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Karaikal Karikal | |
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Municipality | |
 Karaikal Grand Mosque  Beach Road during Dawn | |
  Karaikal Location of Karaikal inTamil Nadu, India | |
| Coordinates:10°55′58″N79°49′55″E / 10.932701°N 79.831853°E /10.932701; 79.831853 | |
| Country | India |
| Union territory | Puducherry |
| District | Karaikal |
| Region | Tamil Nadu |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipality |
| • Body | Karaikal Municipality (Conseil Municipal de Karaikal) |
| Elevation | 4 m (13 ft) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Tamil,French |
| • Additional | English |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 609601-609609 |
| Telephone code | +91-04368- |
| Vehicle registration | PY 02 |
| Website | www |
Karaikal (/ˈkɑːraɪkʌl/,Tamil:[kaːɾɐi̯kːaːl],French:Karikal/kaʁikal/) is a port city of the IndianUnion Territory ofPuducherry.[2] It is the administrative headquarters of theKaraikal District and the second most populated town in the Union Territory afterPondicherry. Located on theCoromandel Coast ofBay of Bengal inSouth India, it is situated at the center of a coastalenclave surrounded by the state ofTamil Nadu and its Cauvery delta districts (Mayiladuthurai, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam).
The origin of the word Karaikal is uncertain.The Imperial Gazetteer of British India gives its meaning as 'fish pass'. Both the words 'Karai' and 'Kal' have several meanings, of which the more acceptable ones are 'lime mix' and 'canal' respectively. Hence it has been suggested that the name may mean a canal built of lime mix, however, no trace of such a canal is evident.
In 1738, Karaikal was promised to the French bySayaji, the exiledRajah of Thanjavur, in exchange for their assistance. However, the transfer of control only occurred in 1739 with the help ofChanda Sahib ofArcot, when the French formally obtained the town.
In 1749, additional territories consisting of 81 villages were ceded byPratap Singh to the French during their siege ofThanjavur, a grant that was confirmed by treaty in 1754. Karaikal changed hands multiple times in the following years due to conflicts between the French and the British, notably during the siege of 1760, when British forces captured the town after a ten-day defense.[3]
Karaikal was eventually restored to French control in 1817 following the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French continued to hold control, despite occasional interruptions by the British Raj, until 1954, when it wasde facto incorporated into the Republic of India. Karaikal, along with the other French Indian colonies ofMahé,Yanaon,Chandernagor, andPondichéry, wasde jure integrated into India in 1962.
Karaikal is a small coastal enclave which was formerly part ofFrench India. Together with the other former French territories ofPondicherry,Yanam, andMahé, it forms the Union Territory of Puducherry. Karaikal is bounded on three sides by three districts ofTamil Nadu, on the North byMayiladuthurai district, on the South byNagapattinam district ofTamil Nadu state, on the west byTiruvarur district (also belonging to Tamil Nadu), and on the East by theBay of Bengal. The enclave is located 140 kilometres (87 miles) south of the city of Pondicherry, 158 kilometres (98 miles) east of Trichy and is known for its rich cultural heritage.
The main branches ofKaveri belowGrand Anicut are theKudamurutti,Arasalar,Virasolanar and the Vikramanar. Although Arasalar and its branches spread through Karaikal, the waters of Kudamurutti and Virasolanar also meet the irrigation needs of the region.
Forming a part of the fertile Kaveri delta, the region is completely covered by the distributaries of Cauvery. Covered completely by a thick mantle of alluvium of variable thickness, the lie of the region is flat having a gentle slope towards the Bay of Bengal in the east. It is limited on the north by theNandalar and on the south-east by theVettar. The group of rocks known as Cuddalore formations is met with in the area contiguous to Karaikal region in Nagapattinam district.
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate astropical wet and dry (As).
| Climate data for Karaikal (1991–2020, extremes 1973–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 32.2 (90.0) | 34.2 (93.6) | 37.2 (99.0) | 40.7 (105.3) | 42.0 (107.6) | 42.4 (108.3) | 39.5 (103.1) | 39.4 (102.9) | 38.8 (101.8) | 36.9 (98.4) | 35.9 (96.6) | 32.7 (90.9) | 42.4 (108.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 29.0 (84.2) | 30.4 (86.7) | 32.2 (90.0) | 34.2 (93.6) | 36.3 (97.3) | 36.6 (97.9) | 36.0 (96.8) | 35.1 (95.2) | 34.2 (93.6) | 32.1 (89.8) | 29.8 (85.6) | 28.8 (83.8) | 32.9 (91.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 25.9 (78.6) | 26.8 (80.2) | 28.6 (83.5) | 30.6 (87.1) | 30.9 (87.6) | 31.4 (88.5) | 31.4 (88.5) | 30.2 (86.4) | 29.8 (85.6) | 28.8 (83.8) | 27.0 (80.6) | 26.2 (79.2) | 29.0 (84.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 22.3 (72.1) | 23.0 (73.4) | 24.4 (75.9) | 26.5 (79.7) | 27.2 (81.0) | 26.8 (80.2) | 26.5 (79.7) | 25.8 (78.4) | 25.5 (77.9) | 25.0 (77.0) | 23.9 (75.0) | 22.8 (73.0) | 25.0 (77.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 18.0 (64.4) | 17.8 (64.0) | 18.4 (65.1) | 20.8 (69.4) | 21.0 (69.8) | 20.8 (69.4) | 21.1 (70.0) | 21.0 (69.8) | 20.6 (69.1) | 20.6 (69.1) | 19.5 (67.1) | 17.8 (64.0) | 17.8 (64.0) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 37.4 (1.47) | 24.6 (0.97) | 19.6 (0.77) | 23.6 (0.93) | 59.3 (2.33) | 57.8 (2.28) | 37.0 (1.46) | 84.5 (3.33) | 109.5 (4.31) | 260.7 (10.26) | 493.4 (19.43) | 260.6 (10.26) | 1,467.9 (57.79) |
| Average rainy days | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 9.8 | 13.7 | 8.4 | 53.6 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%)(at 17:30IST) | 75 | 72 | 71 | 73 | 71 | 65 | 65 | 70 | 75 | 78 | 82 | 79 | 73 |
| Source 1:India Meteorological Department[4][5] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Tokyo Climate Center (mean temperatures 1991–2020)[6] | |||||||||||||
The District Collector is the official representative to the Lieutenant Governor and Chief Co-ordinator and Liaison Officer to all Government departments of Karaikal district. District Collectorate, Karaikal is the functional headquarters of Karaikal District.
Karaikal region is made up of Karaikal municipality and theCommunes of
According to the2011 Census of India, total population of Karaikal district is 2,00,222, comprising 97,809 males and 1,02,413 females. Population of the district accounts for 16.04% of the total population of Puducherry U.T. and ranks second among the districts. The literacy rate is 87.1%, with male literacy at 92.4% and female literacy at 82.0%.[7]
Karaikal is renowned for its connection withKaraikal Ammaiyar, a leadingShaivite saint andBhakti poetess, amongst the sixty-threenayanmar, who lived there around the 5th century CE.[8] A sanctuary, theKaraikal Ammaiyar temple, is dedicated to her, and popular for its annual celebration ofMangani (the Mango Festival orFête des Mangues in French), which takes place in summer.[9] The event is the town's main feast.[10] Located on the formerRue dePoréar (nowBharathiyar Street), theKarikal Amméar temple is neighboured by the Shaivitetemple of Kailasanathar and theVaishnavitetemple of Nithyakalyana Perumal. The three religious sites share theChandra Theerthamtank, which lies along the street. A second religious celebration in the town concerns exclusively the Kailasanathar temple, which organizes theKaraikal Chariot festival.
Karaikal is also commonly associated with the temple devoted to the LordSaneesvara atThirunallar, one of theNavagraha Sthalam in the Kumbakonam region.[11] TheDharbaranyesvarar temple of Thirunallar is as well one of theSapta Vidanga Sthalam, an important network of Shaivite shrines in relation with the famedThyagaraja temple ofThiruvarur. Three other significant Shaivite sanctuaries, among thePaadal Petra Sthalam, are also located nearby Karaikal. These are theDharmapuram Yazhmoorinathar temple in Dharmapuram, between the communes of Karaikal and Thirunallar, theTiruttelicheri Parvatheesvarar temple, in nowadays Kovil Pathu, on the outskirts of the town, and theThiruvettakudi Sundaresvarar temple inThiruvettakudi, a hamlet east to the village ofVarichikudi.
Of lesser reverence with respect to thePaadal Petra Sthalam, Karaikal and its surroundings also feature temples esteemed in theSaiva Siddhanta tradition, designated as theVaippu Sthalam. Mentioned in the religious literature associated with this tradition, there are two of these temples, theRaja Chozheesvarar temple atThirumalairayanpattinam or T.R Patnam (once known as theGrande Aldée in French), and theThirulokanathar temple at Thakkalur, a hamlet between Dharmapuram and Thirunallar.
The Muslim presence in Karaikal grew between the 18th and 19th centuries.[12] The town witnessed the establishment of aBukharan MuslimSufi cleric christened Mastan Saheb in the early 19th century. He attracted many Muslims to the town, and his fruitful preaching brought new believers.[12][13] Following his demise in 1829, adargah formed, and a commemorative procession (anurs), known locally asKanduri (the Kanduri Festival orCandry in French), is held annually.[13] Karaikal's Dargah is an architecturally remarkable building, reminiscent of the more famousDargah at nearbyNagore, and demonstrative of theIslamic architectural style in use at the time in the Tanjore region, and more widely in theDeccan. The adjacentGrand Mosque is also a remarkable architectural structure, with a more pronouncedIndo-Saracenic influence.
Most of the people in town are office goers and industrial workers. There are a number of iron and steel rolling mills, spinning mills, tiles, polythene, rubber and chemical industries in Karaikal. Other common sources of the people's income come from business. The prominent source of income of this district is agriculture and fishing. Karaikal is a coastal town with a total coastline of 26 kilometres (16 miles). There are 12 big fishing hamlets and around more than 25,000 fishermen (6,000 families) are living in these coastal villages. Their main employment is fishing, exporting and fishing related activities. The other main source is the liquor business, the tax being less and the cost almost half when compared to the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. Karaikal is one of the towns in South India with high cost of living due to French NRI's presence. Thousands of families with their origin in Karaikal live in France. Puducherry Power Corporation Limited is Generating Electricity with Natural gas fuel in their combined cycle power plant and supply the electricity to Puducherry Electricity Department. The fuel gas received through GAIL India Limited by underground pipelines from ONGC Wells.TheONGC's officeKaveri rig is at Karaikal.[14]
The nearest airport to Karaikal isTiruchirappalli International Airport, which serves the entire Cauvery delta region, as well as adjacent areas. The other major airport close to the town isChennai International Airport, which offers better air connectivity, especially to long-haul destinations.
Karaikal Airport is agreenfield project nearby Karaikal, currently frozen. It would have been the first airport in the country built entirely with private capital. The project received in-principle clearance from the Ministry of Civil Aviation in February 2011. Karaikal Airport's Air Traffic Control, however, would have been operated by theAirports Authority of India (AAI). In its initial plans, the airport, spread across 562 acres (227 ha), was being developed by Karaikal Airport Private Limited, a subsidiary of Super Airport Private Limited. The first phase of construction would have included construction of a 1200-metre runway and a terminal building capable of handling 120 passengers during peak hours. The airport was expected to handle regional turboprop airliners like the ATR-42. The company planned to expand the airport after five years, extending the runway to 2,600 metres (8,500 feet) and increasing terminal building capacity to 500 passengers per hour. A further expansion was planned ten years down the line with a 3500-metre runway and a passenger capacity of 1,000 per hour.
Karaikal port is a new deep sea water port being constructed in Karaikal. More than 600 acres (2.4 km2) of land was leased out toMARG corporation in year 2005 for 30 years and can be renewed for every 10 years thereafter. The port will have a total of nine berths and is constructed for primary transport of coal, textile and cement. The Karaikal port is intended to primarily handle cement and coal to serve the hinterland inAriyalur,Perambalur and Tiruchi districts. The port is also expected to provide an alternative to theMadras andTuticorin ports, which are the major ports in the coastline but are separated by long distance. Further, Karaikal is in the middle of the Tamil Nadu coast, midway between the two deepwater ports of Chennai and Tuticorin.
The National HighwayNH 32 connectsChennai andThoothukudi, passes through Karaikal. It is located at the distance 297 km (185 mi) fromChennai, 132 km (82 mi) fromPuducherry, 154 km (96 mi) fromTiruchirapalli, 57 km (35 mi) fromKumbakonam and 20 km (12 mi) fromNagapattinam. Karaikal is connected with both National Highways and State Highways. Both Gov't. and Private buses available from Karaikal to Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchirapalli, Kumbakonam, Mayiladuthurai, Puducherry, Cuddalore, Chidambaram.
Karaikal having rail line connected from Tiruchirapalli via Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, and Nagore. Presently Rails are available from Karaikal to Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Ernakulam, Tiruchirapalli, Tanjore, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Nagore, Velanganni and currently Karaikal to Peralam Railway line work is under progress.Peralam–Karaikal line
According to the 2011 Census, Karaikal has literacy rate of 87.1%. There is a wide network of educational institutions right from elementary level to collegiate level in the Karaikal region.
Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) was established in Karaikal in 2016 with an initial intake of 50 students. The students are selected through entrance exams conducted nationwide.
National Institute of Technology Puducherry was established in Karaikal in 2010. The students are admitted based onJoint Entrance Examination – Main entrance exam score.
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