PORUR
PORUR Location of PORUR in Chennai and India
Coordinates	13°02′05″N 80°09′21″E / 13.03478°N 80.15586°E / 13.03478; 80.15586
Country	India
State	Tamil Nadu
District(s)	Thiruvallur
Population	28,782 (2001[update])
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Area • Elevation	• 16 m (52 ft)

An aerial view of the western suburbs of Chennai including Porur and Porur lake

Porur (Tamil: போருர்) is a suburb of the city of Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. It is a town panchayat in the Ambattur taluk of Thiruvallur district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Occupying a crucial position on the Chennai-Bangalore Highway, Porur is known for its chemical industries and manufacturing plants, residential colonies and vegetable market.

Porur is of great antiquity and is believed to have been existent since the Pallava period. It was upgraded from a village panchayat to a town panchayat on October 1, 1977. It is one of the fast-developing suburbs of Chennai.

Porur is situated at an elevation of 15 metres above sea level and is bounded on the east and south-east by the Pallavaram Hills. The Porur Lake is the principal source of fresh water for the suburb. Porur is internationally known for the Ramachandra Medical College campus which is situated here.

[edit] Location

It is located at 13.03° N and 80.16° E and 52 feet (15 metres) above sea level. It is located 18 km south-west of Chennai city limits on the Guindy-Poonamalee road which eventually merges into the Chennai-Bangalore highway. For administrative purposes, Porur has been included in Thiruvallur district.

[edit] Demographics

As of 2001^[update] India census,^[1] Porur had a population of 28,782. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Porur has an average literacy rate of 79%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 83%, and female literacy is 76%. In Porur, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age. The sex ratio was 938 females for every 1000 males. The township is administered by a Town Panchayat.

[edit] History

Porur is believed to be of great antiquity as indicated by its name "Porur" which, in Tamil, means the "place of warfare".^[2] Porur is considered to have been the site of a fierce battle during Pallava times. There is a Shiva temple in Porur which is believed to have been built by Chola kings.^[3]

Porur was a little-known village administered as a part of the Saidapet taluk of the then Chingleput district when Westinghouse (W. S.) established its factory here in 1961.^[4][5][6] During that time, the Saidapet taluk adjoining Madras city,^[7] especially the Mount-Poonamallee Road, was famous for industries and chemical plants producing a variety of products.^[8] A Ganapathi temple was constructed within the factory premises and inaugurated by the Jagadguru of the Sringeri Sharadha Peetam, Sri Abhinava Vidyatirtha.^[9][10]

Porur village panchayat was upgraded to a Grade-I town panchayat on October 1, 1977.^[11] Later, it was upgraded to a selection grade town panchayat starting from February 24, 1982.^[11] The population of the town at the time of the 1981 census was 8,633.^[11]

[edit] Geography

Porur is situated at an elevation of 16 metres (52 feet) and is bounded by the Pallavaram Hills. The Porur Lake, which along with the Chembarambakkam Lake, forms the Rette Eri, is the principal source of fresh water for the suburb and surrounding areas. It runs through the center of Porur separating the eastern parts from Sri Ramachandra Medical College and the western residential areas. The Porur Flyover runs over the lake connecting Maduravoyal with Tambaram with the Tambaram Bypass road.

[edit] Important Landmarks

Porur has a number of temples, mosques and churches. The Shiva temple at Porur is one of the oldest Hindu temples built in Chennai city. Porur is the headquarters of the Porur Evangelical Church. The Sethu Kshetram temples constructed inside the premises of the W. S. factory was inaugurated by the Shankaracharya of Sringeri matha.

The Control tower popularly known as Radar Station for Madras Airport Authority with a control radius of 173 KM was once operational(till 1996) in the south-east Porur which was statergically replaced elsewhere due to population outburst.

By far, the most important landmark in Porur is the Sri Ramachandra College and Research Institute which was opened in 1994. It is recognized as one of the premium educational institutions in the world and has tie-ups with important international universities including Harvard.

[edit] Localities

Some of the important localities of Porur are Alapakkam, Lakshmi Nagar, Madanandapuram, Mangala Nagar, Sakthi Nagar, Kerugambakkam, Karambakkam and Samayapuram. Some of the older localities as Chinnaporur and Sheikmanyam predate the town itself. Sakthi Nagar, Alapakkam, Lakshmi Nagar and Mangala Nagar comprise sprawling residential neighbourhoods.

[edit] Transport and Communication

Porur is well-connected with Chennai city and other neighbouring suburbs through roads. It is connected with Nungambakkam by Arcot Road and with Guindy and Poonamallee by the Mount-Poonamallee Road. The Kundrathur road connects the suburb with the temple town of Kundrathur. The three roads meet at the Porur Junction which is an important traversing point for buses running to Kanchipuram and Bangalore.

Porur has five bus stops, two in Lakshmi Nagar, one at Porur Junction and one each for Ramachandra Medical College and Sakthi Nagar. Share auto services operate between Porur and Guindy and Porur and Vadapalani.

[edit] Recent developments

With three IT SEZs(Special Economic Zones) coming up in Porur it is becoming a major IT hub of Chennai next to the OMR. Two of the IT SEZs have already started operations (however only 3 out of the 11 proposed blocks at DLF IT Park are fully operational as of now). The DLF IT Park currently has prestigious companies like IBM,Logica[1],EDS(Mphasis),Syntel,CognigentComputer Sciences Corporation as tenants with more to follow in the future. The 3rd SEZ is expected to start operations by end of 2008. There would be a total of 1,00,000 employees working in the three IT SEZs. TCG IT park coming up at porur has been taken up by HP. It would employ around 2000 people by end of 2008. Jayanth tech park in porur is taken up by HTML Global Solutions(1200 seats).

[edit] Notes