Rajapalayam

This article is about a city. For the breed of dog, see Rajapalayam (dog).

Rajapalayam இராஜபாளையம்
Town
Rajapalayam Location in Tamil Nadu, India
Coordinates:
Country	India
State	Tamil Nadu
District	Virudhunagar
Government
• Type	Special Grade Municipality
• Body	Rajapalayam Municipality
• Municipality Chairman	P.S. Dhanalakshmi
• M L A	K. Gopalsamy
Elevation	100.58 m (329.99 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	130,422
Languages
• Official	Tamil
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Vehicle registration	TN-84
Website	Rajapalayam360.in

Rajapalayam (Tamil: இராஜபாளையம்) is a town and a special grade municipality in Virudhunagar district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located 85 km southwest of Madurai in the state of Tamil Nadu. Its main attractions are the Ayyanar Falls and the neighbour town of Srivilliputtur. The economy is based on the manufacture of textiles, and there are mills for spinning and weaving cotton, as well as a large cotton market. It's also known for the Rajapalayam breed of dogs (சிப்பிப்பாறை, கோம்பை, மற்றும் பல). As of 2011, the town had a population of 130,442.

History

Initially, agriculture was the principal source of living for the people of Rajapalayam. In the mid 1900s, Rajapalayam gradually evolved into a thriving business community.

Media

"Rajapalayam 360" is a well known Social Media page for Rajapalayam. It aims to create awareness among people about many Social Issues. It also acts as the Media for the Rajapalayam people living around the world to know about the News in Rajapalayam.

Climate

The climate of the region is semi-arid tropical monsoon type. Temperature range is 20 °C to 37 °C.It has a high mean temperature

Demographics

Religious census
Religion			Percent(%)
Hindu			94.53%
Muslim			3.48%
Christian			1.75%
Sikh			0.02%
Other			0.21%

According to 2011 census, Rajapalayam had a population of 130,442 with a sex-ratio of 1,014 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 11,604 were under the age of six, constituting 5,927 males and 5,677 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 13.51% and .09% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the city was 77.87%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The city had a total of 37797 households. There were a total of 53,913 workers, comprising 380 cultivators, 3,676 main agricultural labourers, 1,375 in house hold industries, 45,223 other workers, 3,259 marginal workers, 34 marginal cultivators, 326 marginal agricultural labourers, 286 marginal workers in household industries and 2,613 other marginal workers.

As per the religious census of 2011, Rajapalayam had 94.53% Hindus, 3.48% Muslims, 1.75% Christians, 0.02% Sikhs and 0.21% following other religions.

Transportation

By Land

Bus

Rajapalayam has two bus stands to cater to the needs of the population. The old bus stand currently serves as the city bus stand. The new bus stand on Sankarankovil Road is where all the mofussil buses stop by. Buses frequently shuttle between Madurai and Rajapalayam via Srivilliputtur. There are buses, every 15 minutes, from Rajapalayam to Tirunelveli travel via Sankarankovil and every 30 minutes to Aruppukottai via Srivilliputtur,Sivakasi & Virudhunagar and vice versa.

Many Omni buses leave for Chennai & Bengaluru during nights. There are also the state-run SETC buses to Chennai & Bengaluru. Buses between Chennai/Bengaluru and Sengottai travel via Rajapalayam.

Rail

Express Trains

The Podhigai Express SuperFast train bearing no (12661) from Chennai Egmore to Sengottai reaches Rajapalayam every day at around 6.30 AM. Similarly the Podhigai Express SuperFast train bearing no (12662) from Sengottai to Chennai Egmore reaches Rajapalayam every night at around 07.50 PM. There are also special trains available from Chennai to Sengottai and vice versa via Rajapalayam almost throughout the year. Trains from/towards Tirunelveli can be caught at Virudhunagar Junction.

Passenger Trains

There are 3 passenger train services from Madurai to Sengottai that pass through Rajapalayam on a daily basis at 09.00 AM, 01.20 PM and 07.05 PM respectively. Similarly there are 3 passenger train services from Sengottai to Madurai that pass through Rajapalayam on a daily basis at 08.30 AM, 01.25 PM and 05.20 PM respectively. The passenger train fare is just half of what the buses charge and hence these passengers are always crowded.

By Air

The nearest domestic airport is Madurai Airport (~80 km). Madurai Airport is around 1hour 50 minutes from Rajapalayam. Jet Airways, Spicejet and Air India are operating daily flights between Madurai Airport and Chennai International Airport. and Hydrabad. Also flight in Sri Lanka

Tourist attractions

Ayyanar Koil Forest Area (Ayyanar Falls)

Water Dam

Ayyanar Koil forest area is located 10 km west of Rajapalayam on the eastern slope of Western Ghats. The forest area has many of streams, waterfalls, springs and a temple. Hiking in this forest area is one of the main recreations for Rajapalayam residents. Rajapalayam Water Reservoir, which provides water to the entire city, is situated en route to Ayyanar Falls. Rajapalayam Dam and Rajapalayam Water Treatment Plant are also situated adjacent to the Rajapalayam Water Reservoir. The water supply and distribution system are by natural gravitational force without Motor pumps.

Sri Vallakattu Karuppasamy kovil

Vallakattu Karuppasamy temple is situated en route to Ayyanar Kovil right in the middle of forest. Lord Karuppu Samy is one of the 21 associate folk-deities of Ayyanar. This temple is located next to KrishnaRajasagar dam that supply water to Rajapalayam township.This temple is one of the most famous in this area. The deities Lord Karuppasamyare is decorated with a golden kavacham on every fullmoon night. Every Saturday the worshippers who visit the temple are provided with food. There is an ayalya tree and those whose stars(according to the Hindu belief, based on the day time and year of birth)come under the ayalya star worship this tree with milk (milk abeshekam)to have a patient life.

Sanjeevi Hills

Sanjeevi Hills is a small hill situated in south-west Rajapalayam en route Chatrapatti area.The Murugan Temple is at top of the hill. Karthigai Deepam lit on the top spot on thirukarthigai day of every year. The calm and serene ambiance makes it a favorite spot for tourists. Tradition recounts that in order to save the unconscious Lakshmana, Hanuman, the monkey god carried the entire Sanjeevi Hills with the herbal plants to Sri Lanka and threw it away afterwards. It is said that the thrown down hill is the Sanjeevi Hills.

Srivilliputtur

Srivilliputtur is a town nearby Rajapalayam. The primary landmark of Srivilliputtur is twelve-tiered tower structure dedicated to the Lord of Srivilliputtur, known as Vatapatrasayee. The tower of this temple rises 192 feet high and is the official symbol of the Government of Tamil Nadu. It is said to have been built by Periyaazhvar, the father of Andal, with a purse of gold that he won in debates held in the palace of Pandya King Vallabhadeva. Another wonder in Srivilliputtur is Chariot which runs on Aadi Pooram.

Srivilliputtur is very famous for milk kova.

Shenbagathoppu Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary

The Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary, spreads over 480 square kilometres was established in 1989 in Shenbagathopu, Srivilliputtur Taluk. This sanctuary is contiguous with the Periyar tiger reserve on the south-western side and the Megamalai reserve forest on the north-western side. The altitude varies from 100 m to 2010 m above sea level. The sanctuary is home to the endangered, arboreal grizzled giant squirrel Ratufa macrora. This greyish brown squirrel weighs from 1 kg to 1.8 kg and is in the size of a small cat. It measures about 735 mm long from nose to tail, with the tail measuring from 360 mm to 400 mm long. These squirrels construct drays at forked branches where the crowns of neighbouring trees meet, enabling these squirrels to move away from the site by jumping from tree to tree when threatened.

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  A remote stream near Ayyanar Kovil

• Western Ghats RYM.jpg

  Western Ghats

• Sanjeevi Hills.jpg

  Sanjeevi Hills

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  Shenbagathoppu Meenvetti Parai Falls

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  Aerial view from Sanjeevi Hills

• View from Sanjeevi Hills.jpg

  Sanjeevi Rock

Politics

Rajapalayam (State Assembly Constituency) is part of Tenkasi (Lok Sabha constituency). Rajapalayam (State Assembly Constituency) moved from Sivakasi (Lok Sabha constituency) to Tenkasi (Lok Sabha constituency) after 2009

Poosapati Sanjeevi Kumarswamy Raja [P.S.Kumarasamy Raja] (1898–1957) was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (Madras Presidency), India from 6 April 1949 to 10 April 1952.

External links

• Rajapalayam 360
• Rajapalayam