NAGAPATTINAM DISTRICT 1 NAGAPATTINAM DISTRICT 1. Introduction i) Geographical location of the district Revenue Divisions 2 Nagapattinam is a coastal district of Tamil Nadu situated on the eastern side of Taluks 8 Nagapattinam the district headquarter lie Municipalities 4 326 km, south of the State capital, Chennai, 145 km from Trichy, This district lies south Panchayat Unions 11 of Cuddalore district and another part of the Town Panchayats 8 Nagapattinam district lies to the south of Karaikkal and Tiruvarur districts. Village Panchayats 434 Nagapattinam lies between Northern Villages 2508 Latitude 10.7906 degrees and 79.8428 degrees Eastern longitude. The district spreads over an area of 2,715.83 sq.km iii) Meteorological information The average maximum temperature ii)Administrative profile 0 of the district as a whole is about 32 C and This district envelop 11 Panchayat the average minimum temperature is 24.6 0C. unions, 4 municipalities, 8 town Panchayats Dust storms, whirl winds and dusty winds on its development side 2 revenue divisions blow from various quarters towards the end and 523 revenue villages. of May. The Southwest winds sets in during April, it is the strongest in June and continues till September. Northeast monsoon starts during the month of October and blow till January. Cyclonic storm with varying wind velocity affects once in 3 or 4 years during the months of November-December. The storms affect the plantation crop. During Southwest monsoon the air is calm and undisturbed. The Northeast monsoon which starts in October and ends in December contributes about 60% of the total annual rainfall. The southwest monsoon rains occur from June to September. The average normal and actual rainfall is 265.2 and 250.6 mm respectively during south west monsoon while it is 908.8 and 969.2 mm respectively during north east monsoon during 2007-2008. 2 2. Resources availability the `Thaladi' has duration of five to six months from October - November to i) Land resources February-March. Third is the `Samba' (the Sandy coastal alluvium and black long-term) crop and has duration of almost soil types cover 88.71% and 6.58% six months from August to January. Other respectively in this district. The other soils cereal crops of the district are cumbu, ragi, in the district comprise 4.71%. The soil of maize, korra and varagu. The pulses grown the district is mostly alluvial but varies in the district are redgram, greengram and greatly in quality. The rich soil is found in blackgram. Other food crops are condiments the north and the south of the railway line and species, sugar crops, fruits edible oils between Mayiladuthurai and crops (groundnuts, coconut and gingelly) Thiruthuraippundi. The saline soil is found and vegetables. Among the non-food crops, in the Tirutturaippundi and Nagapattinam cotton/fibre, non-edible oils crops (castor, taluks where the drainage is very defective. miger seeds, though in very small area) are the important ones. ii) Agriculture and horticulture i) Forest resources One of the major economic activities of the district, agriculture contributes a There are 41 forest areas in the higher share of rice production in the State. Nagapattinam district constituting a total Important crops in the district include rice, area of 5,311.70 ha with 35 forest areas groundnut, pulses, gingelly, sugarcane and falling under the Reserve Forest category cotton. with 5,037.21 ha and 6 under reserve land category with 274.49 ha Forestry activities Details of important crops in district in the district are being carried out by Sl. Wildlife Division, with Wildlife Warden as Name of the crop Area in ha No. the administrative head. The division 1 Rice 1,54,945 consists of 4 ranges with headquarters at 2 Sugar cane 8,824 Nagapattinam, Kodiakkarai, Muthupet and 3 Cotton 650 Thanjavur. The basic responsibilities of the division include afforestation activities like 4 Groundnut 5,820 raising coastal shelterbelt, greenbelts, 5 Gingerly 2,950 mangrove restoration, wildlife management 6 Green gram 17,130 and attending to environmental issues The 7 Black gram 48,400 important forest and wildlife areas in the 8 Vegetables 746 division includes Point Calimere Wildlife 9 Coconut 3,116 sanctuary. The other important areas are, This coastal district abounds in green paddy fields, tall coconut groves, vast 1. Vaduvoor gardens of mango and plantain and other 2. Udayamarthandapuram vegetations. Paddy is the main crop of this 3. Karaivetti bird sanctuarie district and it is grown three times in a year. The first crop is known as `Kuruvai' (the 4. Muthupet mangroves short-term crop) with duration of three and a half to four months from June-July to Tropical dry-evergreen forest covers October-November. The second crop called nearly 15 sq.km of Point Calimere Wildlife 3 sanctuary. The forests are mostly of the The forests of this division can be nature of scrubland that stands on low sand divided into two regions from the dunes located on the western half of the topography, and flora point of view; the sanctuary. Manilkara hexandra , locally alluvial regions or riverine land areas and called Palai is the most important evergreen the coastal regions. Riverine areas lie on the species of the sanctuary. banks of river and canal in the form of narrow strips. Teak plantations mostly In the sanctuary grasslands the dominant cover these areas, wherever the soil is graminoid is Aeluropus lagopoides followed unsuitable for Dalbergia sisso , Terminalia by Sporobulu tremulus and Cressa cretica. arjuna and Eucalyptus have been planted in The forest is home to 154 species of such areas. Although the soil is light and medicinal plants like Mucuna pruriens, porous with high water table, the forest areas Solanum trilobatum, Tinospora cordifolia under these zones are subjected to Randia dumatorum and Cissus tremendous biotic pressure and at present quadrangularis. A forest rest house at their poor floristic composition consists of Kodiakkarai is available for visitors to the limited number of herb and thorn species. sanctuary. The present situations does not bring Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary and them in any category of Forest type as per the Muthupet mangroves are the most Classification of forests made by Champion important forests and wildlife areas of and Seth 1968. The Coastal regions contain Nagapattinam district. Point Calimere the Casurina plantations, the mangroves and Wildlife sanctuary is located 60 km from the scrub jungle with the exception of a Nagapattinam and Muthupet mangroves is portion of Point Calimere sanctuary where located 70 km from Nagapattinam. Point about 23 sq.km of tropical dry evergreen Calimere Wildlife sanctuary with a total forests are existing. protected area of 30 sq.km is home to the largest population of the endemic Blackbuck iv) Mineral resources in south India. Other animals of the sanctuary include the jackal, spotted deer, Major minerals jungle cat, feral horses, black napped hare, including a variety of reptiles. The important major minerals available in Nagapattinam District are as follows: From October to January nearly 90 species of migratory water birds visit the 1. Crude oil sanctuary and its surroundings. They include Flamingoes, Painted storks, Pelicans, 2. Natural gas Spoonbills, ducks, teals and a variety of 3. Silica sand shore birds. The best time to visit the sanctuary for bird watching is November- 4. Lime shell December. The sanctuary is open to visitors 5. Heavy mineral sand (Garnet, throughout the year. Iluminite, Rutile Zircon, Monozite 4 Silica sand Zircon is used for manufacturing The silica sand is an oxide of silicon Zirconium crucibles. The estimated reserve which is used mainly for the manufacture of of the following minerals are Sodium Silicate, which in turn is used in the soap and detergent manufacturing industries Mineral table and also used in foundries, glass making and Mineral Volume ceramics as an abrasives. The Silica sand Ilmenite 8,670 metric tonnes deposit is 4.86 million tonnes, occuring in Garnet 8,450 metric tonnes Vadamalai Manakkadu, Vanduvancherri, Zircon 430 metric tonnes Thanikottagam villages of Vedaranyam Taluk in Nagapattinam District. There are 7 Monozite 330 metric tonnes silica sand leases functioning in Rutile 110 metric tonnes Nagapattinam District. Leucozyme 430 metric tonnes Magnetite 1,720 metric tonnes Grude oil and natural gas Crude oil is petroleum in its natural The above estimation does not state before it has been refined. Petroleum is include seasonal replenishment of heavy naturally occurring hydrocarbons in free minerals in the coastal area. state whether in the form of natural gas or in Minor minerals a liquid viscous (or) solid form. Natural gas means gas obtained from bore holes and In Nagapattinam district, minor primarily consisting of hydro-carbons. The minerals such as sand and brick earth oil and natural gas are being extracted in quarries are available. There are 8 sand Narimanam, Kuthalam villages by the Oil quarries operating in this district in and Natural Gas Commission. Kollidam river, Thirumalairajan river and Vettar areas. The details of quarrying leases Lime-shell granted for quarrying various minerals are given in the following table. Lime-shell deposits are available in Sirkali and Nagapattinama taluk of Nagapattinam district (1,87,064 Tonnes). It Area of occurrence of silica sand in is used for making lime-mortar and Nagapattinam district bleaching agent in sugar industries. In Area Name of the Belt Nagapattinam district, one lime-shell lease is ( sq.m) functioning. Vadamalai-Manakkadu 1,795 Heavy minerals Kariappattinam-Chettipulam 6,985 The heavy mineral sands comprise Avarikkadu 1,000 an assemblage of minerals of higher specific Nagakkudaiyan 3,200 gravity and occur as placer deposit along the Vellikidankku-Tanikkottagam sea coast in the beach sand. It occurs in 6,500 Tharangampadi and Sirkali taluks in Dumbavanam-Vanduvancherri 10,250 Nagapattinam district Garnet is used in the Thillaivilagam-Melvaymedu 16,500 abrasive industries, and manufacturing ambuvamadal-Therkku synthetic gems.