Vilathikulam is a panchayat town in Tuticorin district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a small town near the southern tip of mainland India.

In past years Vilathikulam was a larger town in comparison with Tuticorin or Kovilpatti, but over the years, Kovilpatti grew industrially due to its strategic location on the National Highway, and Tuticorin developed into a port city and with that industrialization followed.

Vilathikulam is located in the heart of the Karisal Kaadu region (Karisal meaning "black soiled"). The soil in this area is black and has a clay-like stickiness. The climate of Karisal Kaadu is semi-arid, with hot and dry summers. Both the temperature and humidity are usually high, being close to the equator and barely 25 kilometres from the shore. The clay-like soil retains moisture well; although crops like paddy and sugarcane can never be grown in this area, many 'punsei' (colloquial Tamil: PUNJAI) crops such as green chili and sunflower can be grown. Only a few kinds of tree grow in the Vilathikulam region: palm trees, umbrella-like thorny trees called "Kuda maram" in Tamil (Kudai=Umbrella, Maram=tree), and thorny bushes.

Vilathikulam is a peaceful little town, on the northern bank of the Vaipar river, which has water flowing only 7 days per year. But it is a major attraction as the bridge connecting the Vilathikulam town on the southern side to the Kovilpatti and Tuticorin routes gets submerged completely. It is a single lane bridge constructed during the British Era and is about 1.5 km in length. When there are buses or trucks needing to cross, they flash their lights and the other side, the traffic waits. Since the traffic volume is very low, it does not result in traffic snarls.

As the panacea of water problem a dam has been constructed across Vaipar in 2006.

Vilathikulam owes its name to a temple pond. "Vila" + "Athi" + "Kulam". The Meenakshi Amman temple has a temple pond, which had a "Vila" tree and an "Athi" tree. Hence the name. Every year during Chitrai month, (same day and dates as of Madurai Meenakshi amman Temple), Chitrai Festival is celebrated and ended with a Car Festival crowded by the people from nearby villages.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, Vilathikulam had a population of 13,540. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Vilathikulam has an average literacy rate of 72%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 77%, and female literacy is 67%. In Vilathikulam, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Economy

Absence of industries around Vilathikulam makes its economy to be solely dependent on agriculture. Main business of this area is dry chilly.

Education

No town in Tamilnadu could have such poor infrastructure. There are only two higher secondary schools. Government school is far away from providing quality education. People of upper middle class and upper class send their children to big cities near by (Madurai, Thoothukudi, Aruppukkottai and Kovilpatti) for education. Others have no option than to be complaisant with government school. Despite this, from this little town every year a minimum of 5 to 10 students join the Professional Institution. The panchayat Union school for primary education which is more than 100 years old, brought out many brilliant administrators/educationist over the years. The people of this town necessarily needs a College and Polytechnic for further development of the town.

List of schools:

The panchayat Union School (Tamil Only ) Government higher secondary school (Tamil only) Kaviarasar annamalai reddiyar memorial girls higher secondary school (Tamil & English) Sharon Matriculation Higher Secondary School (English)

Entertainment

There is only one talkies and it shows 2 shows, evening and night

Health

People here should be fortunate enough to have good doctors around. Dr.Athimuthu, Dr.K.R.Rajamohan, Dr.Wellwisher, Dr. Mrs. Nalini Wellwisher, Dr. Rosaline Thayammal and Dr.Balamurugan are notable among them. Even government hospital is doing a great service. Most of the people still depends on the government's medical service. A small concern of worry is that there is no any specialty hospital available here. Something is better than nothin..! People value this quote highly.

References

External links

• About Tamilnadu other places