ILOCATION AND AREA 

Kanniyakumari district once known as the granary of Travancore lies at the south-western part of Indian peninsula. It was in Travancore for a long time and then merged with Tamil Nadu in 1956 under the State Linguistic Reorganisation Act. It is famous for its vast green stretches of paddy fields, rich forests, coconut groves and mineral sands. The district has many beautiful spots, besides Cape-Comorin, the southern-most tip of the sub- continent where two seas and an ocean mark the Land's end. The district has been named after the Goddess Kanniyakumari Amman who is the popular deity of the area. Lenged has it that the Goddess Parvathy in one of her incarnations as Devi Kanniya did penance on one of the rocks of this land's end to obtain the hand of Lord Shiva. Kanniyakumari district is the smallest district in the State having an area of 1684.00 sq. kms. The District lies between 77* 05' and 77* 36' of the eastern longitude and 8* 03' and 8* 35' of the northern latitude. The district is bounded by Tirunelveli district in the north and north-east by Kerala State in the north-west and confluence of Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean in the west and south. The coastline in almost regular except for some points of land projecting into the sea at Cape Comorin. There are minor ports in the district at Kolachel, Thengaipattinam, Manakudy, Kovalam, Le puram and Marthandam. Total area of the district is 1684 sq. kms. Headquarters of this district is Nagercoil.

COMMUNICATIONS

 The district has no airway. The nearest airport is Trivandrum (86 kms.). Kanniyakumari is a railway terminus now and is connected by broadgauge railway line with Tirunelveli and Trivandrum (Kerala). Nagercoil, the district headquarters is the junction for both the sections. The district is provided with some good motorable roads maintained by the Highways Department. The trunk road from Madras to Nagercoil and then to Trivandrum enters the district near Aralvoimozhi and passes a distance of 62 kms. and thereafter enters Kerala State. There is a Bus transport service, viz., Kattabomman Transport Corporation in the district. Under State carriages there are 215 bus routes in the district. These 215 routes are operated by the Kattabomman Transport Corporation. The district is well covered with bus Transport facilities. The port at Kolachel is an ancient one, claimed to be the only natural port in the west coast in which ships can come very near the shore. Foreign streamers call to load palmyrah fibre and mineral sands. Loading and unloading of cargoes is done during fair weather, which is generally from the middle of November to the middle of March.

TOURISM 

Though Kanniyakumari is the smallest district in Tamil Nadu, it has a number of places of Tourist importance. Some of the well-known places are given below: Kanniyakumari : By its very location Kanniyakumari occupies a unique place among the tourist centres of India. It is the land's end of the Indian Peninsula, where waters of the Arabian sea, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal meet. It is one of the important pilgrim centres of India. A fine beach landscape with sands of myriad colour is another interesting aspect of Kanniyakumari. From the beautiful beach one can simultaneously see the glorious sight of the moon rising up on the east and the sun setting on the west on a full-moon day. Palm leaf utility articles of Kanniyakumari are very famous. There is a sacred ancient temple dedicated to Kanniyakumari, the Virgin Goddess from which the district derives its name. The temple is a symbol of unity and sanctity. The temple festival in May and the scenic beauty of the place attract thousands of pilgrims and tourists. The beautiful Gandhi Mandap, completed in 1956, is situated as a memorial to the Father of the Nation. An urn of Mahatma Gandhi's ash was kept here for public to pay homage before immersion. Architecture of the building allows rays of the sun to fall on the spot, where the urn was kept, on his birth day (2nd October). There is a Roman Catholic Church dedicated to Virgin Mary which is said to have been constructed by the Jesuit Missionary of St. Francis Xavier in the 16th century. There is a fruit Research Station, about 2 kms. from Cape Comorin on the road to Nagercoil. This was started by the Travancore Royal Family in 1922. Vivekananda Memorial : There are two rocks projecting out of the ocean, south-east of Kanniyakumari temple. These rocks provide an ideal vantage point for visitors desiring to view the land's end of India. It was on one of these rocks that Swami Vivekananda sat in long and deep meditation, when he visited Kanniyakumari in 1892. On this rock stands the "Vivekananda Rock Memorial" built in 1970 with a blend of all the architectural styles of India. A statue of Swami Vivekananda has been installed inside the memorial building. One can also see `Sri Padha Parai' the foot prints of the Virgin Goddess on this rock. Boat services are available to this memorial. Adjacent to this rock the Government of Tamil Nadu proposed to Install a statue of the great Tamil Saint Thiruvalluvar, the author of the famous `Thirukkural'. Suchindrum : This is the small village situated about 5 kms. on the road from Nagercoil to Kanniyakumari. There is a beautiful, ancient and sacred temple in this village dedicated to Sthanumalaya Perumal. The Tirumurties-Bramha, Vishnu and Siva are worshipped here. The temple widely known for its sanctity, architectural beauty and antiquity attracts large crowds during the festivals in April and December. According to one legend it is at this place that Indra, the King of Gods, was relieved of the curse inflicted on him by the sage, Gautama, for his wrongful behaviour towards the sage's wife, Ahalya. Hence the name Suchindrum means the place where Indra was purified. Indra, therefore, built the temple and dedicated it to Sthanulingam, as a mark of gratitude. Padmanabhapuram : Capital of Travancore until 133 A.D. Padmanabhapuram is situated on the Nagercoil-Trivandrum road and at about 2 kms. to the north of Thuckalai. The ancient palace of the former Maharaja of Travancore is also situated here. This palace covers an area of 6 acres. There are two temples inside the Padmanabhapuram Fort known as Ramaswami temple and Neelakantaswami temple. In the Ramaswamy temple scenes from Ramayanam have been carved in 45 panels. The palace is of artistic and archaeological value. Another attraction is about the 400 years old clock in the palace tower made by a local blacksmith. Thiruvattar : This is a small village situated on the banks of the river Thiruvattur, about 11 kms. from Thuckalai. It is the seat of the Adikesava temple and is one of the 13 sacred places of the vaishnavites. This temple built about 1100 years ago contains inscriptions of great value relating to some of the Chola and Travancore kings. The vestiges of old mural paintings belonging to a period not later than the 17th century are seen in a damaged condition on the walls of the inner shrines. Wood carving adorn some structures. Udayagiri Fort : Udayagiri Fort is located 14 kms. from Nagercoil. This was the most important military station of the Travancore rulers when they were having Padmanabhapuram as their capital. It was stated to have been originally built in the year 1600 A.D. and then Marthanda Varma rebuilt it. It is reported that a brass gun of 16 feet long bored as a 22 pounder found inside the fort could not be moved even a few yards by 1200 persons with the help of 16 elephants. East India Company's troops were stationed there till the middle of the 19th century. The fort enclosed an area of about 90 acres and contains an isolated hill 260 feet high which affords a panoramic view of the surrounding country. the tombs of Delenoy, his wife and son can be seen inside a partly ruined chapel in the fort. Circular Fort (Vattakottai) : This 18th centuray fort overlooking the sea is worth visiting. It is located at a distance of 6 kms. from Kanniyakumari. It is also a fine picnic spot. Here the sea is calm and suitable for bath. Kolachel : This sea-coast town is situated about 22 kms. west of Nagercoil. It was a port of call for European merchants during the 16-18th centuries. The Dutch and the English had trading settlements here. It was the scence of a combined and naval battle in August, 1741 in which Marthanda Varma inflicted a crushing defeat on the Dutch. This victory is commemorated by a pillar erected at the site. A variety of commodities is exported from here, prominent among them being palmyrah and its fibre, mineral sands, fish and salt. Efforts are being made by the Port Advisory Committee for the construction of a shipyard and for the development of a natural harbour in Kolachel.

EDUCATION

 In the urban areas of Kanniyakumari district, there are 0.73 Higher Secondary Schools, 1.10 Secondary Schools, 1.47 Middle Schools and 2.28 Primary Schools per 10000 population. It is interesting to note that all the towns in this district are having secondary schools, middle schools and primary schools. Kuzhittura town has the highest proportion of higher secondary schools (2.17) secondary schools (2.71) and middle schools (2.71) per 10000 urban population. But in the case of primary schools is the highest proportion of 3.84 schools per 10000 population is found at Padmanabhapuram. UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGES, 1996 White Memorial Homeopathy Medical College, Kanyakumari. Arignar Anna College, Aramboly, Kanyakumari. College of Arts and Science, Neyyoor, Kanyakumari. Nasamony Memorial Christian College, Martandam, Kanyakumari. Sree Ayyapa College for Women, chungankadai, Kanyakumari. Pioneer Kumarasamy College, Nagercoil, Kanyakumari. Scott Christian College, Nagercoil, Kanyakumari. Shree Ayyappa College for Women, Chunkankadai, Kanyakumari. Sree Devi Kumari Women's College, Kuzhithurai, Kanyakumari. S T Hindu College, Nagercoil, Kanyakumari. Vivekananda College, Agasteeswaram, Kanyakumari. Womens Christian College, Nagercoil, Kanyakumari.

INDUSTRIES 

Kanniyakumari district had no major industry in the past. There were however a variety of small scale and cottage industries. At present, the Indian Rare Earth Factory at Manavalakurichi and the spinning mills at Nagercoil and Aralvoimozhi and the Vijayalakshmi Cashew Company at Palavilai are the four major industries in this district. Medium and Large Industry : The Travancore Minerals Limited established their unit at Manavalakurichi which was taken over by the Government of India from the then Travancore Cochin Government. This factory is now named as the Indian Rare Earth Factory. It separates the various components of the sand, the most important is monozite which contains approximately 9 per cent thorium and 0.3 per cent Uranium. Among the commercially valuable components the most important is ilmenite, which serves as a valuable raw material, in various industries. Zircon is the other commercial product which is principally used in the manufacture of high temperature refractories, etc. These products have a good export market. The factory produces 72000 metric tonnes of ilmenite, 5000 metric tonnes of zircon, 5000 metric tonnes of Garnet, 4000 metric tonnes of Monozite 15000 metric tonnes of Rutile 300 metric tonnes of sillimanite, 10 metric tonnes of Zirconium Oxide and 2 metric tonnes of Zirconium Oxychloride annually. Cashew Kernel Processing Industry : As a foreign exchange earner this industry has a district place in the industrial map of Kanniyakumari district There are 171 small scale industries in the district. Of the total quantity handled by them 92 per cent cashew nuts (raw) are imported from East Africa and the remaining 8 per cent are from local markets. Cottage Industries : 1. Cotton Handloom - There are 13157 looms in this district. Of which, 11531 looms are in the co-operative fold. There are 70 weavers co-operative societies and the percentage of cooperative coverage is 87. The bulk of the production of handloom fabrics consists of dhotis and towels. Vadaseri in Agastiswaram taluk produces handloom goods which are popular throughout the State. The following are the important cotton hand-weaving centres in the district. They produce towels, dhotis and sarees : 1. Vadaser y 2. Neendakarai 3. Kolachel 4. Killiyoor 5. Kollencode 6. Nattalam 7. Eraniel. Coir Industry : Coir Industry is carried on along the coastal areas from Cape Comorin in the south to Kollencode in the north. About 95% of the coir produced in the district is sent to places outside the district. There are 42 co-operative coir societies functioning at present. Training in the production of 2 ply yarn has been given in various places and in Kanniyakumari alone 500 people were trained under Integrated Rural Development Programme Scheme. Honey Processing : The Y.M.C.A. rural reconstruction centre at Marthandam is engaged in bee- keeping. The honey gathered here are sent to other parts of the State. Household industry is also very important in this district and it absorbs nearly 4.47 per cent of the total working force. There are 17560 persons in Kanniyakumari district under `Household industry' as per 1981 census, who are engaged in manufacturing, processing, servicing and repairing of goods.