Salem, Tamil Nadu

Salem, Tamil Nadu


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Salem (சேலம்)
— town —
Salem NH7 bye-pass flyover from Oothumalai
Salem (சேலம்)
Location of Salem (சேலம்)
in Tamil Nadu and India
Coordinates 11°39′N 78°10′E / 11.65°N 78.16°E / 11.65; 78.16Coordinates: 11°39′N 78°10′E / 11.65°N 78.16°E / 11.65; 78.16
Country India
State Tamil Nadu
District(s) Salem
Mayor J. Rekha Priyadharshini
Population

• Density
751,438 (2001[update])

• 8,036 /km2 (20,813 /sq mi)
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
Area

• Elevation
94 square kilometres (36 sq mi)

• 278 metres (912 ft)
Codes[show]

*
• Pincode • 636xxx
• Telephone • +0427
• UN/LOCODE • INTEN
• Vehicle • TN-27, TN-30 and TN-54

Portal Portal: Tamil Nadu
Website www.salemcorporation.gov.in

Salem About this sound pronunciation (help·info) (Tamil: சேலம்) is a town and a Municipal Corporation in Salem district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Salem is located in the north central part of the state, about 340 kilometres (211 mi) southwest of state capital, Chennai. It is the fifth Municipal Corporation and Urban agglomeration in Tamil Nadu after Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and Tiruchirappalli.

Salem is a part of the Kongu Nadu, an ancient division of coimbatore Tamilakam comprising the western part of Tamil Nadu and is at the base of the popular tourist destination of Yercaud hills. There are also remote sites of beauty such as Kiliyur falls and Kavery peak.[1]

The town is surrounded by hills on all sides: Nagaramalai to the north, Jarugumalai to the south, Kanjamalai to the west, and Godumalai to the east. It is divided by the river Thirumanimuthar in the main division. The fort area is the oldest part of the town.[2]


Contents


* 1 Early history
* 2 Geography and climate
* 3 Politics
* 4 Demographics
* 5 Entertainment
o 5.1 Cinemas
o 5.2 Shopping malls
o 5.3 Hotels and Restaurants
o 5.4 Parks
* 6 Economy
o 6.1 Export commodities
o 6.2 Special Economic Zones (SEZ)
* 7 Religious sites
* 8 Yercaud
* 9 Gallery
* 10 Transport
o 10.1 Highways
+ 10.1.1 National Highways
+ 10.1.2 State Highways
o 10.2 Bus
+ 10.2.1 Bus Stations
o 10.3 Rail
o 10.4 Air
* 11 Media
o 11.1 Print
o 11.2 Television channels
o 11.3 Radio
* 12 Healthcare
* 13 Education
o 13.1 Universities
o 13.2 Arts and sciences
* 14 See also
* 15 References
* 16 External links
Early history

The name Salem appears to have been derived from hai or Shalya or Sayilam which are found in inscriptions referring to the country around the hills. Salem and the hilly region around it were part of the Chera and Kongu country that was ruled by the Kongu Kings who were known as the Kurunila Mannargal of ancient Tamil Nadu. Inscriptions from the Ganga dynasty have been recovered from parts of the district.

Salem later became part of the Western Ganga Dynasty and was long ruled by the Gangakulam rulers. With the Southern invasion of Tamil Nadu by the Vijayanagar empire, it came under the Madurai Nayaks. Later, it was ruled by Gatti Mudalis Poligars who built some temples and forts in and around the city. In the early 18th century, after a long feud known as the Mysore-Madurai war, it came under the rule of Hyder Ali . Subsequently, Salem was taken from Hyder Ali by Colonel Wood at the beginning of 1768. It was recaptured by Hyder Ali towards the end of the year 1772. Under Lord Clive in 1799, it was again occupied by a detachment of the regiment stationed at Sankagiri Durg and remained a military station until 1861 when the troops were withdrawn.

During the times of Theeran Chinnamalai, a Kongu chieftain, places like Salem and Sankagiri were involved in battles between the Kongu forces and the British allied forces. Theeran Chinnamalai was hanged infamously in the Sankagiri fort on Adi Perukku day[citation needed] which later became the army headquarters of the British.
Geography and climate

Salem is located near Namakkal 11°40′10″N 78°08′27″E / 11.669437°N 78.140865°E / 11.669437; 78.140865.[3] It has an average elevation of 278 m (912 ft).
Mettur Dharmapuri Shevaroy Hills & Harur
Tharamangalam Attur
Salem City
Erode, Coimbatore Karur Rasipuram
Politics

Salem consists of four assembly constituencies—Salem North, Salem South, Salem West, and Veerapandi—which are all part of Salem (Lok Sabha constituency).[4] Some of Salem's most popular leaders have included Salem Ramasamy Mudaliar, C. Vijayaraghavachariar, Vasudevaiyya Modur, Pagadala Narasimhalu Naidu, C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji), Dr. P. Subbarayan and S.V.Ramaswamy,Karipatti T.Ponnumalai (Ex-MLA)(Panamarathupatty constituency, DMK Party). Mohan Kumaramangalam was the Minister of Iron and Steel in Indira Gandhi's Cabinet. Other politicians from Salem include Rangarajan Kumaramangalam, former Lok Sabha MP, P. Kannan, Rajya Sabha MP Selva Ganapathy (DMK Party) and former minister (AIADMK) Vijaya Lakshmi. The former Agriculture Minister of Tamil Nadu, Veerapandy Arumugam (DMK party) is also from this city.
[edit] Demographics
[show]Historical populations
Year Pop. %±
1871 50,012 —
1881 50,667 1.3%
1891 67,710 33.6%
1901 70,621 4.3%
1911 59,153 −16.2%
1921 52,244 −11.7%
1931 102,179 95.6%
1941 129,702 26.9%
1951 203,052 56.6%
1961 249,145 22.7%
1971 —
1981 —
1991 366,712 —
2001 —

As of the 2001 Indian Census[5] the Salem Urban Agglomeration had a total population of 751,438, encompassing the town of Salem (696,760), Kondalampatti (16,808), Kannankurichi (14,994), Neykkarappatti (9,869), Mallamooppampatti (6,783) and Dalavaipatti (6,224). The population in 1991 was 499,024.

Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Salem has an average literacy rate of 77% which is higher than the national average of 64.5%; male literacy is 82%, and female literacy is 72%. 10% of the population is under 6 years of age in Salem.

The language spoken in Salem is predominantly Kongu Tamil. Salem also has a significant number of Kannada-speaking people like Devanga and Saineega spread throughout the district. Sourashtra people were among the first settlers came from Saurashtra region of Western India when Salem Entertainment
Cinemas

Salem has a large number of cinema theatres in a neighbourhood called Kitchipalayam near the old bus stand. At its peak in the 1980s, there were almost 28 theatres showing Hollywood movies, dubbed movies and classics. Currently, about 15 theatres remain in the neighbourhood.

Modern Theatres, Ltd. was a motion picture movie studio in Salem, Tamil Nadu, India, started by Thiruchengodu Ramalingam Sundaram (aka TRS) in 1935.[citation needed] From its founding through 1982, the studio produced more than 150 movies in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Sinhalese and even English, the majority of which were in Tamil.

Rathna Studio was another famous film studio located near Mamangam about 4 km from the present new bus stand. Unlike Modern Theatres, Rathna Studio was not involved in their own movie production but was available for rent to movie makers.

Arrs Multiplex which is located in Meyanoor Bypass consists of 5 screens in it.The theatre shows Tamil,English and Hindi Movies.Multiplex consists of many Refreshment spots,hotels and Games area for kids.This Theatre got good response from the people of salem to enjoy their weekend with their families.
Shopping malls
Omalur Road

Saradha College Road and the Omalur Road have witnessed lots of growth in the shopping and retail portfolio, Swarnambigai Plaza, Kandaswarna Super market, Kandaswarna super market, V.V Shopping plaza, Tulsi Retail, Santham Shopping Complex, Pookoodai Shopping Complex, Chamundi Shopping Complex, etc.
Hotels and Restaurants

Every corners and in every streets there are Restaurants but here are some famous among them Hotel GRT Grand Estancia, Hotel Cenneys Gateway, Hotel Ganesh Mahal, Hotel Pride Biznotel, Sri Saravana Bhavan Classic, Royal choice, Munchiyappar,Hotel NNR,Ponram Restaurant,Hotel Adhiparasakthi,Hotel Mangalam, Thalapakattu Biriyani and modern restaurants such as Domino's Pizza, Big Chick,Yummy (Cafe). ...
Parks

Parks in this region are Kurumbapatti Zoological Park, Anna Park (near four roads), Anna Park (in Yercaud Hills), Ramakrishna Park. Kurumbapatti Zoological Park was not maintained properly, but recently an upgradation was done by inclusion of few more animals and it has become aesthetic once again.[6] Anna Park (near Four Roads) is an entertainment centre focused on children. Ramakrishna Park became extinct and is currently just a bus stop. Anna Park (in Yercaud hills) is an apt place for refreshment since it has a cool and fresh breeze forever.
Economy

Salem is one of the major producers of traditional silver anklets, which are popular among women.[7] It boasts large textile,steel,automotive, poultry and sago industries.[8] Salem also has one of the largest magnesite deposits in India. Companies like Dalmia and TANMAG have mines here.[9] The Leigh Bazaar market is one of the largest regional markets for agro products.[citation needed] Salem had an active film production with Rathna studio and former Modern Theatres Studios being the hub of Tamil film production[citation needed]. Now defunct, Modern Theatres produced some of the most successful Tamil films, in which many veteran actors appeared, including former Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran. However, there are presently no studios in Salem.
Export commodities

Salem is renowned for fabric exports, dating back to 1930's. Salem is the major exporter of fabric / cloth items until the recent development of Tirupur as a knitted garment export hub. Salem is also popular for its mangoes and are exported to different parts of the World. Plans are underway to build a mango pulp factory near Salem to export conditioned mango pulp.
Special Economic Zones (SEZ)

Being one of the fastest growing tier II cities, the Tamil Nadu government and ELCOT are planning to establish an IT park in Salem covering about 160 acres (0.65 km2).[10][11] SAIL is planning a Steel SEZ inside the Salem Steel plant covering about 250 acres (1.0 km2)[12]

There is an exclusive Electrical and Electronics Industrial Estate in the Suramangalam area of Salem town.[13] Coimbatore-Erode-Salem stretch was well-known for Industries and Textile processings and it is announced as Coimbatore-Salem Industrial Corridor and further development works are carried by SIPCOT Linking Scheme.
Religious sites

There are several Mariamman temples in Salem. Shevapet Mariamman temple car is the biggest one among the cars of Amman temples across the state. This festival is celebrated for a week. The Kottai Marriamman temple is very famous not only in Salem but throughout Tamil Nadu. There is yet another famous temple called Salem "Gugai Mariamman & Kaliamman Temple", "Dadagapatti Mariamman temple". At the heart of city near old bus stand, temple called 'Pattai Kovil' situated. It belongs to Sri Varadaraja perumal temple.

Another important temple named "Ellai Pedari Amman" in salem which is located nearby Govt. Arts and science college in Maravaneri. This temple is located on the mark to road side which have its own history. Generally, temple festival starts between March - April every year.

There is an Alagirnathar Thirukoil popularly known as "Kottai Perumal Koil", located at the heart of the city. The temple has been built centuries ago and has some beautiful sculptures. "Vaikunta Ekadasi" is the most famous festival in the temple, and on that day, lakhs of devotees visit the temple.In this temple, other festivals such as Brahmotsavam, Pavithrotsavam, Navarathri, and Puratasi are celebrated at good spirit. Thousands of devotees throng the temple during these days. "Aandaal Thirukalyanam" is a famous utsavam in the temple for which a special garland is brought from Sri Villi Puttur ("Soodi kodutha sudar malai")

The Sugavaneshwarar temple is also a very important shrine of Salem. Mythology records that sage Sugha Brahmarishi worshiped the lord here. Arunagirinadhar has sung a song on Lord Muruga in Sugavaneshwarar temple. It was constructed during 13th Century by MaMannan Sundara Pandiyan.

There is Shri Hanuman, Ashram/ Hanuman Temple popularly known as Sri Baktha Varaprasadha Anjaneyar, Ashram, located at the heart of the city. At Seelanaickenpatty there is another hill for Lord Murugan, named Oothumalai 1 km far from Dadagapatty. Kumaragiri is a small temple for Lord Muruga. It is situated 5 km from Salem city. A Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama is located in Salem. It was started in 1928 and made a branch of the mission in 1941. A relatively new ISKCON ashram is also present at Salem.

All parts of Salem are covered by mosques. Jamia masjid in Bazaar St, Meltheru and Keeltheru Mosques in Fort, mosques near railway junction and New integrated bus terminal, mosques in Ammapet, 5 Roads and Gugai are the famous one. Moreover there is a famous Arabic college located near Tamil Nadu Magnesite, Salem, offering world-class Arabic studies to the students.There is also a Narashimmar temple in vayikaalpattarai ad a raghavendra mutt in kannankuruchi.

Infant Jesus Church is situated at Four Roads, Salem. In 1930, the city was made the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salem. The Bishop is Sebastianappan Singaroyan and the cathedral is the Infant of Jesus Cathedral. Also, Eden Gardens School near Gandhi Road area has an attached prayer hall which functions as LEF.

About 10 km from salem city towards elampillai is a very old and famous temple called sidhar koil . (sidhars are saints who could perform miracles - a system of medicine developed by them is followed even today). it is believed a famous sidhar lived in the nearby kanjamalai and attained samadhi here. locals throng this temple every new moon day to offer prayers and to take bath in the nearby stream believed to have medicinal values.

Off the Attur Road (NH 68), 10km from Salem City, is Kandashramam (Skandasramam), located on a hillock, which is famous for the temples dedicated to Goddess Ashtadasa Bhuja Mahalakshmi and Lord Murugan.
Yercaud

Yercaud is a hill station near Salem, Tamil Nadu, India in the Servarayan range of hills (anglicized as Shevaroys) in the Eastern Ghats. It is at an altitude of 1515 metres (4969 feet) above the mean sea level. The town gets its name from the lake located at its center - in Tamil "Yeri" means "lake" and "Kaadu" means "forest". Yercaud is known for coffee plantations and orange groves. It also has an orchidarium run by the Botanical Survey of India.

The highest point in Yercaud is the Servarayan temple. Hence the Yercaud hill area is called Shevaroy Hills.

Coordinates: 11°46′46″N 78°12′12″E / 11.7794°N 78.2034°E / 11.7794; 78.2034
Gallery

*

Kiliyur waterfall near Yercaud
*

Rainbow near Pagoda point
*

View of Salem city at night
*

A quiet road in Yercaud
*

Boating lake
*

Lakeview in Yercaud
*

Boating at Yercaud Lake
*

Coffee Plantation in Yercaud
Transport
Salem ByPass
Salem ByPass NH 47 trumpet exchange
Highways
National Highways
AVR Roundabout on the way to Junction.

Three important National Highways pass through or originate from Salem-

* NH 7 (North-South)- Originates at Varanasi and terminates at Kanniyakumari. Passes via Salem.
* NH 47 (Southwest)- Originates at Kondalampatty in the outskirts of Salem and proceeds towards Kanniyakumari via Coimbatore, Palakkad, Thrissur, Ernakulam and Thiruvananthapuram.
* NH 68 (East)- Originates at Seelanaickenpatti in the southern end of Salem and goes via Attur, Chinnasalem and Kallakurichi before joining the South Trunk Road at Ulundurpettai. This is the major and preferred route used to travel from Salem to Chennai.

State Highways

* State Highway 18- Originates at Ayodhyapattinam in the outskirts of Salem along NH 68 and proceeds towards Vaniyambadi via Harur, Uthangarai, Tirupattur and Jolarpettai. This road, although a shorter route to Vellore, is rarely used as it is in a very bad condition.
* State Highway 86A- Originates at Ariyanoor in the outskirts of Salem along NH 47 and proceeds towards Tiruchengode via Veerapandi.
* State Highway 160- Originates at Ayothiyapattinam and proceeds towards Kilakkadu Road via Belur.
* State Highway 188- Originates at Jagireddipatti in the outskirts of Salem and proceeds towards Yercaud via Suramangalam and passes through northern Salem.
Bus

Salem is the headquarters of the TNSTC Division 1, Salem (SLM-DIV-I), serving Salem and Namakkal districts and also serving neighbouring districts like Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Erode and also the capital of Karnataka, Bangalore etc. Until 1997 it was known as the Anna Transport Corporation. Other division buses from Dharmapuri, Erode, Coimbatore, Villupuram, Thiruvannamalai, Vellore, Trichy and Madurai also ply to Salem.

The SETC buses ply on long distance and interstate routes. There are also other state transport corporations like KSRTC and PRTC which have buses plying to Salem.

For nearby towns, private transport opertators also ply numerous buses.
Bus Stations

There are 2 major bus stations in Salem-

* MGR Integrated Bus Terminus (New Bus Stand)- It is located in the Swamrnapuri Area in northern Salem. This bus stand was constructed in the mid 1990's to avoid congestion in the Old Bus Stand in the Town area. All mofussil, intercity and interstate routes originate from here.

* Town Bus Station (Old Bus Stand)- It is the located in the Town Area in the heart of Salem. Local town buses originate from here to various destinations in Salem district. Until the construction of the New Bus Stand, intercity routes also originated from here.
Rail
Salem Junction
Salem Town
Salem Market

Decoration work were done after the formation of the Great Salem division. Salem Railway division has a total length of 842 km. Salem Junction is a six railway routes merging junction, so it plays an important transit point in south India. Many Trains are passing through Salem Junction and Direct Trains are available for the following destinations as mentioned below (along with the routes):
Trains passing through Salem Junction

(Towards / Via)
[b]Direct Trains[/b] to Major Cities
1.Towards Jolarpettai

(via) Magnesite Junction


* Chennai (Madras) Central
* Mumbai
* Howrah
* Guwahati
* Ghorakhpur
* New Delhi

2.Towards Bangalore

(via) Omalur RS


* Bangalore
* Mysore
* Mumbai

3.Towards Mettur Dam

(via) Omalur RS


* Mettur Dam-RS

4.Towards Erode

(via) Sankagiri


* Coimbatore
* Tiruchirappalli
* Madurai, Tuticorin, Rameswaram, Kaniyakumari
* Cochin (Ernakulam), Trivandrum, Mangalore

5.Towards Vridhachalam

(via) Salem Town


* Chennai-Egmore

Apart from these six railway routes, there is a freight line from Salem to Steel plant.

Trains from Chennai to Coimbatore/Kerala (East-West) and trains from Bangalore to Southern districts [North-South] pass through the city, making it an important transit hub.

In 2007, Salem became a rail-division and this was formally inaugurated on 1 November 2007 by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and Former Indian Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.[14] The Salem rail-division was carved out of the Palakkad rail-division in Kerala.

The main train originating from Salem is

* Chennai - Salem Express. Apart from this train, the
* Yercaud Express is also a prime train from Salem, which was earlier originating from Salem.

Salem enjoys good rail connectivity throughout the day to the state capital Chennai. Initiatives have been taken for a faster train from Chennai to Coimbatore via Salem.

There are heavy demands to start new services for Pattambi, Srinagar, Indore, Lucknow, Jabalpur, New Tinsukia, Mathura, cuttack, Darjelling, Hatia, Attur, Mandya, Hassan, Nandyal, Daund, Chelama, Kurnool, Raipur, Srirangam, Tiruvamiur, Ennore and Jaipur from Salem.

New railway track is under construction from Salem to Karur via Namakkal.

Following are the railway stations for the Salem city area

* Salem Junction
* Salem Market
* Salem Town
* Neykarapatti
* Ayodhyapattinam
* Karuppur
* Veerapandi
* Minnampalli (Karipatti)


Air
The Salem Airport is about a 20 minute drive from the town on the Bangalore highway.

Airport is located on Salem-Bangalore Bypass in a place called Kaamalapuram which is about 20 minutes drive from the town.

Though the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had spruced up the airport and made it ready for operation in 1993, airlines did not show interest to fly fearing low patronage. After long time ,Kingfisher airlines launched an ATR-72 daily service flight to Chennai on Nov 2009 . Salem Airport is being connected only by Kingfisher Airlines from Chennai weekly once while going from Banglore to Chennai.

The nearest major airports are at Trichy (135 km) and Coimbatore (159 km).
Media
Print

The Newspapers which are available on Salem are

Tamil New Papers

* Dina Thanthi
* Dinamalar
* Dinakaran
* Dinamani
* Kaalai Kathir (Salem is the Head Office for this newspaper)
* Maalai Malar
* Tamil Murasu

English New Papers

* The Hindu (Edition from Trichy)
* Times of India (Edition from Coimbatore)
* The New Indian Express (Edition from Coimbatore)
* Business Line (Edition from Coimbatore)
* Indian Express (Edition from Coimbatore)
* Deccan Chronicle (Edition from Coimbatore)


Television channels

Salem has 8 local Tamil Channels,

* Polimer Channel
* CTN
* Polimer Plus
* CTN Music
* SS TV
* King TV
* Raajam TV
* Thanigavel TV [Devotional]

Radio

Salem has All India Radio, i.e. FM Rainbow-103.70.. repeater station which transmits signals originated at Kodaikanal air station
Healthcare

Salem Super Speciality hospital has been conceptualised . As of Jan 2011, the hospital is yet to be fully functional after its inauguration in July 2010, but it was closed by the government. There are several multispeciality hospitals such as Gokulam Hospital, Manipal Hospital, Shanmuga Hospital, SKS Hospital, Shri Shellapha Hospital etc.
Education
See also: List of educational institutions in Salem, India

Salem has several educational institutions.

It has a Govt. medical college named Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College, Salem started in 1986. It is recognized by MCI,[15] with an annual intake of 75 MBBS seats. It is attached to the Government Head Quarters Hospital, Salem and the classes are conducted in Medical college which is located about 10 km from the hospital.
Universities
Periyar University

* Periyar University is located in Omalur, near to Karuppur, Salem-11 was established in 1997.

Arts and sciences

Salem town has a very old college viz, Government Arts College at Salem-7, instituted 170 years ago. This college originally belonged to the Salem Municipality, and transferred to the Government of Madras around 1963-1966 when M.Gopal was the Chairman of Salem Municipality. If it was not transferred, then Salem would have been the only Municipality with a college. [Citation needed, could not locate this information elsewhere]