Neyveli

Neyveli நெய்வேலி Neyveli Township
Township
Neyveli Thermal Power plant
Nickname(s): Neyveli T.S
Neyveli Location in Tamil Nadu, India
Coordinates:
Country	India
State	Tamil Nadu
District Taluk=Panruti	Cuddalore
Elevation	87 m (285 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	105,687
Languages
• Official	Tamil
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Vehicle registration	TN-91( TN-31 till Jun17,2015)
Website	www.nlcindia.com

Neyveli is a mining and power generation township in Cuddalore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located at 11.533° N - 79.48° E and has Panruti as Taluk headquarters . It is 62 kilometres (39 mi) inland from Bay of Bengal, west of Pondicherry and 197 kilometres (122 mi) south of Chennai, located 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) west of Vadalur. The Neyveli Township was developed after mining of lignite started under the Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) in 1956 some 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of the original Neyveli Village . Today the Township covers 53 square kilometres provide around 18,000 houses for the employees.

The Neyveli Lignite Corporation is a public sector enterprise operating out of Neyveli. A large percentage of the thermal power generated in Tamil Nadu comes from the power plants in Neyveli. NLC contributes about 2,500 megawatts and another 250 megawatts of Themal power is by Saudi based TAQA Neyveli in Uthangal. The town of Neyveli is well known to locals for its goat herding history. Goats from all over the Cuddalore district are brought to Neyveli by goatherders.

History

Borewells driven in the now famous peasant Mr jumbulinga mudhaliyar land in 1935 revealed the presence of 'black particles'. The analysis of the 'black particles' led to the discovery of a huge lignite reserve beneath the areas in and around Neyveli Village. The Neyveli Lignite Corporation was formed as a Corporate Body in 1956 under the Government of India. It is still a Central Government Public Sector Undertaking (PSU). Mining of first lignite seam started in 1962. The first thermal power station was commissioned in 1962 with full assistance from U.S.S.R ( Russia ) @ a capacity of 600 MW. The current capacity of the thermal power stations in Neyveli exceeds 2800 MW.

Geography

Neyveli Township is located at . It has an average elevation of 87 metres (285 ft). It is well connected by road along the Chennai-Thanjavur NH 45C National Highway and Cuddalore-Virudhachalam-Salem NH-532 National Highway. A dedicated rail track with a Railway station was constructed to transport Lignite, heavy machineries for the mining and the power generation industries.

Climate

Contrasting to the adjacent arid regions of Cuddalore district, the township of Neyveli boasts a low-moderate tropical climate, mainly due to the rich flora planted as part of the landscaping during the development of the township. Summers are cooler (temperatures still reach above 40degrees Celsius) and winters are colder than the nearby regions, even though the township is at the same altitude with them. It has red soil, which is quite fertile.

Layout

The Township of Neyveli is one of the modern, well-planned townships in India, and can be compared to the likes of , New York. The township was in fact planned just like the city of Chandigarh, New York City with the township being sub-divided into 'blocks'. There are 32 blocks in total. Each block is 1000 m by 700 m in size. The main roads of Neyveli Township dividing each of the blocks by double-lane modern roads are constructed with rubberised top layer. The housing quarters are around 15,000 in number and vary between hostel-type buildings with 6 apartments to individual two-floor single cottage type quarters. The houses were originally constructed using concrete, while newer buildings are constructed using 'hollow blocks' cast from flyash which is a by-product of lignite. The technique is being used as an initiative to re-use the by-products of lignite effectively.

Neyveli Township can be termed as one of the modern industrial townships of India, with round-the-clock, water and electricity facilities. It also uses well-maintained, underground sanitation system, unlike some of the other cities in Tamil Nadu. At the dawn of the new millennium, the overhead communication cables were replaced by the underground cable communication system, with state-of-the-art optical cables. Neyveli Township has its own telecom system, complete with company-owned telephone exchanges, for faster communication between employees of the township.

Neyveli also have 2,000 temporary Housing quarters near Neyveli Railway station namely M.K Colony, G.K Colony, Sainik Quarters, J.E Quarters & Thandavankuppam Colony . It is 7 km south of Township & NLC Employees working in Mine-2 stay here as it is just 1 km away. These housing colonies are also administered by Township Administration (TA)

There many Villages around Neyveli Township like, Neyveli (Old Neyveli), Mandarakuppam, Kottagam, Gangaikondan, Periyakurichi, Veppankurichi, Vadakkuvellur, Therkkuvellur, Valayamadevi, Ammeri, Melpaathi, Kelpaathi, Thenpaathi, Thenkuthu, Uthangal, Oomangalam, A.Kuravankuppam, Uyyakondaraavi, Pudukuppam, Irruppu, Dhedeerkuppam, Pazhaya Koorapettai, Sepalanatham, Thandavankuppam, Koonakurichi, Thoppulikuppam, Romapuri, Athipattu, Aandarkollai, Paapanampattu, Elavarasampattu, Velludaiyanpattu,Sorathur etc. These Villages not just share PINCODES of Neyveli but also the primary reason behind success of NLC by giving their precious Homes, lands, livelihood and the Name Neyveli to the NLC's Mines, Thermal Power Stations and Township.

Administration

The Township of Neyveli is well managed by the Township Administration(TA), under the Neyveli Lignite Corporation. The TA department, comprises Water Services, Sanitary Service, Fuse-off Call Services (Power Management), Telecom and also Maintenance and Repairs. The administration also runs a chain of hospitals for its employees with the main General Hospital at Block-6 and several dispensaries at various other places.

The township area comes under the Neyveli legislative constituency from 2008, While the rest of Neyveli area (Mandarakuppam, Old Neyveli, Gangaikondan, Periyakurichi, Veppankurichi, Therkkuvelur etc.) comes under Bhuvanagiri legislative constituency.

From 2008 Neyveli Township and Indira Nagar comes under the Cuddalore Parliamentary constituency, While the Old Neyveli region remains under Chidambaram Reserved (SC) Parliamentary constituency. Neyveli Township also has the dubious distinction of being the only place in Tamil Nadu that does not have any local self-government. But local body elections are held in Old Neyveli regions (Neyveli Town panchayat). Tamil Nadu Police is the law-enforcement agency in Neyveli, supervised by a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and includes a dedicated All-Women Special Police Station. Apart from the State Police services, the industrial units employ Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) for maximum security. The NLC also has its own security force, a fire & rescue department and home guards.

Economy

The employees of NLC are provided compensation at Central Government Wage levels and the economy of the Neyveli township is more thriving than the nearby regions. A small township of 50 square kilometres, Neyveli is nonetheless serviced by many commercial banks and more than 21 ATMs. The living expenses are less than the Metropolitan cities of India.Also the quality of life is far better than the other regions

Industries

cooling tower for the Neyveli Power plant

The basic industries on which Neyveli thrives are the lignite mines (I, II, IA) and thermal power stations (I,II & I-Extn.). The largest 'open-cast' mines in India, with very large machinery, the lignite mines is an engineering marvel. Since, the entire township has been built for the purpose of employees of the corporation, the other sources of economic activity are the support services to the township. This includes contracts with the NLC, shops, private hospitals in the periphery, schools etc. There are also a lot of mining industries that have been developed in the last two decades. A fertilizer, B&C plant that was owned by Neyveli Lignite Corporation was closed few years back.

Other than N.L.C, Neyveli also have various small & medium Industries such as Cashew nut Industries, Bricks Industry, Weaving Industries, Agriculture, Cattle breeding, Chit Funds etc.

Demographics

2011

As per provisional reports of Census India, population of Neyveli in 2011 is 105,687; of which male and female are 53,442 and 52,245 respectively. Although Neyveli city has population of 105,687; its urban / metropolitan population is 178,925 of which 90,350 are males and 88,575 are females. Neyveli Literacy Rate 2011 In education section, total literates in Neyveli city are 90,114 of which 47,876 are males while 42,238 are females. Average literacy rate of Neyveli city is 90.98 percent of which male and female literacy was 95.86 and 86.01 percent. Neyveli Sex Ratio 2011 The sex ratio of Neyveli city is 978 per 1000 males. Child sex ratio of girls is 898 per 1000 boys. Neyveli Child Population 2011 Total children (0-6) in Neyveli city are 6,634 as per figure from Census India report on 2011. There were 3,496 boys while 3,138 are girls. The child forms 6.28 % of total population of Neyveli City. The demographics of Neyveli can often be classified as Cosmopolitan. Most of the people living in the township are not native to the place and not even native to Tamil Nadu either in most cases and can be called as expatriates from states other than Tamil Nadu. The people speak many languages including Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Oriya, Marathi, Gujarati and more, as most of the population is diversified and come for various parts of India. The rich diversity can be identified from the presence of services and cultural centres for the different communities.

Culture

Neyveli Township has a unique culture. The fact that all the people who live in Neyveli are not natives of the town, brings about a sense of diaspora. There are cultural organizations meant to encourage different regional cultures of India, there are temples and places of worship that quite reflect the diversity of the place.

People who live in the Township are either employed by Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) or by the business enterprises that serve the NLC or the employees of NLC. Disparities in wealth is rather limited - one can consider it as a Public Sector Unit (PSU) salaried class culture. High literacy rates and multilingual nature of people reflect in a culture that lays high importance for education.

Religion

Reflecting the cosmopolitan composition of the population, places of worship of all religions can be found. Temples of Lord Pillaiyar, Lord Natarajar, Lord Murugan, Lord Aiyyapan, MaariAmman, Lord Krishnan and almost of all Hindu Gods, Churches (Catholic & Protestant), Mosques, Jain temples are all found here.

Notably, Neyveli is famous for the world's largest metal statue of Shiva as Nataraja. Thaipoosam is a local festival with much flair at the Villudayanpattu Kovil of Lord Murugan holding a Bow as his weapon instead of the regular spear. Thaipoosam is also special in Neyveli because of its proximity to Vadalur, the famous place of samathi of saint Vallalar Sri. Ramalinga Adigalar that is just 7 km away from Neyveli.

The most important festival celebrated is "Panguni Uthiram" festival for the Lord Murugan at Villudayanpatti Temple.

Sri Ayyapan Swamy Temple at Block-4 is very famous for its beauty. Many Ayyapan Swamy Devotees come here to worship Lord Ayyapan before going to Sabarimala, Kerala. The 600-year-old Khasi Vishwanathar temple at Vadakku Vellur in Neyveli-2 is also popular among locals.

Tourism

The sight of the huge construction cranes digging dirt to unearth lignite is a sight worth watching. Moreover it is a good place for tourism, with tourist interests being the Afforestaion complex and mining sites. However permission to visit these places is selective.

Neyveli Township has a beautiful eco-friendly park which ranks in the international level, named as "Nehru Park" in Block 8. The "Main Bazaar" located in the heart of the township in Block 12 is the favorite hangout place for children and adult alike. All kinds of commodities are available in these shops for the welfare of Neyvelians. Sandwiched between the buzzing shops is "The Golden Jubilee Park" which was constructed in remembrance of 50 years after the beginning of NLC. It is a children's and adult's park. Many tourists come during their vacations.

The Natarajar Temple has the largest Panchaloha (made up of five metals/ alloys) idol and is the first in Asia. Many natural sceneries are there to visit and it will be worth spending some time here.

Also the Book Fair is the yearly event conducted by the NLC from 1998,with around 200 publishers taking part in the event. Many other related events are conducted like felicitating writers, book discussions, debates, Dramas etc., during the 10 day course of the book fair which usually happens in the months of June to August. Neyveli Book Fair also consists of large number of interesting games, eatables which attracts children to a greater extent. The 16th Neyveli Book fair-2013 was held from 5 July 2013 to 14 July 2013, 10.00 a.m. to 9.00 p.m. on all days at Book Fair Grounds,Block-11.

Safety Week is a week-long event conducted by various departments of the NLC, exhibiting the best practices of Safety to be followed in workplace and NLC also encourages its school students to actively participate in preparing the models for its "SAFETY WEEK CELEBRATIONS" by giving them prizes and certificates for the best display.

The Nataraja Temple is located near central bus stand. The Lord nataraja statue is 12 feet (3.7 m) in height weighing of more than 1.25 tonnes and also a Sivagamasundari statue is also in height of 7 feet (2.1 m) and weighs .5 tons kept in a big hall which is also a dynamandapam. Another beauty of this temple is 63 Nayanmars are lively looking in statues. A hall lies under a Nagalinga tree.

There is a Devara temple related to Lord Nataraja is Melakadambur is located at about 30 km from here. By road you should take sethiathope-kattumannarkoil- route. From Kattumannarkoil melakadambur is at about 6 km distance. Here Lord nataraja lies in a panchaloga vigraha as well as in hard granite stone dating back to Kulothunga Chola period. And a rare idol of Lord shiva dancing on a bull with ten hands is open for devotees darshan only on pradosha days from 4:30-6:00 pm.

Neyveli is notable for its "Republic Day" and "Independence Day" celebrations which is conducted in Bharathi Stadium. Many Schools actively participate in Dance Competitions, parade, and other sports. Even the students of Neyveli who achieved in State level, National and International level sports competitions are encouraged by NLC by giving prizes during these celebrations.

Neyveli provides benefit for its students as well as readers by providing an excellent "Library" in the midst of the Township to gain enormous knowledge. Thousands of books dealing different topics, daily newspaper, magazines, all kinds of journals and reference books are available in the library which is governed by NLC.

NLC also issues its book called "BROWN COAL" to its employees to share its important events and also publishes some important information's.It also portrays about achievers of NLC who are in all walks of sports and education.

Transport

Transport inside the township is managed by the Bus Services, again a department under NLC. There are almost 15 bus routes for this small township. The bus services are excellent with a frequency of less than 10 minutes during the day and 15 minutes during the night. Owing to the high per capita income of people and easy loans from the NLC, the number of private vehicles per household is also high.

The Township has two bus stations for outstation connectivity, each closer to two different highway routes running alongside the township, the Vikravandi-Thanjavur National Highway NH 45C and the Cuddalore-Virudhachalam-Salem National Highway NH-532 route. Most outstation goers towards Chennai, Bangalore, Kumbakonam, Tanjore, Vellore, Tirupathi, Villupuram, Panruti and Thiruvannamalai catch the buses at The Central Bus Stand (CBS) in Block-24, All mofussil buses stops at NLC arch gate in the National Highway NH45C (Vikravandi-Kumbakonam-Thanjavur). While regular bus services for Cuddalore, Salem, Tiruchirappalli, Virudhachalam, Madurai, Theni, Palani, Coimbatore, Chidambaram, Erode, Puducherry, Kumuli are available at the Bus Stand in (Cuddalore-Virudhachalam-Salem), National Highway NH 532, Which is also just few hundred meters away from Neyveli Railway station. There is also talk of toll gate to be set up near Neyveli at kadampuliyur when 4 lane NH45C comes into action. ₹100Crs has been allotted for National Highway 532 by the Central Government for converting it to Four-lane roads, Works started in May 2015 NH45C project may start from February 2016 once the bidding is completed. (Source: http://infrapppworld.com/pipeline-html/tenders-asia-pacific/4-laning-of-vikkravandi-thanjavur-section-of-nh-45c-on-dbfot-toll-basis-2)

Neyveli has a railway station which lies on the Cuddalore-Salem railway line. Daily 6 Passenger Trains pass through the town i.e. the Cuddalore Port-Trichy passenger, ', Karaikal-Bangalore fast passenger, ' and the Cuddalore-Virudhachalam passenger. The nearest major railway stations are at Cuddalore Port Junction (40 km) and Virudhachalam (21 km).

It has a wonderful airstrip but incidentally has no commercial flights. Currently it seems to be not under operation, but neyveli youngsters are using this as their favorite spot. The nearest airport is at Puducherry (90 km).

Education

Neyveli boasts of having some of the best educational institutions in the region; including the Neyveli administration run 13 N.L.C Schools, to private institutions. These institutions attract students from the neighboring towns and villages as well.

Kendriya Vidyalaya NLC, N.L.C.Girls' Higher Secondary School, -11, N.L.C.Boys' Higher Secondary School, -10, N.L.C. Higher Secondary School, Mandarakuppam, Neyveli-2, N.L.C. Girls High School, Mandarakuppam, Neyveli-2 & Two N.L.C.High Schools, Five Middle Schools, three Elementary Schools. Jawahar Martriculation Higher Secondary School (Matric and stateboard), Jawahar Higher Secondary School (CBSE), St.Joseph of Cluny Matriculation Higher Secondary School for the girls, St. Paul's Matriculation Higher Secondary School, NLC School for Boys and Girls, Tagore Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Sri Aurobindo Vidyalaya Matriculation Higher Secondary School, the Seventh Day Adventist Matriculation Higher Secondary School, NMJ School and Sacred Heart Matriculation School, Ar-Rahmath Anglo Arabic School in Neyveli-2 are some of the notable schools that foster a healthy intellectual environment.

Jawahar Science College [Thiruvalluvar University] offers a plethora of undergraduate programs in fundamental science and computing.

Sports

NLC Administration arranges summer camps for all the students and those who are interested can participate in respective events. Special trainers and events are arranged for the summer camps. Apart from security grounds and playgrounds of leading schools, Neyveli has a fully operative Bharathi Outdoor Stadium where major events are hosted. It is common sight to see people across age groups practicing volleyball, football, hockey, badminton, swimming, basketball, indoor games, karate and more. Neyveli Lignite city club has laid 2 world class synthetic courts. The town has nurtured national level players in Chess. Boy's Higher Secondary School Block 10 usually is the chief organizer of school sports in Neyveli Township. Sports Developlment Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) is also present in Neyveli.

Entertainment

In spite of the various comforts of the township, the town on an outward look is more of a silent one lacking a bit in the entertainment area. But there are fairs/exhibits, theaters, parks, Shopping Complexes/Bazaars, etc. to keep people occupied.

Exhibits

The NLC conducts and sponsors two exhibits/fairs each year - 'Book Fair' and 'Safety Week Exhibit'. Each of these two exhibits happen over ten days during different parts of the year and is a big crowd puller where people come from quite far places as well.

Book Fair

The Book Fair is one of the largest in the country accounting for almost 200 stalls. The fifteenth edition of the Book Fair was held on neyveli book fair ground on july 5th to 14 2015 .

Safety Week Exhibit

It is an exhibit where different divisions across NLC - from the Mines, the Thermal Power Plants, etc. - display their engineering marvels as prototype models and there are round the clock engineers/technicians with the models explaining to their visitors how the system work. It is a huge knowledge fest especially for students in the Technology side. The special side of the exhibit is the touch of safety that is pressed upon in each exhibit being the theme of the fair itself.

Cinema

There are four cinema theaters in Neyveli as listed below:

1. Sri Nidhirathna A/C DTS, UFO Digital
2. Jayapriya Theatre DTS, UFO Digital, Cuddalore-Virudhachalam-Salem, NH-532, Gangaikondan, Neyveli-2
3. Mahalakshmi Palace A/C DTS, QUBE Digital, Cuddalore-Virudhachalam-Salem NH-532, Periyakurichi, Neyveli-2
4. Sri Ranga A/C DTS, QUBE Digital

Parks

Besides the theaters, there are three big parks in the township area - 'Golden Jubilee Park' , 'Nehru Park' and the 'Navratra Park' - are a quick and nice getaway for friends and families and also for childrens especially on weekends.

Shopping Complexes/Bazaars

Pay-Day Bazaar, Main Bazaar, Daily bazaar, New Shopping Complex Block-8 & Shops, Fruits & Vegetables Markets @ Cuddalore, Main Road, Neyveli-2.

Clubs

The Lignite City Club provides NLC Officers and their family members with very good sports facilities along with professional coaches. The club also hosts monthly get together evenings for its members rick with many cultural events.

Cultural Organisations

The different cultural organisations like the Telugu Samithi, Kalalaya, Kannada Sabha, etc. also conduct annual celebrations rich with cultural performances.

Other Locations

For those on the lookout for more entertainment, it is sad that there is none available in the immediate vicinity of the township. But there are many other locations close by - like Pondicherry, Chidambaram, Cuddalore, Virudhachalam, Kumbakonam, Chennai, etc. - which are known for providing better entertainment activities (boating at Pichavaram, drive to the beaches at Pondicherry/Chennai, exploring Metrocity, shopping, Cinema, etc.) besides being tourism centres with many historic and religious sites (in and around Chidambaram and Kumabakonam).

References

www.neyvelitnsf.blogspot.com

External links

• Wikimapia