Chennai

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Chennai is the capital of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu; and its population (2006) was around 4,352,932. However, the population of the Chennai Metropolitan area was around 7,066,778 in 2007.

[edit] Overview: People & Place

[edit] People

Residents of Chennai are called Chennaiites.

The population density in the city is 24,418 per km² while the population density of metropolitan area is 5,847 per km². Chennai is among the densest cities in the world in terms of population per area.

The average literacy rate is 80.14%,[25] much higher than the national average of 64.5%.

18% of the city's population is classified as living in slum conditions.

[edit] Place

Major software and software services companies have development centres in the city. The city is now the second largest exporter of IT and IT enabled services in the country behind Bangalore. Many IT Corridors, are currently under construction in the outskirts of Chennai.

More recently, Chennai has emerged as an electronic manufacturing hub. The city has two main biotechnology parks. The city also is a base to engineering R & D facilities of many major companies.

Chennai is an important centre for banking and finance. Several large financial companies and insurance companies are headquartered in Chennai. Many Indian banks, multi-national banks and the World Bank have located their back office operations in the city. The city serves as a major back up centre for operations of many banks and financial companies in India.

[edit] History

Chennai (சென்னை in Tamil), formerly known as Madras, is the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu and is India's fourth largest city. With an estimated population of 7.60 million (2006), the 368-year-old city is the 36th largest metropolitan area in the world.

Modern Chennai had its origins as a colonial city and its initial growth was closely tied to its importance as an artificial harbour and trading centre.

The Fort St George became the nucleus around which the city grew. The Fort still stands today, and a part of it is used to house the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and the Office of the Chief Minister.

[edit] Geography

Chennai is located at 13.04° N 80.17° E on the southeast coast of India and in the northeast corner of Tamil Nadu.

The city has an average elevation of 6 metres (20 feet), its highest point being 60 m (200 ft).

Several lakes of varying size are located on the western fringes of the city. Red Hills, Sholavaram and Chembarambakkam Lake supply Chennai with potable water. Groundwater sources are mostly brackish.

The geology of Chennai comprises mostly clay, shale and sandstone.[8] The city is classified into three regions based on geology, sandy areas, clayey areas and hard-rock areas. Sandy areas are found along the river banks and the coasts. Clayey regions cover most of the city. Hard rock areas are Guindy, Velachery, Adambakkam and a part of Saidapet.[9] In sandy areas such as Tiruvanmiyur, Adyar, Kottivakkam, Santhome, George Town, Tondiarpet and the rest of coastal Chennai, rainwater run-off percolates very quickly. In clayey and hard rock areas, rainwater percolates slowly, but it is held by the soil for a longer time. The city's clayey areas include T.Nagar, West Mambalam, Anna Nagar, Perambur and Virugambakkam.

[edit] Culture

Chennai's culture reflects its diverse population. The city is known for its classical dance shows and Hindu temples.

Chennai is also known for the classical Indian dance, Bharatanatyam, which is also the official dance of Tamil Nadu. An important cultural centre for Bharatanatyam is Kalakshetra (Sanskrit for "place of the arts"), located on the beach in the south of the city.

Chennai is the base for the large Tamil movie industry, dubbed Kollywood after the locality of Kodambakkam where most of the movie studios are located.

School and college cultural festivals (locally called culfests) play an important role by providing platforms for the city's youth to indulge in art and culture. Also present is an established and growing culture of bands in western and other styles.

Chennai celebrates a number of festivals. Pongal, celebrated in the month of January, is the most important festival of and is celebrated over a period of five days. Tamil New Year's day signifying the beginning of the Tamil Calendar usually falls on April 14 and is celebrated widely. Being a cosmopolitan city, almost all major religious festivals like Thai Poosam, Deepavali, Eid and Christmas are celebrated here.

[edit] Economics

Chennai has a diversified economic base anchored by the automobile, software services, hardware manufacturing and financial services. Other important industries include petrochemicals, textiles and apparels. The Chennai Port and Ennore Port contribute greatly to its importance. The city has a fully computerised stock exchange called the Madras Stock Exchange.

[edit] Politics & Administration

[edit] Administration

Ripon Building, which houses the Chennai Corporation, was completed 1913. It is named after former viceroy Lord Ripon.

Chennai being the capital of Tamil Nadu houses the executive and legislative headquarters of the government of Tamil Nadu. They are primarily housed in the Secretariat Buildings, part of the Fort St George campus as well as many other buildings scattered around the city. The Madras High Court, whose jurisdiction extends across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry is the highest judicial authority in the state and is located in the city.

Chennai city is governed by the Corporation of Chennai, which consists of a Mayor and 155 Councillors representing the 155 Wards (all directly elected by the city residents), one of whom is elected by the other Councillors as a Mayor and Deputy Mayor. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor preside over about 10 Standing Committees. The Corporation takes care of the civic functions of the metropolis.

The metropolitan region of Chennai covers many suburbs that are part of Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur districts. The larger suburbs are goverened by town municipalities while the smaller ones are governed by town councils called panchayats.

Chennai has three parliamentary constituencies – Chennai North, Chennai Central and Chennai South.

Greater Chennai Police department, a division of the Tamil Nadu Police is the law enforcement agency in the city.

The city police force is headed by a Commissioner of Police and the administrative control vests with the Tamil Nadu Home ministry. The city's traffic is managed by the Chennai City Traffic Police (CCTP). The Metropolitan suburbs are policed by the Chennai Metropolitan Police and outer district areas are policed by Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur police department

[edit] See also

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Chennai. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with the India Wikia, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.