centre. Karur was built on the banks of river Amaravathi which was called Aanporunai during the Sangam days. The names of the early Chera kings, who ruled from Karur, have been found in the rock inscriptions in Aaru Nattar Malai close to Karur. The Tamil epic Silappathikaram mentions that the famous Chera King Senguttuvan ruled from Karur. Karur is the capital city of Cheras.

The archaeological excavations undertaken in Karur resulted in the excavation of mat-designed pottery, bricks, mud-toys, Roman coins, Chera coins, Pallava coins, Roman Amphorae, Rasset coated ware and rare rings. Karur might have been the center for old jewellery-making and gem setting (with the gold imported mainly from Rome), as seen from various excavations. In 150 CE, Greek scholar Ptolemy mentioned “Korevora” (Karur) as a very famous inland trading center in Tamil Nadu. 

Karuvoor Thevar born in Karur is one among the nine devotees who sung the divine Music Thiruvisaippa, which is the ninth Thirumurai. He is the single largest composer among the nine authors of Thiruvisaippa. He lived during the reign of the great Raja Raja Chola-I. In addition to the famous Siva temple, there is a Vishnu temple at Thiruvithuvakkodu, a suburb of Karur, sung by famous Kulasekara Alwar [7-8th century AD] who was the ruler of Kongu nadu. The same temple is presumably mentioned in epic Silappadikaram as Adaha maadam Ranganathar whose blessings Cheran Senguttuvan sought before his north Indian expedition. Karur was under the rule of Cholas for a long time.

The Pasupatheeswarar Temple sung by Thirugnana Sambhandar, in Karur was built by the Chola kings in the 7th century. Later the Naickers followed by Tipu Sultan also ruled Karur. The British added Karur to their possessions after destroying the Karur Fort during their war against Tipu Sultan in 1783. There is a memorial at Rayanur near Karur for the warriors who lost their lives in the fight against the British in the Anglo-Mysore wars. Thereafter Karur became part of British India and was first part of Coimbatore District and later Tiruchirappalli District.

Karur is also a part of Kongunadu. The history of Kongunadu dates back to the 8th century. The name Kongunadu originated from the term "Kongu", meaning nectar or honey. Kongu came to be called as Kongunadu with the growth of civilization. The ancient Kongunadu country was made up of various districts and taluks which are currently known as Palani, Dharapuram, Karur, Namakkal, Thiruchengodu, Erode, Salem, Dharmapuri, Sathyamangalam, Nilgiris, Avinashi, Coimbatore, Pollachi and Udumalpet. Kongunadu was blessed with enormous wealth, a pleasant climate and distinct features. Kongunadu was ruled over by the Chera, Chola, Pandya, Hoysala, Muslim rulers and finally the British.

Geography & Climate

Karur is located at 10.95°N 78.08°E and has an average elevation of 101 metres (331 feet). The town is located in Karur district of the South Indian state, Tamil Nadu, at a distance of 370 km (230 mi) from Chennai. Karur is located on the banks of Amaravathi River. The topography is almost plain, with no major geological formation. There are no notable mineral resources available in and around the town. The soil types are black and red those are conducive for common crops in the Cauvery delta.

The temperature ranges from a maximum of 39 °C (102 °F) to a minimum of 23 °C (73 °F). Like the rest of the state, April to June are the hottest months and December to January are the coldest. Karur receives an average of 812 mm (32.0 in) annually, which is lesser than the state average of 1,008 mm (39.7 in).

The South west monsoon, with an onset in June and lasting up to August, brings scanty rainfall. Bulk of the rainfall is received during the North East monsoon in the months of October, November and December.

With headquarters at Karur, it is the centrally located district of Tamil Nadu. It is bounded by Namakkal district in the north, Dindigul district in the south, Tiruchirapalli district on the east and Erode & Tiruppur districts on the west. Karur is located at 10°57'° N 78°4'° E has an average elevation of 122 metres (400 feet). It is about 371 km (231 mi) south west of Chennai (Madras), the state capital of Tamil Nadu.

The highest temperature is obtained in early May to early June usually about 34 °C (93.2 °F), though it usually exceeds 38 °C (100.4 °F) for a few days most years. Average daily temperature in Karur during January is around 23 °C (73.4 °F), though the temperature rarely falls below 17 °C (62.6 °F). The average annual rainfall is about 775 mm (30.5 in). It gets most of its seasonal rainfall from the north-east monsoon winds, from late September to mid November.

Demographics

According to 2011 census, Karur district had a population of 1,076,588 with a sex-ratio of 1,015 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 102,731 were under the age of six, constituting 52,969 males and 49,762 females. Scheduled Castes & Scheduled tribes shall be accounted for 20.8% and .05% of the population respectively.

The average literacy of the district was 68.3%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The district had a total of 287,095 households. There were a total of 543,298 workers, comprising 83,800 cultivators, 182,639 main agricultural labourers, 10,162 in house hold industries, 231,906 other workers, 34,791 marginal workers, 2,072 marginal cultivators, 18,198 marginal agricultural labourers, 1,178 marginal workers in household industries and 13,343 other marginal workers.

Administration & Politics

Karur district has 2 Municipalities, 10 Town Panchayats and 158 Village Panchayats and 203 Revenue Villages.

Karur District Panchayat samitis:

·         Karur

·         Kulithalai

·         Krishnarayapuram

·         Aravakurichi

·         Kadavur

·         Manmangalam

Karur District Subdivisions

·         K.Paramathy

·         Aravakurichi

·         Karur

·         Thanthoni

·         Kadavur

·         Krishnarayapuram

·         Kulithalai

·         Thogaimalai

Karur District has 4 Assembly constituencies namely,

·         Aravakurichi

·         Karur

·         Krishnarayapuram (Reserved)

·         Kulithalai

Karur Parliamentary constitutes 6 Assembly constituencies,

·         Aravakurichi

·         Karur

·         Krishnarayapuram (Reserved)

·         Manapparai (Tiruchirappalli revenue district)

·         Viralimalai (Pudukottai revenue district)

·         Vedasandur (Dindigul revenue district)

Arts, Society & Culture

The town formed a part of the traditional Chera and Chola empires and has a number of exquisitely sculpted temples. Verappur, a place of pilgrimage connected with the history of Ponner-Sankar and temples dedicated to them is situated in Karur district. The people are very happy and unity among themselves. Karurar the most famous Siddha and one among 18 siddhas lived in this town and he finally got his Jeeva Samadhi in Kalyana pasupathynathar temple at south west side of the temple, karurar sidddar is blessing all the devotees in form less form.

Karuvurar born in medieval Karur is one among the nine devotees who sung the divine Music Thiruvisaippa, which is the ninth Thirumurai. He is the single largest composer among the nine authors of Thiruvisaippa. He lived during the reign of the Chola king Raja Raja Chola I. In addition to the Pasupatheeswarar Siva temple, there is a Vishnu temple at Thiruvithuvakkodu suburb of Karur, sung by famous Kulasekaraazhvaar (7th-8th centuries).

The same temple is presumably mentioned in epic Silappadikaram as Adaha maadam Ranganathar whose blessings Cheran Senguttuvan sought before his north Indian expedition. Pongal, Tamil New Year, Aadi Perukku, Vaikunta Ekadasi, Annual festival at Veerapur, Annual festival for Karur Mariamman are some of the important festivals celebrated in Karur.

Some of the most prominent mosques in the town are Thowheeth mosque, Big Palli, Ahle hadees Pallivasal, TNTJ Mosque, Jamia Pallivasal and Bajar Mosque.

Economy

There are no notable mineral resources available in and around Karur. The town has about 19% of its total area under agricultural land use. The major crops are rice, cotton, sugar cane and oil seeds, while the major horticultural crops are coconut, banana, betel and mango. The town is the commercial centre for trading of agricultural commodities from the nearby towns and villages. Karur, being the headquarters of the district, has registered growth in tertiary sectors, with a corresponding decrease in the primary Sector. Approximately 80 per cent of the workforce is employed in tertiary sector, 17 per cent in primary sector and 4% in secondary sector activities.

Karur is a major textile centre and has five major product groups — bed linens, kitchen linens, toilet linens, table linens and wall hangings. The town generates around ₹6000 crores in foreign exchange through direct and indirect exports. Allied industries like ginning and spinning mills, dyeing factories and weaving employ around 300,000 people in and around Karur. Hand-loom Exports from Karur began on a modest scale with just 15 exporters in 1975.

Set up under the scheme for Integrated Textile Parks, the ₹130 crore Karur Textile Park Limited (KTPL) is rated as the premier facility of its kind in the country for its technical and ancillary facilities. Bharat Petroleum Corporation in a joint venture with Petronet CCK has installed a pipeline facility from Cochin BPCL to Karur BPCL to transport petroleum products.

The petroleum products received at the BPCL-Karur terminal is supplied to more than 20 districts of Tamil Nadu through container trucks. TNPL is promoted by the Government of Tamil Nadu with loan assistance from the World Bank. TNPL is the largest producer of bagasse (sugarcane waste from Sugar mills) based paper in the world and the second largest paper producer in Asia. The firm produces 230,000 tonnes of printing and writing paper and consumes 1 million tonnes of bagasse every year.

Karur is a hub for bus body building industries. Most of the South Indian private bus bodies are built in Karur. The total business turnover from building bus coaches is estimated to be around ₹1000 crore per annum. There are more than 50 companies that build coaches in Karur. High-density polyethylene (HDPE) mono filament yarn and associated products are manufactured in Karur.

More than 2,000 units in around the town manufacture mosquito fabrics and fishing nets. More than 60% mosquito nets in India are manufactured in Karur and the places around it. Around 50,000 people are employed in these units. Karur is also home to Chettinad Cements that has an installed production capacity of 600,000 tonnes per annum.

Karur is the home city of India's Oldest Private Scheduled Commercial Banks, Karur Vysya Bank and Lakshmi Vilas Bank. Apart from these two banks, Karur also has Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Union Bank, IndusInd Bank, Corporation Bank and above 40 other bank branches. It is also the home city of India's one of the largest private preschool chains Aerokids. The gem factories in Karur produce gems like cat's eye, feldspar, moonstone, aquamarine, quartz, elastical quartz, sapphire, jasper and beryl.

Agriculture:

Karur District is a part of Cauvery delta region and utilization of land area in the district is up to 44.59%. 4.76% of the land area remains as other uncultivated land. 2.74% is forest area in Karur district. Black soil is the predominant soil type in this district accounting for 35.51% followed by laterite soil for 23.85%. The remaining 20.31% is sandy, coastal and alluvium soil.

The main crops are paddy, banana, sugarcane, beetle leaf, grams & pulses, tapioca, kora grass, groundnuts, oilseeds, tropical vegetables, garland flowers and medicinal herbs.

Home textiles:

Karur is famous for its home textiles. Karur has a niche in five major product groups — bed linens, kitchen linens, toilet linens, table linens and wall hangings. Overall Karur generates around Rs.6000 crores in foreign exchange through direct and indirect exports. Allied industries like ginning and spinning mills, dyeing factories, weaving etc., employs around 450,000 people in and around Karur.

On the international textile map, Karur has become synonymous with hand loom made-ups first as Tirupur in the hosiery product. The weaving industry came to Karur from Kerala and has earned a reputation for its high quality hand-loom products today.

Hand loom exports from Karur began on a modest scale with just 15 exporters in 1975 and today Karur has thousands of exporters and the products are supplied to world leading chain stores like Walmart, Target, IKEA, Åhléns etc.

Paper:

TNPL is promoted by the Government of Tamil Nadu with loan assistance from the World Bank. Today TNPL is the largest producer of bagasse based paper in the world and the 2nd largest paper producer in Asia. TNPL produces 230,000 tons of Printing & writing paper and consumes 1 million tons of bagasse every year providing more employment.

Bus body building:

Karur is a renowned hub for bus building industry. It is notable of Karur that almost 95% of south Indian private bus bodies are being built here. The total business is estimated to be around Rs.2750 crore per Annum. There are more than 200 builders in the district and they are making more than 3500 buses per year, including government buses of some states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu etc.

Cement:

Karur is also home to Chettinad Cements and TNPL Cements. Chettinad Cements has an installed production capacity of 600,000 tons per annum, with another 1.1 million tons expansion in the pipeline.

Sugar:

EID Parry has a sugar factory unit at Pugalur and Pettavaithalai. Both separately have a capacity of 4000 TCD per year. It also has a 22 MW co-generation power plant, with TNPL.

Banking:

The private scheduled banks Karur Vysya Bank and Lakshmi Vilas Bank have their headquarters in Karur.

Jewellery:

Jewellery business is the most important business in Karur.

Nylon Nets:

It is also famous for HDPE filament and associated product manufacturing.

Gem Stones:

The Karur belt also produces some very good amethyst, cat's eyes, feldspar, moonstones, aquamarines, sapphires, jasper and beryl.

Temples

·         Shree Kalyana Pasupatheeswarar Temple (Thiru Aanilai), Karur

·         Shree Abayapradhana Ranganathar Temple, Karur

·         Shree Karuvur Mariyamman Temple, Karur

·         Thanthondrimalai Shree Kalyana Venkataramanaswamy Temple

·         Shree Balasubramania Swamy Temple, Vennaimalai

·         Pugazhimalai Shree Balasubramania Swamy Temple (Aaru Naatar Malai)

·         Balamalai Shree Balathandayuthapani Temple

·         Vanjeleeshwarar Temple, Karur

·         Koteeshwarar Temple, Karur

·         Sri Chakkarathalwar Temple, Karur

·         Venjamangudalur Vigirtheeswarar Temple

·         Chettipalayam Gundaleeswarar Temple

·         Noyyal Shree Sellandiyamman Temple

·         Attur Sholiyamman Temple

·         Vanjiyamman Temple

·         Velliyanai-Shree kalyana Prasanna Venkatramana Perumal Samy Temple

·         Velliyanai-Shree Devi karumariyamman Temple

·         Manmangalam- Shree Pudhu Kaliyamman Temple

·         Valangiyamman Temple

·         Aravakkurichi Kasi Visvanatha Temple

·         Vangal Shree Vangalamman Temple

·         Nerur Shree Sadhasiva Bhrameendhraal Temple

·         Nerur Agneeshwarar Temple

·         Madukkarai Sellandiyamman Temple

·         Manmangalam Shree Kaliyamman Temple

·         Periyamadhiyagudalur Arungaraiamman Temple

·         Chinna Darapuram Munimukktheswarar Temple

·         Moolapalayam Shree Maragatheeswarar Temple (Hill)

·         Krishnarayapuram Tirukkanmalleswarar Temple

·         Kadavur Vasantha perumal Temple

·         Veerappur Kannimaramman, Ponnar Sankar Temple

·         Kulithalai Kadambar Temple

·         Kulithalai Neelameegha perumal Temple

·         Iyermalai Rathinagireeshwarar Temple

·         Sivayam Sivapurishwarar Temple

·         Lalapet Iyyapan Temple (1st Iyyapa Temple in Tamil Nadu)

·         Lalapet Sri Jaya Anjaneya temple

·         Lalapet new Semponpothieswarar temple ( lord Siva )

·         Lalapet Ayyanar appan temple

·         Mahanadhapuram Mahalakshmi Amman temple

·         Togamalai Murugan Temple

·         Tirumukkudalur Agastheeshwarar Temple

·         Rangamalai Malleeshwarar Temple

·         Puliyur Vyakarapuriswarar temple

·         Uppidamangalam Adiyaarkku ealiyaar Temple

·         Thottakuruchi Malayamman Temple

·         Manthirikonpatty Vinayagar Kovil

·         Govindampalayam Bhagavathi amman temple

·         Lalapet Kodikkal street bhagavathiamman temple

·         Lalapet Mariamman temple

Health

Health Karur district has 29 Primary Health Care centres, 168 health sub-centres and Government General Hospital in the city. In recent years, it has gained notoriety as one of the districts with the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the country. In response to the epidemic, a massive district-level communication campaign (DLCC) was launched in 2006 by the USAID-funded APAC-VHS project in the district. In 2007, the district received its own ART (Antiretroviral drug therapy) Centre, located at the Government General Hospital.

Also in 2007, Karur was selected as an IMAI pilot district by the World Health Organization and Solidarity and Action against the HIV Infection in India with support from the District Collectorate and Tamil Nadu AIDS Control Society.

Education & Utility Services

As of 2011, there were 24 government schools: 22 elementary schools, one middle school and one higher secondary school. There were 17 other private schools: ten elementary schools, three middle schools, one higher school and 3 higher secondary schools. There were six engineering colleges, three arts and science colleges, three polytechnic colleges and one industrial training institute (ITI in the town.

Electricity supply to Karur is regulated and distributed by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB). The town along with its suburbs forms the Karur Electricity Distribution Circle. A Chief Distribution engineer is stationed at the regional headquarters. Water supply is provided by the Karur Municipality from the Cauvery River through Chinnandan Kovil head water work and Thirumanilaiyur water pumping station. In the period 2000–2001, a total of 7 million litres of water was supplied everyday for households in the town.

As per the municipal data for 2011, about 45 metric tonnes of solid waste were collected from Karur every day by door-to-door collection and subsequently the source segregation and dumping was carried out by the sanitary department of the Karur municipality. The coverage of solid waste management in the town by the municipality had an efficiency of 100% as of 2001. There is no underground drainage system in the town and the sewerage system for disposal of sullage is through septic tanks, open drains and public conveniences.

The municipality maintained a total of 115 km (71 mi) of storm water drains in 2011. As of 2011, there is one government hospital, one municipal dispensary, 19 private dispensaries, one ESI dispensary, one municipal Siddha centre, two Ayurvedic clinics, three private general clinics, one private skin care clinic, nine private ENT clinics and one private tuberculosis clinics that take care of the health care needs of the citizens. As of 2011, the municipality maintained a total of 2,584 street lamps: 706 sodium lamps, 151 mercury vapour lamps, 2,274 tube lights and three high mast beam lamp. The municipality operates three markets, namely the Gandhi Market, Kamaraj Market and Uzhavar Santhai that cater to the needs of the town and the rural areas around it.

Urbanization

Urbanization process in Karur district is taking place at a higher rate. There is an increase in urban population in Karur district for the past fifteen-years.

There is no improvement of urban services particularly protected drinking water and solid waste management in the district.

There is a significant growth of two, three and four wheeler vehicles in the district over the ten years.

The Red, Orange and Green categories of hazardous Industries are identified by TNPCB.  Most of the Red category industries are very hazardous in nature.