Simmakkal, Madurai

Simmakkal^[1][2][3] is a neighbourhood in Madurai district in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. Simmakkal as meant in the language of Tamil, 'Stone statue of Lion', has a statue at the heart of the neighbourhood. During the British period, out of the four giant walls on East Veli Street, West Street, North Veli Street and South Veli Street already existed, three of them except on West Veli Street were demolished by 'Marret', the then Collector of Madurai. The landmark at the entrance gate of North Veli Street was simply replaced by a 'Stone statue of Lion' found near Thirumalai Naicker Mahal. It is that area surrounding the statue is called as 'Simmakkal'.

Simmakkal, Madurai Simmakkal
Neighbourhood
Coordinates: 9°55′34.0″N 78°07′17.4″E
Country	India
State	Tamil Nadu
District	Madurai district
Elevation	158 m (518 ft)
Languages
• Official	Tamil language, English language
• Speech	Tamil language, English language
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	625001
Telephone Code	0452
Neighbourhoods	Madurai, Sellur, Tallakulam, Goripalayam, Shenoy Nagar, Yanaikkal, Nelpettai, East Gate, Arappalayam
Corporation	Madurai Municipal Corporation

Location

Located at an elevation of 158 m above the mean sea level, Simmakkal has the geographical coordinates of: 9°55'34.0"N, 78°07'17.4"E (i.e. 9.9261°N, 78.1215°E).

Neighbourhoods

Madurai, Yanaikkal, Sellur, Goripalayam, Nelpettai, East Gate, Arappalayam are some of the important places nearby.

Education

Schools

Athimoolam Corporation Primary School is located in Simmakkal, where the Tamil Nadu CM Stalin, on 15 September 2022, launched 'School breakfast programme' in government schools, for students studying in class 1 to class 5.^[4] The scheme commemorated the 115th birth anniversary of former CM of Tamil Nadu, C. N. Annadurai, who founded the DMK.^[5] Umarupulavar Corporation School is also in Simmakkal. Sethupathi Higher Secondary School where Subramania Bharati taught students, is situated at a reachable distance of 1 km from Simmakkal.

Colleges

American College, Madurai in Goripalayam, Sri Meenakshi Government Arts College for Women in Goripalayam and Madurai Medical College near Anna Bus Stand are some of the important colleges that benefit students from Simmakkal area.

District Central Library

There is a Government district central library in Simmakkal. The state government allotted a fund of ₹36 lakh for procuring books on traditional art forms such as 'Kavadiyattam', 'Mayilattam', 'Kolattam' and 'Karagattam'. And an exclusive wing is established for keeping books mentioned above.^[6]

Transport

Road transport

Simmakkal is very well connected to various places of Madurai and other districts by roads. North Veli Street, East Veli Street, Masi streets, Marret streets are some of the important nearby streets that are filled with commodity businesses. It has a ground level bridge that was constructed across the Vaigai river which goes flooded with rain water when it rains heavily. During such times, the vehicle traffic is considerably affected.^[7]

Rail transport

Madurai Junction railway station is just 2 km from Simmakkal.

Air transport

From Simmakkal, Madurai International Airport at Avaniyapuram is located at about 10 km.

Medical facilities

Government Rajaji Hospital which is located at a km from Simmakkal serve the community better.

Religion

Temples

Pechi Amman temple and Adhi Chokkanathar temple are the important temples in Simmakkal. Adhi Chokkanathar temple is said to be the basic temple of Meenakshi Temple, Madurai which is located at a walkable distance from Simmakkal. It has the main deities as Chokkanathar and Meenakshi.^[8] With the Viruksha as Kadamba tree and Theertha as Pottamarai Theertha, it is also called as North Alavai.

References

1. "Simmakkal, Madurai - Find link". edwardbetts.com. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
2. Kumar, dr S. K. Asok (2008). Public Library System and Services in Tamil Nadu. Bharathi Puthakalayam. ISBN 978-81-89909-86-4.
3. Madhyastha, M. N. (2003). Prospects and Problems of Environment Across the Millennium. Daya Publishing House. ISBN 978-81-7035-299-0.
4. "TN's breakfast scheme for school kids not expenditure but govt's duty: CM Stalin". 16 September 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
5. "Why the Stalin government's 'Breakfast Scheme' for schoolchildren is an inspiring model". Retrieved 17 October 2022.
6. Staff Reporter (15 November 2019). "District Central Library at Madurai to have exclusive wing for books on folk arts". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
7. Sukshma Ramakrishnan (16 May 2022). "Traffic Regulation Causing Bottleneck Near Yanaikkal > Madurai News - Times of India". Retrieved 17 October 2022.
8. "Adhi Chokkanathar Temple : Adhi Chokkanathar Temple Details > Adhi Chokkanathar - Simmakkal > Tamilnadu Temple > ஆதிசொக்கநாதர்". Dinamalar. Retrieved 17 October 2022.