Madurai district

This article is about the district. For its eponymous headquarters, see Madurai.

Madurai district is one of the 38 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu in southeastern India.^[1][3] The city of Madurai serves as the district headquarters. It houses the famous Sri Meenakshi Sundareshwarar temple and is situated on the banks of the river Vaigai. Thiruparankundram is one of the major tourist place in the district. As of 2011, the district had a population of 3,038,252 with a sex-ratio of 990 females for every 1,000 males. Aside from the city of Madurai, the larger towns are Melur, Vadipatti, Thirumangalam, Thirupparankundram, Peraiyur, and Usilampatti.^[4] It is an important hub for various film shootings. Alanganallur is a popular spot in the district for Jallikattu, as are Palamedu and Avaniyapuram.

Madurai district
District
Clockwise from top-left: Meenakshi Amman Temple, Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal, Alagar Koyil, Kutladampatti Falls, Jain carvings at Yanamalai Hills
Location in Tamil Nadu
Madurai district
Coordinates: 09°50′N 077°50′E[1]
Country	India
State	Tamil Nadu
Municipal Corporations	Madurai
Headquarters	Madurai
Taluks	Madurai North, Madurai South, Madurai East, Madurai West, Melur, Peraiyur, Tirumangalam, Thiruparankundram, Usilampatti, Vadipatti, Kalligudi
Government
• Type	District Administration
• Body	Madurai District Collectorate
• District Collector	M. S. Sangeetha, I.A.S.
• Superintendent of Police	Dongare Pravin Umesh, I.P.S.
Area
• Total	3,710 km2 (1,430 sq mi)
• Rank	16
Population  (2011)
• Total	3,038,252
• Rank	4
• Density	812/km2 (2,100/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Tamil and English
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	625xxx
Telephone code	0452
Vehicle registration	TN-58, TN-59, TN-64[2]
Coastline	0 kilometres (0 mi)
Largest city	Madurai
Sex ratio	♂-50.5% / ♀-49.5%
Literacy	81.5%
Lok Sabha constituency	1
Assembly constituency	10
Website	www.madurai.tn.nic.in

History

The famous Jallikattu at Alanganallur

Madurai is called by various nicknames like Athens of the East, Thoonga Nagaram (City that never Sleeps), Naan maada koodal (City of Four junctions), Malligai Managar (City of Jasmine), Koodal Managar (City of Junction) Koil Nagar (Temple city), etc. The main kingdoms which ruled Madurai during various times are the Pandyas and the Nayaks.^[5]

Geography

The district is bounded by Theni in the west, Sivaganga in the east, Dindigul in the north, Virudhunagar in the south and small parts of Tiruchirappalli in the northeast. Madurai district witnessing hot and humid weather throughout the year and considered as hottest district of Tamil Nadu as well hottest city.

Climate

Madurai
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     20     30 20     14     32 21     18     35 23     55     38 25     70     37 26     40     36 26     50     36 25     104     35 25     119     34 24     188     33 24     145     30 23     51     29 21 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.8     86 68     0.5     90 70     0.7     95 73     2.2     100 77     2.8     99 79     1.6     97 79     1.9     96 77     4.1     95 77     4.7     93 75     7.4     91 75     5.7     86 73     2     84 70 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

The climate has extremes. There are three distinct periods of rainfall:

• advancing monsoon period and south west monsoon from June to September, with strong southwest winds;
• north east monsoon from October to December, with dominant north east winds;
• dry season from January to May.
• Madurai District is the hottest district of Tamil Nadu throughout the year. district receives average rainfall and heavy heat which is prevails from March to September. madurai recorded 42°C at the time of September month.

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1901	666,940	—
1911	769,360	+1.44%
1921	800,795	+0.40%
1931	896,876	+1.14%
1941	1,014,602	+1.24%
1951	1,223,574	+1.89%
1961	1,378,734	+1.20%
1971	1,730,109	+2.30%
1981	2,042,704	+1.67%
1991	2,400,339	+1.63%
2001	2,578,201	+0.72%
2011	3,038,252	+1.66%
source:[6]

Religions in Madurai district (2011)[7]
Religion			Percent
Hinduism			90.86%
Islam			5.56%
Christianity			3.22%
Other or not stated			0.36%

According to 2011 census, Madurai district had a population of 3,038,252,^[8] up from 2,578,201 in the 2001 census,^[4] for a growth rate of 17.95%. It had a sex-ratio of 990 females for every 1,000 males, up from 978 in 2001,^[4] and much above the national average of 929.^[8] A total of 313,978 were under the age of six, constituting 162,517 males and 151,461 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 13.46% and 0.37% of the population, respectively. The average literacy of the district was 74.83%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. 60.78% of the population lives in urban areas.^[8]

The district had a total of 794,887 households. There were a total of 1,354,632 workers, comprising 81,352 cultivators, 287,731 main agricultural labourers, 39,753 in house hold industries, 765,066 other workers, 180,730 marginal workers, 11,367 marginal cultivators, 85,097 marginal agricultural labourers, 7,540 marginal workers in household industries and 76,726 other marginal workers.^[8]

Languages of Madurai district (2011)^[9]

  Tamil (92.56%)

  Saurashtra (3.20%)

  Telugu (2.58%)

  Others (1.66%)

At the time of the 2011 census, 92.56% of the population spoke Tamil, 3.20% Saurashtra and 2.58% Telugu as their first language.^[9]

Politics

This section is transcluded from 16th Tamil Nadu Assembly. (edit | history)

Source:^[10][11]

District	No.	Constituency	Name	Party		Alliance		Remarks
Madurai	188	Melur	P. Selvam		All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam		None
	189	Madurai East	P. Moorthy		Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam		SPA
	190	Sholavandan (SC)	A. Venkatesan		Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam		SPA
	191	Madurai North	G. Thalapathi		Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam		SPA
	192	Madurai South	M. Boominathan		Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK)		SPA
	193	Madurai Central	Palanivel Thiagarajan		Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam		SPA
	194	Madurai West	Sellur K. Raju		All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam		None
	195	Thiruparankundram	V. V. Rajan Chellappa		All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam		None
	196	Tirumangalam	R. B. Udhayakumar		All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam		None	Deputy Leader of Opposition
	197	Usilampatti	P. Ayyappan		ADMKTUMK		NDA

Madurai district contains the entirety of Madurai Lok Sabha constituency, and parts of Theni and Virudhunagar Lok Sabha constituencies.

Divisions

Madurai district comprises 13 talukas and revenue blocks, same names same boundaries. Under the gram panchayat system rural administration or the district is done by panchayat villages and the taluka headquarters. The revenue blocks are further sub-divided by firkas. The three taluks, Tiruparankundram, Madurai West and Madurai East, were created in February 2014.^[12] The thirteen talukas/blocks are:^[13][14][15]

• Thiruparankundram—7 firkas
• Peraiyur—3 firkas
• Tirumangalam—3 firkas
• Kalligudi
• Sedapatti
• Usilampatti
• Vadipatti
• Melur
• Madurai West
• Madurai East
• Alanganallur
• Madurai North
• Madurai South

2001 census

Village house in Melur

In the 2001 census, Madurai district had only seven talukas: Madurai North, Madurai South, Melur, Peraiyur, Thirumangalam, Vadipatti, and Usilampatti.^[16]

Tourist attractions

• Madurai Meenakshiamman temple
• Alagar temple
• Usilampatti thidiyan malai
• Pazhamuthircholai (one of Abodes of Lord Murga)
• Gandhi Memorial Museum, Madurai (Erst while Rani Mangammal Palace)
• Thirumalai Nayakar Mahal
• Theppakulam, Vandiyur
• Madurai Maqbara
• Alanganallur jallikattu Madurai
• Thiruvathavur Thirumarainathar Temple and Birthplace of Manicka Vasakar
• Thirumohoor Kalamegaperumal Temple
• Thirupparamkunram Murugan temple
• 1000 Thoon Mandapam (1000 pillar hall)
• Eco park
• Kuruvithurai Chitra Ratha Vallabha Perumal Temple
• Vaigai Dam (nearby)
• Anaipatti Anjaneyar Temple
• Kodaikanal (nearby)
• Suruli falls (nearby)^[17]
• Kutladampatti falls
• Kazimar Big Mosque, situated on the banks of Kiruthumal river (the oldest mosque in Madurai)
• Anaiyur Meenakshi Amman Temple usilampatti
• Keeladi
• Vandiyur Perumal Temple

Localities

• Kannadendal^[18]

See also

• List of districts of Tamil Nadu

References

1. Madurai (Approved) at GEOnet Names Server, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
2. "Registration Series Allotted to Regional Transport Offices" (PDF). Government of Tamil Nadu, State Transport Authority. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 September 2012.
3. "Madurai District, Government of Tamilnadu | Athens of the East | India". Retrieved 15 January 2021.
4. "Census of India 2001: Basic data Sheet: Madurai District, Tamil Nadu" (PDF). The Registrar General and Census Commissioner.
5. "Madurai". britannica.com.
6. Decadal Variation In Population Since 1901
7. "Table C-01 Population by Religion: Tamil Nadu". censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
8. "District Census Handbook 2011 - Madurai" (PDF). Census of India. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
9. "Table C-16 Population by Mother Tongue: Tamil Nadu". Census of India. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
10. "Tamil Nadu Election Results 2021: Here's full list of winners". CNBCTV18. 3 May 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
11. "Tamil Nadu Election Results 2021: Full list of winners". www.indiatvnews.com. 2 May 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
12. Mariappan, Julie (12 February 2014). "23 new taluks created in Tamil Nadu". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014.
13. "Map: Madurai District Blocks". Madurai District. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
14. "Reports of National Panchayat Directory: Village Panchayat Names of Madurai, Tamil Nadu". Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India. Archived from the original on 13 November 2011.
15. "Revenue Administration | Madurai District, Government of Tamilnadu | India". Retrieved 29 November 2020.
16. "2001 Census of India: List of Villages by Tehsil: Tamil Nadu" (PDF). Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. pp. 245–256. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 November 2011.
17. Suruli Falls Suruli falls
18. "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.

External links

• Madurai District