Vellore district

History

Vellore had been under the control of Cholas of Uraiyur, Pallavas, Rashtrakutas of Malkhed, Sambuvarayar, who lived in the territory of Melakadambur which denoted in Ponniyin selvan the rulers of Vijayanagaram, Marathas, the Nawabs of the Carnatic and the British. The Vellore Fort, which was probably built during the rule of Chinna Bommi Nayak (1526 to 1595 A.D.), was considered to be a strong fort during the Carnatic war in the 17th century.

The district finds an important place in the Indian freedom struggle. The Sepoy Mutiny of 1806 that took place inside the Vellore fort was seen as a prelude to the Revolt of 1857.

Men from the Vellore District fought in the British India Army and sacrificed their lives in the World Wars. This is recorded in the clock tower in the long bazaar at Vellore, raised in 1920, where an inscription reads "Vellore - From this Village 277 men went to the Great war 1914-18, of them 14 gave up their lives".

After the Indian independence in 1947, Vellore became a part of the erstwhile Madras state. The modern Vellore District was formerly part of North Arcot District, which was established by the British in the 19th century had Chittoor as its headquarters. On 1 April 1911, district was split into Chittoor district and North Arcot.

On 30 September 1989 the district was split into Tiruvannamalai-Sambuvarayar (present-day Tiruvannamalai) and North Arcot Ambedkar districts. North Arcot Ambedkar District was renamed Vellore District in 1996. Vellore district has many more historical places like Arcot nawab's Tiruppathur war. Kailasagiri hill is the best example for that: We can see many places on top of the hill and a beautiful Lord Murugan temple is there.

Geography and climate

Vellore district has an area of 6077 km². Vellore district lies between 12° 15’ to 13° 15’ North latitudes and 78° 20’ to 79° 50’ East longitudes in Tamil Nadu State.

The district is bound on the northeast by Tiruvallur District, on the southeast by Kanchipuram District, on the south by Tiruvannamalai District, on the southwest by Krishnagiri District, and on the northwest and north by Andhra Pradesh state. Major towns in the district include Ambur, Arakkonam, Arcot, Jolarpet, Pallikonda, Gudiyattam, Pernambut Melvisharam, Ranipet, Sholinghur, Tiruppattur, Vaniyambadi, Vellore, and Walajapet. Kaveripakkam is a panchayat town in Vellore with the second largest lake in Tamil Nadu.

The average maximum temperature experienced in the plains is 39.5 degree Celsius and the average minimum temperature experienced is 15.6 degree Celsius. The region experiences an average annual rainfall of 795 mm, out of which North East Monsoon contributes to 535 mm and the South West Monsoon contributed to 442 mm.

Demographics

According to 2011 census, Vellore district had a population of 3,936,331 with a sex ratio of 1,007 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 432,550 were under the age of six, constituting 222,460 males and 210,090 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 21.85% and 1.85% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the district was 70.47%, compared to the national average of 72.99%.

The district had 929,281 households. There were 1,689,330 workers, comprising 153,211 cultivators, 254,999 main agricultural labourers, 106,906 in household industries, 845,069 other workers, 329,145 marginal workers, 21,897 marginal cultivators, 136,956 marginal agricultural labourers, 29,509 marginal workers in household industries and 140,783 other marginal workers.

Language

Tamil is the official language. Telugu is spoken predominantly due to the historical Telugu population and its vicinity to Andhra Pradesh, and Urdu is also spoken by the Muslims.

Administration and politics

Vellore is one of the 32 districts of Tamil Nadu and is administered by the Vellore District Collectorate. The present collector of Vellore district S A Raman.

The police force is headed by the superintendent of police Pagalavan IPS. The police force in the district has a strength of 1,733 personnel, of which the local police comprise 1,162 personnel and the armed reserve police comprise 534 personnel.

Vellore district has 12 State Legislature constituencies and comes under three Lok Sabha constituencies. The table at left lists the State assembly constituencies in the state and the 2006 Tamil Nadu State Assembly Election results. The three Lok Sabha constituencies under which the district falls are Vellore, Arakkonam and Thiruvannamalai. The elected representatives (Member of Assembly) from these constituencies are Dr. V.S. Vijay (ex-minister AIADMK) from Vellore, A. Mohammedjan Ranipet (ex-minister AIADMK) S. Ravi (AIADMK) from Arakkonam and E.V. Velu (DMK) from Thiruvannamalai R. Srinivasan Arcot (AIADMK) from Vellore, A. Aslam Basha Ambur Mla, K. Lingamuthu Gudiyatham (Mla), DURAIMURUGAN Katpadi Mla (DMK).

Transportation

Two National Highways — NH 4 (Mumbai - Chennai) and NH 46 (Krishnagiri - Ranipet) — connect parts of the district to other parts of the country. NH 46 passes through Vaniyambadi, Ambur, Pallikonda, Vellore and Arcot before joining NH 4 at Ranipet.

These highways are important connecting roads for vehicles especially travelling to Chennai from Bangalore and Coimbatore. These highways run for 226 km (140 mi) in the district. Other important roadways present are State Highways of 629 km (391 mi) and district roads of 1,947 km (1,210 mi).

Railway network in Vellore comes under the Southern Railways, with Vellore (Katpadi), Arakkonam and Jolarpettai forming the major railway junctions. There are 28 railway stations and 152 km (94 mi) of rail tracks. There is a domestic airport which is not in use; the nearest international/domestic airport at Chennai.

RTO

Sub-office at Gudiyatham (TN23T) for Gudiyatham & Pernambut Taluks

Suboffice at Arakkonam (TN73Z) for Arakkonam & Nemili Taluks

Suboffice at Ambur (TN83Y) for Ambur Taluk

Suboffice at Tirupattur (TN83Z) for Tirupattur Taluk & Natrampalli Taluks

Agriculture

The district is primarily agrarian with a majority of its population involved in agriculture. The chief food grains cultivated are paddy, cholam, ragi and redgram. Vellore is one of the top producers of sugarcane and cocunut in the state. Oil seeds that are cultivated are groundnut, coconut, sunflower and gingelly.

Scientific Research Center

The P.A. Sekar Scientific Research Center was established by P.A.Sekar, scientist in guruvarajapet arakkonam taluk Vellore District. It was established for promotion of invention in rural business like textile weaving and agriculture. This center got the Best Invention Award 2014.

Industries

BHEL - BAP, Ranipet factory (Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd - Boiler Auxiliaries Plant) is a major heavy engineering unit of Tamil Nadu. There are three industrial estates: SIDCO at Katpadi, SIPCOT at Ranipet and SIDCO at Arakkonam. Leather based industry is the main industry in this district. Ambur, Vaniyambadi, and Ranipet are the main towns involved in the leather business.

Asia's biggest explosives manufacturing company, Tamil Nadu Explosives Limited (TEL), is in Vellore at Katpadi. This is India's only government explosives company with more than a thousand employees. The company is headed by a senior Indian Administrative Service officer. Ravi Pratap Sinha (recruited from an explosives multinational corporation) served as the first GM (recruited from MNC) of this factory. TEL reached to its highest production level during his leadership.

Educational and healthcare

A total of 162 higher secondary schools, 167 high schools, 444 middle schools, 1678 primary schools and 324 primary schools.

Vellore has two universities. There are four medical colleges, 11 engineering colleges, 21 arts and science colleges, 1 Govt Law College at Katpadi started in 2008, 1 Agricultural college and 1 Nursing college, apart from 39 teacher training institutes. The most prominent colleges are Vellore Institute of Technology, ranked as one of the best private engineering colleges in India, and Voorhees college, Vellore, C. Abdul Hakeem College (Arts and Science), C. Abdul Hakeem College of Engineering & Technology, Melvisharam, Islamiah College for Men and Islamiah College for Women, Vaniyambadi, Marudhar Kesari Jain College for Women, Vaniyambadi, Imayam arts & science college, Priyadarshini engineering college vaniyambadi and Sacred Heart College, Tirupattur and Ranipettai Engineering college in walaja, Doctor siluvaisithar ayurveda & herbal research center Pallikonda.

The Christian Medical College in Vellore is the second best medical college of India. It is one of the largest private hospitals in the state and is much sought after facility from all across India. The district has 13 hospitals and 67 primary health centres.

Tourism

The Vellore Fort is the primary tourist attraction in the district headquarters Vellore. Vellore Fort is the most prominent landmark. During British rule, Tipu Sultan's family and the last king of Sri Lanka, Vikrama Rajasinha, were held as royal prisoners in the fort. It houses a church, a mosque and a Hindu temple, the latter known for its carvings. The first rebellion against British rule erupted at this fort in 1806, and it witnessed the massacre of the Vijayanagara royal family of Emperor Sriranga Raya.

The golden temple of Sripuram (Tamil: ஸ்ரீபுரம்) is a spiritual park situated at the foot of a small range of green hills in a place known as "Malaikodi". The temple is between Vellore-Odugathur state highway and at the southern end of the city of Vellore, at Tirumalaikodi. The temple with gold covering, has intricate work done by artisans specializing in temple art using gold. The Jalagandeeswarar Temple inside the Vellore fort dedicated to Jalagandeeswar, is noted for its sculptures, and speaks volumes of the exquisite craftsmanship of the highly skilled artisans of that period. Other famous temples are Ratnagiri Murugan Temple, Wallajapet Dhanvantri Temple, Sri Veera Vijaya Anjaneya Swami temple at D.P Palayam and Ponnai Navagraha Kottai Temple.

Assumption Cathedral and the 150-year-old St. John's Church inside the fort are among the churches in Vellore. The Big Mosque, in the heart of the city, houses the largest Arabic college in India.

Yelagiri is a hill station off the Vaniyambadi-Tirupattur road at an altitude of 1,410.6 metres above mean sea level and spread across 30 km². The hill station is much unspoiled and retains a laid-back atmosphere, unlike many other hill stations of India. Near Yelagiri is a seasonal waterfall named Jallagamparai, which receives water during the rainy season.

Amirthi Forest & Zoological Park is under the javadu hills of tellai across amirthi river which is 25 km from Vellore. The area of the park is 25 hectares.

"Sri Thenvenkatachalapathy Temple" is a Vedic temple in the down of the Vallimalai hill town near thiruvalam in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu, India. It was in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu. Vallimai is presently 25 km from Vellore and 12 km from thiruvalam. In Sri Thenvenkatachalapathy temple Vishnu looks like a saint and he is a syambumoorthy (which was not carved by anyone). According to history when Vishnu was in deep meditation Lakshmi came like a deer and she played in front of him. Vishnu's meditation was dispersed and he saw that deer. Due to his holy glory a beautiful daughter was born; they left their daughter for the sake of their devotee king. After that king found the child in Vaḷḷikiḻaṅku field; she was called Valli.