?Valparai
Tamil Nadu • India
Map indicating the location of Valparai
Thumbnail map of India with Tamil Nadu highlighted
Location of Valparai
Coordinates: 10°22′N 76°58′E / 10.37, 76.97
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
Area
• Elevation
• 1,193 m (3,914 ft)
District(s) Coimbatore
Population 94,962 (2001)
Codes
• Pincode
• 642127

Coordinates: 10°22′N 76°58′E / 10.37, 76.97 Valparai (வால்பாறை in Tamil) is a Municipality in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. Valparai is located 3,500 feet above sea level on the Anamalai Hill Range of the Western Ghats.

Though popularly known as Cherrapunji of South India, Valparai remains somewhat untouched. Owned mostly by private tea companies, a large part of the area is out of bounds for tourists.[1] Interestingly, the Govt. of Tamil Nadu with the assistance of the Govt. of India has taken initiatives to promote tourism and develop infrastructure such as hotels, amusement parks etc to attract visitors.[2]

Contents

Geography

Valparai is located at 10°22′N 76°58′E / 10.37, 76.97. It has an average elevation of 1193 metres (3914 feet).[3]

Winding ghat roads at Valparai.

Demography

According to the Census of India 2001, the population of Valparai is about 94,962. Males making up 49% of the population and females 51%. Valparai has an average literacy rate of 72%, higher than the national average of 59.5%.[4]

Economy

Valparai in concentrated with Tea and Coffee estates. Most of the people in Valparai work in these estates. Valparai can be accessed either from Pollachi or from Chalakudy, Kerala located on the western side of Anamalai Range. The climatic condition prevailing is most suitable for cultivation of Tea, Coffee, Cardamom, Cincona trees. [5]

Wildlife

Valparai is one of the highest mid elevation hill resort in the country. The tea plantations are surrounded by evergreen moist evergreen forest a rich elephant tract and a panther (leopard) prowl.[6]

The Valparai range is also the habitat of another endemic mammal — the Nilgiri Tahr. These wild mountain goats inhabit the high ranges and prefer open terrain, cliffs and grass-covered hills, a habitat largely confined to altitudes from 1200 to 2600m. Their territory extended far and wide all along these hills in the past, but, because of hunting and large-scale habitat destruction, they now exist only in a few isolated sites like the Anamalais.[7]

The human-elephant conflict, a very delicate issue prevails at Valparai. The tea plantations are a hindrance to the movement of wildlife, particularly elephants who prefer shade because they cannot stand heat; their massive bodies do not have sweat glands to control body heat. If they wish to move from one forest to another they would have to cut across the tea estates, where the terrain and the people are equally inhospitable. The confrontation leads to conflicts, material loss and deaths at times.[8]

Politics

Valparai assembly constituency (SC) is part of Pollachi (Lok Sabha constituency).[9]

References

  1. ^ The Hindu MetroPlus dated 11 Dec'2004
  2. ^ Govt of Tamil Nadu Order
  3. ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Valparai
  4. ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. Retrieved on 2008-11-01.
  5. ^ Valparaiinfo.com
  6. ^ Dept of Forests, Govt of TN
  7. ^ The Hindu:Magazine Feb 26 2006
  8. ^ The Hindu:MetroPlus Aug 07 2006
  9. ^ "List of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies". Tamil Nadu. Election Commission of India. Retrieved on 2008-10-11.

External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valparai"


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