➢ Vellore district is one of the 38 districts in the Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eleven districts that form the north region of Tamil Nadu. ➢ Vellore city is the headquarters of this district. ➢ The Government of India recently included Vellore city in its prestigious smart city project, along with 26 other cities. ➢ The name is said to have originated from Vel which is the main weapon of the Hindu deity Murugan or 'Velayudayaan' (one who bears the spear). ➢ The word then literally means - The place of Murugan. The name Vellore is derived from the Tamil words Vel + uur meaning City of Spears. ➢ It is considered one of the oldest cities in South India and lies on the banks of the Palar River on the site of Vellore Fort. ➢ Vellore is a major transit point for travelers, a hub for medical tourism and is emerging as a tourist hot spot. ➢ Vellore was once the capital city of the Vijayanagar Empire during 1606-1672. t.me/shanawithu t.me/civilcentric :Brother Mentor Contact No:9500833976 HISTORY: ➢ The recorded history of Vellore dates back to the ninth Century,as seen from a Chola inscription in the Annamalaiyar Temple in Tiruvannamalai. ➢ Many dynasties and rulers dominated Vellore throughout its history, including the Pallava dynasty, Medieval Cholas, Later Cholas, Vijayanagar, the Rashtrakuta dynasty, the Sambuvaraya chieftains, the Nawabs of the Carnatic, and the administration of the British. t.me/shanawithu t.me/civilcentric :Brother Mentor Contact No:9500833976 ➢ Tondaimandalam was an ancient division of Tamil country comprising roughly the present Kanchipuram district, Chennai district, Tiruvallur district, Vellore district and Tiruvannamalai district. ➢ A four-and-a-half feet tall stone slab with inscriptions in Sanskrit and Tamil, believed to be dating back to the Pallava dynasty, has been unearthed by labourers at a village Thipasamudram in Tamil Nadu. ➢ Department of Archaeologist and researcher at Vellore Fort Museum, said that the stone slab might be as old as the Pallava period. ➢ The Pallava dynasty ruled several parts of present day Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh for about 500 years from fourth century to ninth century. GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION: ➢ Vellore district lies between 12degree 15 inch to 13 degree 15inch North latitudes and 78 degree 20 inch to 79 degree 50inch East longitudes in Tamil Nadu state. ➢ Altitude of vellore is about 708 Feet above the sea level. ➢ The geographical area of this district is 5920.18 sq.km. t.me/shanawithu t.me/civilcentric :Brother Mentor Contact No:9500833976 Main River: Palar River: Drainage pattern of Palar river. ➢ Palar river in southern India. It rises near the Ponnaiyar River, southwest of Chintamani, in Karnataka state, and flows 183 miles (295 km) t.me/shanawithu t.me/civilcentric :Brother Mentor Contact No:9500833976 southeastward through Tamil Nadu state to the Bay of Bengal, south of Chennai (Madras). Its major tributaries are the Ponnai and Cheyyar rivers. ➢ The largest communities along its banks are Vellore, Arcot, and Chengalpattu. CLIMATE: ➢ Temperature ranges from as low as 10°C in the winter months of December–February to even 43°C in the summer months of April–June. ➢ It is essentially a dry climate, rainy and humid only at the times of the two monsoons: June–August and October–December. Language spoken in the District: ❖ Tamil ❖ Telugu ❖ Urdu ❖ Hindi ❖ Kannada ❖ Sowrashtra ❖ Malayalam t.me/shanawithu t.me/civilcentric :Brother Mentor Contact No:9500833976 DEMOGRAPHY: AS PER 2019 AND 2020. Human development indicators: ➢ Tamil Nadu Government first Human Development Report was published in the year 2003. t.me/shanawithu t.me/civilcentric :Brother Mentor Contact No:9500833976 ➢ The report was prepared by State planning commission with the support of the union planning commission and the UNDP. ➢ The preparation of HDR has been an initiative of the government of Tamilnadu supported by the UNDP and the NITI Aayog. ❖ In Gender inequality index vellore placed in 3rd Rank. ❖ In Child development index vellore placed 29th Rank. Sex ratio and Literacy : Sex Ratio (Per 1007 1000) Child Sex Ratio 944 (0-6 Age) Average Literacy 79.17 Male Literacy 86.50 Female Literacy 71.95 Politics in Vellore District: t.me/shanawithu t.me/civilcentric :Brother Mentor Contact No:9500833976 DMDK , DMK , AIADMK , INC , PMK are the major political parties in Vellore District. Collectorate: ➢ The Collectorate play a pivotal role in the District administration. ➢ Collector in the Cadre of I.A.S heads the District. ➢ He acts as the District Magistrate for maintaining Law and Order in his jurisdiction. ➢ He deals mainly with planning and development, law and order, general elections, arms licensing etc. City corporation: In 2008, the 142 year–old municipalities were made a City Corporation. t.me/shanawithu t.me/civilcentric :Brother Mentor Contact No:9500833976 IMPORTANT TOURIST PLACES IN VELLORE: Vellore fort map Vellore Fort: ➢ As per the inscriptions, the chieftains of the Vijayanagar Empire Vellore Fort was built by Chinna Bommi Reddy and Thimma reddy Nayak, subordinate chieftains under Sadasiva Raya of the Vijayanagara Empire around the middle of the 16th century. ➢ Vellore Fort is where the first rebellion against the British had happened. ➢ Due to the scale of the revolt of 1857, it is considered to be the first revolt. t.me/shanawithu t.me/civilcentric :Brother Mentor Contact No:9500833976 ➢ There is a temple, a church, a mosque and Tamil Nadu's oldest police training centre inside the fort. ➢ The temple situated in the fort is called Jalakanteswarar Temple. ✓ Inside the temple an escape tunnel leading to Virinjipuram about 12 km (7.5 mi) away, which could be used by the king and other royals in the event of an attack. ➢ The church inside the fort was constructed during the early British period (Robert Clive, East Indian Company). ➢ Muthu Mandapam is a memorial built around the tombstone of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha, the last ruler of Sri Lanka. ➢ In 1981 the Post and Telegraph Department of India released a stamp commemorating the fort, and in July 2006 a stamp marking the 200th anniversary of the Mutiny was released. t.me/shanawithu t.me/civilcentric :Brother Mentor Contact No:9500833976 Stamp released for 200th anniversary of the mutiny. Entrance to vellore fort. Moat around the fort walls t.me/shanawithu t.me/civilcentric :Brother Mentor Contact No:9500833976 Gun firing holes Old buildings within the fort. ➢ This 16th-century fort was opened up to tourists and is now maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. ➢ During British rule, the Tipu Sultan's family and the last king of Sri Lanka, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha were held as prisoners in the fort. It is also a witness to the massacre of the Vijayanagara royal family of Sriranga Raya. ➢ Tipu and Hyder Mahal are 2 individual palaces located inside the fort of Vellore. ➢ They belong to Tipu Sultan and Hyder Ali. Tipu Mahal is said to be the place where Tipu Sultan, along with his family, resided during the rebellion against the British powers. ➢ Tipu Mahal houses over 150 rooms, whereas, Hyder Mahal houses more than 200 rooms. All rooms in both palaces reflect the lavish lifestyle led by Tipu Sultan and Hyder Ali. t.me/shanawithu t.me/civilcentric :Brother Mentor Contact No:9500833976 Monument in the honour of the first mutiny in 1806 at vellore. ➢ This fort changed hands between the different dynasties the temple suffered majorly during the Muslim invasion and was almost destroyed. ➢ The temple structure was heavily repaired by ASI (Archeological Survey of India) in 1921, it was only in 1981 that controversially regular puja started back in this temple. t.me/shanawithu t.me/civilcentric :Brother Mentor Contact No:9500833976 Jalagandeeswarar Temple Jalagandeeswarar Temple – Exquisite Stone Carvings ST. JOHN’S CHURCH – VELLORE FORT: ➢ The church was built by the British during their reign in the year 1846 since by then this fort had turned into a garrison of the East India Company and later by the British Empire. ➢ Initially, there were chapels and other prayer rooms inside the fort but due to the gradual increase in the European population a church was built inside the fort. t.me/shanawithu t.me/civilcentric :Brother Mentor Contact No:9500833976 CHURCH INSIDE THE FORT MOSQUE: Built in the year 1750 the mosque is actually named Nawab Chanda Sahib Mosque. Like the Jalagandeeswarar Temple, this mosque was also under ASI and was also renovated by them. t.me/shanawithu t.me/civilcentric :Brother Mentor Contact No:9500833976 Nawab Chanda Sahib Mosque Government Museum, Vellore: ➢ Government Museum, Vellore is situated within the premises of the historical vellore fort. ➢ This museum was established in the year 1985 as the 6th district Museum to impart knowledge about erstwhile North Arcot District (Present Vellore & Thiruvannamalai) and its Significance. ➢ Both the Districts have rich flora and fauna and cultural heritage. ➢ These Museum have a vast collection of artefacts from this area from the various periods. You can see stone sculptors, cannon balls, weapons etc. t.me/shanawithu t.me/civilcentric :Brother Mentor Contact No:9500833976 Original Vellore Fort Cannons Outside ASI Museum Some of the Collections at Government Museum ➢ In vellore fort the Government ordered opening of a temporary training school at Vellore for Inspectors. - 1896. t.me/shanawithu t.me/civilcentric :Brother Mentor Contact No:9500833976 ➢ The Police Training School at Vellore was made a permanent institution and called Police Training College 1902- 1905. Sri Lakshmi Narayani Golden Temple: t.me/shanawithu t.me/civilcentric :Brother Mentor Contact No:9500833976 t.me/shanawithu t.me/civilcentric :Brother Mentor Contact No:9500833976 The golden temple of Sripuram is a spiritual park situated at the foot of a small range of green hills in a place called “Malaikodi” which is situated in the state of Tamil Nadu, Temple construction: ➢ The temple has been built on 100 acres of land.