Tenkasi

Tenkasi தென்காசி
Town
A view of Kasi Vishwanathar Temple Rajagopuram
Tenkasi Location in Tirunelveli Dist,Tamil Nadu, India
Coordinates:
Country	India
State	Tamil Nadu
District	Tirunelveli
Founded by	Parakirama Pandian
Government
• Type	First Grade Municipality
• Body	Tenkasi Municipality
Elevation	143 m (469 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	70,545
Languages
• Official	Tamil
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	627811
Vehicle registration	TN-76

Tenkasi is one of the municipalities in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu, India and it is the second largest town in Tirunelveli district. It is located in the foothills of the Western Ghats near Courtallam. The translation of 'Tenkasi' means 'Kasi of the south' referring to the Kasiviswanathar temple.

History

Tenkasi is an old historic town as known from the inscriptions found here. It was founded by Pandya kings who were the rulers of South Tamil Nadu at that time. In the 17th century their power declined and they got confined to smaller areas down south. Parakrama Pandya built the Kashi Vishwanathar Temple.

Geography

Tenkasi is located at . It has an average elevation of 143 metres (469 ft).The town is surrounded by the western ghats in three sides and it is a picturesque place. A river called Chittar flows through the city.

Demographics

Religious census
Religion			Percent(%)
Hindu			62.26%
Muslim			34.79%
Christian			2.79%
Sikh			0.01%
Buddhist			0.01%
Other			0.14%

According to 2011 census, Tenkasi had a population of 70,545 with a sex-ratio of 1,020 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 7,413 were under the age of six, constituting 3,774 males and 3,639 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 14.16% and .47% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 78.49%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The town had a total of 17887 households. There were a total of 27,885 workers, comprising 279 cultivators, 2,006 main agricultural labourers, 3,332 in house hold industries, 19,903 other workers, 2,365 marginal workers, 28 marginal cultivators, 90 marginal agricultural labourers, 494 marginal workers in household industries and 1,753 other marginal workers.

As per the religious census of 2011, Tenkasi had 62.26% Hindus, 34.79% Muslims, 2.79% Christians, 0.01% Sikhs, 0.01% Buddhists and 0.14% following other religions.

Politics

Tenkasi assembly constituency is part of Tenkasi Lok Sabha constituency.

Year	Status	Place	Name	Elected as	Alliance
2011	Elected	Tenkasi	R. Sarathkumar	MLA	ADMK

Transport

Tenkasi has two bus terminus and a railway station. Daily trains include the Pothigai Express from Chennai to Shencottah and two passenger trains, one from Madurai to Shencottah three times per day. and the other between Tirunelveli and Shencottah four times per day. Long distance buses run by SETC and various private transport corporations are available from Tenkasi to Chennai, Bengaluru, Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram, Coimbatore, Puducherry, Guruvayur, Tirupati and other places.

Temples

Tenkasi is famous for its Ulagamman Temple and Viiswanathar Temple. The Ulagamman temple was built by Parakrama Pandian, but was shattered by lightning. In the 1990s, the temple was restored and it was given a fresh coat of paint again in 2006 by the same philanthropists.