Pollachi

Pollachi is a town and municipality in Coimbatore district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Pollachi taluk. It is situated near the center of the South Indian Peninsula, surrounded by Western Ghats. Agriculture and textile industries contribute majorly to the economy of the town and the town is a popular marketplace for jaggery, vegetables and cattle.

The town is a part of Pollachi constituency that elects its member to the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly and the Pollachi constituency that elects its member of parliament. The town is administered by Pollachi Municipality established in 1949 and has a population of 90,180 as per the 2011 census. The town is popular for the film shooting that takes place here and many films in Tamil and other languages have been shot here.

Etymology
Pollachi is probably derived from Pozhil Vaitchi which means "gifted with beauty" in Tamil. Edicts indicate that the region was known as Pozhil Vaitchi during the Chola period.

Geography
Pollachi is located at 10.662°N, 77.0065°W near the center of the South Indian Peninsula, surrounded by Western Ghats. It has an average elevation of 293 m on the banks of Aliyar river. The area is hilly and rocky, drained by several rivers and is thickly forested with some marsh lands and scattered patches of grass. The town receives majority of the rainfall from Southwest monsoon arriving through the Palghat gap and receives an average annual rainfall of around 1274 mm.

Demographics
According to the 2011 census, Pollachi had a population of 90,180 with a sex-ratio of 1,012 females for every 1,000 males, above the national average of 929. A total of 7,732 were under the age of six, constituting 3,952 males and 3,780 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 10.57% and 0.29% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the city was 82.15%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The city had a total of 24,755 households. There were a total of 36,972 workers, comprising 219 cultivators, 488 main agricultural laborers, 1,018 in household industries, 32,720 other workers, 2,527 marginal workers, 25 marginal cultivators, 45 marginal agricultural laborers, 124 marginal workers in household industries and 2,333 other marginal workers.

Economy
The economy of the town is predominantly dependent on agriculture. Coconut, jaggery, vegetables and cattle contribute to the agricultural output. There are also coir producing units with raw materials sourced from local farms. Vanilla is also cultivated in certain locations. Pollachi is also a popular movie shooting location for the Tamil film industry owing to its scenic landscape.

Transport
Pollachi is connected by National Highway 209 and state highways 19, 78 and 78A. The central bus stand caters for bus transport which is operated by Government-run TNSTC and private operators. State Express Transport Corporation operates long-distance buses.

Pollachi Railway Junction lies on the junction of Palakkad–Dindigul and Coimbatore–Pollachi branch lines with Palakkad to the west, Coimbatore to the north and Dindigul to the east. Metre to broad gauge conversion on Dindigul line was completed in January 2015. In 2017, the track between Pollachi and Podanur was converted from metre to broad gauge at a cost of inr 3400000000.

The nearest airport is Coimbatore International Airport, located 48 km from the town. The airport has regular flights from/to major domestic destinations and international destinations like Sharjah, Colombo and Singapore.

Places of interest
Anamalai Wildlife Sanctuary is situated at an average altitude of 1400 ft in the Western Ghats near Pollachi. Valparai is a hill station about 65 km from Pollachi and is situated at an altitude of 3500 ft. Topslip is a popular picnic spot located at an altitude of about 800 ft in the Anamalai mountain range which is about 37 km from Pollachi. Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in the valley between the Anaimalai Hills of Tamil Nadu and the Nelliampathi range of Kerala. Parambikulam-Aliyar multipurpose project involves a series of dams interconnected by tunnels and canals at various elevations to harness the various rivers flowing through the area. Azhiyar Dam is located on the foothills of Anamalai in the Western Ghats and Solaiyar Dam is 15 km from Valparai and is one of the largest rock dams in India.

Thirumurthyswami temple is a temple dedicated to Shiva, situated in the foothills of the Thirumurthy Hills. Other major temples include Masani Amman Temple, Eachanari Vinayagar Temple and Temple of Consciousness founded by Vethathiri Maharishi.