Mettupalayam, Coimbatore

This article is about a town in Coimbatore district. For other uses, see Mettupalayam.

Mettupalayam
—  town  —
Mettupalayam Location of Mettupalayam in Tamil Nadu and India
Coordinates	11°18′00″N 76°57′00″E / 11.3000°N 76.9500°E / 11.3000; 76.9500Coordinates: 11°18′00″N 76°57′00″E / 11.3000°N 76.9500°E / 11.3000; 76.9500
Country	India
State	Tamil Nadu
District(s)	Coimbatore district
Population	66,313 (2001[update])
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 326 metres (1,070 ft)
Codes • Pincode • 641301 • Telephone • +91-04254 • Vehicle • TN 40

Mettupalayam (Tamil: மேட்டுப்பாளையம்)is a taluk of Coimbatore Rural district, located northern part of the city Coimbatore on the way to Ooty. It is located in the foot hills of Nilgiri hills which is about 38 km north of downtown Coimbatore, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Mettupalayam is one among the fast developing suburbs of Coimbatore in the northern direction.

Geography

Mettupalayam is located at 11°18′00″N 76°57′00″E / 11.3000°N 76.9500°E / 11.3000; 76.9500.^[1] It has an average elevation of 314 metres (1033 feet). Mettupalayam is situated on the bank of Bhavani River at the foot of the Nilgiri mountains.

Demographics

Metupalayam town seen from Ooty Hills

As of 2001^[update] India census,^[2] Mettupalayam had a population of 66,313. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Mettupalayam has an average literacy rate of 73%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 79%, and female literacy is 68%. In Mettupalayam, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age. In addition to Tamil, Kannada is spoken by large number of people of the town. But the Kannada spoken here is much different from the one spoken in Karnataka due to mixture of Tamil words.

Transport Infrastructure

Mettupalayam is the railway junction for the Nilagiri passenger (NMR), and provides the interchange for passengers of this subline to the broad gauge railway. The Nilgiri Express (Blue Mountain Express) connects Mettupalayam to the state capital Chennai via Coimbatore.it is famous for its Ooty train "Nilgiri Passenger", the only rack and pinion railway in Asia.

Nilgiri Mountain Railway

Mettupalayam is the starting point for two of the Ghat Roads into the Nilgiri Hills. Subsequently it has established itself for the trade of fresh fruits & vegetables coming down from the hills and also for produce that grows in the plains and is destined for the hills. Fresh produce from here is supplied to most parts of Coimbatore

Coimbatore (Manchester of South India) is 38 km by road from Mettupupalayam. The nearest airport is Coimbatore International Airport which has regular ( Air timings) flights from New Delhi, Kolkatta, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calicut, Chennai, Cochin, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Jammu, Pune, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Bahrain, Kuwait, Muscat, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Colombo, Dubai,, Doha, Singapore, etc.

Places of interest

The Kotagiri road is a fabulous walking spot for Mettupalayam locals, where one can watch spotted deers and elephants. Forest college is also situated in kothagiri road.

Vana Bathrakali Amman Kovil, Idugampalayam Aanjineyar temple, Subramaniya swamy temple,Kurunthamalai Bala Thandayudapani Murugan Kovil, Kumaran Kundru Murugan Kovil,Shri Madheswara Temple in Annadasampalayam,Karamadai Ranganadhar Kovil are all famous temples located near Mettupalayam. Karamadai Ranganathar temple is famous for its car festival every year, where thousands of people flock to see the holy car of RANGANATHAR and get his blessings. This car festival is also famous for its "THER MITTAI" which is available in different shapes and sizes. Matheswarar Temple Located at Kuttaiyur (on the way from Mettupalyam to Karamadai), is a very famous Temple for Lord Shiva.

Agriculture is the occupation of most of the people.Mettupalayam is surrounded by lot of villages,fertile enough for agriculture.

Black Thunder is a water theme park located 3 km from the town, that attracts many tourists.It has attractive rides such as The Lazy River, Wave Pool, Thrillarium, surf hill, cannon ball, aqua bowl, side winder Etc.; are some of the famous rides here.And also Shri Madheswara Temple in Annadasampalayam is one of the rarest famous Lord Shiva temple existing in this region, located mere 8 km from mettupalayam.

For a magnificent view of the hillside covered with forests, a train journey from Mettupalyam to Ooty is recommended. This narrow gauge mountain train winds through 46 km of forests, tea plantations, 16 tunnels and more than 250 bridges, starting from Mettupalayam on the plains. Moving at a pace that is just a little faster than walking, the journey takes four and half to five hours, but is more than compensated by stunning views of the hills and the plains. Train journey to Mettupalayam is one of the most entertaining moments for tourist. This steam engine train is built in British periods.

Transportation business is also famous in mettupalayam.

As well as potatoes for the world market is supplied from mettupalayam market. Recently the famous Vegetable wholesale market is shifted from mettupalayam town to Jadayampalayam pudur which is located in Annur road.

In Jadayampalayam Village there is one famous temple called Then Thirupathy also important place to see.

Bypass Project

An Eastern bypass road project from Sulur to Mettupalayam connecting NH-67 with NH-67, again bypassing with Coimbatore city is likely to begin on 2011(mid-June). The streach from Sulur would be from Kangeyampalayam, Neelambur, Mayilampatty. Vehicles from Karur, Trichy, Madurai, Avinashi and also other southern districts, of Tamil Nadu could proceed to Mettupalayam and Ooty without having to enter Coimbatore city. Three rail-overbridges would come up at Sulur, Narashimanaickenpalayam & Karamadai.The entire stretch of Mettupalayam bypass road from Coimbatore would be 53.95 km.

Politics

Mettupalayam assembly constituency is part of Nilgiris (Lok Sabha constituency).^[3] Mettupalayam ADMK 60% Mettupalayam DMK 20% Mettupalayam MDMK 10% Mettupalayam Others 10%

See also

• Mountain Train in Ooty

References

1. ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Mettuppalaiyam, India
2. ^ "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. 
3. ^ "List of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies" (PDF). Tamil Nadu. Election Commission of India. http://archive.eci.gov.in/se2001/background/S22/TN_ACPC.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-10. 

Information on Resorts & Hotels in Mettupalayam - Cooonor & Ooty