Salem district
The district Salem (Tamil: சேலம் மாவட்டம் ) is a district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Administrative center is the eponymous town of Salem.
Geography
The district Salem is located in the northern inland areas of Tamil Nadu. Neighboring districts are Dharmapuri in the north, Viluppuram in the east, Perambalur and Tiruchirappalli in the southeast, in the south Namakkal and Erode in the West. The area of the district is 5,249 square kilometers.
The district is part of the Salem region Kongu Nadu comprising the north-western parts of Tamil Nadu. The district capital, Salem, the fifth largest city of Tamil Nadu, located in the center of the district. The area west of Salem is rather flat and is the Kaveri River, the largest stream of Tamil Nadu, is removed. In the Cauvery Mettur is dammed by a dam on Stanley Reservoir. In the eastern part of the district, the Shevaroy Mountains, isolated foothills of the Eastern Ghats, reach heights of up to 1,628 meters rise. In the Shevaroy Mountains lies the town of Yercaud, which is a popular tourist destination because of its pleasant climate, especially in the summer months.
The district Salem is divided into the nine taluks Mettur, Edappadi, Sankari, Omalur, Salem, Yercaud, Vazhapadi, Attur and Gangavalli.
History
The area of the district of Salem was in the course of its history under the influence of changing dynasties. Finally, it was controlled by the Kingdom of Mysore, before the ruler Tipu Sultan ceded the territory in 1792 to the British. The British annexed the area as a district Salem in the Province of Madras. After Indian independence, the district Salem came in the wake of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 to the newly formed State of Madras, which now included the Tamil-speaking areas and was renamed Tamil Nadu in 1969. The district initially covered a much larger area than today. 1965, the district Dharmapuri was formed from the northern part of the district of Salem, which included the area now Krishnagiri district. The remaining district Salem was again divided into the districts of Salem and Namakkal 1997.
Population
According to the Indian census of 2011, the District of Salem has 3,480,008 inhabitants. He is one of the most populous districts of Tamil Nadu. Compared to the last census in 2001 the population had grown by 15.4 percent. The growth rate corresponds to the average of Tamil Nadu ( 15.5 per cent). The population density is 663 inhabitants per square kilometer above the average of the state ( 555 inhabitants per square kilometer). 51.0 percent of the residents of the district Salem live in cities. The degree of urbanization is thus slightly higher than the average of Tamil Nadu ( 48.5 per cent). The literacy ratio, which was 73.2 percent of the average for India ( 74.0 percent), but is significantly lower than the mean of Tamil Nadu ( 80.3 per cent).
The population of the district are the Hindus according to the 2001 census, 95.6 percent of the vast majority. There are also smaller minorities of Muslims ( 2.6 per cent) and Christians ( 1.7 percent). With more than 100,000 members of the tribal population ( 3.4 percent of the population of the district ) belongs to the district Salem at the Siedlungssschwerpunkten the Adivasis in Tamil Nadu. Mostly it involves members of the Malayali tribe that settled in the Shevaroy Mountains and represent the majority of the population in and around Yercaud.
Economy
The district Salem is quite heavily industrialized: The city of Salem is a center of steel and textile industry, is located in Mettur a large chemical plant. The main industry is agriculture but still, in 2001 47.4 % of the district population is employed by the census. The area of Salem is known for quality mangoes. In the Shevaroy Mountains coffee is grown also. At the Stanley Reservoir also plays the fisheries as an economic factor, a certain role.