Neyveli
Neyveli
Neyveli | |
|---|---|
city | |
| Population (2001) | |
| • Total | 128,133 |
Neyveli is a mining and power generation township in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located at 11.30° N - 79.29° E. It is 52 km inland from Bay of Bengal, west of Pondicherry and 197 km south of Chennai. The township was developed after mining of lignite started under the Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) in 1956. Today the township covers 53 square kilometres provide around 21,000 houses for the employees
The Neyveli Lignite Corporation is a public sector enterprise operating out of Neyveli. A large percentage of the thermal power generated in Tamil Nadu comes from the power plants in Neyveli, more than 2500 MegaWatts.
History
Borewells driven in the now famous peasant Jambulinga Mudhaliyar's land in 1935 revealed the presence of 'black particles'. The analysis of the 'black particles' led to the discovery of a huge lignite reserve beneath the Township of Neyveli. The Neyveli Lignite Corporation was formed as a Corporate Body in 1956 under the Government of India. It is still a Central Government Public Sector Undertaking (PSU). Mining of first lignite seam started in 1962. The first thermal power station was commissioned in 1962 with a capacity of 600 MW. The current capacity of the thermal power stations in Neyveli exceeds 2500 MW.
Geography
Neyveli is located at 11°18′N 79°18′E / 11.30°N 79.30°E[1]. It has an average elevation of 87 metres (285 feet). It is well connected by road along the Chennai-Thanjavur State Highway and Puducherry-Tiruchirappalli Road. A dedicated rail track with a Railway station was constructed to transport heavy machineries for the mining and the power generation industries.
Climate
Contrasting to the adjacent arid regions of Cuddalore district, the township of Neyveli boasts a low-moderate tropical climate, mainly due to the rich fauna planted as part of the landscaping during the development of the township. Summers are cooler (temperatures still reach above 40degrees Celsius) and winters are colder than the nearby regions, even though the township is at the same altitude with them. It has red soil which is quite fertile.
Layout
The township of Neyveli is one of the modern, well-planned townships in India, and can be compared to the likes of Chandigarh. The township was in fact planned just like the city of Chandigarh, with the township being sub-divided into 'blocks'. Each block is 1000 m by 700 m in size. The main roads of Neyveli dividing each of the blocks are double-laned modern roads, constructed with rubberised top layer. The housing quarters are around 21,000 in number and vary between hostel-type buildings with 6 apartments to individual two-floor single cottage type quarters. The houses were originally constructed using concrete, while newer buildings are constructed using 'hollow blocks' cast from flyash which is a by-product of lignite. The technique is being used as an initiative to re-use the by-products of lignite effectively.
Neyveli can be termed as one of the modern industrial townships of India, with round-the-clock, water and electricity facilities. It also uses well-maintained, underground sanitation system, unlike some of the other cities in Tamil Nadu. At the dawn of the new millennium, the overhead communication cables were replaced by the underground cable communication system, with state-of-the-art optical cables. Neyveli has its own telecom system, complete with company-owned telephone exchanges, for faster communication between employees of the township.
Administration
The township of Neyveli is managed by the Department of Township Administration (TA), under the Neyveli Lignite Corporation. The TA department, comprises Water Services, Sanitary Service, Fuse Call Services (Power Manangement), Telecom and also Maintenance and Repairs.
The township comes under the Kurinjipadi Legislative Constituency (Neyveli legislative from 2008)and Chidhambaram Reserved Parliamentary Constituency of India. Tamil Nadu siripu Police is the law-enforcement agency in Neyveli, which includes as dedicated All-Women siripu Police Station. Apart from the State siripu Police services, the industrial units employ Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) for maximum security.
Economy
The employees of Neyveli are provided compensation at Central Government Wage levels and the economy of the Neyveli township is more thriving than the nearby regions. For a small township of 50 square kilometres, Neyveli is serviced by many commercial banks and more than 7 ATM machines. The living expenses are comparable to Metropolitan cities of India.
Industries
Demographics
As of 2001[update] India census[2], Neyveli had a population of 128,133. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Neyveli has an average literacy rate of 78%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 83%, and female literacy is 72%. In Neyveli, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age. Neyveli has a a huge student population of 34,000. The demographics of Neyveli can often be classified as Cosmopolitan. Most of the people living in the township are not native to the place and not even native to Tamil Nadu either in most cases and can be called as expatriates from states other than Tamil Nadu. The people speak many languages including, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Oriya, Marathi, Gujrati and more, as most of the population is diversified and come for various parts of India. The rich diversity can be identified from the presence of services and cultural centres for the different communities.
Yet, the main spoken language is Tamil, uniting the residents of Neyveli as a whole. For years, Neyveliites have learned to co-exist among various communities, to the extent that Neyveli can be considered as an excellent example of India's diversity at one place.
Culture
Neyveli has a very unique culture. The fact that all the people who live in Neyveli are not natives of the town, brings about a sense of diaspora. There are cultural organizations meant to encourage different regional cultures of India, there are temples and places of worship that quite reflect the diversity of the place.
People who live here are either employed by Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) or by the business enterprises that serve the employees of NLC. Disparities in wealth is rather limited - one can consider it as a Public Sector Unit (PSU) salaried class culture. High literacy rates and multilingual nature of people reflect in a culture that lays high importance for education.
Tourism
The sight of the huge construction cranes digging dirt to unearth lignite is a sight worth watching. Moreover it is a good place for tourism, with tourist interests being the Afforestaion complex and mining sites. However permission to visit these places is selective.
Transport
Transport inside the township is managed by the Bus Services, again a department under NLC. There are almost 15 bus routes for this small township. The bus services are excellent with a frequency of less than 15 minutes during the day and 30 minutes during the night.
The township has two bus stations, each closer to two different highway routes running alongside the township, the Chennai-Thanjavur State Highway and the Pondicherry-Tiruchirappalli route.
Education
Neyveli boasts of having some of the best educational institutions in the region; including the Neyveli administration run schools, to private institutions. These institutions attract students from the neighboring towns and villages as well.
Jawahar Higher Secondary School (CBSE), Jawahar Matriculation Higher Secondary School, St.Paul's higher secondary school for boys, St.Joseph of Cluny Matriculation Higher Secondary School for the girls, Sri Aurbindo Vidyalaya Matriculation Higher Secondary School, the NLC School for Boys and Girls, Seventh Day Adventist Matriculation Higher Secondary School and Sacred Heart Matriculation School of Mandharakuppam are some of the notable schools that foster a healthy intellectual environment.
Extra coaching classes are also provided to students to help them excel in the various aptitude tests such as IIT-JEE which are necessary to enter professional engineering institutions. It is offered by coaching centres like Smart science, Synergic, FIITJEE.
Jawahar Science College [Thiruvalluvar University] offers a plethora of undergraduate programs in fundamental science and computing.
Sports
NLC Administration arranges summer camps for all the students and those who are interested can participate in respective events. Special trainers are arranged for the summer camps. The administration gives full support and special interest in sports. Bharti Stadium, Indoor stadium, Security ground and games stadium are there to practise volleyball, football, hockey, badminton, swimming, basketball, indoor games, Karate and more. Recently neyveli has laid a synthetic tennis court in lignite city club.
