Watrap
| Watrap Vathirayiruppu |
|
| — town — | |
| Coordinates | |
| Country | India |
| State | Tamil Nadu |
| District(s) | Virudhunagar |
| Nearest city | Madurai |
| Parliamentary constituency | Tenkasi |
| Assembly constituency | Srivilliputtur |
| Civic agency | Town Panchayat |
| Population | 40,000 (01-Jan-2001[update]) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
| Area |
• 73 metres (240 ft) |
 |
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Watrap is a small village located in Virudhunagar District, Tamil Nadu, India. Its geographical coordinates are 9°38′7″N 77°38′20″E / 9.63528°N 77.63889°ECoordinates: 9°38′7″N 77°38′20″E / 9.63528°N 77.63889°E. The name Watrap is a corruption of "vatratha iruppu" meaning surplus water. The holy uphill shrine "Sundara Mahalingam temple" (also known as Thaani Paarai and Sathuragiri Malai) is located here. Aadi amavasai (No Moon Day in the month of Aadi) is when devotees from all over Tamil Nadu throng here. Agriculture is the primary livelihood. The main work is cultivation of paddies, coconut and cotton, with paddy cultivation being the most important. There are three government-aided schools and two private schools in the town. The Scientist Sir.K.S.Krishnan Born in this village who was the assistant to Sir.C.V.Raman
[edit] Local attractions
As a mode of entertainment there is one cinema theater, called Ramakrishna.
The town is on the bank of the Arjuna River. There is a dam here for irrigation and agriculture called "Pilavakal dam" and it is one of the beautiful excellent picnic spots in this area.
Sathuragiri Hills is a must-see place if you are a nature lover. You need to trek for about 5 hours to reach the top of the hill, there won't be a proper road or restroom or any facilities. Free lunch will be served on no moon days, you get to see dense forest, waterfalls and undisturbed nature on the way. One should be there at the foothills by early in the morning, so that you can return back before sunset, if you plan for a day. If you are a treker willing to smell those natural moments, its a safe place to camp at night. People, localites here are more ethical and possess no danger.For trekers one or two night stay would be interesting to see some of the rarest caves, which is some 2 km away from Sathuragiri temple, a fresh water pond at the top of the hill. All these areas have to be treked through dence forest which is a very thrilling and delightful experience. There is a top spot called Perrumal Mottai which is recommended only for people with good stamina to trek. But its the most coldest spot in these hills.Kindly take guidance from any localities if you plant to trek any place beyond Sathuragiri Temple.Best season to trek-Post Monsoon. There is a Krishna and Rukmini and Sathyabama temple called Gopala Swamy Malai, at the top of a small hill, which is 22kn from Watrap at NH-47(between kallupatti, Krishnankoil and Srivilliputhur towns), and a Shiva Cave temple called Motta Malai 16 km from Watrap(between Watrap and Alagapuri road, take a diversion after a village called Akkanapuram villaku)recommended for Shiva deciples. For people who would love to swim in natural waters, you have a place called Maavuthu(Big spring, 8 km from Watrap, Need to take a diversion between Maharajapuram and Thambipatti), a pond which has a spring at its corner and flows 24/7 throughout the year. A very beautiful place at the foot of Southern Ghats. An excellent place to be at rainy season(recommended only for people who know to swin above average).
The following are a few important temples in the town of Watrap:
- Sri Kasi Viswanatha Swamy Temple
- Sri Sethu Narayana Perumal Temple
- Sri Muthalamman Temple
- Sri Ammaiyappa Sri Vidhya Maha Ganapathy Temple
- Sri Vella Pillaiyar Temple
- Sri Nallathangal Temple
- Sri Valla Palathu Karuppasamy Kovil
All the above temples are very ancient.
Schools in Watrap: The Hindu Higher Secondary, Lions matriculation, Nadar school, and a government school is also available. Near Watrap a college is located known as Kalasalingam engineering college/Arts and science/polytechnic etc.,
[edit] Connectivity
Watrap Village is very well connected by rail, road and air and below are details:
Railway Connectivity: The nearest railway station is Srivilliputtur. There are several passenger trains from Madurai to Srivilliputtur. The Pothigai Express is a daily train from Chennai Egmore to Sengottai that reaches Srivilliputtur at 6.13 in the morning. From Srivilliputtur you can take a local bus to Watrap.
Road Connectivity Watrap Town is connected from NH208 around 10 km (From Krishnan Kovil) and 17 km (from Alagapuri Village) and there are plenty of buses are operated to and from the below destination.
- Madurai - TNSTC , CK Balan Bus Service, MC Somu Busservice and VVR Transports
- Virudunagar - TNSTC , Meenambigai and KVV Bus Service
- Srivilliputtur - TNSTC , KAYESR and SRM Bus Service
- Kovilpatti - TNSTC , KAYESR and KVV Bus Service
- Sivakasi - TNSTC , KAYESR
- Theni - Southern (Suba) Bus Services.
There is a Bus Stand which has been built and it is on the Road towards Koomapatti. Mostly the Buses are stopped at the Bazzar which is also known as Mutthalamman Chavadi. Watrap Town has a very busy bazzar and has around 1000 to 1500 shops are less than 1 KM radius. Mostly between 05 PM and 08 PM every day it has the peak time for all the businesses.
Nearest Airport
The nearest Airport is Madurai (72 km) and there are plenty of Local Taxi Operators are operating the taxis to Madurai Airport for Pickup and Drop facility.
Banks and Financial Institution There are 4 Banks are in Watrap :
- State Bank of India
- Union Bank of India
- Virudunagar Co-operative Bank Limited
- Pandian Grama Bank
