Salem, Tamil Nadu

Salem, Tamil Nadu Salem(சேலம்)
city
Government
• Mayor	J. Rekha Priyadharshini
Population  (2008)
• Total	1,551,438
Website	www.salemcorporation.gov.in

Salem (Tamil: சேலம்) is a city and a corporation in Salem district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located in the north central part of the southernmost state of India.

Salem is a part of the Kongu Nadu, an ancient division of Tamilakam comprising the western Tamil Nadu. Almost completely surrounded by hills, Salem is at the base of the renowned tourist destination of Yercaud hills, which offers breathtaking views both along the ride up the hill and from the peak. There are also remote sites of beauty such as Kiliyur Falls. Yercaud is at an altitude of 1600 m above mean sea level.

The city is surrounded by a natural amphitheater of hills formed by the Nagaramalai to the north, the Jarugumalai to the south, the Kanjamalai to the west, and Godumalai to the east. It is divided by the Thirumanimuthar in the main division. The fort area is the oldest part of the town.

Early history

The name Salem appears to have been derived from hai or Shalya or Sayilam which are found in inscriptions referring to the country around the hills. Salem and the hilly region around it were part of the Chera and Kongu country in ancient times. Theywere ruled by their own Kongu Kings who were the Kurunila Mannargal of ancient Tamilnadu. Local folklore has it that the region around Salem was the birthplace of the Tamil poetess Avvaiyar. Inscriptions from the Ganga dynasty have been recovered from parts of the district. The city lies in the middle of Kongu Nadu.

Salem then later became part of the Western Ganga Dynasty and was long ruled by the Gangakulam rulers. With the Southern invasion of Tamilnadu by Vijayanagar empire, Salem came under the Madurai Nayaks. Later, it was ruled by Gatti Mudalis Poligars of Salem who built some famous temples and fort in and around the city. In the early 18th century, it came under Hyder Ali after a long feud know as the Mysore-Madurai war. Salem was then taken from Hyder Ali by Colonel Wood in the beginning of 1768. It was recaptured by Hyder ali towards the end of the year 1772. Under Lord Clive in 1799, it was again occupied by a detachment of the regiment stationed at Sankagiri Durg and remained a military station until 1861 when the troops were altogether withdrawn. One can find places like Magnum Chowltry renamed now as Magudanchavadi. During the times of Dheeran Chinnamalai, places like Salem and Sankagiri were the scene of battle between Kongu forces and British allied forces. The legendary Kongu chieftain Theeran Chinnamalai was hanged infamously in the Sankagiri fort on Adi Perukku day which later became the army headquarters of the British.

Geography and climate

Salem is located at 11.669437°N 78.140865°E / 11.669437; 78.140865. It has an average elevation of 278 metres (912 ft). Salem is surrounded by hills and the landscape is dotted with hillocks.

Politics

Salem consists of Three assembly constituencies: Salem North, Salem South and Salem West, which are part of Salem (Lok Sabha constituency).. Many great personalities including Salem Ramasamy Mudaliar, C. Vijayaraghavachariar, Pagadala Narasimhalu Naidu, C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) and Dr. P. Subbarayan started their political careers in Salem.

The incumbent Agriculture Minister of Tamilnadu, Mr.Veerapandy Arumugam (DMK party) is from this city.

Demographics

METTUR DAM

As of 2001 Indian Census the Salem Urban Agglomeration had a total population of 751,438, comprising Salem Municipal Corporation (696,760), Kondalampatti (16,808), Kannankurichi (14,994), Neykkarappatti (9,869), Mallamooppampatti (6,783) and Dalavaipatti (6,224).

Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Salem has an average literacy rate of 77%, higher than the national average of 64.5%: male literacy is 82%, and female literacy is 72%. In Salem, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

The language spoken in Salem is predominantly Kongu Tamil. Salem is also has a significant number of North Indians, like Jains and Marwaris who are mainly engaged in trade and commerce who have also learned to speak Tamil.

The city has grown leaps and bounds in the last two decades, which can be observed from the official census data. Population in 1991: 499,024 & Population in 2001: 696,760. World-Gazetteer has projected the population of the city in 2009 to be around 12 lakhs (1.2 Million) which makes the city to be the 4th largest populous city in the state. However, the official figures are expected sometime in 2011.

Entertainment

Cinema Theatres

Salem has long been established as a city of cinema theatres. It was unique in having a large number of cinema theatres at a particular place called Kitchipalayam.

In 80s at the peak there was almost 28 theatres showing all kind of cinemas including Hollywood movies, Dubbed movies and old movies. But currently there are about 15 theatres there as some of them were closed and even now there are about 15 theatres functioning. Some of the famous theatres are ARRS Multiplex, BIG CINEMAS, etc.

Shopping Malls

Salem is also emerging as one of the major shopping centers in the recent past. Saradha College Road and the Omalur Road have witnessed lots of growth in the shopping and retail portfolio, Kandaswarna Shopping Mall, V.V Shopping plaza, Tulsi Retail, Kandaswarna Mega Mall, Spencers, More for you,

There also a good number of hotels and restaurants present in the city.

Economy

File:Saillogo.JPG

SAIL

Salem is one of the major producers of traditional silver anklets, which are popular among women. It boasts large textile,steel,automotive, poultry and sago industries. Salem also has one of the largest magnesite deposits in India. Companies like Dalmia and TANMAG have mines here. The Leigh Bazaar market is one of the largest regional markets for agro products. Salem had an active film production with former Modern Theatres Studios being the hub of Tamil film production. Now defunct, Modern Theatres produced some of the most successful Tamil films, in which many veteran actors appeared, including former Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran. However, there are presently no studios in Salem.

Salem was also famous for hosting a huge number of cinema theatres in Tamil Nadu. Movie halls like Central, Oriental, Gowri, Sangeeth Complex, A.R.K. Complex, ARRS multiplex, BIG CINEMAS (ADLABS) and Alankar Theatre are some of the famous movie houses in Salem.

Export commodities

Salem is renowned for fabric exports, dating back to 1930's. Salem is the major exporter of fabric / cloth items until the recent development of Tirupur as a knitted garment export hub. Salem is also popular for its mangoes and are exported to different parts of the World. Plans are underway to build a mango pulp factory near Salem to export conditioned mango pulp.

Special Economic Zones (SEZ)

Being one of the fastest growing tier II cities, the Tamil Nadu government and ELCOT are planning to establish an IT park in Salem covering about 160 acres (0.65 km²). SAIL is planning a Steel SEZ inside the Salem Steel plant covering about 250 acres (1.0 km²).

There is an exclusive Electrical and Electronics Industrial Estate in the Suramangalam area of Salem city.

Religious sites

There are several Mariamman temples in Salem. Every year around July the city celebrates Mariamman festival for a fortnight. During this festival, goddess Mariamman is decorated with jewellery and flower chariots and taken around the city at midnight. On the first important day of the festival, people walk on fire (note: devotees call fire as flower) with their prayers. The second day is colourful with parades of fancy dress. Shevapet Mariamman temple car is the biggest one among the cars of Amman temples across the state. This festival is celebrated for a week. The Kottai Marriamman temple is very famous not only in Salem but throughout Tamil Nadu.

There is an Alagirnathar Thirukoil popularly known as "Kottai Perumal Koil", located at the heart of the city. The temple has been built centuries ago and has some beautiful sculptures. "Vaikunta Ekadasi" is the most famous festival in the temple, and on that day, lakhs of devotees visit the temple.In this temple, other festivals such as Brahmotsavam, Pavithrotsavam, Navarathri, and Puratasi are celebrated at good spirit. Thousands of devotees throng the temple during these days. "Aandaal Thirukalyanam" is a famous utsavam in the temple for which a special garland is brought from Sri Villi Puttur ("Soodi kodutha sudar malai")

The Sugavaneshwarar temple is also a very important shrine of Salem. Mythology records that sage Sugha Brahmarishi worshiped the lord here. Arunagirinadhar has sung a song on Lord Muruga in Sugavaneshwarar temple. There is Shri Hanuman, Ashram popularly known as Sri Baktha Varaprasadha Anjaneyar, Ashram, located at the heart of the city. Shri Hanuman also known as Shri Anjaneyar is enshrined in this Ashram. Shri Hanuman Jayanthi; Shri Ramanavami and New year celebrations are most famous events in this Ashram. The most important practice in this Ashram is, reciting Sundara Kandam of Ramayana, the most famous epic of India. The popular belief is that, Shri Hanuman is ardently listens to all the devotees while they recite the Sundara Kandam and blesses all the deveotees as well. At Seelanaickenpatty there is another hill for Lord Murugan, named Oothumalai. Kumaragiri is a small temple for Lord Muruga. It is situated 5 km from Salem city. A Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama is located in Salem. It was started in 1928 and made a branch of the mission in 1941. A relatively new ISKCON ashram is also present at Salem.

All parts of Salem are covered by mosques. Jamia masjid in Bazaar St, Meltheru and Keeltheru Mosques in Fort, mosques near railway junction and New integrated bus terminal, mosques in Ammapet, 5 Roads and Gugai are the famous one. Moreover there is a famous Arabic college located near Tamil Nadu Magnesite, Salem, offering world-class Arabic studies to the students.

Infant Jesus Church is situated at Four Roads, Salem. In 1930, the city was made the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salem. The Bishop is Sebastianappan Singaroyan and the cathedral is the Infant of Jesus Cathedral. Also, Eden Gardens School near Gandhi Road area has an attached prayer hall which functions as LEF.

There are different temples having his perticular family called kuladeivam ex ayyanarappan temple my family temple were locate malakoundanur in omalur....

Yercaud

Yercaud is a hill station near Salem, Tamil Nadu, India in the Servarayan range of hills (anglicized as Shevaroys) in the Eastern Ghats. It is at an altitude of 1515 metres (4969 feet) above the mean sea level. The town gets its name from the lake located at its center - in Tamil "Yeri" means "lake" and "Kaadu" means "forest". Yercaud is known for coffee plantations and orange groves. It also has an orchidarium run by the Botanical Survey of India.

The highest point in Yercaud is the Servarayan temple. Hence the Yercaud hill area is called Shevaroy Hills.

Yercaud is also known as Poor man's Ooty.

Coordinates: 11°46′46″N 78°12′12″E / 11.7794°N 78.2034°E / 11.7794; 78.2034

Gallery

• 
  Kiliyur waterfall near Yercaud
• 
  Rainbow near Pagoda point
• 
  View of Salem city at night
• 
  A quiet road in Yercaud
• 
  Boating lake
• 
  Dry season falls
• 
  Water falls at hills
• 
  Lakeview in Yercaud

Transport

Salem is a transit point for travel between Chennai, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Coimbatore, Madurai, Ernakulam/Cochin, Pondicherry, Trichy, Kanniyakumari and other places.

Road

National Highways

Three important National Highways are passing through Salem:

• NH7 (North-South),
• NH47 (Leading to West) and
• NH68 (Leading to East) intersect at Salem.

Growth of Goods Vehicles and Lorry Owners Association

At Sankari in 1960 only around 25 goods vechile were operated and now 10,000 goods vehicle are being operated by 1,000 lorry owners in 2005.

Mr K Asaithambi who was previous president of Sankari Lorry Owners Association, Seceratry Tamil Nadu lorry owners federation and Vice President All India Motor Transport Congress had fought for the rites of the Transport industry and Mr K Asaithambi become one of the pillars for the growth.

Bus Stands

Salem has 2 major Bus Stands as mentioned below:

• MGR Integrated Bus Terminus also called as Central Bus Terminus (New Bus Stand)- Mofussil Routes
• Town Bus Stand (Old Bus Stand)- Local Routes

Rail

Train passing Salem Junction

A train at Salem Junction

Salem Railway division has a total length of 842 km. Salem is a six railway routes merging junction, so it plays an important transit point in south India. Many Trains are passing through Salem Junction and Direct Trains are available for the following destinations as mentioned below (along with the routes):

Trains passing through Salem Junction (Towards / Via)	Direct Trains to Major Cities
1.Towards Jolarpettai (via) Magnesite Junction	Chennai (Madras) Central, Tirupathi Pune, Mumbai, Baroda, Ahmedabad Vijayawada, Vishakapatnam, Bhubaneshwar, Howrah, Guwahati Bhopal Junction, Indore, Gwalior, Jabalpur, Ujjain, Itarsi, Allahabad, Varanasi Jhansi, Lucknow, Ghorakhpur Agra, New Delhi, and other Parts of North and North Eastern India
2.Towards Bangalore (via) Omalur Junction	Dharmapuri, Hosur, Bangalore, Mysore Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and other parts of Western India
3.Towards Mettur Dam (via) Omalur Junction)	Mettur Dam
4.Towards Erode (via) Sankagiri	Tiruppur,Coimbatore Karur, Tiruchirappalli, Thanjavur Dindiugal, Madurai, Tuticorin, Rameswaram, Kaniyakumari Cochin (Ernakulam), Trivendrum, Mangalore and other parts of South India Indore, Bhopal, Nagpur
5.Towards Vridhachalam (via) Salem Town	Attur, Villupuram, Chennai-Egmore
6.Towards Karur (Under Construction) (via) Rasipuram and Namakkal	Trichy and Madurai

Apart from these six railway routes, there is a freight line from Salem to Steel plant.

Trains from Chennai to Coimbatore/Kerala (East-West) and trains from Bangalore to Southern districts [North-South] pass through the city, making it an important transit hub.

In 2007, Salem became a rail-division and this was formally inaugurated on 1 November 2007 by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and Former Indian Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. The Salem rail-division was carved out of the Palakkad rail-division in Kerala, which had created dissension between the two states.

The main train originating from Salem is

• MS Salem Express. Apart from this train, the
• Yercaud Express is also a prime train from Salem, which was earlier originating from Salem.

Salem enjoys good rail connectivity throughout the day to the state capital Chennai. Initiatives have been taken for a faster train from Chennai to Coimbatore via Salem.

There are heavy demands to start new services for Indore, Lucknow, Jabalpur and Jaipur from Chennai / Salem.

New railway track is under construction from Salem to Karur via Namakkal.

Following are the railway stations for the Salem urban area

• Salem Railway Junction
• Salem Market station
• Salem Town station
• Salem East (closed now)
• Magnesite Junction (not station, it is for trains operation)
• Neykarapatti
• Kondalampatti (proposed in Salem-Karur line)
• Ayodhyapattinam
• Karuppur

Air

File:Salem air.jpg

Salem airport is located 15km away from the city

Salem Airport- Salem has a domestic airport with international standards (code FR3241) at Kamalapuram near Omalur on NH7 towards Dharmapuri, Bangalore.

From 15 November 2009 onwards, Kingfisher Airlines is operating regular flights to Chennai from Salem Airport with connecting flights to Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkatta.

Salem Airport

• No.of Runways : 1
• Airport Capacity : 50
• Runway Direction : 04-22 -
• Runway length :8000 ft (paved)
• Taxiways : Halfway Backtracking and continue Taxiway A

Media

Print

The Newspapers which are available on Salem Edition are

• Dina Thanthi
• Dinamalar
• Dinakaran,
• Dinamani
• Kaalai Kathir (Salem is the Head Office for this newspaper)
• Maalai Malar
• Tamil Murasu

• The Hindu (Special Salem Edition from Trichy Unit)
• The New Indian Express (Special Salem Edition from Coimbatore)

Television Channel

Salem Has 4 local Tamil Channels,

• Polimer Channel
• CTN
• Polimer Music
• CTN Music

Radio

Salem has All India Radio, i.e FM Rainbow-103.70,suryan fm-93.5

Education

Salem, which was once considered the most educationally backward district in Tamil Nadu, now has a good number of educational institutions. It has a Govt. medical college named Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College, Salem started in 1986. It is recognized by MCI, with an annual intake of 75 MBBS seats. It is attached to the Government Head Quarters Hospital, Salem and the classes are conducted in Medical college which is located about 10 km from the hospital. Now the hospital is under upgradation on the lines of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at a cost of Rs.120 crores from the assistance of Central Government. New buildings are under construction.

Universities

• Periyar University is located in Omalur, near to Karuppur, Salem.
• Vinayaka Missions Deemed University, Salem. Vinayaka Mission's University was established in the year 2001 as a 48th University in India.

Arts and Science

Salem city has a very oldest college viz, Government Arts College at Salem-7, instituted 170 years ago.

1. A.V.s. College of Arts and Science.

2. Government Arts College (Autonomous), Salem - 7.

3. Government Arts College for Women, Salem - 8.

4. Jairam Arts & Science College.

5. Padmavani College of Arts and Science.

6. Shri Sakthi Kailassh Women's College.

7. Salem Sowdeswari College

8. Sri Sarada College for Women (Autonomous)

9. Sri Ganesh College.

10. Vysya College

Hotel Management Colleges

• Shevaroys College of Hotel Management & Catering Technology, Salem & Yercaud.
• Amman Institute of Hospitality Management & Computer application, 7/190, Sankari Main Road, Nethimedu, Salem - 636 002. PH:9894244961.
• Cenneys Institute of Hotel Management, Five Roads, Salem - 636 004. PH: 9894609909.
• VSR Catering College.
• Barath Catering College.
• Royal Catering college.

Medical Colleges

• Government Medical College and Government Nursing College
• Shri Bharani School of Nursing
• Shri Bharani College of Nursing
• Vinayaka Missions Sankarachariyar Dental College
• Vinayaka Missions Homeopathic Medical College and Hospitals
• Vinayaka Missions Annapoorana College of Nursing
• Vinayaka Missions College of Pharmacy
• Vinayaka Missions College of Physiotherapy

Engineering Colleges

Administrative block of Government College of Engineering

• Government College of Engineering [1].
• Knowledge Institute of Technology
• Vinayaka Missions Kirupananda Variyar Engineering College
• Sona College of Technology [2], established in the year 1997, situated in the heart of city.
• AVS Engineering College, Ammapet, Salem established in 2008.
• Maha College of Engineering, established in the year 2004, situated in Minnampalli near Ayodhiyapattinam, at a distance of 12 km from the city.
• The Kavery Engineering College, Mecheri, Mettur.
• Greentech College of Engineering for Women established in 2008, Attur.
• Rabindranath Tagore Institute of Engineering and Technology established in 2008, Attur.
• Bharathiyar Institiute of Engineering for Women established in 2008, Attur.
• Narasu’s Sarathy Institute of Technology established in 2008, Omalur.
• VSA School of Engineering, Uthamacholapuram, Salem -10.
• SRS College of Engineering and Technology, Salem-636122.

Polytechnic Institutions

• CSI Polytechnic college,Yercaud Main Road, Salem.
• MIT Polytechnic College, Cauvery Cross, Mettur.
• Murugesan polytechnic college, Karumapuram, Salem.
• Salem Polytechnic College, Panamarathupatti Pirivu Road, Salem.
• Thiyagarajar Polytechnic College, Suramangalam, Salem.

Schools

• Jay Matriculation Higher Secondary school,Ponnamapet,Salem-636003.
• Vaigai Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Vazhapadi ,Salem - 636111.
• MAM Higher Secondary and Matriculation School, Mettur dam.
• Montfort Higher Secondary School, Yercaud.
• SHY Higher Secondary School, Yercard.
• Bharathi Vidyalaya Higher Secondary School, Maravaneri, Salem.
• Government Higher Secondary School, Kondalampatti, Salem.
• Glaze brooke Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Reddiyur, Salem.
• Little Flower Higher Secondary School, 4 Roads, Salem.
• Little Flower Matriculation School, 4 Roads, Salem.
• Christopher Matriculation School, Salem
• C.S.I. Higher Secondary School, Shevapet, Salem. (for Boys only)
• C.S.I. Matriculation High School, Shevapet, Salem.
• [3]Holy Cross Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Salem (for Boys Only)
• Holy Angels Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Fairlands, Salem.
• NotreDame of Holy Cross School [CBSE], Gundukaloor, Salem - 636104.
• Cluny Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Salem [4] (for Girls Only)
• Golden Gates Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Salem.
• Golden Choice Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Salem.
• Gugai Higher Secondary School, Line Medu, Salem.
• Gugai Matriculation Higher School, Line Medu, Salem.
• Sri Vidya Mandir [CBSE], Ammapet, Salem.
• Sri Vidya Mandir [CBSE], Shevapet, Salem.
• Sri Vidya Mandir [CBSE], KONDALAMPATTY, Salem.
• Vasavi Higher Secondary School, Shevapet, Salem.
• Sri Ramakrishna Saradha Higher Secondary School, Salem.
• Sri Saradha Vidyalaya, Salem.
• Sourashtra High School, Salem - 1.
• St.John's Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Salem - 16. (for Boys Only) Hostel Attached
• Bala Bharathi Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Salem - 7.
• St.Paul's Higher Secondary School, Salem-07 (for Boys Only)
• St.Joseph's Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Line Medu, Salem - 6. (for Girls Only)
• St.Mary's Higher Secondary School, Arisipalayam, Salem. (for Girls Only)
• St.Mary's Matriculation School, Arisipalayam, Salem. (for Girls Only)
• Sri Vidya Mandir Higher Secondary School, Attayampatty.
• Sri Saradha Bala Mandhir Higher Secondary School (for boys only), Salem.
• Saraswathi Matric Higher Secondary School, Attur.
• Maruthi Higher Secondary School, Manivizhundan (South), Attur.
• Classic Matriculation School - Siruvachur, Attur.
• Holy Flower Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Salem.
• Tagore Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Attur.
• Jothi Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Ammapet, Salem.
• Raj Matriculation Higher Secondary School, P.G. Palayam, Attur.
• Sindhi Hindu high school, Naraya Nagar. Salem

Internet Searching Tips

Always search as 'Salem, Tamilnadu, India', while you search in search engines for better results of this City.

External links

• www.SalemJilla.com The No-1 Portal Of Salem City, Tamil Nadu
• Salem, Tamil Nadu at Curlie
• Official Website of Salem City Municipal Corporation
• NIC website for Salem, Tamil Nadu
• Police and prisons
• Department of Geology & Mining, Govt. of Tamilnadu

See also

• Salem (Lok Sabha constituency)