Pollachi

Pollachi (Tamil: பொள்ளாச்சி) is a town and a municipality in the Coimbatore district of the Tamil Nadu state of India. This is located 40 km south of Coimbatore. This is the second largest city in the District after Corporation of Coimbatore. Owing to the proximity to the Western Ghats, Pollachi has a pleasant climate throughout the year. Pollachi is very popular for its markets (Tamil: சந்தை), especially for jaggery (Tamil: வெல்லம்), fresh vegetables (Tamil: காய் கறி) and cattle (Tamil: மாட்டுச்சந்தை). The Jaggery Market in Pollachi is Asia's largest of its kind. The Central part of Kerala totally dependes upon the vegetables from Pollachi. Cattle Market of Pollachi is the biggest of its kind in Southern India.

Etymology

During ancient times, Pollachi was known as "Pozhil Vaichi" (Tamil: பொழில் வாய்ச்சி' which means "The land of natural wealth and prosperity" (One can find this name in the Lord Subramanyar temple in Pollachi). The name Pozhil Vaichi has changed into Pollachi over time.The historic town of Pollachi was once known as Mudi Konda Chola Nallur during the period of Kulottunga Chola-III. The Subramanyar temple here is an ancient one, with a history that goes back about eight centuries. It is believed that the Subramanyar temple here was once a Shiva temple, enshrining Agastheeswaram Udaiyaar, with the festival deity being Subramanyar. Much of the construction in the temple belongs to the 20th century. There is another story about the Origin of the name. Pollachi was known as "Porull Aatchi" (Tamil: பொருள் ஆட்சி) which means "The land of wealthy Government". In the olden days, it was said that anything can be sold/bought in/from Pollachi market (including elephants) except one's parents.

Geography

Pollachi is located at 10.67°N 77.02°E / 10.67; 77.02. It has an average elevation of 293 metres (961 feet).

Municipal Statistics

• Population 95,303
• Area (km²) 13
• No.of Schools 56 Higher Secondary Schools
• No.of Maternity Hospitals 10
• No.of Other Hospitals/Dispensaries 2 +others 15

Other Facilities

• No.of Other Hotels/Lodges 25
• No.of Marriage Halls 22
• No.of Movie Theatres 13

Politics

Pollachi assembly constituency is part of Pollachi (Lok Sabha constituency). Pollachi, Valparai, Kinathukadavu, Madathukulam and Thondamuthur form the Pollachi parliamentary constituency.

Agriculture and Industry

Pollachi is an important commercial area in the region and has large industrial establishments and huge markets for agricultural products as wel as cattles.

Agriculture

Pollachi is the largest producer of Vegetables especially Tomatos and, Coconuts as well as its related products in terms of area/region. Coconuts, Copra and tender coconuts are transported to all over India from Pollachi.

Pollachi also accommodate for one of the largest coffee producers viz. Thalanar Agro.

Industry

Coir-Fibre and Curled-Coir Manufacturing is an important Industry in Pollachi.

Pollachi accommodates for hundreds of textile and coir industries. There are more than 40 Textiles Mills and moulding units in Pollachi.

Some of ther major industries are :

• Aerospace Materials Private Limited is a company that supplies carbon papers for airplanes. Their main customer is ISRO.

• Sakthi Coir Exports is one of the leading manufacturers and exporters of coir and coconut products and machinery since 1978. Sakthi Coco Products was the first company in the state of Tamil Nadu to manufacture and export packaged tender coconut water.

• Sunco Exporters Pvt.Ltd., Manufacturers of Coir and coconut Processing Machines since 1989 Exporting the Machines all over the World.

• Premier Coir products is a Manufacturers of Coir Products like Coir Fiber,Curled Coir,Rubberised Coir sheets,Coir mattresses in the Brand name of COIR PLUS selling in Domestic and International Market established in the year 2001.

• United Impex.,Manufacturer and leading exporter of coir Products ,coco peat,curled coir,coir logs ,coir geotextiles etc. ,and export all over the world since 1995 and Admin office in Chennai .

Film Industry

Pollachi is a popular movie shooting location for Indian Film Industry. Many Directors from Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi movie prefer Pollachi for outdoor shooting because of its scenic beauty. Thousands of movies in various Indian Languages have been filmed here.

File:SceneNearPollachi(2).JPG

Cattles - A scene near Pollachi

Infrastructure

Airport

Coimbatore is the nearest International airport for Pollachi. International Flights are being operated to Singapore, Sharjah and Colombo by Silk Air, Air Arabia and Srilankan Airlines respectively. Routine domestic flights are operated to Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, New Delhi among other Indian cities.

Bus Stand

Pollachi has a central bus stand which is used by TNSTC, and the private operators. This is situated inside the town. A new foundation stone was laid by Local Administration minister M.K. Stalin in November 2007, to construct an additional bus stand for want of space, just opposite to the existing bus stand. This new bus stand has been operational from November, 2009.

Railway Station

Pollachi has a railway junction. Presently, due to gauge conversion, no trains are operated in this section, the major routes being Coimbatore - Pollachi - Dindigul and Palakkad - Pollachi - Dindigul. broad gauge conversion of this section has started and are expected to be completed shortly. Once this completion is over then Pollachi, Udumalai, Palani will get direct link to Chennai, Bangalore and all other parts of India. Pollachi - Podanur section was recently been added to the Palakkad Railway Division.

Broad gauge work from Palakkad side has been started by the Palakkad Division, soon Pollachi & Palakkad will be connected by BG trains.

Telecomunications

Pollachi is well connected with all GSM & CDMA mobile phone operators. The major players are BSNL, Airtel, Aircell, TATA Docomo, Reliance and Vodafone in GSM segment and Reliance, Tata Indicom, MTS in CDMA segment cover Pollachi.

Dams

Pollachi is surrounded by numerous Dams which add beauty to the scenes. Some of the major Dams in and around Pollachi are:

• Azhiyar Dam - This Dam is situated on the foothills of Anamalai (Tamil: ஆனமலை) Ghats and near to the Monkeyfall waterfalls. Azhiyar is a beautiful and fantastic picnic spot.
• Peruvaripallam Dam
• Nirar Dam
• Meenkarai Dam - This dam is built for multipurpose project such as irrigation, Hydro electricity production.
• Sholaiar Dam - This is situated on the top of mountains and very beautiful scenicbeauty spot. This situated at a distance of 15 km from Valparai Town after Mudis. The Sholaiar Dam is the second largest rock dam in Asia. Its length is about 20 km.
• Upper Azhiyar Dam

Mahalingapuram-Round Road alias Roundana

This Round Road is located in Mahalingapuram colony and it is the most favourite place for joggers, walkers, volleyball, basketball and batminton players. It is a get-together place for the entire community in Pollachi town. The Round Road Park opens early morning at 5 am and most of the people come to walk and exercise. This place has a playground for small children. The place also has a Jawaharlal Nehru statue which stands at a place where Nehru made a speech.

Azhiyar Siddashram

Azhiyar (Tamil: ஆழியார்) Siddashram near Pollahi is one of the famous Sidda Treatment Centre in Tamil Nadu. This Ashram is the home of Vethathiri Maharishi Kundalini Yoga and Kayakalpa Research Foundation, founded by Shri Vethathiri Maharishi in 1985. This Ashram is situated on the foothills of Anamalai Mountains on the Western Ghats near Azhiyar Dam on the way to Valparai from Pollachi. Here is a beautiful natural setting and in view of the Aliyar reservoir. The Temple of Consciousness is the focus for a silent revolution, transforming the lives of thousands of people, irrespective of creed, color, race, religion or nationality. The famous slogan Vazhga Valamudan (Tamil: வாழ்க வளமுடன்) which means Live in Prosperity is of this Siddashram .

Educational institutions

Schools

• P.K.D. Matriculation School [ GAIS ]
• Municipal Girls Higher Secondary-MGHSS Pollachi [ SURYA ]
• Arokia Matha Higher Secondary School - AMS [ PRIYA ]
• Oxford Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Anaimalai - 642 104 [ VINO]
• Bharathiya Vidhya Mandir, Mahalingapuram
• Bharath Vidhya Nikketan, Aachipatti
• Bharathiar Matric School
• Central Higher Secondary School, A.Nagoor
• Gandhi Kala Nilayam High School
• Good Shephered Matric School, Jothinagar
• Govt. Hr. Sec. School, Seripalayam
• Govt. Hr. Sec. School, Zamin uthukuli
• Govt. High School, Kanjampatti
• Govt. High School, Gomangalam
• Kuppanda Gounder Elementary school, Mahalingapuram
• Mariammal Girls Hr. Sec. School, Mahalingapuram
• Keshav Vidhya Mandir Matric Hr.Sec. School, Palakkad Road , Pollachi
• Krishnasamy Matriculation School
• Mariammal High School, Jothinagar
• Minerva Matriculation School
• Mhathama Vidyamanthir Metric. School, Vettaikaranpudur.
• Municipal Boys Higher Secondary School
• Nachiarvidyalayam
• N.G.N.G. Hr. Sec. School, Reddiarur
• Our Lady of Lourde's Matric Hr. Sec. School
• Palaniammal Hr. Sec. School, Kaliyapuram
• Palani Gounder High. Sec. School, Mackinampatti vigneshwaran ctb 2005-2007
• Patasala, Mahalingapuram
• Rukmani Ammal Matric School, Jothinagar
• Raashtriya Vidhya Bhavan School, Tholil Pettai, Udumalai Road, Pollachi - 3
• R.V.S Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Rediyarmadam
• Shaanthi Matriculation School
• Shanthi Niketan School, Mahalingapuram
• Shenbagam Matriculation Hr. Sec. School
• Shree Vignesware Hr. Sec. School
• Siwalik Matriculation Hr. Sec. School, A.Sangampalayam Ph:04259-225455
• Sri Adityaa Vidhya Mandir Matric School, Suleswaranpatti, Pollachi
• Sri Vagisvari Vidya Mandir
• Sri Lathangi Vidhya Mandir School
• Silver Bells Matriculation School
• S.R.M.H.S School, Mahalingapuram
• Swasthik Matric School,Negamam
• Swamy Chidbhavananda Matric Hr. Sec. School, Senguttaipalayam
• Bharath Vidhya Niketan
• Viswadeepathi Hr. Sec. School, Unjavelanpatti, Pollachi
• Vigneswarar Matric Hr. Sec. School, Anagalkurichi
• Muthusamy Gounder Matriculation School, R.Gopalapuram

Arts and Sciences Colleges

• Nallamuthu Gounder Mahalingam College[2]vikky bsc cs(sf)
• PattabiRaman Institute of Management Studies
• [Sree Saraswathi Thiyagaraja College (STC).][3]
• Sri Ramu College of Arts & Science.
• Dr.Mahalingam College of Engineering and Technology
• Vanavarayar Institute of Agriculture
• Kamalam college of arts and science
• P.A. College Of Education

Engineering Colleges

• Dr. Mahalingam College of Engineering and Technology
• P.A. College of Engineering and Technology

Polytechnic Colleges

• Nachimuthu Polytechnic College
• P.A. Polytechnic College,Puliampatty
• N.V. Polytechnic College
• K.M.G. Polytechnic College

Paramedical Colleges

• Siva paramedical college
• DR.Alva paramedical college

Places of Attraction

Anamalai Wildlife Sanctuary

Anamalai Wildlife Sanctuary is about 90 km from Coimbatore and is situated at an altitude of 1,400 meters in the Western Ghats near Pollachi. The area of the sanctuary is 958 km². An ecological paradise, this sanctuary encompasses a National Park. It has recently been renamed as Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park. Recently, it was converted into an integrated Anamalai Tiger Reserve. Vettaikaranpudur is enroute to Topslip from Pollachi

TopSlip

TopSlip is a point located at an altitude of about 800 feet in the Anamalai mountain range.

Chinnakallar

Chinnakallar is a geographically important place as it is the region that receives the second highest rainfall in India . There is a waterfall in Chinnakallar which sounds like a roaring lion.

Parambikulam National Park

The Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary is a reservoir of tranquil greenery ensconced in a valley between the Anaimalai Hills range of Tamil Nadu and the Nelliampathi Hills range of Kerala. The areas hilly and rocky, drained by several rivers, including the Parambikulam, the Sholayar and the Thekkady.

Thickly forested with stands of bamboo, sandalwood, rosewood and teak, the sanctuary has some marshy land and scattered patches of grassland. Parambikulam was once home to some of south India's finest stands of teak. Little remains of the original teak forests, other than the famous Kannimari teak tree, the largest in Asia as most of these have now been replaced by teak plantations. The tree is about 5 km from Thunakadavu, and is one of Parambikulam's prime attractions. The one of the oldest and largest teak trees in the world is another attraction in the sanctuary. It has a girth of 6.52 metres, height of 48.25 metres when the measurement was taken in 2003. But it's claimed that the biggest teak in the world is in Uttaradit province of Thailand, with a girth of 10 metres and height of 47 metres.

Parambikulam - Aliyar Multipurpose Project

Interlinking of Rivers

This project consists of a series of dams interconnected by tunnels and canals at various elevations in order to harness the Parambikulam, Aliyar, Nirar, Sholiyar, Thunkadavu, Thenkkadi and Palar rivers, laid for irrigation and power generation. The scheme is an outstanding example of engineering skill. It is located in the Anaimalai Hills range.

The Parambikulam-Aliyar Project is a complex multi-basin multipurpose project. Seven streams-five flowing westward and two towards the east- have been dammed and their reservoirs interlinked by tunnels. The water is ultimately delivered to the drought-prone areas in the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu and the Chittur area of Kerala. The project has a command area of 1620 square kilometres with 185 MW of power generation capacity.

Temples

Pollachi Ayyappan Temple

This temple was built in 1970 and has many similarities to the Sabarimala Ayyappan Temple. It has several deities including the main deity Ayyappan. Homam, pooja and rituals are conducted everyday. Owned by TamilNadu Government - The Hindu Charitable and Endownment Department. Officer Official Web site: http://www.pollachiiyyappantemple.com/administration.html

SubramaniaSwamy Thirukoil

This temple is located at Pollachi. Konga Cholas built this temple of 'Lord Shiva' and named it as 'Thiruvahatheswaramudayar' temple, 700 years ago. This temple has a high architectural value. In due course, it came to be called 'Subramanyar Kovil' and 'Lord Subramanyar' is worshipped here.

Maasani Amman Thirukoil - Anaimalai

Lord Gowrishankarar temple is situated at Bg Farm, Anamalai. This temple is dedicated to Goddess Gowriamman; the idol was found during ploughing the fields in 1995. It has been ascertained by veteran Ganpathi Stapathi that the statue is intact and belongs to the Chola age. A new temple has been erected by Ganapathi Stapathi in 2004.

Legend tells of the origin of this temple. Anaimalai, a place near Pollachi, was earlier ruled by a king called Naanan. He had a very special mango tree in his farm on the Aaliyar riverside, which he was very fond of. He was so particular that nobody was allowed to use neither its mangoes nor its leaves. Once, a group of girls were having their bath in the Aaliyar river and saw a mango floating on the river which belonged to this mango tree. In anxiety, one of the girls picked the mango and ate it; even after several pleadings made by her father, the king sentenced her to death. After some time, the villagers in that particular area made a female figure in lying state in remembrance of the innocent girl on the graveyard sand and started worshipping her. In due course, she was worshipped by the name "Maasani". Later Kozhinkhosargal defeated king Naanan and destroyed that particular mango tree.

It is believed that Lord Rama on his way in search of Seetha, was absorbed by the power of this temple, stopped here and performed meditation, adding glory to this temple.

Alagunachi Amman Temple - Pollachi

It is located in Pollachi town. It was built in early 18th century. During that time, a group of people moved from Valliarachal (nearly 80 kilometres from Pollachi), rested on a river side in Pollachi (now the river is no longer there). They had brought the statue of the family God (Arulmigu Alagunachi Amman) and placed it nearby and slept; in the morning they found the statue was missing and so they selected one brick and placed it in the same place and built a small temple, and then the family stayed in Pollachi. In 2002, the temple was rebuilt. It is the Kula Deivam (Sacred Deity) for certain clans belonging to the Kongu Vellala Gounder community.

ThiruMoorthy Temple - ThiruMoorthy Hills

It is situated at the foot of Thirumoorthy Hills adjoining the Thirumoorthy Reservoir and Dam. This is about 20 km from Udumalaipettai on the highway from Palani to Coimbatore. A perennial stream flows by the side of the Sri Amaralingeswarar temple and nearby there is the Thirumoorthy Falls. It is believed that a few thousand years ago, Athari Maharishi along with his wife Anushiya Devi lived here. Moved by their prayer, Lord Shiva together with Brahma and Vishnu (Thiru Moorthygal) came in disguise to test their devotion. Overwhelmed by their appearance, the couple offered them tributes. The Thiru Moorthygal refused to accept their offerings as such and demanded that the offering should be made by Anushiya Devi in nudity. She accepted their demand and with her power of devotion she changed the Thiru Moorthy's into 3 year old babies and fed them. On seeing the power of the devout Anushiya Devi, the Thiru Moorthy's blessed the couple and hence the place is known as Thiru Moorthy Hills.

Sulakkal Mariamman Thirukoil - Sulakkal

Three hundred years ago, Sulakal was amidst of dense forest nesting dangerous wild animals and poisonous reptiles. The nearby villagers used to feed their domestic animals in the forest. The owner of a particular cow, which was not giving milk followed it and found his cow shedding milk on a sandhill. On seeing this the cow started galloping. At that moment its legs were hit by the sandhill. He was shocked to see blood oozing out of the sandhill. He dreamed about the Goddess that night and was dictated to raise a temple in the name of the goddess (Sulakkal Mariamman). Till today, this temple stands as a cultural icon in this locality. Through generations, three families have vowed to take care and honour this great temple from neighbouring villages zaminkaliyapuram and sulakkal.

Shree Velayudhaswamy Thirukoil - Senjerimalai

The 'Thenserigiri Sthalapuranam' relates: As Lord Muruga set out with his battalion to subdue the demon Surapadma, Lord Shiva summoned him to the Thenserigiri hills and, initiating him to certain mantras, endowed him with invincible powers to route and destroy the demon and his retinue.

This is the legendary origin of this temple. Since then Lord Muruga came to be worshipped as Manthragiri and Sri Velayudhaswami. This temple was originally built by Karikala Chola and renovated by Veeraballalai III dates back to 13th century. A holy spring called 'Gnanatheertha Sunai' and a sacred tree known as 'Karunochi' can be seen

Echanari Vinayagar Thirukoil - Coimbatore

The temple is among the oldest one in Coimbatore and dates back to 1500A.D. The moolavar at this temple was actually meant for Perur Patteshwarar temple and since it got stuck on its way from Madurai, Eachnari became the blessed place. The deity's height is 6 feet (2 m) and the width is 3 feet (1 m) and is one of the biggest in South India. The last kumbabhishekam was performed in 2006.

Ambarampalayam Darga

This Darga is situated on the banks of the river aliyar. A lot of devotees from Kerala and Tamil Nadu visit this Darga with a belief that evil spirits will get away.

Arulmigu Prasanda Vinayagar Temple

Arulmigu Prasanda Vinayagar Temple (Tamil: அருள்மிகு பிரசண்ட விநாயகர் கோவில், சுப்பேகவுண்டன்புதூர்) temple of Lord Ganesha is more than 1000 years old as believed by the local public. Located on the banks of River Aliyar, about 8 kilometres to the south of Pollachi, this temple was in a dilapidated condition about 2 years ago. The renovation work of this temple was initiated by the local public under the leadership of Tmt. Anandhi Elango. The renewed looking temple had its first kumbhabhishekam on 9 June 2007.

There are signs in this temple to show that the temple deity was Lord Siva initially. What made this temple to become a Ganapathy temple is still unknown. The deity is addressed as 'Prasanda Vinayakan' by the locals; the qualifier appears to be the mispronunciation of the Sanskrit term "Prachanda" (प्रचण्ड) meaning 'of fierce countenance, violently swift, etc.'; the most appropriate being the former.

There should have been temple elephants belonging to this temple in those days. This is evidenced by the naming of that part of the river as 'Anai Gajam' ((Tamil: ஆனை கஜம்; கயம்(அ)கஜம்-ஆழமான பகுதி) where the flight of steps leading from the temple meet the river. 'Anai Gajam' in Tamil means that part of river where water is so deep even to an elephant; the place where the mahouts used to take the temple elephants for bathing.

Due to its natural setting amidst lush green paddy fields, sugarcane fields, and Coconut trees, this temple is growing more and more popular among the devotees of Coimbatore.

Notable Personalities

• Swami Chidbhavananda , Founder of Ramakrishna Tapovanam
• Dr. N. Mahalingam is the Chairman of Sakthi group of companies, educationalist, notable philanthropist and a prominent, influential person
• V.T.Venkiduswamy Chettiar, Honorable Magistrate of Pollachi during both British and Independence India.
• Pollachi V. Jayaraman pollachi MLA former Tamil Nadu industrial and food minister and is currently AIADMK election wing secretary and one of the prominent leaders in A.D.M.K
• Nachimuthu Gounder, Philanthropist, Educationalist and Founder of the Sakthi Group.
• V.A.Vasudevaraju, first IAS officer from pollachi. Founder of Panchayat Raj.
• Bharat Ratna C. Subramaniam, Senior Congress leader, Father of Green Revolution in India, Former Minister of Finance and Education, Government of Tamil Nadu, Former Union Minister for Food, Agriculture and Finance, Government of India and Former Governor of Maharasthra State.
• Mr.Sivananthan,IPS,Police Commissioner of Mumbai.
• Mylswamy Annadurai, a scientist with the Indian Space Research Organization, Project Director of Chandrayaan-1
• Angamuthu Mudaliar, owner of the large coffee growers; Thalanar Agro.
• Mr.K.Thangavelu Mudaliar, owner of Large Coconut Grove , AKM Farms.
• Vijayakumar , Former Commissioner, Corporation of Chennai
• Film Actor Nanda
• Former Union Minister Kannappan

External links

• Pollachi page