Coimbatore also houses a number of museums and art galleries like G.D. Naidu Museum & Industrial Exhibition, H A Gass Forest Museum, Government Museum, Kadhi Gandhi Gallery and Kasthuri Srinivasan Art Gallery and Textile Museum. A science park and a planetarium is being built near Codissia trade fair complex and will be inaugurated by May 2012.
The Photography Club of Coimbatore is an Non Governmental Organization running in Coimbatore to educate new photographers in the art of Photography. Weekly walks are conducted to train and educate the members in various aspects of Photography and handling cameras. Membership and photo walk is free to everyone who is interested in photography and to learn about it.
An insignificant little town prone to droughts and earthquakes till the early years of the 20th century, Coimbatore region experienced a textile boom in the 1920s and 1930s. Though, Robert Stanes had established Coimbatore’s first textile mills as early as the late 19th century, it was during this period that Coimbatore emerged as a prominent industrial centre.
Apart from state and National Highways, the city corporation maintains a 635.32 km long road network. Coimbatore has several major bus stations. The town buses (intra-city) operate from the Town Bus Stand in Gandhipuram to other bus stations across the city. Inter-city buses that connect Coimbatore operate from five different bus stands:
Coimbatore has some of the oldest flour mills in India. The large scale flour mills, which cater to all the southern states, have a combined grinding capacity of more than 50,000 MT per month. In the recent years, the city has seen growth in the hospitality industry with more upscale hotels being set up.
Coimbatore is home to some of the oldest film studios in South India. Swamikannu Vincent, a film exhibitor, set up the first movie studios in the city. Rangaswamy Naidu established the Central Studios in 1935 while S. M. Sriramulu Naidu set up the Pakshiraja Studios in 1945.
Coimbatore has a large and a diversified manufacturing sector facilitated by the presence of research institutes like Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, SITRA and large number of engineering colleges producing about 50,000 engineers.
The soil is predominantly black, which is suitable for cotton cultivation, but some red loamy soil is also found. Coimbatore falls under the Class III/IV Seismic Zone, having experienced a 6.0 Richter scale earthquake in 1900.
There are six major arterial roads in the city: Avinashi road, Trichy road, Sathyamangalam road, Mettupalayam road, Palakkad road and Pollachi road. There are three National Highways passing through the city:
Mettupalayam Road Bus station for buses going toward Mettupalayam, Ooty, Mysooru. Apart from these the Omni Bus Stand in Sathy Road, Gandhipuram caters to private bus operators.
Air pollution, lack of proper waste management infrastructure and degradation of water bodies are the major environmental issues in Coimbatore. Steel foundries were established in 1950s and 1960s when there were no residential areas nearby, but growth of the city led to creation of residential areas around them. In 1990s the State Government and pollution control board took major steps to re-locate the steel foundries out of the city. The textile mills are all equipped with air treatment towers. Coimbatore has no proper underground drainage or sewage system. There is a sewage treatment plant at Ukkadam in operation with the capacity to process 70 mld of sewage water of which 20 mld is the current treating level. Garbage is collected by the Corporation and sometimes by systems developed by the local residents. Sewage is pumped into the water tanks and the Noyyal through streams. This along with garbage dumping and encroachments has led to degradation of the water bodies and depletion in the groundwater table. During the 80’s, the corporation planned on closing the tanks due to encroachment by filling them with waste. But as a result of outcries from civic associations, the plan was dropped. Currently the tanks are being renovated by the city’s environmental groups with their own fund-raising and the corporation. Siruthuli, an environmental organisation founded by the city’s industrial houses, undertakes de-silting of tanks and cleaning of the Noyyal river. The corporation is also taking efforts to clear encroachment of the tanks.
In the later part of the 18th century, the Coimbatore region came under the Kingdom of Mysore,following a series of wars with the Madurai Nayak Dynasty.When part of Kingdom of Mysore the region was under the administration of Hyder Ali and later Tipu Sultan of Mysore. After defeating Tipu Sultan in the Anglo-Mysore Wars, the British East India Company annexed Coimbatore to the Madras Presidency in 1799. The Coimbatore region played a prominent role in the Second Poligar War (1801) when it was the area of operations of Dheeran Chinnamalai. In 1865, Coimbatore was established as the capital of the newly formed Coimbatore district and in 1866 it was accorded municipality status. Sir Robert Stanes became the first Chairman of the Coimbatore City Council. Industrialization of the region begin in 1888 and continued into the 20th century. The region was hard hit during the Great Famine of 1876–78 resulting in nearly 200,000 famine related fatalities. On 8 February 1900 an earthquake struck Coimbatore damaging many buildings. The first three decades of the 20th century, saw nearly 20,000 plague-related deaths and an acute water shortage. The city experienced a textile boom in the 1920s and 1930s due to the decline of the Cotton industry in Mumbai. The region played a significant role in the Indian independence movement. Post independence, Coimbatore has seen rapid growth due to industrialisation. In 1981, Coimbatore was constituted as a corporation.
Coimbatore and its people have a reputation for entrepreneurship. Though it is generally considered a traditional city, Coimbatore is more diverse and cosmopolitan than all other cities in Tamil Nadu like Chennai. The city conducts its own music festival every year. Art, dance and music concerts are held annually during the months of September and December at Rajalakshmi Fine Arts. The heavy industrialisation of the city has also resulted in the growth of trade unions. There are numerous temples in and around the city including the Perur Patteeswarar Temple, Konniamman temple, Thandu Mariamman temple, Vazhai Thottathu Ayyan temple, Echanaari Ganesh temple, Karamadai temple, Marudamalai Murugan temple, Panchamuga Anjaneya Temple (Hanuman with 5 Faces) and the Dhyanalinga Yogic Temple. The Mariamman festivals, at the city’s numerous Amman temples, are major events in summer. The mosques on Oppanakara Street and Big Bazaar Street date back to the period of Hyder Ali. Christian missions date back to 1647 when permission was granted by the Nayak rulers to set up a small church in Karumathampatti 12 km (7.5 mi). It was destroyed by Tipu Sultan’s army resulting in a new church in 1804. In 1886, Coimbatore was constituted as a diocese after bifurcating with Puducherry. Sikh Gurudwaras and Jain Temples are also present in Coimbatore.
The region around Coimbatore was ruled by Sangam Cheras and it served as the eastern entrance to the Palakkad Gap, the principal trade route between the west coast and Tamil Nadu. The Kossar tribe mentioned in the second century CE Tamil epic Silappathikaram and other poems in Sangam literature is associated with the Coimbatore region (Kongu Nadu). Large numbers of Roman coins and other artifacts have been unearthed around Coimbatore, indicating the region’s ties with Roman traders. The Coimbatore region is in the middle of the “Roman trail” that extended from Muziris to Arikamedu. The medieval Cholas conquered the Kongu Nadu in the 10th century CE. A Chola highway called “Rajakesari Peruvazhi” ran through the region. Much of Tamil Nadu came under the rule of the Vijayanagara Empire by the 15th century. The Vijayanagara reign brought new settlers from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. In the 1550s, the military governors (Madurai Nayaks) of the Vijaynagara Empire took control of the region. After the Vijayanagara Empire fell in the 17th century, the Madurai Nayaks established their state as an independent kingdom, with other Vijayanagar offshoots forming new kingdoms in Vellore, Tanjore, Gingee, Chandragiri and Mysore. The Nayaks introduced the Palayakkarar system under which Kongu nadu region was divided into 24 Palayams.
The size of the Coimbatore health care industry has been estimated as 1500 Crore (150 million) in 2010. There are nearly 750 hospitals in and around Coimbatore with a capacity of 5000 beds. The first health care centre in the city was started in 1909. In 1969, it was upgraded to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH). It is a government run hospital with a bed strength of 1020 and provides free health care. Including the CMCH, corporation maintains 16 dispensaries and 2 maternity homes. The city also has many large multi-facility private hospitals like the PSG Hospitals, Kovai Medical Center and Hospital (KMCH), KG Hospital, Coimbatore Kidney Centre, G. Kuppuswamy Naidu Memorial Hospital(GKNM), Sri Ramakrishna Hospital, Sheela Hospital, Kongunadu Hospital, Gem Hospital, Ganga Hospital, Aravind Eye Hospital, Sankara Netralaya, Lotus Eye Hospital, Ashwin hospital, Vikram ENT hospital, Coimbatore Cancer Foundation, G. P. Hospital, Diabetes Care and Research Centre. The city is also a major centre for medical tourism. The city remains the preferred healthcare destination for people from nearby districts and also from the neighbouring state of Kerala.
There are several nature and amusement parks in and around the city. Maharaja Theme Park and Multiplex in Nillambur on NH-47 is located inside the city, Black Thunder water theme park which is surrounded by foothills of Western Ghats located on Ooty main road near Mettupalayam have parks like Nilgiri Biosphere Nature Park, Kovai Kondattam amusement park in Perur, Coimbatore Since the 1980s, the city has had about 10 small to medium sized shopping complexes like Cheran towers on Arts collage road and Lakshmi Complex in Gandhipuram. Coimbatore has few number of malls and few are under construction. Among which a large mega mall – Brookefields started functioning in 2008. The city also has a number of parks including VOC park, the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University park, Race Course children’s park, Bharathi park in Saibaba Colony and many more parks. Coimbatore Zoo houses a number of animals and birds and is located near VOC park. Singanallur lake is also a popular tourist and bird watcher destination. Though there are a lot of entertainment centres mushrooming in the city, visiting the cinema still remains the city’s most popular recreational activity.
Motor sports plays a large part in the city, with Coimbatore often referred to as the “Motor sports Capital of India” and the “Backyard of Indian Motorsports”. Some wealthy industrialists, such as S.Karivardhan, spearheaded motor racing, making Coimbatore the country’s motor racing hub when he designed and built entry level racecars. The city has a Formula 3 Category circuit and few Go-Kart circuits, formula cars manufacturers and FIA member motorsport associations that condustc National Championship races and Rallies. National Champion races for Formula racing (Cars), Motorcycle racing, Go-Kart racing are held in Kari Motor Speedway. The tyre manufacturer MRF assembles and builds Formula Ford cars in Coimbatore in association with former F3 ChampionJ.Anand. Super Speeds designs and constructs almost all Formula cars. Rallying is another major event with all teams based in Coimbatore. Rallies are conducted in closed roads around Coimbatore districts. Narain Karthikeyan, Indias most famous driver, became the first Indian to enter Formula One in 2005. Other famous motorsport personalities from Coimbatore are J. Anand, N. Leela Krishnan and V. R. Naren Kumar.
Coimbatore is a Municipal corporation as well as the headquarters of the Coimbatore District. The city is divided into five administrative zones – East, West, North, South and Central, each further subdivided into 20 wards. Each ward is represented by a councillor who is elected by direct election. Councilors from each zone also elect a Zonal Ward Committee chairman and most importantly the Deputy Mayor through their numbers . The mayor is elected by the city’s voters directly (During 2006– 2011, the Mayor was elected through indirect election). The executive wing of the corporation is headed by a Corporation Commissioner. The corporation runs and maintains basic services like water, sewage and roads. In the last local body elections in 2011, AIADMK won majority of the council seats and AIADMK’s S.M.Velusamy became Coimbatore’s mayor. The District itself is administered by the District Collector. The District court is the highest court of appeal in Coimbatore. The Police force in the city is headed by a Commissioner and there are 18 Police stations in the city.
Train service in Coimbatore started in 1832, upon construction of the Podanur – Madras line connecting Kerala and the west coast with the rest of India. Broad gauge trains connect Coimbatore to all parts of India and Tamil Nadu. Meter gauge line existed between Podanur and Dindigul got closed on May 2009 and is under gauge conversion. The Coimbatore Junction is well connected to major Indian cities like Chennai, Bangalore, New Delhi, Mumbai, Howrah, Trivandrum, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Rajkot, Indore, Ahmedabad, Jammu, Kanpur and Patna. It is second highest revenue yielding station in the Southern Railway division of Indian Railways. The Coimbatore Junction comes under the Jurisdiction of the Salem Division and contributes 43.5% of its divisional income. This is the second largest income generating station in Southern Railway after Chennai Coimbatore North Junction is another important railway junction in the city apart from Coimbatore Junction and Podanur Junction. The other stations include Peelamedu, Singanallur, Irugur, Perianaikanpalayam, Madukkarai, Somanur and Sulur.
Apart from the species common to the plains, wild elephants, wild boars leopards, tigers, bison, various species of deer, Nilgiri Tahr, sloth bear and black-headed Oriole can also be found. The Anamalai Wildlife Sanctuary 88 km (55 mi) in the Western Ghats at an altitude of 1,400 meters covers an area of 958 km². Among the region’s livestock animals are Kangeyam bulls. This breed, which helped the region gain a foothold in the dairy industry, are found only in Coimbatore and neighbouring districts. More than 20% of the district is classified as forest, lying in the west and north. The forests here are abundant in commercially significant trees such as teak, sandalwood, rosewood and bamboo. The Nilgiris slope of the Mettupalayam range is rich in sandalwood trees and bamboo. They vary from rich tropical evergreen forests of the Punachi range to jungles of shrubs in southern ranges. Apart from the high altitude regions of Western Ghats, most of the forest area has come under Lantana invasion. The locals refer to it as Siriki Chedi.
A Medium wave radio station is operated by All India Radio, with most programs in Tamil, English and Hindi. Five FM radio stations operate from Coimbatore – Rainbow FM from All India Radio, Suryan FM from Sun Network, Radio Mirchi, Radio City, and Hello FM. All these private radio stations air exclusively Tamil based programs, including film music. The range of these stations cover Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode and Nilgiri districts of Tamil Nadu and Palakkad and Wayanad districts of Kerala. Television relay started in 1985 from Delhi Doordarshan. In 1986, after inception of a repeater tower at Kodaikanal, telecast from Madras Doordarshan commenced. The people of Coimbatore witnessed the 1980 Olympics and 1983 Cricket World Cup on a giant screen in VOC Park when the city-based UMS developed a dish antenna for satellite signal reception. Currently television reception is through DTH or by cable, while Doordarshan reception is still available using an external antenna. In 2005, Doordarshan opened its studio in Coimbatore.
A large part of the Coimbatore urban agglomeration falls outside the Municipal corporation limits. These suburbs are governed by local bodies called Village Panchayats and Town Panchayats. Besides the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation, the Coimbatore UA comprises the Town Panchayats: Vellalur, Irugur, Sulur, Pallapalayam, Kannampalayam, Veerapandi, Periyanaickenpalayam, Narasimhanaickenpalayam, Idikarai, Vedapatti, Perur, Kuniyamuthur, Madukkarai, Ettimadai, Dhaliyur, Thondamuthur, Thirumalayampalayam, Othakalmandapam, Chettipalayam, Alanthurai, Pooluvapatti, Thenkarai, Karumathampatti, Sarcarsamakulam, Mopperipalayam and Gudalur; Census Towns : Ashokapuram, Kurudampalayam, Malumichampatti, Perur, Chettipalayam, Sulur, Chinniampalayam, Somayampalayam, Muthugundun Pudur, Arasur, Kaniyur and Neelambur. These local bodies are in turn split into wards each electing a councillor through direct election. The head of the local body – known as President for the Panchayats– is elected by the councillors from among their number.
The first college opened in Coimbatore was the Government Arts College (1875–76). The forest college and research institute was opened in 1916. The first engineering college in the city was started by G.D. Naidu as the Arthur Hope College of Technology in 1945. Later it became the Government College of Technology, Coimbatore. PSG College of Technology was established later in 1951. The Air Force Administrative College was established in 1949 to train Indian Air Force personnel. Coimbatore Institute of Technology (CIT) was started in the 1950s. Coimbatore Medical College was opened in 1966 and the Government law college started functioning from 1978. The agricultural school established in 1868 was converted into a full fledged agricultural university in 1971 and the Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History was opened in 1990. Several private engineering and arts & science colleges were started during the education boom in the 1990s.
Coimbatore (pronounced ), also known as Kovai, pronounced ( listen)), is the second largest Metropolitan city and urban agglomeration after Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is one of the fastest growing tier-II cities in India and a major Textile, Industrial, Commercial, Educational, Information technology, healthcare and manufacturing hub of Tamil Nadu. Other important industries include software services. It is the capital city in the Kongu Nadu region and is often been referred to as the Manchester of South India. The city is located on the banks of the Noyyal River surrounded by the Western Ghats and is administered by the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation. Coimbatore has been ranked 4th among Indian cities in investment climate by CII and ranked 17th among the top global outsourcing cities by Tholons. Coimbatore is the fourth largest metropolis in South India. Coimbatore city is administrative capital of Coimbatore district.
Coimbatore has a well connected communications infrastructure. Till the 1990s the state owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) was the only telecommunition service provider in the city. In the 1990s, private telecom companies too started offering their services. Currently besides BSNL, fixed line telephone services are offered by Reliance Communications and Bharti Airtel. Dial up internet connections were first introduced (by HCL and BPL) in 1996 and broadband internet (by BSNL) in 2005. As of 2010, BSNL, Reliance Communications, Bharti Airtel, Tata Teleservices all offer broadband service through fixed lines and mobiles; MTS offers mobile broadband alone. Cellular telephony was first introduced in 1997. Coimbatore is the headquarters of the Tamil Nadu circle of cellular service providers. The telecom company Aircel is headquartered in the city. Mobile telephone services available in the city include both CDMA and GSM connections.
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