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'Cuddalore' (Tamil: கடலூர்) is a fast growing industrial city and headquarters of Cuddalore district in the Tamil Nadu state of southern India. Located south of Pondicherry on the Bay of Bengal, Cuddalore has a large number of industries which employ a great deal of the city's population. However, one industrial pocket -SIPCOT - has also secured it a place in the dubious club of Global Toxic Hotspots owing to the area's high levels of pollution.^[1]
The word Cuddalore literally means "Sea Town" in Tamil. Cuddalore is known for its picturesque beaches, particularly Silver Beach, and is an emerging tourism hub.

Contents

Cuddalore town

History

Famous people

Major Educational Institutions

Geography

Demographics

Highways

Industries

The 2004 tsunami and its aftermath

References

External links

Cuddalore town

There are two large divisions in the town of Cuddalore: the Old Town, and the New Town (Thirupadirippuliyur). The Gedilam River flows through the town and separates the Old Town from Thirupadiripuliyur. The Old Town has been a seaport since ancient times; Cuddalore traded with the Roman Empire approximately 2000 years ago. Archaeological evidence of these ancient trade relationships can be found in the Cuddalore Government Museum. Cuddalore was the first town in Southern India which came under direct European control. The Dutch were the first to conquer it, followed by Portugal, France and later Britain. The British built Fort St David in Cuddalore near Devanampattinam. Cuddalore also has some very well respected schools, the most popular among them being St. Josephs & St. Mary's. St. David school, founded by Europeans in the 17th century, is one of the oldest surviving schools in India.
The town is well-known for its temples. The most famous of these is the temple of Shiva, one of the three prime deities of Hinduism. The incarnation of Shiva at Cuddalore is called ''Padaleeshwarar''. The temple itself is located in Thiruppadirippuliyur. Chidambaram, a city which is known for dance and temples also, is only 43 km away from Cuddalore.
Cuddalore is also very famous for vishnavate temples in and around the city. It has got very old temples namely Devanathaswami Temple and Panruti Siana Narasimha swamy Temple.
Cuddalore's magnificent beaches are becoming a tourist attraction, especially the well-known Silver Beach. The boat house near the beach is known for its beauty.

History

In the neighborhood are the ruins of Fort St David situated on the river Gadilam, which has a stirring history. As a small fort built by a Hindu merchant, it fell into the hands of the Marathas after the capture of Gingi by Sivaji in 1677. From them it was purchased by the English in 1690, the purchase including not only the fort but the adjacent towns and villages within "ye randome shott of a piece of ordnance." A great gun was fired to different points of the compass and all the country within its range, including the town of Cuddalore, passed into the possession of the English. The villages thus obtained are still spoken of as cannon ball villages. From 1725 onwards the fortifications were greatly strengthened. In 1746 Fort St. David became the British headquarters for the south of India, and Dupleix attack was successfully repulsed. Clive was appointed its governor in 1756; in 1758 the French captured it, but abandoned it two years later to Sir Eyre Coote. In 1782 the French captured it again, and restored it sufficiently to withstand a British attack in 1783 - see Battle of Cuddalore (1783). In 1785 it finally passed into British possession.

Famous people

Many popular writers of Tamil literature, such as Jayakanthan and Pudhumaipithan, were born in Cuddalore. Vethathiri Maharishi, a spiritual and social worker from Tamil Nadu, started to preach to his disciples from Cuddalore.
Also the first Indian Protestant pastor C. Aaron Pillai was born in Cuddalore in 1698/99. He became
in 1733 the first ordained priest of India in Tranquebar. (See Rev. Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg).
Jothi Ramalinga Swamigal also familiarly known as Vallalar (October 5, 1823 - January 23, 1873) was born, as Ramalingam, in a village near Chidambaram. A.IYYAPPAN Scientist Proventus Life Sciences Chennai.
Also Mr.Gagandeep Singh Bedi who was collector of cuddalore district while Tsunami struck did a fabulous job in getting back the town to normal state.

Major Educational Institutions

St. Mary's Matriculation Hr. Sec. School
A.R.L.M.School
St.Joseph's School />KRISHNASAMY matriculation school
St.Josephs Higher Secondary School

Geography

Cuddalore is located at .^[2] It has an average elevation of 1 metres (3 feet).

Demographics

As of 2001 India census,^[3] Cuddalore had a population of 158,569. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Cuddalore has an average literacy rate of 76%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 81% and, female literacy is 70%. In Cuddalore, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Highways

Cuddalore has a good road network.
National Highway NH-45A (Villupuram-Pondicherry-Cuddalore-Chidambaram-Nagapattinam Highway) passes thro' Cuddalore.
'State highways originating from Cuddalore'

★ SH-9 (Cuddalore-Nellikuppam-Panruti-Madapattu-Thirukovilur-Thiruvannamalai-Polur-Vellore-Katpadi-Chittoor Road)

★ SH-10 (Cuddalore-Vadalur-Neyveli-Vriddhachalam-Veppur-Salem Road)

★ SH-68 (Cuddalore-Palur-Panruti-Arasur-Thirukovilur-Sankarapuram Road)

Industries

The Neyveli Lignite Corporation is a public sector company operating out of Neyveli, which is located near Cuddalore. A large percentage of the thermal electricity generated in Tamil Nadu comes from the power plants in Neyveli, more than 2500 megawatts.

The 2004 tsunami and its aftermath

Tsunami waves that followed the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake near Sumatra hit the eastern coast of India on December 26 2004 by 08:32 in the morning. Cuddalore was heavily affected by the waves. 572 bodies have been recovered and many are still missing. Several fishing hamlets have simply disappeared. Silver Beach and the historically important Cuddalore Port were devastated. Fort St. David survived without damage.
Cuddalore, being accessible from major cities like Chennai and Bangalore, received relief supplies relatively early. The management of relief operations in the district was handled by the local authorities and villagers themselves. Some more remote villages became inaccessible due to a bridge breaking apart, leaving rescued villagers very anxious about their homes.

References

1. Villages in Cuddalore industrial estate `toxic hot spot'
2. Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Cuddalore
3.

External links

★ A website on industrial pollution in Cuddalore

★ Cuddalore District web site

★ CuddaloreOnline blog

★ Cuddalore's weather forecast from BBC

★ Cuddalore History blog

★ Cuddalore:The Global Toxic Hotspot-Shweta Narayan

★ SIPCOT, Cuddalore, A Global Toxic Hotspot for Air Pollution

★ Inside Cuddalore blog

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