Avadi

Toponymy

The word 'Avadi' has been considered as an acronym for 'Armoured Vehicles and Ammunition Depot of India', however this fact has no base since, the defence establishments in Avadi were set up only in the 1960s, whereas the town itself had existed long before this happened and with the same name. The name Avadi actually means in Tamil 'a place filled with lot of cows' ஆ (Aa) = cow + அடி (Adi) = location.

Corporation Status Awaited

Avadi Town Set to upgrade as Corporation Soon.The government appears to be finally waking up to the needs and aspirations of residents of the neglected city suburbs: It's planning three satellite municipal corporations around Avadi, Pallavaram and Tambaram.This will bring areas in a radius of about 20 km from Pallavaram in the south till Nazarathpet in the west under corporation limits. This apart, Kundrathur and Mangadu town panchayats on the western fringes are likely to be up graded as municipalities.

A proposal for creating three independent municipal corporations is under the consideration of the government, official sources privy to the developments said. "We have sent the proposal a few weeks ago. It is under consideration of the government," an official with the commissionerate of municipal administration told TOI. Among the new civic bodies, Avadi in Tiruvallur district is likely to be the largest, covering an area of 148sqkm with three municipalities including []Poonamallee and Thiruverkadu, besides Thirunindravur town panchayat and 11 village panchayats.Avadi is likely to have 80 to 100 wards as per the proposal.

Geography

Avadi is located at 13.12°N 80.1°E / 13.12; 80.1. It covers an area of 65 km² and has an average elevation of 17 meters (55 foot).

Lake

Avadi has a lake which lies right behind the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB). This lake is of length of 2.64 kilometers. It is mostly known to have never dried up in many years. This lake has supposedly been a source of water for cultivation of farm lands long before. The water body attracts many birds during various seasons.However, in the recent decades it has lost most of its area to indiscriminate building and encroachment.

History

The famous session of the Indian National Congress was held at Avadi on 10 January 1955. This historical meet emphasised the importance of socialism and its impact on social development. Jawaharlal Nehru with Morarji Desai and other Congress leaders at the AICC session declared that a socialistic pattern of society was the goal of the Congress.

Industries and Companies

In addition to military establishments, Avadi also houses a number of IT/ITES & other service sector based firms. Aristomind, one of the First Start up was from Avadi.

Military Establishments

The major military establishments having divisions in Avadi are the Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF), EFA-Engine Factory, Avadi, Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indian Navy, Central Vehicle Depot (CVD), The Ordnance Depot [OD], Unfit Vehicles Park [UVP] and the Ordnance Clothing Factory (OCF).

The Indian Air Force has a Mechanical Transport Training Institute Technical (MTTI) here for training its personnel on driving and repairing vehicles and also a base repair depot for repair and maintenance of its various equipment. CVRDE undertakes major research on battle tanks and other combat vehicles. MBT Arjun, armoured ambulance, Combat Improved Ajeya and Nag anti-tank missile are some of the recent products from CVRDE. The Heavy Vehicles Factory produces an indigenous version of the T-72 tank known as Ajeya. HVF also produces the main battle tank Arjun. The production of T-90S Bhishma tanks started in 2006–2007. The Tamil Nadu Special Police (TSP) also has a division in Avadi, the TN 2nd & 5th Battalion.

There was a World War II airfield at Red Hills, Sholavaram approachable from the junction close to the CRPF Camp, Avadi, immediately after the Military Hospital.

Demographics

According to 2011 census, Avadi had a population of 345,996 with a sex-ratio of 970 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 36,091 were under the age of six, constituting 18,419 males and 17,672 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 16.16% and .63% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the city was 81.76%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The city had a total of 87733 households. There were a total of 127,152 workers, comprising 787 cultivators, 1,095 main agricultural labourers, 1,444 in house hold industries, 111,013 other workers, 12,813 marginal workers, 221 marginal cultivators, 310 marginal agricultural labourers, 449 marginal workers in household industries and 11,833 other marginal workers. As per the religious census of 2011, Avadi had 84.23% Hindus, 4.56% Muslims, 10.69% Christians, 0.07% Sikhs, 0.03% Buddhists, 0.08% Jains, 0.3% following other religions and 0.03% following no religion or did not indicate any religious preference.

From 229,403 in 2001, the population of Avadi has grown to 344,701 in 2011, registering a decadal population growth of 50 percent.

Places of Worship

There are many Hindu Temples in and around Avadi. Karumari Amman temple, Chinnamman temple, Nagavalli Amman and Perumal temple are very famous temples in Avadi. In addition to this many old generation temples are also present in and around Avadi. Thirumullaivoyal, a locality near Avadi is famous for Masilamaniswara Temple, Thirumullaivoyal an ancient temple of Lord Shiva and also Pachaiamman Temple. Vaikundhanaadhar Temple is located near Kovilpathagai, Angaalamman temple is located in the Redhills road. Sri Venkateswara Perumal Temple in Kamaraj Nagar is a Vaishavite shrine in Avadi.

There are a handful of Mosques serving to a considerable Islamic population in Avadi. There are some churches functioning over 50 years, some of them include Marthoma Church in Gandhi Nagar, CSI, RC and Orthodox Churches in HVF road. Also, numerous churches have been built in recent years St Antony's Shrine is a Catholic church located at Avadi Check-post. There is a Jain temple, Vasupujiya Jain Temple and a Gurudwara in the HVF estate for the Sikhs to worship in Avadi.

Even-though, Avadi boasts of cultural and religious diversity, it has a proud heritage of religious tolerance.

Schools in Avadi

1. Ankur Vidyalaya
2. DAV School
3. Immaculate Heart of Mary's Girls Hr. Sec. School
4. Jaigopal Garodia Vivekanadha Vidyalaya
5. Kendriya Vidyalaya HVF
6. Kendriya Vidyalaya IAF
7. Kendriya Vidyalaya OCF
8. Kendriya Vidyalaya, CRPF
9. Nazareth Matriculation Higher Secondary School
10. OCF School
11. Roman Catholic Matriculation School
12. St.Joseph's Matriculation School
13. Velammal Vidyalaya
14. Veltech Dr.RR and Dr.SR Matric. School
15. Vijayantha Model Hr. Sec. School
16. Vijayanta Senior Secondary School
17. Nabi Crescent Matriculation School

Higher Education Institutes

1. Aalim muhammed salegh academy of architecture;)
2. Aalim Muhammed Salegh Engineering college
3. Aalim Muhammed Salegh Polytechnic college
4. St.Peter's College of Engineering and Technology
5. St.Peters University
6. Veltech Dr.RR & Dr.SR Technical University
7. Veltech Multitech Dr.RR & Dr.SR College of Engineering
8. Veltech Hightech Dr.RR & Dr.SR College of Engineering
9. Veltech Engineering College
10. Vel Rangarajan Sakunthala College of Management and Science
11. Nazareth College of Arts and Science
12. http://www.murugappapoly.ac.in/

Railways

Avadi railway station is one of the terminal station of the Chennai Suburban Railway Network. There are frequent suburban trains from Avadi to Chennai Central, Chennai Beach, Arakonam, Thiruvallur and Tiruthani. Few express trains stop at Avadi.

22640/Alappuzha-Chennai SF Express, 16204/Garudadri Express and 12624/Thiruvananthapuram - Chennai Super Fast Mail stop here.

Roadways

Avadi bus terminus is located very near to the Avadi Railway station on the Chennai - Thiruvallur High Road (CTH road).

Avadi is well connected to various locations of Chennai as well as rural areas surrounding North-western and Western Chennai. The main service provider though is the state-owned Metropolitan Transport Corporation some private buses are also available.

Chennai–Tirutani highway extension

The Tamil Nadu Highways department issued a GO on 4 October 2013 to extending the entire Chennai – Tirutani highway to 6 lanes at a cost of 1.68 billion. The first phase will involve extending the road to 4 lanes – 100 ft with center median and encroachments have already started to be removed.

State Assembly Constituency

Avadi is a state assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu, India formed after constituency delimitation.^[1] It is included in the Thiruvallur parliamentary constituency.