Karaikal facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Karaikal Karikal
Town
Karaikal Beach Karaikal Ammaiyar Temple Karaikal Port Sri Dharbaranyeswarar Temple at Tirunallar Karaikal Grand Mosque Our Lady of Angels Church Karaikal Lighthouse Arasalar River Estuary Beach Road during Dawn
Karaikal Location in Tamil Nadu
Country	India
Union territory	Puducherry
District	Karaikal
Region	Tamil Nadu
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Body	Karaikal Municipality (Conseil Municipal de Karaikal)
Elevation	4 m (13 ft)
Languages
• Official	Tamil, French
• Additional	English
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	609601-609609
Telephone code	+91-04368-
Vehicle registration	PY 02

Karaikal (/kʌdɛkʌl/, French: Karikal /kaʁikal/) is a city of the Indian Union Territory of Puducherry. It is the administrative headquarters of the Karaikal District and the second most populated city in the Union Territory after Pondicherry. Located on the Coromandel Coast of Bay of Bengal in South India, it is a coastal enclave and is surrounded by the state of Tamil Nadu in the southern region of Indian peninsula.

Etymology

The origin of the word Karaikal is uncertain. The Imperial Gazetteer of British India gives its meaning as 'fish pass'. Both the words 'Karai' and 'Kal' have several meanings, of which the more acceptable ones are 'lime mix' and 'canal' respectively. Hence it has been suggested that the name may mean a canal built of lime mix, however, no trace of such a canal is evident.

History

In 1738, Karaikal was promised to the French by Sayaji, the exiled Rajah of Thanjavur, in exchange for their assistance. However, the transfer of control only occurred in 1739 with the help of Chanda Sahib, when the French formally obtained the town.

In 1749, additional territories consisting of 81 villages were ceded to the French during their siege of Thanjavur, a grant that was confirmed by treaty in 1754. Karaikal changed hands multiple times in the following years due to conflicts between the French and the British, notably during the siege of 1760, when British forces captured the town after a ten-day defense.

Karaikal was eventually restored to French control in 1817 following the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French continued to hold control, despite occasional interruptions by the British Raj, until 1954, when it was de facto incorporated into the Republic of India. Karaikal, along with the other French Indian colonies of Mahé, Yanaon, Chandernagor, and Pondichéry, was de jure integrated into India in 1962.

Geography

Karaikal is a small coastal enclave which was formerly part of French India. Together with the other former French territories of Pondicherry, Yanam, and Mahé, it forms the Union Territory of Puducherry. Karaikal is bounded on the North by Mayiladuthurai district South by Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu state, on the west by Tiruvarur district (also belonging to Tamil Nadu), and on the East by the Bay of Bengal. The enclave is located 140 kilometres (87 miles) south of the city of Pondicherry, 158 kilometres (98 miles) east of Trichy and is known for its rich cultural heritage.

The main branches of Kaveri below Grand Anicut are the Kudamurutti, Arasalar, Virasolanar and the Vikramanar. Although Arasalar and its branches spread through Karaikal, the waters of Kudamurutti and Virasolanar also meet the irrigation needs of the region.

Forming a part of the fertile Kaveri delta, the region is completely covered by the distributaries of Cauvery. Covered completely by a thick mantle of alluvium of variable thickness, the lie of the region is flat having a gentle slope towards the Bay of Bengal in the east. It is limited on the north by the Nandalar and on the south-east by the Vettar. The group of rocks known as Cuddalore formations is met with in the area contiguous to Karaikal region in Nagapattinam district.

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as tropical wet and dry (As).

Governance

The District Collector is the official representative to the Lieutenant Governor and Chief Co-ordinator and Liaison Officer to all Government departments of Karaikal district. District Collectorate, Karaikal is the functional headquarters of Karaikal District.

Karaikal region is made up of Karaikal municipality and the Communes of

• Nedungadu
• Kottucherry
• Neravy
• Thirunallar
• Tirumalarajanpattinam
• Poovam
• Varichikudy

Demographics

According to the 2011 Census of India, total population of Karaikal district is 2,00,222, comprising 97,809 males and 1,02,413 females. Population of the district accounts for 16.04% of the total population of Puducherry U.T. and ranks second among the districts. The literacy rate is 87.1%, with male literacy at 92.4% and female literacy at 82.0%.

Culture

Thirunallar Saneeswaran Temple

Karaikal Kanduri Festival

Chandra Theertham

Karaikal Ammaiyar is one of the 63 nayanmar who lived in Karaikal. Karaikal is also known for the temple devoted to the Lord Saneeswara at Thirunallar.

Economy

Most of the people in town are office goers and industrial workers. There are a number of iron and steel rolling mills, spinning mills, tiles, polythene, rubber and chemical industries in Karaikal. Other common sources of the people's income come from business. The prominent source of income of this district is agriculture and fishing. Karaikal is a coastal town with a total coastline of 26 kilometres (16 miles). There are 12 big fishing hamlets and around more than 25,000 fishermen (6,000 families) are living in these coastal villages. Their main employment is fishing, exporting and fishing related activities. The other main source is the liquor business, the tax being less and the cost almost half when compared to the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. Karaikal is one of the towns in South India with high cost of living due to French NRI's presence. Thousands of families with their origin in Karaikal live in France. Puducherry Power Corporation Limited is Generating Electricity with Natural gas fuel in their combined cycle power plant and supply the electricity to Puducherry Electricity Department. The fuel gas received through GAIL India Limited by underground pipelines from ONGC Wells.The ONGC's office Kaveri rig is at Karaikal.

Transport

Airways

Karaikal Airport is being constructed as a greenfield project. It is the first airport in the country built entirely with private capital. The project received in-principle clearance from the Ministry of Civil Aviation in February 2011. Karaikal Airport's Air Traffic Control, however, will be operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The Airport, spread across 562 acres (227 ha), is being developed by Karaikal Airport Private Limited, a subsidiary of Super Airport Private Limited. The first phase of construction includes construction of a 1200-metre runway and a terminal building capable of handling 120 passengers during peak hours. The airport is expected to handle regional turboprop airliners like the ATR-42. The company plans to expand the airport after five years, extending the runway to 2,600 metres (8,500 feet) and increasing terminal building capacity to 500 passengers per hour. A further expansion is planned ten years down the line with a 3500-metre runway and a passenger capacity of 1,000 per hour.

Seaways

Karaikal port is a new deep sea water port being constructed in Karaikal. More than 600 acres (2.4 km²) of land was leased out to MARG corporation in year 2005 for 30 years and can be renewed for every 10 years thereafter. The port will have a total of nine berths and is constructed for primary transport of coal, textile and cement. The Karaikal port is intended to primarily handle cement and coal to serve the hinterland in Ariyalur, Perambalur and Tiruchi districts. The port is also expected to provide an alternative to the Chennai and Tuticorin ports, which are the major ports in the coastline but are separated by long distance. Further, Karaikal is in the middle of the Tamil Nadu coast, midway between the two deepwater ports of Chennai and Tuticorin.

The recent warming of Indo-Sri Lankan relations and the vivacity of pan-Tamilism in southern India has encouraged the redevelopment of maritime transport between the two countries, hitherto stopped due to the civil war in Sri Lanka, then due to financial struggle (debt problems) of the private company which operated a ferry line (Tuticorin-Colombo line). A new ferry service was planned between the North of Sri Lanka (Kankesanthurai Port) and the South of India, as part of the Sagarmala Programme initiated by the Indian Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways for the promotion of coastal shipping. This ferry project was once planned to depart from the port of Karaikal, but it was finally carried out with the departure port of Nagapattinam (nearby Karaikal) in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Roadways

The National Highway NH 32 connects Chennai and Thoothukudi, passes through Karaikal. It is located at the distance 297 km (185 mi) from Chennai, 132 km (82 mi) from Puducherry, 154 km (96 mi) from Tiruchirapalli, 57 km (35 mi) from Kumbakonam and 20 km (12 mi) from Nagapattinam. Karaikal is connected with both National Highways and State Highways. Both Gov't. and Private buses available from Karaikal to Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchirapalli, Kumbakonam, Mayiladuthurai, Puducherry, Cuddalore, Chidambaram.

Railways

Karaikal having rail line connected from Tiruchirapalli via Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, and Nagore. Presently Rails are available from Karaikal to Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Ernakulam, Tiruchirapalli, Tanjore, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Nagore, Velanganni and currently Karaikal to Peralam Railway line work is under progress.

Education

NIT Puducherry

According to the 2011 Census, Karaikal has literacy rate of 87.1%. There is a wide network of educational institutions right from elementary level to collegiate level in the Karaikal region.

Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) was established in Karaikal in 2016 with an initial intake of 50 students. The students are selected through entrance exams conducted nationwide.

National Institute of Technology Puducherry was established in Karaikal in 2010. The students are admitted based on Joint Entrance Examination – Main entrance exam score.

Notable people

• Peter Hein
• A.M.H. Nazeem
• K. N. Dandayudhapani Pillai
• M. O. H. F. Shahjahan
• K. A. Thangavelu