| Karaikal | |
| Other Name: | Karikal |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Pushpin Map: | India Tamil Nadu |
| Pushpin Label Position: | right |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of Karaikal in Tamil Nadu, India |
| Coordinates: | 10.9327°N 79.8319°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | India |
| Subdivision Type1: | Union territory |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name1: | Puducherry |
| Subdivision Name2: | Karaikal |
| Subdivision Type3: | Region |
| Subdivision Name3: | Tamil Nadu |
| Government Type: | Municipality |
| Governing Body: | Karaikal Municipality (French: Conseil Municipal de Karaikal) |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Elevation M: | 4 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Languages |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Official |
| Timezone1: | IST |
| Utc Offset1: | +5:30 |
| Postal Code Type: | PIN |
| Postal Code: | 609601-609609 |
| Area Code: | +91-04368- |
| Area Code Type: | Telephone code |
| Registration Plate: | PY 02 |
| Demographics1 Info1: | Tamil, French |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Additional |
| Demographics1 Info2: | English |
Karaikal (/kʌdɛkʌl/, French: Karikal /kaʁikal/) is a city of the Indian Union Territory of Puducherry.[2] It is the administrative headquarters of the Karaikal District and the second most populated city in the Union Territory after Pondicherry. Located on the Coromandel Coast of Bay of Bengal in South India, it is a coastal enclave and is surrounded by the state of Tamil Nadu in the southern region of Indian peninsula.
The origin of the word Karaikal is uncertain. The Imperial Gazetteer of British India gives its meaning as 'fish pass'. Both the words 'Karai' and 'Kal' have several meanings, of which the more acceptable ones are 'lime mix' and 'canal' respectively. Hence it has been suggested that the name may mean a canal built of lime mix, however, no trace of such a canal is evident.
See main article: French India and History of Puducherry. Karaikal was sold to the French colonial empire by the Rajah of Thanjavur and became a part of French India Colony in 1739. The French held control, with occasional interruptions from the British Raj, until 1954, when it was de facto incorporated into the Republic of India (de jure in 1962), along with the other French Indian colonies of Mahé, Yanaon, Chandernagor, and Pondichéry.
Karaikal is a small coastal enclave which was formerly part of French India. Together with the other former French territories of Pondicherry, Yanam, and Mahé, it forms the Union Territory of Puducherry. Karaikal is bounded on the North by Mayiladuthurai district South by Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu state, on the west by Tiruvarur district (also belonging to Tamil Nadu), and on the East by the Bay of Bengal. The enclave is located 140km (90miles) south of the city of Pondicherry, 158km (98miles) east of Trichy and is known for its rich cultural heritage.
The main branches of Kaveri below Grand Anicut are the Kudamurutti, Arasalar, Virasolanar and the Vikramanar. Although Arasalar and its branches spread through Karaikal, the waters of Kudamurutti and Virasolanar also meet the irrigation needs of the region.
Forming a part of the fertile Kaveri delta, the region is completely covered by the distributaries of Cauvery. Covered completely by a thick mantle of alluvium of variable thickness, the lie of the region is flat having a gentle slope towards the Bay of Bengal in the east. It is limited on the north by the Nandalar and on the south-east by the Vettar. The group of rocks known as Cuddalore formations is met with in the area contiguous to Karaikal region in Nagapattinam district.
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as tropical wet and dry (As).
The District Collector is the official representative to the Lieutenant Governor and Chief Co-ordinator and Liaison Officer to all Government departments of Karaikal district. District Collectorate, Karaikal is the functional headquarters of Karaikal District.
Karaikal region is made up of Karaikal municipality and the Communes of
According to the 2011 Census of India, total population of Karaikal district is 2,00,222, comprising 97,809 males and 1,02,413 females. Population of the district accounts for 16.04% of the total population of Puducherry U.T. and ranks second among the districts. The literacy rate is 87.1%, with male literacy at 92.4% and female literacy at 82.0%.[3]
Karaikal Ammaiyar is one of the 63 nayanmar who lived in Karaikal.[4] Karaikal is also known for the temple devoted to the Lord Saneeswara at Thirunallar.[5]
Most of the people in town are office goers and industrial workers. There are a number of iron and steel rolling mills, spinning mills, tiles, polythene, rubber and chemical industries in Karaikal. Other common sources of the people's income come from business. The prominent source of income of this district is agriculture and fishing. Karaikal is a coastal town with a total coastline of 26km (16miles). There are 12 big fishing hamlets and around more than 25,000 fishermen (6,000 families) are living in these coastal villages. Their main employment is fishing, exporting and fishing related activities. The other main source is the liquor business, the tax being less and the cost almost half when compared to the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. Karaikal is one of the towns in South India with high cost of living due to French NRI's presence. Thousands of families with their origin in Karaikal live in France. Puducherry Power Corporation Limited is Generating Electricity with Natural gas fuel in their combined cycle power plant and supply the electricity to Puducherry Electricity Department. The fuel gas received through GAIL India Limited by underground pipelines from ONGC Wells.The ONGC's office Kaveri rig is at Karaikal.[6]
Karaikal Airport is being constructed as a greenfield project. It is the first airport in the country built entirely with private capital. The project received in-principle clearance from the Ministry of Civil Aviation in February 2011. Karaikal Airport's Air Traffic Control, however, will be operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The Airport, spread across 562acres, is being developed by Karaikal Airport Private Limited, a subsidiary of Super Airport Private Limited. The first phase of construction includes construction of a 1200-metre runway and a terminal building capable of handling 120 passengers during peak hours. The airport is expected to handle regional turboprop airliners like the ATR-42. The company plans to expand the airport after five years, extending the runway to 2600m (8,500feet) and increasing terminal building capacity to 500 passengers per hour. A further expansion is planned ten years down the line with a 3500-metre runway and a passenger capacity of 1,000 per hour.
Karaikal port is a new deep sea water port being constructed in Karaikal. More than 600acres of land was leased out to MARG corporation in year 2005 for 30 years and can be renewed for every 10 years thereafter. The port will have a total of nine berths and is constructed for primary transport of coal, textile and cement. The Karaikal port is intended to primarily handle cement and coal to serve the hinterland in Ariyalur, Perambalur and Tiruchi districts. The port is also expected to provide an alternative to the Chennai and Tuticorin ports, which are the major ports in the coastline but are separated by long distance. Further, Karaikal is in the middle of the Tamil Nadu coast, midway between the two deepwater ports of Chennai and Tuticorin.
The recent warming of Indo-Sri Lankan relations and the vivacity of pan-Tamilism in southern India has encouraged the redevelopment of maritime transport between the two countries, hitherto stopped due to the civil war in Sri Lanka, then due to financial struggle (debt problems) of the private company which operated a ferry line (Tuticorin-Colombo line). A new ferry service was planned between the North of Sri Lanka (Kankesanthurai Port) and the South of India, as part of the Sagarmala Programme initiated by the Indian Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways for the promotion of coastal shipping.[7] This ferry project was once planned to depart from the port of Karaikal, but it was finally carried out with the departure port of Nagapattinam (nearby Karaikal) in the state of Tamil Nadu.[8] [9]
The National Highway NH 32 connects Chennai and Thoothukudi, passes through Karaikal. It is located at the distance from Chennai, from Puducherry, from Tiruchirapalli, from Kumbakonam and from Nagapattinam. Karaikal is connected with both National Highways and State Highways. Both Gov't. and Private buses available from Karaikal to Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchirapalli, Kumbakonam, Mayiladuthurai, Puducherry, Cuddalore, Chidambaram.
Karaikal having rail line connected from Tiruchirapalli via Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, and Nagore. Presently Rails are available from Karaikal to Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Ernakulam, Tiruchirapalli, Tanjore, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Nagore, Velanganni and currently Karaikal to Peralam Railway line work is under progress.
See also: List of educational institutions in Karaikal, India. According to the 2011 Census, Karaikal has literacy rate of 87.1%. There is a wide network of educational institutions right from elementary level to collegiate level in the Karaikal region.
Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) was established in Karaikal in 2016 with an initial intake of 50 students. The students are selected through entrance exams conducted nationwide.
National Institute of Technology Puducherry was established in Karaikal in 2010. The students are admitted based on Joint Entrance Examination – Main entrance exam score.