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Wednesday, November 07, 2007



   

Tamil Nadu is situated on the south eastern side of the Indian peninsula.  It is bounded on the east by the Bay of Bengal, in the south by the Indian ocean, in the west by the States of Kerala and Karnataka and in the north by Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

The land mass of the state can be divided into two natural divisions: the eastern coastal plain and the hilly region along the north and the west.  Along the whole length of the western part, at a distance from the sea varying from 80 to 160 km runs the range of the Western Ghats, a steep and rugged mass averaging 1220 meters above the sea level and rising to 2440 meters at the highest at the highest point.  The Palghat Gap about 25 km in width is the only marked break in the great mountain wall. To the south of this gap, the range is known as Anamalai (Eliphant Hills).  

 

On the east are the Palani Hills on which is situated the famous hill station Kodaikanal.  The slopes of the Western Ghats are covered with heavy evergreen forests.  The Nilgiris and the Anamalai are the hill groups with the maximum height.  In the famous Ootacamund area of the Nilgiris District, is the highest peak Doddabetta, 2640 meters above the sea level.  The rivers of the state flow eastward from the Western Ghats and are entirely rain-fed.  The perennial rivers are:-Palar,Cheyyar,Ponnaiyar,Kaveri, Meyar, Bhavani, Amaravati, Vaigai, Chittar and Tamaraparani.  The non-perennial rivers are the Vellar, Noyal, Surili, Gundar, Vaipar, Valparai and Varshali.  The 760-km long Kaveri is the great river of the state.

Tamil Nadu’s sugarcane yield of 100 tones per ha is a world record.  Cotton is grown in 280 thousand ha.  The principal plantation crops are tea and coffee.  Tamil Nadu accounts for nearly one fourth of the spinning capacity in India, one fifth of cement, caustic soda and nitrogenous fertilizers and one tenth of the nation’s production of sugar, bicycles and calcium carbide.  Industrial complex called growth centers and industrial estates have been set up in different parts of Tamil Nadu.  Neyveli Lignite Complex, Integral Coach Factory, High Pressure Boiler Plant, Hindustan Teleprinters, Hindustan Photo Films, Madras Refineries, Madras Fertilizers, Heavy Vehicles Factory and Pugalur Paper Factory.  Neyveli Lignite Corporation proposes to set up a 490-MW power plant based on petroleum residue.  The Kalpakkam Mini Reactor (Kamini) is the only U-233 fuelled operating reactor in the world.

Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation runs a chain of hotels, a Beach Resort, Youth Hostels, and boat houses at Muthukaddu, Ooty, Pichavaram and Yercaud. Hill Stations: Uthagamandalam (Ooty), Kodaikanal and Yercaud. Religious Places: Suchindram, Ramesvaram, Tiruchendur, Madurai, Palani, Tiruchirapalli, Srirangam, Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Nagore, Velankanni, Vaitheeswaran Koil, Chidambaram, Thiruvannamalai, Kancheepuram, Tiruttani and Kanyakumari. ‘Bharata Natyam’, the sophisticated classical dance form of Tamil Nadu has now become popular all over India.

Mamallapuram (Mhabalipuram), Padmanabhapuram, Poompuhar, Pichavaram, Point Calimere, Courtallam, Hogenakkal, Anamalai Sanctuary, Mudumalai Sanctuary, Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary, Kalakad and Vandaloor Zoo and Mundanthurai Sanctuary. At Chennai: Fort St.George, San Thome, Fort Museum, Marina Beach, Snake Park, Guindy Park, Guindy Deeer Sanctuary and Children’s Park, Egmore Museum, Valluvarkottam Park, Crocodile and Vandaloor Zoo, Muthukkadu Boat House.
Kenyan Crisis Boosts Indian Tea Prospects

 

Coalition governments have been celebrated as giving adequate representation to regional interests at the Centre, which is necessary in a diverse and multicultural country such as India. But recent remarks by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh highlight . . . (Coalition Blues, Times of India, Editorial, The Times of India, Nov 07, 2007)

Democracy without the liberty to choose the form of participation in public affairs - even if it be a bandh, hartal, dharmaghat or strike by the people - is meaningless. (Not What People Want, Times of India, SHIKHA MUKERJEE, Nov 07, 2007)

Reacting sharply to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's remark that he condoled the death of LTTE leader S P Tamilselvan in his capacity as a Tamil, AIADMK Supremo Jayalalitha on Tuesday said she too had Tamil spirit and that . . . . (Tamil Blood Runs In My Veins: Jaya , Deccan Herald, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 07, 2007)

The opposition AIADMK in Tamil Nadu today said that it would move the Supreme Court, seeking the dismissal of the DMK government, as Chief Minister M.Karunanidhi allegedly supported the banned Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). (Aiadmk To Move Sc For Tn Govt Dismissal , Tribune, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 07, 2007)

Inaugurating a federalism conference in New Delhi on Monday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh complained that regional parties and those with narrow, "regional and sectional loyalties" tended to distort the "national vision". (Divide And Rule, Pioneer, Editorial, The Pioneer, Nov 07, 2007)

The Tamil Nadu Government is planning to link rivers within the State to divert surplus water to drought-prone regions. (Government Plans To Link Rivers In State, Hindu, S. Vydhianathan, Nov 07, 2007)

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will pay a two-day visit to Russia from November 11. The visit is in continuation of the tradition of holding annual summit meetings between the heads of government, which started seven years ago. (Manmohan To Visit Russia On Sunday, Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 07, 2007)

Sixty-year-old Yacoob thanked Allah as he spontaneously knelt on the floor of the special court trying the Coimbatore blast case. (Trial And Error , Telegraph, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 07, 2007)

Union Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways T. R. Baalu has approved Rs.635.10 lakh for road improvement works on National Highway 208 in Tamil Nadu. (Rs.635 Lakh Approved For Road Works , Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 07, 2007)

There is no stopping the war machine in Sri Lanka. After taking Thoppigala, the last jungle stronghold of the Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam in the east only months ago, the government has dealt another crippling blow to the . . . . . (Reverse Swing, Telegraph, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 07, 2007)

Britain’s human rights groups have demanded investigation into allegations of “war crimes” against the rebel LTTE leader, “Col.” Karuna Amman, who was arrested here last week for allegedly travelling on a false passport. (Karuna’S Trial For “War Crimes” Urged, Hindu, Hasan Suroor, Nov 07, 2007)

The Sri Lanka military announced on Tuesday that three civilians of Thambarawava village in the south of the country were hacked to death by unknown assailants on Monday night and their bodies were found by the villagers the next morning. (“Adopt Multi-Pronged Strategy Against Terrorism”, Hindu, B. MURALIDHAR REDDY, Nov 07, 2007)

Tamil Nadu enacts a law granting separate reservation for Muslims and Christians in the Backward Classes quota. (Reservation For Minorities, Frontline, S. Viswanathan, Nov 07, 2007)

IT was the proverbial calm before the storm. For nearly four months before the October 22 pre-dawn ground and aerial attack on the Anuradhapura airbase in the North Central Province by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the silence from . . . . (Despair In The Air, Frontline, B. MURALIDHAR REDDY, Nov 07, 2007)

TRUCKERS on National Highway 47, long used to greasing the palms of officials for easy passage through the checkpost at Walayar, are now offered an interesting alternative by the Government of Kerala. (Kerala's Check On Corruption, Frontline, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 07, 2007)

AFTER a trial that lasted more than five years, the Coimbatore serial bomb blasts case came to an end in late October with the sentencing of the key accused by the Special Court (bomb blasts case). (Life Term For S.A. Basha, Frontline, T.S. Subramanian, Nov 07, 2007)

At the end of two years in office, President Mahinda Rajapaksa remains far from meeting his promise of solving the ethnic conflict. (Resting On Laurels, Frontline, B. MURALIDHAR REDDY, Nov 07, 2007)

IN western India, from the 2nd century B.C. to the 2nd century A.D., there was a prolific creation of art in caves hewn out of rock. (Mind Over Matter, Frontline, Correspondent or Reporter, Nov 07, 2007)

The report of the third National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), released in the second week of October, has immense significance for policymakers in health, nutrition, education and gender issues. (Plight Of Women And Children, Frontline, T.K. RAJALAKSHMI, Nov 07, 2007)

IN October, Karnataka was mired in political shenanigans and uncertainties. With the transfer of power from the Janata Dal (Secular) to its coalition partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), not taking off, hell broke loose as the political . . . . ("The Ideology Is Only In Speeches": , Frontline, Ravi Sharma , Nov 07, 2007)

 

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