LOCATION AND AREA

 Pudukkottai is one of the new districts formed after the 1971 census, on 14th January, 1974. It is one of the small districts of Tamil Nadu with an area of 4661 sq.Kms. The district lies between 78degrees 25' to 79 degrees 15' of the eastern longitude and 9 degrees 50; to 10 degrees 40' of the northern latitude. This district is bounded by Tiruchirappalli in the north, Thanjavur in the north-east, Bay of Bengal in the east and Ramanthapuram in the south. It has a coastline of about 39 Kms. Total area of the district is 4651 sp. Kms. Headquarters of the district is Pudukkottai.

COMMUNICATIONS 

There are no national highways passing through the district. The total length of roads in this district is 3243 Kms. Comprising of 78.10 Kms. of state highways, 434.30 Kms. of major district roads and 2730.60 Kms. of panchayat roads. The total length of metre-guage railway line in the district is about 84 Kms. with 12 railway stations connecting Pudukkottai town with Tiruchirappalli as also Karaikkudi and Manamadurai in the adjacent Ramanathapuram district. Arantangi is connected with Thiruvarur in the adjacent Thanjavur district. The metre-guage railway line from Madras to Rameswaram passes through this district. The transport handled by the railways in the district is very meagre on account of the low route length and limited potential for transportation in the hinterland.

INDUSTRIES 

Pudukkottai district is not gifted with manorial wealth. There are no mineral deposits worth mentioning in the entire area of the district. However, a narrow belt of good grade feldspar and quartz is reported to be available in Kulattur taluk pink granite deposit is reported to be available in Ponnamaravati area of Tirumayam taluk. The reserves of limestone reported to be available in Adanakottai area of alangudi taluk is estimated at about 8230 tonnes and the present level of exploitation is only 200 tonnes. The district is industrially backwards and the three taluks, viz. Alangudi, Tirumayam and Kulattur had already been declared by the State government as backward area entitling industrial units to be set up there for a central subsidy of 15 per cent on fixed capital investment. There are six large scale industries in the district as given below: (1) M/s. Cauvery Spinning and Weaving Mills Ltd., Cauvery Nagar. (2) M/s. Pudukkottai Textile Mills Ltd., Pudukkottai. (3) M/s. Sri Nadiambal Textile Mills Ltd., Arantangi. (4) M/s. Ramachandran Chemicals (P) Ltd., Kiranur. (5) M/s. Sundaram Industries Ltd., Pudukkottai. (6) The State Government Printing Press, Pudukkottai. Among the six large scale industries mentioned above, three are located in Pudukkottai itself. There are 392 small scale units. The main industries in which they are engaged are wood based industries, tinkering, fabrication of metal products, printing and binding, manufacture of agricultural implements, manufacture of agricultural implements, manufacture of cement tiles and other cement products, automobile servicing and repairing and safety matches. A few oil and rice mills are concentrated in Alangudi taluk, Thiruvarangulam a Pudukkottai blocks. In addition to the small scale industries, there are a number of village and cottage industries. Prominent among them are pottery, blacksmithy, carpentry, small lime kilns, small brick kilns, basket making, rope making and synthetic gem cutting. IMPORTANT INDUSTRIES, 1996 National Oxygen Ltd. : No. 1 : Trichy Pudukkottai Road, Mathur Village, Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu. Manufacturer and traders of industrial gases such as Oxgen gas, dissolved acetylene gas, medical Oxygen, Nitrogen gas, liquid Oxygen, liquid Nitrogen high purity Nitrogen. SRF Ltd . : (Formerly known as Shriram Fibers Ltd.) Viralimalai, Dist. Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu. Manufacturer : Nylon industrial yarn tyre cord/fabrics leather auxiliaries, fluro carbon refrigerant gases and hydrofluoric acid, besides nylon moulding powder in technical collaboration with chemtex fibres INC. USA. M/s. SRF Nippondenso Ltd. is a joint venture with Nippon Denso Co. Ltd. of Japan for manufacture of automotive electricals. M/s. SRF Transnational Holdings Ltd. is a subsidiary company.

TOURISM

 Sri Kokaraneswarar temple : The rock cut cave temple of Sri Kokaraneswarar and Brahadambal at Thirukokarnam is of Mahendravarma Pallava's period. Government Museum : The rare collections in the sections of Geology, Zoology, Paintings, Anthropology, Epigraphy and Historical Records etc. are very interesting and informative. The beautiful sculptures and bronzes of various periods are attractive items of this museum. Sittannavasal : This ancient abode of Jains dating back to the 2nd century B.C. is about 16 kms. from Pudukkottai. The rock-cut cave temple with its beautiful frescoes and paintings in natural colours as in Ajantha in Maharashtra and stonebeds known as Eladipattam, a cave in which the Jain monks were said to have sought refuge in those days are the main attractions. There are a few sculptures of Jain Thirthankaras in the Ardhamandapam and the inner shrine of the cave temple. the ceiling of the Ardhamandapam contains fresco paintings of the 7th century A.D. Inscriptions of the 9th-10th century A.D. are also found in the cave. The cave temple is said to have been excavated in the 7th century A.D. by the Pallava King Mahendravarman. In the area around Sittanna-vasal, there are many historical burial sites consisting of Kurangupatarai, cairns, burial urns and casts etc. Kudumiyamalai : It is 20 kms. from Pudukkottai. There are beautiful sculptures and thousand- pillar hall in the temple. The presiding deity is Sikhagiriswarar. The temple is noted for numerous inscriptions. Remarkable among them is the one relating to a musical treatise of the Mahendravarma Pallavan who experimented the sapthaswara in a veena called Parivardini with 8 strings. there is also a rock-cut temple called Melakkoil which was excavated during the time of Mahendravarma Pallavan. The Anna Agricultural Farm and Agriculture Research Institute are the other interesting features of this place. In fact these institutions took shape as a result of the special efforts of the former Director of Census Operations, Shri K. Chockalingam who was the then Collector of Tiruchirappalli in the pre- bifurcation period of the two districts of Tiruchirappalli and Pudukkottai. Kodumbalur : This place, also known as Muvarkoil is 36 kms. from Pudukkottai and 42 kms. from Trichy. It was formerly the seat of Irukkavelirs who were related to Cholas. Out of the three shrines of Muvarkoil, only two exist now. These temples were built by Budhi Viramakesan in the 10th century A.D. The architecture of this temple is unique among the South Indian temples. The sculptures of Kalarimurthi, Gajasamharamurthi, Ardhanari and Gangadara-murthi etc. are interesting masterpieces of art. This place was noted for the production of metal vessels and plates. Nearby is the Muchukundeswarar temple of the early Chola period. Viralimalai : This town lies north-west of Pudukkottai about 40 kms. Throughout the district and even outside, this place is well known for the Subramania temple on the hill here and is said to exist before 15th century A.D. The principal idol is eated on the peacock with his consorts on either side. There is a peacock with his consorts on either side. There is a peacock sanctuary here. Viralimalai has been mentioned in the Tamil book of hymns Thiruppugazh. Narthamalai : This is a place of historical importance and the head-quarters of the Mutharaiya chieftains. The earliest structural stone temple, circular in shape, built by the Mutharaiyar and the Vijayalaya Choleeswaram cave temple built by the Vijayala Chola, the first king of the later Cholas are located here. The pre-historic burial grounds and the Kadambar-malai temple of this place are also of tourist importance. Tirumayam : This place, a taluk headquarters is 19 kms. from Pudukkottai, the district headquarters. The fort, the Siva and Vishnu temples are the tourist attractions here. The famous Vishnavite saint Thirumangai Alwar is supposed to have lived here before the 10th century. the ruins of an old fort exist here and it is said that the Poligar of Panjalankurichi was imprisoned in this before he was handed over to the British by the Tondaiman. The Sengirai forest near this place is significant for it is believed that this forest was the abode of the demoness Tataka who was killed by Sri Rama. the fort played an important role in the history of Tondaiman rulers of Pudukkottai and the British. The erection of this fort in 1687 A.D. is attributed to Sethupathy Vijaya Raghunatha Tondaiman, the Sethupathi of Ramnad. Avadaiyarkovil : This place is a village in Arantangi taluk 14 kms. away from Arantangi and 48 kms. from Pudukkottai. This place is noted for sculptures. It is famous for its Siva temple which is dedicated to God Athmanatha and associated with the Tamil Saint Manickavasagar. The temple is supposed to have been built by this saint whose image is installed in it. It is famous as an exquisite structure. The temple is noted for its granite roof work. The sanctum sanctorum is covered with copper plate and is similar to the Chidambaram Natarajar temple. A peculiarity in this temple is that it contains no images of the principal deities-Siva and Parvathi and that the worship is done to their pedestals. It is an important pilgrimage centre in South India.

EDUCATION

 In the urban areas Pudukkottai, there are 0.59 Higher Secondary Schools, 0.85 Secondary Schools, 1.24 Middle Schools and 2.02 Primary Schools per every 10000 population. Kiranur, Alagapuri and Alangudi have the highest proportion of Higher Secondary Schools (1.51), Secondary Schools (3.27) and middle Schools (3.47) respectively per 10000 urban population. But the case of primary schools the highest proportion of 9.93 schools per 10000 population is found in Kadiapatti. UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGES, 1996 V S Sivalingam Govt. Arts College, Pulankurichi, Pudukkottai. Ganesar Senthamil Kalloori Melaisivapuri, Pudukkottai. Government Art College for Women, Pudukkottai. Government College for Education, Pudukkottai. HH The Rajah's College, Pudukkottai. K B Y S College of Physiotherapy, Pudukkottai.