Melur

This article is about the town in Madurai district. For the neighbourhood of Tiruchirappalli, see Melur, Tiruchirappalli.

Melur மேலூர் Tai Gramam
Town
Traditional village house in Mellur Traditional village house in Mellur
Melur Location in Tamil Nadu, India
Coordinates:
Country	India
State	Tamil Nadu
District	Madurai
Government
• Type	Second Grade Municipality
• Body	Melur Municipality
• Panchayat	A.Vallalapatty
Area
• Total	664.9 km2 (256.7 sq mi)
Elevation	149 m (489 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	40,017
• Density	60/km2 (160/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Tamil
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Vehicle registration	TN-59
Website	www.meluronline.com

Melur is a town and a municipality in the Madurai district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Melur is called Thaikramam ('Mother of Villages'). It is the biggest taluk within the Madurai District. As of 2011, the town had a population of 40,017.

Melur is a manufacturer and exporter of ploughs. Granite production is an important industry; granite from Melur is exported around the world. Situated within a largely agricultural area, most of the people living around Melur are employed in agriculture, chiefly in the cultivation of rice.

Geography

Melur has an average elevation of 149 metres (489 ft).

Demographics

Religious census
Religion			Percent(%)
Hindu			78.72%
Muslim			18.8%
Christian			2.19%
Sikh			0.02%
Other			0.26%

According to the 2011 census, Melur had a population of 40,017 with a sex-ratio of 961 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 4,488 were under the age of six, constituting 2,353 males and 2,135 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 12.33% and .39% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 79.47%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The town had a total of 9872 households. There were a total of 14,126 workers, comprising 355 cultivators, 1,493 main agricultural labourers, 295 in household industries, 10,470 other workers, 1,513 marginal workers, 33 marginal cultivators, 230 marginal agricultural labourers, 88 marginal workers in household industries and 1,162 other marginal workers.

As per the religious census of 2011, Melur had 68.72% Hindus, 28.8% Muslims, 2.19% Christians, 0.02% Sikhs and 0.26% following other religions.

Religion

The local religion involves the Lord Shiva temple and the goddess Draupathi, who was wife of the Pandavas. Two important events are Biman–Keesakan fight and the Pookkuli Festival. In the first event, one person will be acting as Bima and another as Keesakan. Keesakan tries to run away from Bima, and the latter will chase him and kill him. The Pookkuli (walking on ignited coals) festival is celebrated every year by the Draupathi Amman Temple. On the Pookkuli day, devotees who have offered prayers to the goddess will perform fire walking. Pathinettankudi manjuu verattu is celebrated on every mattupongal day.

The Naagammal Temple Festival is celebrated every year. Poochorithal is the main event of the festival. Santhana Koodu Festival is celebrated in the mosques every year. The Ealai Katha Amman Temple festival, Kottakudi Eruthu Kattu, and the Ayyanar Temple Puravi Eduppu Festival are also celebrated around Melur. The Kathapillai street Kaliamman festival is celebrated every year in June.

The majority of Melur township people follow Hinduism and they are devotees of local village god and goddess Amman.There is a church located near Sandhaipettai and regular prayers have been organised and conducted in this church which belongs to the Church of South India.

There is an Annadana madam named as Arutperumjyoti in Melur nearby Ganesh Theatre and this NGO trust offers lunch regularly for the poor and orphans.

Transport

Madurai Airport is the nearest airport for Melur, which operates domestic flight services such as Air India, Jet Airways and SpiceJet.

Melur has a bus stand, which is used by TNSTC and private operators. This is situated inside the town on Madurai- Trichy NH45B. Melur has bus transportation to Madurai, Kottanathampatty, Chennai, Trichy, Sivaganga, Dindigul, Coimbatore, Karaikudi, Pudukottai, Ramanathapuram, Thirunelveli, Virudhunagar, Tanjore, Rajapalayam, Pattukkottai and all around the neighbouring districts. Madurai Junction is the nearest railway station.

Politics

Melur assembly constituency is part of Madurai (Lok Sabha constituency). The major political parties in Melur are ADMK, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Indian National Congress, and Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam. Kakkan (late), State Minister during Kamarajar period was born in Melur. A statue is laid in Chekkadi.

R.Saami who have been contested and elected as MLA of Melur town.

R.Saami works for AIADMK party.

About Melur

Melur is one of the largest constituencies of Madurai district.The chief occupation of this area people is Agriculture.Few people have been working as daily wages working as masons and assistants in home construction.