Avadi

Avadi ஆவடி
suburb
Avadi
Coordinates: 13°07′N 80°06′E / 13.12°N 80.1°E / 13.12; 80.1Coordinates: 13°07′N 80°06′E / 13.12°N 80.1°E / 13.12; 80.1
Country	India
State	Tamil Nadu
District	Thiruvallur
Metro	Chennai
Area
• Total	25.62 km2 (9.89 sq mi)
Elevation	17 m (56 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	345,996
• Density	14,000/km2 (35,000/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Tamil
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Vehicle registration	TN-12

Avadi is a suburb city of Chennai and a municipality in Thiruvallur in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Situated about 23 km west of Chennai, it is surrounded by major defense establishments. The neighborhood is served by Avadi Railway Station of the Chennai Suburban Railway. As of 2011, the town had a population of 345,996. The Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) is located in Chennai Avadi.

Toponymy

The word 'Avadi' has been considered as an acronym for "Armoured Vehicles and Ammunition Depot of India", however this fact has no base since, the defense establishments in Avadi were set up only in the 1960s, whereas the town itself had existed long before this happened and with the same name. The name Avadi actually means in Tamil 'a place filled with lot of cows' ஆ (Aa) = cow + அடி (Adi) = location.

Geography

Avadi is located at 13°07′N 80°06′E / 13.12°N 80.1°E / 13.12; 80.1.^[1] It covers an area of 65 km² and has an average elevation of 17 meters (55 foot).

Lake

A view of the Avadi lake

Avadi has a lake which lies right behind the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB). This lake is of length of 2.64 kilometers. It's mostly known to have never dried up in many years. This lake has supposedly been a source of water for cultivation of farm lands long before. The water body attracts many birds during various seasons.However, in the recent decades it has lost most of its area to discriminate building and encroachment.

History

The famous session of the Indian National Congress was held at Avadi on 10 January 1955.^[2] This historical meet emphasised the importance of socialism and its impact on social development. Jawaharlal Nehru with Morarji Desai and other Congress leaders at the AICC session declared that a socialistic pattern of society was the goal of the Congress.^[3][4]

Industries and Companies

In addition to military establishments, Avadi also houses a number of IT/ITES & other service sector based firms. Aristomind, one of the First Start up was from Avadi.

Military Establishments

The major military establishments having divisions in Avadi are the Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF), EFA-Engine Factory, Avadi, Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indian Navy, Central Vehicle Depot (CVD), The Ordnance Depot [OD], Unfit Vehicles Park [UVP] and the Ordnance Clothing Factory (OCF).

The Indian Air Force has a Mechanical Transport Training Institute Technical (MTTI) here for training its personnel on driving and repairing vehicles and also a base repair depot for repair and maintenance of its various equipment. CVRDE undertakes major research on battle tanks and other combat vehicles. MBT Arjun, armoured ambulance, Combat Improved Ajeya and Nag anti-tank missile are some of the recent products from CVRDE. The Heavy Vehicles Factory produces an indigenous version of the T-72 tank known as Ajeya. HVF also produces the main battle tank Arjun. The production of T-90S Bhishma tanks started in 2006–2007. The Tamil Nadu Special Police (TSP) also has a division in Avadi, the TN 2nd & 5th Battalion.

There was a World War II airfield at Red Hills, Sholavaram approachable from the junction close to the CRPF Camp, Avadi, immediately after the Military Hospital.

Demographics

According to 2011 census, Avadi had a population of 345,996 with a sex-ratio of 970 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929.^[5] A total of 36,091 were under the age of six, constituting 18,419 males and 17,672 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 16.16% and .63% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the city was 81.76%, compared to the national average of 72.99%.^[5] The city had a total of 87733 households. There were a total of 127,152 workers, comprising 787 cultivators, 1,095 main agricultural labourers, 1,444 in house hold industries, 111,013 other workers, 12,813 marginal workers, 221 marginal cultivators, 310 marginal agricultural labourers, 449 marginal workers in household industries and 11,833 other marginal workers.^[6] As per the religious census of 2011, Avadi had 84.23% Hindus, 4.56% Muslims, 10.69% Christians, 0.07% Sikhs, 0.03% Buddhists, 0.08% Jains, 0.3% following other religions and 0.03% following no religion or did not indicate any religious preference.^[7]

From 229,403 in 2001, the population of Avadi has grown to 344,701 in 2011, registering a decadal population growth of 50 percent.^[8]

Places of Worship

There are many Hindu Temples in and around Avadi. Karumari Amman temple, Chinnamman temple, Nagavalli Amman and Perumal temple are very famous temples in Avadi. In addition to this many old generation temples are also present in and around Avadi. Thirumullaivoyal, a locality near Avadi is famous for Masilamaniswara Temple, Thirumullaivoyal an ancient temple of Lord Shiva and also Pachaiamman Temple. Vaikundhanaadhar Temple is located near Kovilpathagai, Angaalamman temple is located in the Redhills road. Sri Venkateswara Perumal Temple in Kamaraj Nagar is a Vaishavite shrine in Avadi.

There are a handful of Mosques serving to a considerable Islamic population in Avadi. Numerous churches have been built in recent decades and St Antony's Shrine is a Catholic church located at Avadi Check-post. There is a Jain temple, Vasupujiya Jain Temple and a Gurudwara in the HVF estate for the Sikhs to worship in Avadi.

Even-though, Avadi boasts of cultural and religious diversity, it has a proud heritage of religious tolerance.

Transport

Railways

Avadi railway station is one of the terminal station of the Chennai Suburban Railway Network. There are frequent suburban trains from Avadi to Chennai Central, Chennai Beach, Arakonam, Thiruvallur and Tiruthani. Few express trains stop at Avadi.

22640/Alappuzha-Chennai SF Express, 16204/Garudadri Express and 12624/Thiruvananthapuram - Chennai Super Fast Mail stop here.

Roadways

Avadi bus terminus is located very near to the Avadi Railway station on the Chennai - Thiruvallur High Road (CTH road).

Avadi is well connected to various locations of Chennai as well as rural areas surrounding North-western and Western Chennai. The main service provider though is the state-owned Metropolitan Transport Corporation some private buses are also available.

List of Buses Plying Through/Originating from Avadi

Chennai–Tirutani highway extension

The Tamil Nadu Highways department issued a GO^[9] on 4 October 2013 to extending the entire Chennai – Tirutani highway to 6 lanes at a cost of 1.68 billion. The first phase will involve extending the road to 4 lanes – 100 ft with center median and encroachments have already started to be removed.^[10]

State Assembly Constituency

Avadi is a state assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu, India formed after constituency delimitation.^[1] It is included in the Thiruvallur parliamentary constituency.

Images

• 

  Avadi lake

• 

  Avadi lake

• 

  Water birds in avadi lake

• 

  Sunset

• 

  Water birds

• 

  Magpie Robin near avadi lake

• 

  Fishermen in the background

• 

  Bird flying over the lake

• 

  Avadi railway station

• 

  A bird in the lake

References

External links

• Avadi at Tiruvallur district website

Tiruvallur district
District Headquarters	Tiruvallur
Country	India
State	Tamil Nadu
Region	Tondai Nadu
Revenue Divisions	Ambattur Ponneri Thiruvallur Tiruttani
Taluks	Ambattur Avadi Gummidipoondi Madhavaram Maduravoyal Pallipattu Ponneri Poonamallee Thiruttani Tiruvallur Tiruvottiyur Uthukkottai
Revenue blocks	Ellapuram Gummidipoondi Kadambathur Minjur Pallipattu Poonamallee Poondi Pulal R.K.Pet Sholavaram Tiruvallur Tiruttani Thiruvalangadu Villivakkam
Municipal Corporation	Greater Chennai Corporation (part)
Municipalities	Avadi Poonamallee Thiruttani Tiruverkadu Tiruvallur
Town Panchayats	Arani Gummidipoondi Minjur Naravarikuppam Pallipattu Pothatturpettai Ponneri Thirumazhisai Thirunindravur Uthukottai
History	Pallavas Medieval Cholas Later Cholas Pandyan dynasty Vijayanagar Empire Carnatic Kingdom Company Raj British Raj
Places of interest	Ennore Port Queens Land Madhavaram Botanical Garden Mathur MMDA Park Puzhal aeri Poondi aeri Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary Kattupalli Shipyard Heavy Vehicles Factory, Avadi Madhavaram Truck Terminal Manjambakkam Truck Terminal Thiruevvul Bhaktavatsala Perumal Temple, Thirunindravur Sri Vadaranyeswarar Temple Thyagaraja Temple, Tiruvottiyur Kalyana Varadharaja Perumal Temple (Thiruvottiyur) Hridayaleeswarar Temple Vaseeswarar Temple Thiruthani Murugan Temple Sri Viswaroopa Panchamukha Anjaneyaswami Temple Narasinghapuram Lakshmi Narasimhar Temple Vedapureeswarar Temple, Thiruverkadu Thiruverkadu Devi Karumariamman Temple Periyapalayam Bhavani Amman Temple Siruvapuri Sri Balasubrahmanyam temple Arani Sampangi Pichandeshwarer Temple Big Mosque, Poonamallee
Universities	Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University Sri Ramachandra University Veltech Dr.RR & Dr.SR University Saveetha University St. Peter's University