Chennai district

Etymology

Main article: Chennai#Etymology

The name Chennai was derived from Damarla Chennappa Nayak, the father of a general of the Vijayanagar Empire.

Geography

Chennai district covers an area of 426 km2 located on the Eastern Coastal Plains of India. It is situated on the northeastern corner of Tamil Nadu along the Coramandel coast, a region bounded by the Bay of Bengal and is surrounded inland by the districts of Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram and Chengalpattu. It lies between 12°59' and 13°9' of the northern latitude and 80°12' and 80°19' of the eastern longitude at an average altitude of 6 metres above sea level on a 'sandy shelving breaker swept' beach. Terrain slope varies from 1:5000 to 1:10,000.{{cite web | access-date = 30 Dec 2011}} The terrain is very flat with contours ranging from 2 m to 10 m above mean sea level with a few isolated hillocks in the southwest beyond the district limits at St. Thomas Mount, Pallavaram and Tambaram.

The district runs inland in a rugged semi-circular fashion and its coastline is about 25.60 km (2.5% of the total coastline of Tamil Nadu). Because of its strategic location and economic importance, it is referred to as the "Gateway of South India." The drainage system includes two rivers, namely, Cooum (flowing in the northern part) and Adyar (flowing in the southern part), a canal (the Buckingham), and a stream (the Otteri Nullah) slicing the district into several islands.

The district falls under Seismic Zone III indicating a moderate risk of earthquake. Geologically the district is divided into three regions, namely, sandy, clayey and hard-rock regions. The soil comprises clay, shale and sandstone.

Of the total land area, reserved forests cover 2.71 km2 and is concentrated in and around the Guindy National Park region, one of the few national parks in the world located within a city. The forest cover of the district is as follows:{{cite web | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110520225819/http://www.forests.tn.nic.in/ForestAtGlance/forestatglance_district.html#Dist | archive-date = 2011-05-20 | url-status = dead

Climate

Chennai has Tropical savanna climate (Köppen: As, bordering Aw) |Jan record high C=33 |Feb record high C=37 |Mar record high C=39 |Apr record high C=43 |May record high C=45 |Jun record high C=43 |Jul record high C=41 |Aug record high C=40 |Sep record high C=39 |Oct record high C=39 |Nov record high C=34 |Dec record high C=33 |year record high C=45 |Jan record low C=14 |Feb record low C=15 |Mar record low C=17 |Apr record low C=20 |May record low C=21 |Jun record low C=21 |Jul record low C=22 |Aug record low C=21 |Sep record low C=21 |Oct record low C=17 |Nov record low C=15 |Dec record low C=14 |year record low C=14

Demographics

According to 2011 census, Chennai district had a population of 4,646,732 in unexpanded old limits area of 176 sq.km. with a sex-ratio of 989 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 16.78% and 0.22% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the district was 81.27%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. With the expanded limits to 426 sq. km. Chennai district had a population of 6,748,026 as per 2011 census data.

The district had a total of 1,154,982 households. There were a total of 1,817,297 workers, comprising 10,210 cultivators, 10,251 main agricultural labourers, 29,143 in house hold industries, 1,569,950 other workers, 197,743 marginal workers, 4,244 marginal cultivators, 3,423 marginal agricultural labourers, 8,202 marginal workers in household industries and 181,874 other marginal workers.

Religion

Administration and politics

In 2013, five taluks on the district were split to create five new ones: Velachery, Purasawalkam, Ayanavaram, Aminjikarai and Guindy.

In January 2018, the state government announced that the district will be expanded to match the boundaries of the Greater Chennai Corporation. This will integrate six additional taluks from Tiruvallur and Kanchipuram districts into the Chennai district. The new divisions and taluks of the district will be:

Revenue divisions and taluks

• North Chennai Revenue Division, headquartered at Tondiarpet, contains taluks of Tiruvottiyur, Madhavaram, Perambur, Tondiarpet, and Purasaiwalkam.
• Central Chennai Revenue Division, headquartered at Ambattur, contains the taluks of Mambalam, Egmore, Aminjikarai, Ayanavaram, Kolathur, Ambattur, and Maduravoyal.
• South Chennai Revenue Division, headquartered at Guindy, contains the taluks of Mylapore, Guindy, Velachery, Alandur, and Sholinganallur.

Members of Parliament

Assembly constituencies

|}

Notes

References

References

1. "Chennai has emerged as India's Detroit". Deccan Herald.
2. (12 June 2014). "India Is Becoming A Hub For 'Medical Tourists' — Despite The 'Million Dollar Difference' In Care". Business Insider.
3. "District Income estimates".
4. "Tamil Nadu revenue villages list published by Commissioner of Revenue Administration and Disaster Management".
5. (19 January 2018). "Chennai district boundaries likely to be redrawn on April 1". The Times of India.
6. "District Profile, Chennai". Government of Tamil Nadu.
7. [http://www.cmdachennai.gov.in/Volume1_English_PDF/Vol1_Chapter09_Macro%20Drainage%20System%20in%20CMA.pdf Chapter IX Macro Drainage System in CMA]
8. John, Ekatha Ann. (29 September 2012). "Disaster body for panel to monitor highrises in Chennai". [[The Times of India]].
9. "Climatological Information for Chennai". Indian Meteorological Department.
10. (16 June 2014). "District Census Handbook Chennai, Part XII - B". Census of India 2011.
11. "Chennai District {{!}} Government of Tamil Nadu {{!}} Gateway of South India {{!}} India".
12. (2013). "Census Info 2011 Final population totals – Chennai district". Office of The Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
13. Mariappan, Julie. (21 December 2013). "Chennai now has 10 taluks, as govt gets close to you". [[The Times of India]].
14. Dennis S. Jesudasan. (5 January 2018). "Chennai district doubles in size". The Hindu.