| Salem | |
| State - District(s) | Tamil Nadu - Salem |
| Coordinates | |
| Area - Elevation | 94 km² - 278 m |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Population (2001) - Density | 693,236 - 7060/km² |
| Mayor | Ms. Rekha Priyadharshini |
| Codes - Postal - Telephone - Vehicle | - 636xxx - +91-427 - TN 27 and TN 30 |
Salem pronunciation (Tamil: சேலம்) is a city and a municipal corporation in Salem district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the fifth largest city of Tamil Nadu located in the central part of the southern most state of India. Almost completely surrounded by hills, Salem is one of the major textile centres in the country.
Salem is also the headquarters of Salem District. Salem is at the base of the renowned tourist destination of Yercaud hills, which offers breathtaking views both during the ride up the hill and from the peak. Yercaud is at an altitude of 1600 m above mean sea level. There are people from different states of India settled in Salem.
The word "Salem" literally means, "surrounded by hills". The city of Salem is surrounded by several ranges of hills, including the Shevaroys and Yercaud hills.
The city is surrounded by an amphitheatre of hills, the Nagaramalai in the north, the Jeragamalai in the south, the Kanjanamalai on the west and Godumalai on the east. It is divided by the Thirumanimuthar in the main division. The fort is the oldest place of the town.
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The name 'Salem' appears to have been derived from Sela or Shalya by which the term refers to the country around the hills, as in the inscriptions. Local tradition claims Salem as the birth place of Tamil poetess Avvaiyar. Inscriptions from Ganga dynasty have been recovered from parts of the district.
Salem was also known as
S - STEEL
A - ALUMINIUM
L - LIME STONE
E - ELECTRICITY
M - MANGO
Salem was taken from Hyder by Colonel Wood in the beginning of 1768. But it was recaptured by Hyder towards the end of the year 1772. Under Lord Clive in 1799, it was again occupied by a detachment of the residents stationed at Sankari drag and remained a military station till 1861 when the troops were altogether withdrawn.
Many great people like Ramasamy Mudaliar, C.Vijayaraghavachariar, Pagadala Narasimhalu Naidu, C.Rajagopalachariar, Dr.P.Subbarayan, etc started their political and social life in Salem.
To know the complete history of Salem please refer the book "Salem - An Ethno History".
Salem is located at <ref>Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Salem</ref>. It has an average elevation of 278 metres (912 feet).
As of 2001 India censusGRIndia, Salem had a population of 693,236. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Salem has an average literacy rate of 71%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 76%, and female literacy is 65%. In Salem, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age. It stands in fifth place in the state of Tamil Nadu in terms of the population. In reality the net population of the city is more than that of Tiruchchirappalli, which is said to be the fourth largest city. The population figures shown in the census for Salem are given excluding many important suburbs like Kondalampatti, Kannankurichi, Malla Moopanpatti etc. which have been included into Salem City Municipal Corporation limits . The total urban population of Salem district is about 1,390,000 whereas that of Trichy is only 1,139,000.
And also, the total area covered by Salem city Municipal Corporation is 94 square km, and many important suburbs like Ayodhyapattinam, Dasanaikenpatti, Mohan Nagar, Uthamacholapuram, Chinna Kollapatti are not included into city limits. Wherein Trichy corporation limits extend very much outside urban limits. Salem is the fourth largest city of Tamil Nadu in terms of population density. Salem has a sister city, Salem, Oregon, USA.
Salem is well-known for its delicious Mangoes. Its mangoes are sent to various parts of the state and even outside the state. Salem also have a steel plant run by the SAIL and the brand Salem Stainless Steel is widely known.. It's also famous for Sago, Bauxite, Lorry Body building, Hand loom Weaving. Salem is one of the largest producers of traditional silver anklets, which is popular among women of India.
Salem has magnesite deposits, second largest in India. The companies like Dalmia and TANMAG have mines here. Salem also boasts of a large sago industry. The Leigh Bazaar market is one of the largest regional markets for agro products.
Salem had an active film production (not so active now according to Anna K), with former Modern Theatres Studios being the hub of Tamil film production. Now defunct Modern Theatres had produced some of the most successful Tamil films, in which many veteran actors have acted, including former Chief Minister M G Ramachandran (known as MGR).
Shevapet is the prime commercial market place of the city, with densely built buildings.
Besides, Salem Steel Plant, SAGOSERVE, Dalmia Magnesite Corporation, Burn Standard, PowerGrid, TANMAG which are located in the city and suburbs, Mettur (50 km from Salem city) has SISCOL, MALCO, Chemplast, Thermal power plant, Hydel power plant and a number of chemical industries.
Salem Steel Plant, SAGOSERVE, TANMAG, Burn Standards, Dalmia Magnesites, Tata Refractories are some of the notable industrial units of the city. POWERGRID has a station on the Salem Steel Plant Road.
There is an exclusive Electrical and Electronics Industrial Estate in the Suramangalam area of Salem city.
Salem gets a lot of fund from state government.
Export Commodities:
Import Commodities:
A major chunk of Salem's population is of Kongu race. A considerable number of Kannadigas also live in Salem. Tamil is the main language in Salem. Apart from Tamil, people having Telugu, Kannada and Sourashtra languages as their mother tongue are also found in large numbers, especially within the town limits of Salem.
Food is one of the notable aspects of Salem. Lot of hotels are famous for their own special menus in Salem. Especially,Hotel "Maruthi" is popular among youths in Salem. Salem is popular for its night time fastfood outlets.
Movies are the main source of recreation in Salem. Once Salem used to have the highest number of theaters in Tamil Nadu. The newly built multiplex is the latest attraction to movie lovers of Salem.
Anna park, and two amusement parks in Salem suburbs attract the kids.
Yercaud is the recreation place for most of the people in Salem, especially youngsters. Yercaud is just a one hour drive away from Salem. Working people in Salem come here during weekends to enjoy the cooler climate of Yercaud.
There are several Mariamman temples in Salem. Mariamman is a Hindu goddess, an incarnation of Shakti. 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. This is one of the best time to visit Salem City. This festival is celebrated at temples at Fort, Shevapet, Ammapet, Gugai, Andheripati etc., Shevapet Mariamman temple car is the biggest one among the cars of Amman temples across the state. This festival will be celebrated for a week. The Kottai Marriamman temple is very famous not only in Salem but throughout Tamil Nadu
Kandashramam is small hill temple for Lord Muruga. It is situated 10 km from Salem City towards Chennai highway. In Salem City, at Seelanaickenpatty there is another hill for Lord Murugan. Hill is named as OOTHUMALAI.
Two more mountain temples are there in Salem for Lord Vishnu.
Salem also has Heritage Temple called Sitthar Koil, which is located about 10 km from Salem. This is a Shiva Temple, which is located on the foot hills of Kanja Malai. Some believers say that, this temple was built by Sitthar's which is believed that they still survive in the Mount of Kanja Malai. The famous Tamil Poetess Avvayar is believed to be living in this hills.
Aragalur is located approximately 21 km from Attur that boast of 2 old temples and a large Buddha statue. The one day Temple Car festival in summer invites lots of people in the region. The Kailasanatha Temple situated at Tharamangalam is very famous for its architectural beauty, There are ancient shiva temples at Belur(Thanthondreeshwarar) and Uttamacholapuram(Karabunathar). The Sugavaneshwarar temple and Kottai Azhagiri Nadha Perumal Temple are also very important shrines of Salem. A branch of the Ramakrishna Math is located in Salem.
Salem, which was once considered as the most educationally backward district in Tamil Nadu, now has a few number of good educational institutions. New schools and colleges have come up in the recent past. The Government Arts and Science College situated in Salem is one of the oldest colleges in the country. It is more than 100 years old.
Government College of Engineering - Salem is a premier engineering institute run by the Government of Tamil Nadu, located on the Salem-Bangalore Express Highway (4-lane National Highway No: 7), about 10 km from Five Roads Junction of the city.
Sona College of Technology also located near the Salem-Bangalore Express Highway, about 2 km from the Bus terminal of the city and about 2 km from Salem-Railway Junction.
Salem has two medical colleges and a good number of quality engineering colleges. Salem is known for its colleges like Saradha Institutions, Vysya and Vinayaka Missions, Sona College of Technology, Vinayaka Engineering College, Maha College of Engineering to name a few. Many Students from salem go to Chennai and Coimbatore to study engineering.
Gandhi Matriculation school (Now at Namakkal Dist), Kandampalayam was an 20 + years old institute which teach very nice education to the poor people. it was established in 1985 itself.
Periyar University, established in the recent past, has got awards from University Grants Commission for great research activities in bio-sciences department. It is named after the leader of Tamil Nadu's anti-Brahmin movement, E. V. Ramaswami Naicker, whose title was Periyar (elder one). It is not clear whether the Periyar University has ideological affiliations to EVR's organizations, such as the Justice Party or the Dravidar Kazhagam. It is located on the Bangalore Highway, about 15 km from the heart of the city. All Arts and Science Colleges of Salem, Namakkal, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts come under Periyar University. It also offers variety of courses through distance education programme. Link http://www.periyaruniversity.ac.in
Three important National Highways (NH7, NH47 and NH68) criss-cross the city. Salem acts as the major transit point for Bangalore/Coimbatore/Madurai/Chennai. This keeps the 6/4-lane bypass road of the city busy round the clock. The presence of the bypass road eases the congestion in the city roads as the mofussil buses bound for and from Namakkal, Coimbatore, Erode, Trichy, Madurai are diverted through the bypass road to enter the Central Bus Terminus. The important arterial roads of the city are:
The Dr MGR Central Integrated Bus Terminus located in Meyyanur area. One can get buses for almost all the places of the state and Bangalore/Pondy round the clock from the terminus. TamilNadu State Transport Corporation, Salem division shares the load of traffic with other divisions for mofussil bus services. TSTC Salem division takes care of the city bus services within the city, and connecting the city with nearby suburbs and villages. The private bus sector in this region (especially the routes: Salem-Erode, and Salem-Namakkal) are the profit-making sectors in the state. Few private bus operators in Salem-Tiruchengode-Erode route have started issuing electronic-printed tickets for the passengers. The bus lobby in this sector is getting expanded day-by-day. If anybody wants to go to Erode from Salem make sure that the bus goes via Sankagiri on NH-47 (not via Tiruchengode ).
Salem is identified to have Railway division. It constitutes of Salem, Erode and Nammakkal in its division.
Prime trains for Salem:
To Chennai:
Yercaud Express Salem dep 22:15, Chennai arr 04:30 (From Erode) Nilgairi Express Salem dep 23:40, Chennai arr 05:15 (From Coimbatore) Kovai Express Salem dep 16:15, Chennai arr 21:15 (From Coimbatore) InterCity Express Salem dep 08:55, Chennai arr 14:00 (From Coimbatore) WestCoast Express Salem dep 09:30, Chennai arr 15:15
From Chennai:
Yercaud Express Chennai dep 22:30, Salem arr 04:10 Kovai Express Chennai dep 06:15, Salem arr 10:50 (to Coimbatore) InterCity Express Chennai dep 14:30, Salem arr 19:20 (to Coimbatore) WestCoast Express Chennai dep 11:30, Salem arr 16:30 (to Coimbatore)
To Bangalore:
Yeshwanthpur passenger Salem dep 05:30, Bangalore(YPR) arr 10:55 Coimbatore-Kurla Express Salem dep 07:45, Bangalore arr 12:25 Bangalore passenger Salem dep 13:40, Bangalore arr 18:45 Coimbatore InterCity Express Salem dep 17:05, Bangalore arr 21:10
From Bangalore:
Coimbatore InterCity Express Bangalore dep 06:15, Salem arr 09:55 Salem Passenger Bangalore dep 07:30, Salem arr 12:55 Salem passenger Bangalore dep 16:00, Salem arr 21:30 Coimbatore Express Bangalore dep 22:05, Salem arr 03:05
To Mumbai:
Coimbatore Kurla Express Salem dep 10:45, Mumbai(LTT) arr 14:30 (next day) Kannyakumari Mumbai CST Express Salem dep 21:10,Mumbai arr 03:55 (second day)
From Mumbai:
Kanyakumari Express Mumbai dep 15:30, Salem arr 20:40 (next day) Coimbatore Express Mumbai dep 22:25, Salem arr 03:55 (second day)
To New Delhi:
Kerala Express Salem dep 23:00, New Delhi arr 16:00 (third day)
From New Delhi:
Kerala Express New Delhi dep 11:00, Salem arr 02:10 (third day)
Above trains are daily one. Salem has many more trains to above metro cities.
Salem is also an important Railway Junction where, every Trains connecting Kerala (via erode and Coimbatore).
Salem also has an airport at Kamalapuram, on Bangalore Highway, but there are no air services for the Airport till date. Which was Built in the year 1992.
During 1993 NEPC Airways was operating Flights service from Salem to chennai via Coimbatore for few months. As passenger from salem has to travel to chennai via Coimbatore which took a 3hrs journey(one could reach chennai from salem by 5 to 6hrs by train), this was not a Success.
Now Air Deccan has Plans to start a direct Air Service from Salem to Chennai. The trial Ride was already over and the Air deccan Officials May Approve the quality of airport to a Start service. It may start at november 1 2006.
Airport Name :Salem Airport
City Name :Salem
State :Tamil Nadu
Distance and Direction from the City 20 Kms.
Contact
Address Airport-in-Charge Airports Authority of India (NAD) Salem Airport Salem Tamilnadu
Telephone 91-4290-20060, 91-4290-20166
Fax - E-Mail -
Alternative Address
Address Regional Executive Director
Southern Region
Airports Authority of India
Chennai International Airport
Chennai
Telephone 91-44-2342393
Fax 91-44-2342385 E-Mail -
Aerodrome Reference Code
Code No. 4
Code Letter C
Reference Point
Land Area 136.29 Acres
Elevation 984 ft.
Terminal Capacity
Arrival 50
Departure 50
Runway
Orientation 04/22
Dimension 6000 ft x 150 ft
Bearing Strength of Pavement - LCN/PCN :LCN-40
Parking Apron
Dimensions 300 ft X 200 ft
Capacity Two B-737
Navigation Aids
Ground Lighting Facilities
Salem City Salem Moffusil
a. Police force
1. Local 900 679
2. Armed Reserve 253 338
b. Police stations 14 33
c. Police outposts NIL NIL
d. Spal units 12 12
2 Prisons
a. Central prisons 1
b. Other prisons Sub Jail 12
Spl. Jail 1 5th Gardan 1
<references/>
| State of Tamil Nadu </b> Tamil Nadu Topics | History | Politics | Tamil people |
|---|---|
| Capital | Chennai |
| Districts | Chennai • Coimbatore • Cuddalore • Dharmapuri • Dindigul • Erode • Kanchipuram • Kanyakumari • Karur • Krishnagiri • Madurai • Nagapattinam • Namakkal • Perambalur • Pudukkottai • Ramanathapuram • Salem • Sivaganga • Thanjavur • The Nilgiris • Theni • Thoothukudi • Tiruchirapalli • Tirunelveli • Tiruvallur • Tiruvannamalai • Tiruvarur • Vellore • Viluppuram • Virudhunagar |
| Major cities | Alandur • Avadi • Ambattur • Chennai • Coimbatore • Cuddalore • Dindigul • Erode • Kancheepuram • Karur • Kumbakonam • Madurai • Nagercoil • Neyveli • Pallavaram • Pudukkottai • Rajapalayam • Salem • Tiruchirapalli • Tirunelveli • Tambaram • Thoothukudi • Tiruppur • Tiruvannamalai • Thanjavur • Tiruvottiyur • Vellore |
fr:Salem (Tamil Nadu) ml:സേലം nl:Salem (India) ja:セーラム (インド) pt:Salem (Tamil Nadu) ro:Salem, Tamil Nadu simple:Salem, Tamil Nadu sv:Salem, Indien
