Tiruchirappalli

About Tiruchirappalli

Tiruchirappalli, also known as Trichy or historically as Trichinopoly, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with being the most livable and cleanest city in Tamil Nadu, as well as the fifth safest city for women in India. It is the fourth largest urban agglomeration in the state. Located 322 kilometres (200 mi) south of Chennai and 374 kilometres (232 mi) north of Kanyakumari, Tiruchirappalli sits almost at the geographic centre of Tamil Nadu. The Cauvery Delta begins 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) west of the city where the Kaveri river splits into two, forming the island of Srirangam which is now incorporated into the Tiruchirappalli City Municipal Corporation. The city occupies an area of 167.23 square kilometres (64.57 sq mi) and had a population of 916,857 in 2011.

Tiruchirappalli's recorded history begins under Chola rule in the 3rd century BC. The city has also been ruled by the Pallavas, Pandyas, Vijayanagar Empire, Nayak Dynasty, the Carnatic state and the British. The most prominent historical monuments in Tiruchirappalli include the Rockfort at Teppakulam, the Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam dedicated to the reclining form of the God Vishnu, serving as the largest functioning temple in the world, and the Jambukeswarar Temple at Thiruvanaikaval, which is also the largest temple for the God Shiva in the world. The archaeologically important town of Uraiyur, capital of the Early Cholas, is now a neighbourhood in Tiruchirappalli. The city played a critical role in the Carnatic Wars (1746–1763) between the British and French East India companies.

The city is an important educational centre in the state of Tamil Nadu, and houses nationally recognized institutions such as National Institute of Technology - Tiruchirapalli (NIT-T), Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Tamil Nadu National Law University (NLU), Government Medical College. Industrial units such as Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), Golden Rock Railway Workshop, Ordnance Factory Tiruchirappalli (OFT) and High Energy Projectile Factory (HEPF) have their factories in the city. The presence of a large number of energy equipment manufacturing units in and around the city has earned it the title of "Energy Equipment and Fabrication Capital of India". It is one of the few towns and cities in List of AMRUT Smart cities in Tamil Nadu selected for AMRUT Schemes from central government and the developmental activities are taken care by government of Tamil Nadu.

Tiruchirappalli is internationally recognized for the brand of cheroot known as the Trichinopoly cigar, which was exported in large quantities to the United Kingdom during the 19th century.

A major road and railway hub in the state, the city is served by the Tiruchirappalli International Airport (TRZ) which operates direct flights to the Middle East (Dubai, Saudi Arabia) and Southeast Asia (Singapore, Malaysia).

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.