Ariyalur District | History

Ariyalur district - அரியலூர் மாவட்டம்

Overview

Ariyalur is a town and district headquarters of Ariyalur district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The town is located at a distance of 310 km (190 mi) from the state capital Chennai.

Ariyalur is believed to have obtained its name from Hari Nindra Oor, meaning the place where Hindu god Vishnu had his presence. Ariyalur was a part of the erstwhile Trichinopoly District until India's independence in 1947 and Tiruchirappalli district until 1995, Perambalur district until 2007 and subsequently a part of the newly formed Ariyalur district. The town is a part of the fertile Cauvery Delta and the major profession in the town is agriculture.

Ariyalur is administered by a municipality established in 1994. As of 2011, the municipality covered an area of 7.62 km2 (2.94 sq mi) and had a population of 28,902. Ariyalur comes under the Ariyalur assembly constituency which elects a member to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly once every five years and it is a part of the Chidambaram constituency which elects its Member of Parliament (MP) once in five years. Roadways are the major mode of transportation to the town and it also has rail connectivity. The nearest seaport is Karaikal port, located 95 km (59 mi) away, while the nearest airport is the Tiruchirappalli International Airport, located 76 km (47 mi) away from the town.

Ariyalur town has several features make that it famous like Kallankurichi Kalliya perumal temple, a historical place. It is known its cement factories (arasu cements). It has several good schools, including Arasunagar Matriculation Higher Secondary School and Montfort school. Ariyalur Govt.Hr.Sec.School is one of the ancient schools in Tamil Nadu. Ariyalur government arts college is number one of the Best colleges in Tamil Nadu.

It also called as Cement city. Arasu cement factory is Asia's second largest cement factory. A famous fosil tree is present in this district.

The villages of Thirukkalappur and Puthukottai Girama panchayat is 100% literate. There are more than 100 teachers from those villages. In Puthukottai village, St.Annuncia Mary (Mangalamatha church) church festival is famous in Tamil Nadu (from arockiasamy Apr'2002).

Ariyalur is also known for Fossils.

GENERAL INFORMATION
Area	1949.31 Sq.KM
Population	695524
Revenue Divisions	1.Ariyalur
	2.Udiyarpalayam
Taluk	1. Ariyalur
	2. Sendurai
	3. Jayankondam
Firka	15
Revenue Villages	195
Blocks	1. Ariyalur
	2. Andimadam
	3. Sendurai
	4. Thirumanur
	5. T.Palur
	6. Jayankondam
Municipalities	1.Ariyalur
	2.Jayankondam
Town Panchayats	1.Udaiyarpalayam
	2.Varatharajan Pettai
Village Panchayats	201
Assembly Constituency	1. Ariyalur (162)
	2. Andimadam (163)
	3. Jayankondam (164)
Police Station	18
Fire Station	4
Cement Factory	8
Sugar Factory	1
Colleges	Govt. 1 Private 2
ITI	2
Schools	120
Railway Stations	Ariyalur, Ootakovil, Vellur, Sendurai, R.S.Mathur, Eachankadu
Rivers	Kolidam, Maruthiaru, Vellaru
Tourist Places/Temples	Gangaikonda Cholapuram, Sri Kaliuga Varadharaja Perumal Kovil Elakuruchi-Adikalamatha Kovil, Tirumalapatti-Vaithiyanathswami Kovil, Vettakudi Paravilgal Saranalayam

History

In 1741 the Marathas invaded Tiruchirappalli and took Chanda Saheb as captive. Chanda Saheb succeeded in securing freedom in 1748 and soon got involved in famous war for the Nawabs place in the Carnatic against Anwardeen, the Nawab of Arcot and his son Mohammed Ali.

Mohammed Ali annexed the two palayams of Ariyalur and Udayarpalayam located with troops were in the Ariyalur district on the grounds of default in payment of Tributes and failure to assist him in quelling the rebellion of Yusuf Khan. In November 1764, Mohammed Ali represented the issue to Madras Council and obtained military assistance on 3 January 1765. The forces led by Umdat-Ul-Umara and Donald Campbell entered Ariyalur and captured it. The young Poligar together with his followers there upon fled to Udayarpalayam. On 19 January the army marched upon Udayarpalayam. The Poligar’s troops were defeated and the playams were occupied. The two poligars fled their town and took refuge in Tharangampadi, then a Danish Settlement. The annexation of the palayam gave the Navab un-interrupted possession of all his territories extending Arcot to Tiruchirapalli.

The history followed was a power struggle between Hyder Ali and later Tipu Sultan with the British. After the death of Tipu Sultan the English took the civil and military Administration of the Carnatic in 1801. Thus Tiruchirappalli came into the hands of the English and the District was formed in 1801. In 1995 Tiruchirappalli was trifurcated and the Perambalur and Karur districts were formed. Perambalur district was divided into Perambalur and Ariyalur district in the year 2001 and merged with Perambalur in the year 2002. Then now the district is bifurcated from Perambalur and now functioning from 23.11.2007.

Transportation

SH143 - Ariyalur- Thungapuram - Thittakudi, SH27 Ariyalur - Thanjavur and SH139 Ariyalur - Jayamkondam are the major roads via Ariyalur. The Ariyalur municipality maintains a total length of 29.17 km (18.13 mi). The town has 3.2 km (2.0 mi) concrete roads, 16.2 km (10.1 mi) BT roads, 4 km (2.5 mi) of WBM roads and 5.77 km (3.59 mi) earthern roads. A total of 452 roads is maintained by the State Highways Department. Ariyalur is served by town bus service, which provides connectivity within the town and the suburbs. There are private operated mini-bus services that cater to the local transport needs of the town. The town has a B-class bus stand located in the heart of the town. There are regular inter-city bus services to Ariyalur. The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation operates daily services connecting various cities to Ariyalur. The State Express Transport Corporation operates long distance buses connecting the town to important cities like Chennai, Pondicherry and Bengaluru. The major inter city bus routes from the town are to cities and towns like Trichy, Chidambaram, Perambalur and Thanjavur. Ariyalur railway station is located on the line between the state capital Chennai and Trichy and is well connected by rail to major towns like Madurai and Thoothukudi. The nearest seaport is Karaikal port, located 95 km (59 mi) away, while the nearest airport is the Tiruchirappalli International Airport, located 76 km (47 mi) away from the town.

Physical Features

As per 2001 census, the total population of Ariyalur District is 695,524, with male 346763 and female 348761. Ariyalur District is centrally located in Tamil Nadu and is 265 K.M. away in southern direction from Chennai. The District has an area of 1949 km2.

It is an inland district without coastal line. The District has Vellar River in the North and Kollidam River in the South and it has no well marked natural divisions.

The district is fairly rich in mineral deposits. Celeste, Lime Stone, Shale, sand Stone, canker and Phosphate nodules occur at various places in the district.

Agriculture

Sugar cane is grown as a major commercial crop. One private sugar factory near keelapalur is functioning in the district with a capacity of crushing 3000 Tonnes per day. One of the main crop in Ariyalur district is cashew. The pre-dominate soil in the district is red sanding with scattered packers of black soil. The soil in the district is best suited for raising dry crops. The district has a high means of temperature and low degree of humidity.

Industries

Five major Cement factories in the district reveals the abundant deposit of limestone. The availability of Lignite at Jayankondam and near by places is a gift by Mother Nature. The Fossil is said to have been a national asset according to Geologists.

The Cement City

Ariyalur is famous for its cement industries in and around it. This is possible due to its immense limestone store which is the potential raw material for cement industries. In particular the Arasu cements, the Birla cements, the Sakthi cements, the Dalmia cements, the Ramco cements, etc. are situated in Ariyalur. So Ariyalur is one of the busiest transport cities.

Demographics

As of the 2001 India census, constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Ariyalur has an average literacy rate of 73%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 55% of the males and 45% of females literate. 12% of the population is under 6 years of age. It is the smallest district in Tamil Nadu.

Cement manufacture is one of the feature of this town.