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 Coimbatore District is one of the 38 districts in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. Coimbatore is the administrative headquarters of the district. It is one of the most industrialized districts and a major textile, industrial, commercial, educa ...

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 ...

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

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 Pollachi taluk is a taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that ...

. It is situated near the center of the

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

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 The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It has a strength of 234 members, all of whom are democratically elected using the first-past-the-post system. The presiding office ...

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 Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

and other languages have been shot here.

Etymology

Pollachi is probably derived from ''Pozhil Vaitchi'' which means "gifted with beauty" in

. Edicts indicate that the region was known as Pozhil Vaitchi during the Chola period.

Geography

Pollachi is located at near the center of the

, 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 A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

arriving through the

Palghat gap Palakkad Gap or Palghat Gap is a low mountain pass in the Western Ghats between Coimbatore in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Palakkad in the state of Kerala. It has an average elevation of with a width of . The pass is located between th ...

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 Tamil cinema is the segment of cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to the production of Film, motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the nam ...

owing to its scenic landscape.

Transport

Pollachi is connected by

National Highway 209 The following highways are numbered 209: Canada * Manitoba Provincial Road 209 * Nova Scotia Route 209 * Prince Edward Island Route 209 * Quebec Route 209 * Saskatchewan Highway 209 China * China National Highway 209 Costa Rica * National Ro ...

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 State Express Transport Corporation (Tamil Nadu) Limited - (SETC) is a state-owned transport corporation that runs long-distance mofussil services exceeding 300 km and above throughout the state of Tamil Nadu and major cities in adjoining state ...

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 Dindigul (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is a city in the India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Dindigul district. Dindigul City is Located in the Southwest Region of Tamil Nadu. Dindigul is an ancient settlement r ...

to the east. Metre to

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...

conversion on Dindigul line was completed in January 2015. In 2017, the track between Pollachi and

Podanur Podanur or Pothanoor or Pothanur (''Pōttaṉūr'') is a neighbourhood in the city of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, India. Its history goes back to the creation of a major railway station and colony during British rule. The station was a major hu ...

was converted from metre to broad gauge at a cost of . The nearest airport is

Coimbatore International Airport Coimbatore International Airport is an international airport and the primary airport serving the Coimbatore Metropolitan Area in Tamil Nadu, India. It is located in the neighborhood of Peelamedu, about from the center of the city. It is the ...

, 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 Valparai (originally known as Poonachimalai) is a Taluk and hill station in the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu, India. It consists of Anamalai Tiger Reserve (earlier known as Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park (IGWLS&NP) and ...

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 Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, which also includes the erstwhile Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, is a protected area lying in Palakkad district and Thrissur district of Kerala state, South India. The Wildlife Sanctuary, which had an area of wa ...

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 Nelliyampathy (also spelled as Nelliampathi) is a hill station, located from Palakkad, state of Kerala, India. Geography * Nelliampathy is surrounded by tea and coffee plantations. * The village has its own gram panchayat and forms a part ...

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 Aliyar () Reservoir is a reservoir located in Aliyar village near Pollachi town in Coimbatore District, Tamil Nadu, South India. The dam is located in the foothills of Valparai, in the Anaimalai Hills of the Western Ghats. It is about from ...

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