KANCHIPURAM DISTRICT 1 KANCHIPURAM DISTRICT 1. Introduction it is divided into 13 development blocks with 648 village panchayats. i) Geographical location of the district Kanchipuram district is situated on iii) Meteorological information the Northern East Coast of Tamil Nadu and The pre-monsoon rainfall is almost is bounded in the West by Vellore and uniform throughout the district. The coastal Thiruvannamalai districts, in the North by taluks get more rains rather than the interior Tiruvallur district and Chennai district, in regions. This district is mainly depending on the South by Villuppuram district and in the the seasonal rains. Northeast and southwest East by the Bay of Bengal. It lies between monsoons of contribute respectively to the 11° 00' to 12° 00’ North and 77° 28' to total annual rainfall. The normal rainfall of 78° 50' East. The district has a total the district has been 1213.3 mm and actual geographical area of 4,393.37 sq.km and rainfall has been 1133 mm. The months between April and June are generally hot with temperatures going up to an average maximum of 36.6ºC. In winter (December - January) the average minimum temperature is 19.8ºC. 2. Resources availability i) Land resources The following table shows the soil types in the district. Type of soil Places in district Kanchipuram, Red Loam Uthiramerur blocks Lateritic Soil Plateau in the district Black Soil Spread in all blocks Thirukazhukundram, Sandy Coastal Thiruporur, Alluviam St.Thomas Mount. coastline of 57 km Kanchipuram, the temple town is the district headquarters. Red Sandy Soil Kanchipuram, i) Administrative profile ii) Agriculture and horticulture For administrative reasons, the district has been divided into 4 revenue Agriculture is the main occupation of divisions comprising of 11 taluks with 1,137 the people with 47% of the population revenue villages. For development reasons, 2 engaged in it. Paddy is the major crop The major forest product, the cultivated in this district. Groundnuts, industrial pulpwood obtained from Sugarcane, Cereals & Millets and Pulses are Eucalyptus plantations, is supplied for paper the other major crops cultivated . Palar River manufacturing. The lops and tops left after along with Tanks and wells are the main extracting the pulpwood is sold as fuel sources of irrigation in this district. wood. Fuel wood is extracted also from the Following table shows the details of Casuarina plantations. Cashew is the agriculture in the district. important Non Timber Forest Produce which contributes a major share of forest revenue. Classification Area in ha Total Cropped iv) Mineral resources 1,98,543 Area Granite, stone quarry, sand quarry, Net Area Sown 1,60,090 silica sand and clay are the minerals Area sown more 38,453 available in Kanchipuram district. Following than once table shows the availability of mineral Area Under Principal Crops resources. Rice 1,45,966 Estimated Availability of Mineral Millets and 1,217 resources Cereals Pulses 2,966 Sl. Name of the Estimated Sugarcane 7,586 Availability (in No. mineral metric tonnes) Groundnut 28,766 1. Silica Sand 6,00,000 Gingelly 912 2. White Clay 5,00,000 Cotton 53 3. Black Granite 3,75.000 4. Stone 75,00,000 iii) Forest resources The total forest area in the district is 5. Sand 45,00,000 23,586 ha spread in the interior regions of v) Water resources the district. In this 366.675 ha are Reserved Land. Much of the natural forests have been River Palar is the main river in the converted into man-made forests since the district, which is not perennial. This is the late 1950s. However, chunks of natural only river that flows thorough the district, forests still exist in Hanumanthaputheri, originating from Nandhi Durg in Karnataka. Maiyur and parts of Kelambakkam R.F. It runs through for a length of 350 km and which still support the original vegetation. nearly half of it in this district covering a Kanchipuram district has the singular basin area of 2187 sq.km The river has part distinction of having established woodlots in of its basin in Karnataka and Andhra states. community (Poramboke) lands vested with the panchayat. Way back in 1961, the first Most of the year it remains dry, due ever community plantation- the precursor of to the construction of dams across the river the present day social forestry was raised in Andhra Pradesh. Cheyyar and Vegavathy near Sunguvarchatram in panchayat lands. rivers are tributaries of Palar and join it at Thirumakkudal. 3 vi) Fisheries production birds can be viewed from the bank or from the watch tower. The Kanchipuram District is rich in fish resources. Scope for exploitation of marine fisheries in the District is high with the coastal line of 57 km A comparison of fish production indicates that the coastal production is higher than the inland fish production. The fish production from both inland and marine sources has increased in both quantity and value. vii) Heritage sites Kanchipuram Kanchipuram is known as the "city Vedanthangal water-bird sanctuaries of a thousand temples". The 192 ft high Muttukadu temple tower of Ekamabaranadhar temple and the 100-pillar mandabam (building) in Muttukadu is a large lake formed out Varadaraja Perumal temple in this town are of the backwaters from Bay of Bengal. It has famous, and are considered marvels of the boating and wind surfing facilities. It is architectural beauty of the Vijayanagara located at a distance of 80 km from dynasty. The British Viceroy Robert Clive, Kanchipuram. The backwaters of who is responsible for the British rule in Muttukkadu have been developed by the India, had exclaimed the architectural beauty Tamil Nadu Tourism Development of Varadharaja perumal temple and Corporation to serve as a picnic spot and a presented a fabulous jewelry to this temple. center for water sports. Training and Today, apart from its temples, this small demonstration programmes are also town is also known for its thriving organised for beginners. handloom industry. The city is quite famous for its silk sarees, considered to be one of Mamallapuram the best varieties of silk sarees. Walajapet near Kanchipuram is also famous for silk It is a place of architectural interest saree weaving. and lies on the east coast, 55 km south of Vedanthangal Chennai. It is an important tourist center. The shore temple and the monolithic Vedanthangal is one of India's main chariots, known as the “Five Rathas”, water-bird sanctuaries situated at a distance Arjuna’s peanace, the Krishna Mandapam, of 48 km from Kanchipuram. Storks, egrets, Mahishasura Mandapam, the elephant etc., cormorants, darters, flamingos, pelicans, are all magnificent pieces of sculpture which moorhens, herons, kingfishers, sandpipers, attract hundreds of tourists throughout the white ibis, spoonbills, swans and grey year. The place is also known as the Seven wagtails are some of the birds also which Pagodas and along with the sea-shore and its visit seasonally. Between October and temple provides a beautiful picnic spot March, many migratory birds visit. The 4 abounding in natural beauty. There is also enclosures. There is also a snake farm where a lighthouse here. A training center for anti-venom is produced and there is a sculpture has been set up here by the regular venom extraction show. government. The group of sculptures in Mamallapuram is listed out by the UNESCO viii) Bidiversity as a World Heritage Site . Following are the important flora and fauna in the district. Characteristic species • Manilkara hexandra • Mimusops elengi • Albizia amara • Memecylon umbellatum • Diospyros ferrea syn maba buxifolia Top Canopy • Mimusops elengi Mamallapuram • Diospyros ebenum (occasional) Covelong • Strychnos nux vomia (occasional) • Strychnos potatorum (occasional) This is a small fishing village 40 km • Diospyros chloroxylon occasional) from Chennai on the Mahabalipuram road. • Drypetes sepiarea (rare) The remains of a fort here now functions as • Syzygium cumini a luxury beach resort. Facilities for • Canthirum decoccum (frequent) windsurfing and swimming are available • Ziziphus glaberrima (frequent) here. A dargah and an ancient church are • also located here. Acacia leucophloea (frequent) • Catunaregam spinosa (frequent) Dakshina Chitra • Buchanania lanzan (occasional) • Dakshina Chitra has relocated 18 th , Sapinda emarginatus (occasional) • 19 th and early 20 th century houses and re- Albizia amara created village streets and work places • Albizia lebbek providing authentic insights into the • Tamarindus indica domestic architecture, spatial organisation, • Azadirachta indica life-styles and character of the essential • Borassus flabellifer Tamil or Keralite or Andhrite or Kannadiga. Under wood The Crocodile Bank • Carissa carandas (abundant) • Flacourtia indica The Madras Crocodile Bank, a (locally abundant) crocodile breeding center, is located about • 14 km from Mamallapuram.At this center, Diospyros ferrea (frequent) • about 5000 crocodiles of 6 different Grewia sp. (abundant) • species, alligators and other reptiles are Gymnosporia sp. (frequent) bred in captivity, kept in open, marshy 5 • Ixora arborea (frequent) • Palm squirrels - Funambulus • Tarenna ascatica (frequent) pennanti and F.palmarum • Memecylon umbellatum • Hare - Lepus nigricollis nigricollis • Garcinia spicata • Common mongoose - Harpestes edwardsi Shrubs • Shrew - Suncus sp. • Strobilanthus • Pangolim - Manis crassicaudata . • Dodonaea viscosa (abundant) • Pariyakite - Milvus migrans govinda • Glycosmis pentaphylla • Brahminy kite - Haliastuf indus • Ochna squarrosa •