Udumalaipettai

Infobox Indian Jurisdiction
native_name = Udumalpet| type = city | latd = 10.58| longd = 77.24
state_name = Tamil Nadu
district = Coimbatore
leader_title =
leader_name =
altitude =
population_as_of = 2001
population_total = 59668| population_density =
area_magnitude= sq. km
area_total =
area_telephone = 04252
postal_code = 642126
vehicle_code_range =
sex_ratio =
unlocode =
website =
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Udumalpet is a city and a municipality in Coimbatore district, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Shortly known as Udumalai, it is surrounded by the high mountains of Western Ghats on three sides.

This Municipal town has got a population of about 100,000 and draws water for drinking purpose from the Thirumoorthy Hills also called as Thirumurthi Reservoir. Both the Thirumurthi and Amaravathi Reservoir, situated south of Udumalpet, add beauty to its location. Udumalpet is an industrial town, since a number of textile, paper and variety of industries have been established here.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, in Udumalaipettai, there are 14,889 households. The total population is 59,668 with 29,330 males and 30,338 females [cite web |url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Population_Finder/View_Village_Population.aspx?pcaid=3998&category=M |title=Udumalaipettai Population |publisher=Census India |accessdate=2007-12-28 |format=HTML] . Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. Udumalaipettai has an average literacy rate of 81%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 85%, and female literacy is 77%. Interestingly, 8% of the population is under 6 years of age. The city is known for its moderate climate, cultured people, good food and excellent Thirumoorthy Hills water.

udumalpet is a place where we can see the enjoiness........

Udumalpet is a place for education. There are about eleven higher secondary schools and three colleges. The Government Higher Secondary School was established during British rule, a model of best performing schools in the Government sector. The only Sainik School of Tamil Nadu is located in this taluk at Amaravathinagar which is 21 km from Udumalpet.

Famous schools are ,srinivasa a state top scorer in higher secondary ,stella maris another convent school giving a good quality education.The schools over here set a high standard for teaching. Over the years, schools in Udumalpet have consistently produced students who score top ranks in State examinations.

Montessori Education is provided at [http://www.shaanthi.com/ Shaanthi Montessori School] in UKP Natraj Nagar. The school has high standards in the area of kindergarten and primary education.

Sri GVG Visalakhi college founded by late Sri G.V.Govindasamy Naidu is one of the renowned college. Rudhraveni Muthusamy Polytechnic college is one of the famous polytechnic in the surroundings

Economy

Up until the 1980s, udumalpet was blessed by good rains from both the South West and North East monsoons and formed a rich agricultural belt cultivating seasonal/annual crops such as groundnut, cotton, maize, sugarcane etc. However, since then, the area has become the tail end of both the monsoons. Shortage of farm labour led to conversion of seasonal cropping areas into coconut groves which require heavy irrigation round the year. This rapidly led to depletion of ground water resources and the water table which was previously at about 20 metres is now probably at 200 metres.

The scarcity of ground water resulted in several non-agricultural activities springing up in the town.

Udumalpet has a well developed spinning industry. There are a number of large, medium and small scale spinning mills providing jobs and the town has expanded around these mills. One of the biggest poultry companies in India, Suguna Poultry Ltd, was founded in Udumalpet. Paper industries are located alongside the river Amaravathi. Good economic prospects are here in this town which will turn as CITY soon.

The surrounding areas of the town has seen a huge rise in windmill installations. This is due to the location of Udumalpet, across the Palghat Gap, which tunnels the wind flow and aids wind power generation.

Tourism and natural beauty

The town is surrounded by hills and has a great weather throughout the year. The town is also called as Poor man's ooty because of its climate. Udumalpet is close to many tourist attractions - Palani Temple (35 km), Munnar (88 km), Kodaikanal (100 km) and Thirumoorthy Hills (21 km), Topslip, Aaliyar (35 km).

Waterfalls in Thirumoorthy hills draws quite a number of tourists. It takes half an hour to the falls by trekking from the Thirumoorthy temple. The Thirumoorthy temple is an excellent scenic place with Amanalingeshwarar Thirukkoil at the foot hills. The way atop the hill is pretty exciting up to some 1 km and extremely challenging to go beyond that. It is said if you bend and crawl for about 40 meters beneath a rock behind Panchalingam, you could reach the next layer of Western Ghats, i.e the plain between two adjacent hills and it is said that even tigers exist there.

A drive from Udumalpet to Munnar has unforgettable views of the Western Ghats. 25 kms from Udumalpet is Chinnar which has a wild life sanctuary. Chinnar is also the border between Tamil Nadu and Kerala. As you cross the Tamil Nadu border and enter Kerala, you can see a distinct change in the vegetation. While the Tamil Nadu areas have vegetation dominated by shrubs and thorny trees, the vegetation in Kerala is lush green with tall trees. 20 kms from Chinnar is Marayur, famous for its sandalwood forests which often fall prey to poachers.

As you drive past Marayur towards Munnar, you can see Anamudi, the highest mountain peak south of the Himalayas, to your right. This area also houses the Eravikulam National Park famous for its population of the Nilgiri Tahr, a mountain goat.This area offers abundant scope for mountain trekking. On the trekking route to the Anamudi peak, you can see a Trout farm. The rest of the drive towards Munnar is through neatly manicured tea estates owned by Tata Tea Ltd. The landscape is also dotted by tea factories and labour lines.

There is also a trekking route from Amaravathi dam to Kodaikanal which is frequented by the students of the Amaravathi Sainik School.

The villages surrounding Udumalpet are well known for their beauty. Villages are crisscrossed by Amaravathi river and various irrigation canals. Coconut tree farms are common sight and this area is one of the leading producer of coconuts. The countryside is a popular film shooting spot, providing scenic backgrounds and greenery. Thirumoorthy hills houses a beautiful dam which is a very famous shooting spot for Tamil movies.

Udumalpet lies between the famous temple town of Palani (35 km)and Pollachi (28 km)in the National Highway No.209. Udumalpet is also connected by a metre gauge railway line.

Famous political personalities like Shri Ram.K.R (Good network professional, now in trichy), Late Mr.S.J.Sadiq Basha, Treasurer of DMK and Late Mr.P.Kolandaivelu, who was a minister during M.G.Ramachandran's (MGR) rule hail from Udumalpet.

Politics

Udumalpet assembly constituency is part of Pollachi (Lok Sabha constituency). [cite web
url = http://archive.eci.gov.in/se2001/background/S22/TN_ACPC.pdf
title = List of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies
accessdate = 2008-10-11
work = Tamil Nadu
publisher = Election Commission of India ]

References

External links

*
* [http://www.udumalpet.org/ What's Happening in Udumalpet]

ee also

*Coimbatore
*Kodaikanal
*Palani
*Pollachi
*Udumalaipettai