Melur

Melur
—  city  —
Melur Location of Melur in Tamil Nadu and India
Coordinates	10°03′N 78°20′E / 10.05°N 78.33°E / 10.05; 78.33Coordinates: 10°03′N 78°20′E / 10.05°N 78.33°E / 10.05; 78.33
Country	India
State	Tamil Nadu
District(s)	Madurai
Panchayat	A.Vallalapatty
Population • Density	33,743 (2001[update]) • 51 /km2 (132 /sq mi)
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	664.9 square kilometres (256.7 sq mi) • 149 metres (489 ft)
Website	www.melurnet.com

Melur (Tamil: மேலூர்) is a town and a municipality in the Madurai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Melur is called Thaikramam ('Mother of Villages'). It is the biggest taluk within the Madurai District.

Melur is a manufacturer and exporter of ploughs. Granite production is an important industry; granite from Melur is exported around the world. Situated within a largely agricultural area, most of the people living around Melur are employed in agriculture, chiefly in the cultivation of rice.

Geography

Melur has an average elevation of 149 metres (489 ft).

Demographics

According to the 2001 India census, Melur had a population of 33,743.^[1] Males constituted 51% of the population and females 49%. Melur has an average literacy rate of 81%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 85%, and female literacy is 76%. In Melur, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Religion

The local religion involves the Lord Shiva temple and the goddess Draupathi, who was wife of the Pandavas. Two important events are Biman–Keesakan fight and the Pookkuli Festival. In the first event, one person will be acting as Bima and another as Keesakan. Keesakan tries to run away from Bima, and the latter will chase him and kill him. The Pookkuli (walking on ignited coals) festival is celebrated every year by the Draupathi Amman Temple. On the Pookkuli day, devotees who have offered prayers to the goddess will perform fire walking.

The Naagammal Temple Festival is celebrated every year. Poochorithal is the main event of the festival. Santhana Koodu Festival is celebrated in the mosques every year. The Ealai Katha Amman Temple festival, Kottakudi Eruthu Kattu, and the Ayyanar Temple Puravi Eduppu Festival are also celebrated around Melur. The Kathapillai street Kaliamman festival is celebrated every year in June.

Temples and mosques

The Lord Thirumarainathar and Vethanayaki Amman Temple, Thiropathi Amman Temple, and Manickavasagar Temple are in Thiruavathavoor. The Hanuman Temple is at the Pakulam road. The Lord Sri Ram temple and mosque are located opposite each other. There are five mosques in town: in the Trichy main road named JAMIYA MASJID MOIYADEEN MOSQUE; near Chekkadi; Masjid Noor near Al Ameen High School; Koofa Masjid near Nondi Kovil Patti; and Thaqva Masjid near Baskaran Hospital Al-aqsa mosque near perumal patti MOHAMADHIYA PURAM MOSQUE.

Infrastructure

Social Services

Pheonix social service

Airport

Madurai Airport is the nearest international airport. International flights to Singapore, Sharjah, and Colombo are available by Indian Airlines, Kingfisher, Jet Airways, Singapore Airlines, Air Arabia, and SriLankan Airlines.

Domestic flights are available to Chennai, Bangalore, New Delhi, Mumbai, and other Indian cities.

Bus Stand

Melur has a bus stand, which is used by TNSTC and private operators. This is situated inside the town on Trichy main road NH45. Melur has bus transportation to Madurai, Chennai, Trichy, Sivaganga, Dindigul, Karaikudi, Pudukottai, Ramanathapuram, Thirunelveli, Virudhunagar, Tanjore, Rajapalayam, and all around the neighboring districts.

Railway station

Madurai Railway Station is the nearest railway station.

Telecommunications

Melur is connected with all GSM and CDMA mobile phone operators. The major players are Aircel, Airtel, BSNL, and Vodafone in the GSM the segment and Reliance, Tata Indicom in the CDMA segment.

Tiles & Hardware

Sri Balaji Vilas Timber Traders, Sri Vanitha Vilas Traders, Sri Rama Vilas Agencies

Politics

Melur assembly constituency is part of Madurai (Lok Sabha constituency).^[2] The major political parties in Melur are ADMK, DMK, Indian National Congress, and DMDK.

Cinema

The film actor Ramarajan lives in Melur. The film director and actor Cheran, whose native village is [Palaiyurpatti,Near by melur], also lives in town. The music director D. Imman was born in Melur.

References

1. ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. http://web.archive.org/web/20040616075334/http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999. Retrieved 2008-11-01. 
2. ^ "List of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies". Tamil Nadu. Election Commission of India. http://archive.eci.gov.in/se2001/background/S22/TN_ACPC.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-11.