Thoothukudi, Tamil Nādu, India

🇮🇳 Thoothukudi is a port city, a municipal corporation and an industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The city lies in the Coromandel Coast of Bay of Bengal. Thoothukudi is the capital and headquarters of Thoothukudi district. It is located about 590 km (367 miles) south-west of Chennai, 190 km (118 miles) north-east of Thiruvananthapuram and 580 km (360 miles) south-east of Bangalore. According to Confederation of Indian Industry, Thoothukudi has the second highest Human Development Index in Tamil Nadu next to Chennai. Thoothukudi City serves as the headquarters of Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Limited. Major educational establishments in the city include Government Thoothukudi Medical College, Fisheries College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Maritime Academy, V.O. Chidambaram College, Kamaraj College, Anna University (Thoothukudi Campus) and Government Polytechnic College. V. O. Chidambaranar Port Trust is one of the fastest growing Major Ports in India. Thoothukudi is an "Emerging Energy and Industrial hub of South India".

Thoothukudi is known as "Pearl City" due to the pearl fishing carried out in the town. It is a commercial seaport which serves the inland cities of Southern India and is one of the sea gateways of Tamil Nadu. It is also one of the major seaports in India with a history dating back to the 6th century CE. The city is believed to be of significant antiquity and has been ruled, at different times, by the Early Pandyas, Medieval Cholas, Later Cholas, Later Pandyas, Ma'bar Sultanate, Tirunelveli Sultanate, Vijayanagar Empire, Madurai Nayaks, Chanda Sahib, Carnatic kingdom, Portuguese, Dutch and the British. Thoothukudi was settled by the Portuguese, Dutch and later by the British East India Company. The city is administered by a Thoothukudi Municipal Corporation covering an area of 353.07 km² (136.32 sq mi).

The majority of the people of the city are employed in salt pans, sea-borne trading, fishing, and tourism. The 21 islands between Thoothukudi and Rameswaram shores in the Gulf of Mannar are noted as the first Marine Biosphere Reserve of India, and have around 36,000 species of flora and fauna. This protected area is called Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park. Our Lady of Snows Basilica festival is celebrated annually during August. This and the Shiva temple festivals, including Adi Amavasai, Sasti, and Chittirai chariot festivals, are the major festivals of the area. Roadways are the major mode of transport to Thoothukudi, while the city also has rail, air, and sea transport.

History Thoothukudi is also known by the name 'Pearl city'. It is also called as "Sea Gateway of Tamil Nadu". Thoothukudi is part of the Pearl Fishery Coast, and is known for its pearl fishing and shipbuilding industries.

The ancient town of Korkai near present-day Thoothukudi has been a centre for maritime trade and pearl fishery for more than 2000 years. Ptolemy's geography refers to Korkai as a centre of pearl fishery while describing commercial relations between western India and Alexandria, the chief eastern emporium of the Roman Empire. The Periplus says that the Pandyan Empire extended from Comari towards the north, including Korkai, where the pearl fisheries were. Eventully, the Vijayanagara Empire took over Thoothukudi. Conducted trade with the Portuguese. The Empire split into Nayak kingdoms, who got overthrown by the Nawab of Arcot. The Nawab eventuality ceded the land to the British in 1801.

The Portuguese established ports in Thoothukudi during the 16th century, and the Dutch occupied these ports in the 17th century as evidenced by Pagoda coins. During the 18th century the British overpowered and occupied the town. Being a port town, the town received attention from the rulers for improving their trade, and so it was brought to Municipal status in 1866. Rao Bahadur Cruz Fernandez and J. L. P. Roche Victoria as the chairmen of municipal corporation made significant contributions, laying the foundations for a modern Thoothukudi.

On 20 October 1986, a new district, carved out of the erstwhile Tirunelveli district was born in Tamil Nadu and named after V. O. Chidambaranar, a prominent national leader hailing from Ottapidaram who led the Swadeshi Movement in the south. Since 1997, as is the case in other districts of Tamil Nadu, this district has been named after its headquarters town, Thoothukudi.

Thoothukudi became the citadel of freedom struggles in the early of the 20th century.

Geography Thoothukudi is a port town situated in the Gulf of Mannar about 125 km (78 mi) North of Cape Commorin and its environs form part of the coastal belt which forms a continuous stretch of the flat country relieved here and there by small rock outcrops. The region, surrounding Thoothukudi is liberally dotted with rain fed tanks. Red soils found on the southern side of the Thoothukudi town is composed quartz and variable quantities of fine red dry dust. The port is an all weather one. The bay formed by the Hare Island, Devils point and the main land gives ample protection to the lighters from monsoonal weather. The beach of Thoothukudi is featured with calm breeze and very low waves giving an image of a big river.

Thoothukudi is located at 8.53°N 78.36°E. Thoothukudi is located in South India, on the Gulf of Mannar, about 540 km (340 miles) south of Chennai and 125 km (78 miles) north of Kanyakumari. The hinterlands of the port of the city is connected to the districts of Madurai, Tirunelveli, Ramanathapuram and Tiruchirapalli. The city mostly has a flat terrain and roughly divided into two by the Buckle channel. Being in coastal region, the soil is mostly clay sandy and the water table varies between 1 and 4 m (3.3 and 13.1 ft) below ground level. The city has loose soil with thorny shrubs in the north and salt pans in the south.

The 21 islands between Thoothukudi and Rameswaram shores in the Gulf of Mannar are notified as the first Marine Biosphere Reserve of India. About 36,000 species of flora and fauna exist in the region covered with mangroves, sandy shores, sea grass beds that are conducive for turtle nesting. The region around the Thoothukudi shores are home to rare marine flora and fauna. Coral reefs and pearl oysters are some of the exotic species while algae, reef fish, holothurians, shrimps, lobsters, crabs and Mollusca are very common. Out of 600 recorded varieties of fish in the region, 72 are found to be commercially important. The thermal discharge from the thermal plants and excessive brine run off from the salt pans impact the flora and fauna in the region to a large extent.

Economy Salt pans in and around the city contribute majorly to the economy of the city. The salt pans produce 1.2 million tonnes of salt every year, contributing to 90% of the salt produced in the state and 50% needed by the chemical industries of the state.

The other major industries are shipping, fishing, agricultural, power and chemical industries. Fishing is one of the largest contributor to the local economy. Thoothukudi Fishing Harbor is one of the oldest and largest harbors in Tamil Nadu.

The Thoothukudi Thermal Power Station has five 210 MW generators. The first generator was commissioned in July 1979 and the newly built thermal power plant of 1000 MW by NLC and TANGEDCO, the NTPL Thermal Power Station. In addition to this there are several private power plants like Ind-Barath Thermal Power Limited, Coastal Energen Private Limited, Sterlite Industries Captive power plant. Thoothukudi Spinning Mills Ltd, Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation, Thoothukudi Alkali Chemicals and Fertilizers Limited, Heavy Water Board Plant, Venus Home Appliances, S.K.S.C. Nadarajan & Bror, P. S. S. Krishnamurthi Exports Private Limited, Madura Coats Private Limited, DCW Limited, Kilburn Chemicals Ltd, Nila Sea foods, Diamond Sea foods

Maris Associates, VVD Coconut oil mill, AVM oil mill, Ramesh flowers, Agsar Paints and KSPS Salts are some of the small scale and large scale industries in the city. Thoothukudi is the headquarters city of leading private sector bank Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Limited located. It is one of the fastest growing banks in India during the period of 2007–2012. Its total business is worth 360 billion. The bank targets a Total Business of 500 Billion INR in 2014–15. The city also has a research institute set up by Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute and a Spices laboratory set up by Spices Board of India.

Thoothukudi also has a State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Industrial Estate and SIDCO's Industrial Estate which comprises several Small scale and Medium scale Industries. To cope with the increasing trade through Thoothukudi, the Government of India sanctioned the construction of an all-weather port at Thoothukudi. On 11 July 1974, the newly constructed V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority was declared the tenth major port in India, second only to JN Port (Mumbai) in size. Thoothukudi is an artificial port. During the union budget of 2014–2015, the Central government sanctioned an 11,500 crore Outer Harbour Development Program for Thoothukudi port which is expected to give a push to the export-import sector in southern Tamil Nadu. The project would commence in 2015 and be completed by 2020. The DPR for Outer Harbour was released recently by the Union Shipping Minister. As a port city, almost all major logistics companies have set up office in Thoothukudi. The port also has a dedicated container terminal operated by PSA International. The port recently commenced the operation of 2nd Container Terminal by ABG (DBGIT) Pvt Ltd. The port handled 0.5 million TEU's in 2013–2014 to become third largest container port among Major Ports of India. The port is also a significant port due to the fact that it is located close to East-West International Sea Route. The port has direct cargo and container vessel connectivity to all major ports in the world like Colombo, Singapore, JNPT (Mumbai), Mundra, Jebel Ali, Salalah, Rotterdam, Karachi, Hong Kong and much more. This is the third international port in Tamil Nadu and its second all-weather port. The port also helps to increase the tourism in the region. A new ferry has been commenced between Thoothukudi and Colombo. The Station Commander, Indian Coast Guard Station Thoothukudi is located at Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu under the operational and administrative control of the Commander, Coast Guard Region (East), Chennai. The Coast Guard Station Thoothukudi was commissioned on April 25, 1991, by Vice Admiral SW Lakhar, NM, VSM and then Director General Coast Guard. The Station Commander is responsible for Coast Guard operations in this area of jurisdiction in Gulf of Mannar.

Thoothukudi is the end point of the proposed Madurai-Thoothukudi Industrial Corridor. The study for this Corridor was completed by the Government of Tamil Nadu recently. The Corridor would consist of four manufacturing regions, one agri-business region, two business investment regions, a special tourism zone, one rural tourism hub and one knowledge hub. The government estimates that this Corridor would attract 1,900,000 crore industrial investment over a period of 10 years. The State Government recently formed a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for Speedy implementation of the Project. The upcoming new railway line from Madurai to Thoothukudi via Aruppukotai, Ettayapuram would serve as the backbone for the development of this corridor.

Research Institutes/Centres There are many central and state government research institutes/centres also situated inside and outskirt of Thoothukudi city. Those are: Fisheries College and Research Institute (FCRI) outside on Harbour bybass road, Thoothukudi Research Centre of The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) on the Beach road, Suganthi Devadason Marine Research Institute (SDMRI) on Beach road, Outreach Centre of CSIR-Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CERI) in new harbour area, Thoothukudi and Sub-Regional office of The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) in Millerpuram.