Pollachi is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and municipality in Coimbatore district of the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

. It is the administrative headquarters of Pollachi taluk. It is situated near the center of the South Indian

Peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

, surrounded by Western Ghats. Agriculture and textile industries contribute majorly to the economy of the town and the town is a popular

marketplace A marketplace, market place, or just market, is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a ''souk'' (from ...

for

jaggery Jaggery is a List of unrefined sweeteners, traditional non-centrifugal cane sugar consumed in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, North America, Central America, Brazil and Africa. It is a concentrated product of Sugarcane juice, cane jui ...

vegetables Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including flowers, fruits, ...

and

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

. The town is a part of Pollachi constituency that elects its member to the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly and the Pollachi constituency that elects its member of parliament. The town is administered by Pollachi Municipality established in 1949 and has a population of 90,180 as per the 2011 census. The town is popular for the

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

shooting that takes place here and many films in Tamil and other languages have been shot here.

Etymology

Pollachi is probably derived from ''Pozhil Vaitchi'' which means "gifted with beauty" in Tamil. Edicts indicate that the region was known as Pozhil Vaitchi during the Chola period.

Geography

Pollachi is located at near the center of the South Indian

, surrounded by Western Ghats. It has an average elevation of on the banks of Aliyar river. The area is hilly and rocky, drained by several rivers and is thickly forested with some marsh lands and scattered patches of grass. The town receives majority of the rainfall from Southwest monsoon arriving through the Palghat gap and receives an average annual rainfall of around .

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, Pollachi had a population of 90,180 with a sex-ratio of 1,012 females for every 1,000 males, above the national average of 929. A total of 7,732 were under the age of six, constituting 3,952 males and 3,780 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 10.57% and 0.29% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the city was 82.15%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The city had a total of 24,755 households. There were a total of 36,972 workers, comprising 219 cultivators, 488 main agricultural laborers, 1,018 in household industries, 32,720 other workers, 2,527 marginal workers, 25 marginal cultivators, 45 marginal agricultural laborers, 124 marginal workers in household industries and 2,333 other marginal workers.

Economy

The economy of the town is predominantly dependent on

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

Coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

and

contribute to the agricultural output. There are also coir producing units with raw materials sourced from local farms.

Vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...

is also cultivated in certain locations. Pollachi is also a popular movie shooting location for the Tamil film industry owing to its scenic landscape.

Transport

Pollachi is connected by National Highway 209 and state highways 19, 21, 78 and 78A. The central bus stand caters for bus transport which is operated by Government-run TNSTC and private operators. State Express Transport Corporation operates long-distance buses. Pollachi Railway Junction lies on the junction of Palakkad–Dindigul and Coimbatore–Pollachi branch lines with

Palakkad Palakkad (), Renaming of cities in India, also known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery, is a city and a municipality in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of P ...

to the west,

Coimbatore Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...

to the north and Dindigul to the east. Metre to broad gauge conversion on Dindigul line was completed in January 2015. In 2017, the track between Pollachi and Podanur was converted from metre to broad gauge at a cost of . The nearest airport is Coimbatore International Airport, located from the town. The airport has regular flights from/to major domestic destinations and international destinations like

Sharjah Sharjah (; ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is the capital of the Emirate of Sharjah and forms part of the D ...

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Places of interest

Anamalai Wildlife Sanctuary is situated at an average altitude of in the Western Ghats near Pollachi. Valparai is a hill station about from Pollachi and is situated at an altitude of . Topslip is a popular picnic spot located at an altitude of about in the Anamalai mountain range which is about from Pollachi. Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in the valley between the

Anaimalai Hills The Anamala or Anaimalai, also known as the Elephant Mountains, are a range of mountains in the southern Western Ghats of central Kerala ( Idukki district, Ernakulam district, Palakkad district, Thrissur district) and span the border of wester ...

of Tamil Nadu and the Nelliampathi range of Kerala. Parambikulam-Aliyar multipurpose project involves a series of dams interconnected by tunnels and canals at various elevations to harness the various rivers flowing through the area. Azhiyar Dam is located on the foothills of Anamalai in the Western Ghats and Solaiyar Dam is from Valparai and is one of the largest rock dams in India. Thirumurthyswami temple is a temple dedicated to

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

, situated in the foothills of the Thirumurthy Hills. Other major temples include Masani Amman Temple, Eachanari Vinayagar Temple and Temple of Consciousness founded by Vethathiri Maharishi.

References

External links

* {{Cities and Towns in Coimbatore Suburbs of Coimbatore Cities and towns in Coimbatore district