Tirunelveli

Tamilnadu > Tirunelveli

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Tirunelveli is a city in Tamil Nadu state of southern India. It is the headquarters of Tirunelveli District. Tirunelveli is about 2000 years old and is a town of old tradition. Tirunelveli was the capital of the Pandya Kingdom for some time, next to Madurai.

Tirunelveli is situated on the banks of the river Thamiraparani; it is on the way to Kanniyakumari from Madurai . It is a twin town - Thirunelveli and Palayamkottai. The town is located roughly 400 kilometers away from Chennai.

The temple of Nellaiappar and Kanthimathi is situated in the centre of Tirunelveli. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and worshipped as Nellaiappar. Thiru-Nel-Veli (Thiru - Shri, Nel = Paddy, Veli = Fence). It is believed that food grains collected for worship at the temple were protected from the floods by the fence, hence the name Nel Veli came.

The famous Courtallam Waterfalls are located in Tirunelveli District. Tirunelveli is famous for Tirunelveli halwa.

History of Tirunelveli

"If the boundary of the town is made with stone, it will not be of aesthetic beauty and therefore boundary is fenced with paddy field" , says a Tamil Poet about Tiru-nel-veli. The town has been surrounded on all sides by paddy fields. As such the town was called as 'Nelveli' i.e., Paddy-Hedge. Since the temple in the town is dedicated to Lord 'Siva', the town around the temple was called Tiru-nel-veli. Around 1560, the town was rebuilt by Viswanatha, the founder of Nayak dynasty who also erected many temples in it. Tirunelveli was the earliest Pandiya's Capital. The Nayaks ruled Tirunelveli from Madurai during the 16th, 17th and early years of 18th Century.

Tirunelveli is situated on the west bank of Thamiraparani River and Palayamkottai on the east bank. Palayamkottai, being the administrative head quarters with the establishment of educational institutions and of various industries, public and semi public offices, exhibits a remarkable development. Palayamkottai was fortified under the native rulers and its defenses were intact at the time when it was passed into the hands of the British. It subsequently followed the base of their operations during the poliger wars. The fort was dismantled till the garrison of one or more native regiments which had been stationed here ever since the British occupation in this place was finally withdrawn.

Transportation of Tirunelveli

Roads

The Tirunelveli city is well-connected by roads. It is located on NH 7, 150 km to the south of Madurai and 80 km to the north of Kanyakumari. NH 7A, an extension of NH 7, connects Tirunelveli with Tuticorin City. For improving road infrastructure, there is a 4 way expansion works almost nearing completion and the NH 7A stretch is almost in finishing stage. Tirunelveli is accessible by road from Madurai (3 hours) or Nagercoil (1 1/2 hours). Tirunelveli is also connected by major highways to Kollam, Tiruchendur, Rajapalayam, Sankarankovil, Ambasamudram and Nazareth.

Railways

The city is beautified by a majestic looking structure with a high elevated facade, is one of the busiest and most important stations in Tamil Nadu. It is connected to major cities in all four directions, Madurai/Sankarankovil to the north, Nagercoil to the south, Tenkasi/Kerala (kollam) to the west and Tiruchendur to the east.

It is fully Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur broad gauge network from September 2008. Train Engine maintenance service station in under construction at this Railway station. At present, the engine and coaches are being sent to Nagercoil for maintenance. This station is facilated with computerized ticket booking and touch screen to know the train schedule and train running status. It is proposed to open up a computerized ticket booking center at Palayamkottai also to clear the extra rush at this Junction station. There are 3 express trains starts from here that are Nellai Express (Night Train to Chennai Egmore), Kollam Mail, Bilaspur Express (Tirunelveli - Trivandrum - Salem - Bilaspur)

This railway station produces profit for the Madurai Railway division. The Nellai Express, - a super-fast train connecting Tirunelveli and Chennai Egmore - runs packed almost throughout the year. The station has six platforms . Tirunelveli Junction is coded as TEN. Any train passing through the station halts in Tirunelveli Junction station. It is one of the oldest and popular stations in Indian Railway.

Airport

The closest airport to Tirunelveli city is the Tuticorin airport (TCR), located at Vaagaikulam, Thoothukkudi district, about 28 km east of Tirunelveli. Connections to Chennai are via Kingfisher Red, once a day. The Madurai Airport and Thiruvananthapuram International Airport are about 150 km away by road. An unused runway between Gangaikondan and Kayathar, 22 km north of the city, will become operational once the IT park at Gangaikondan is set up.