Needamangalam


Needamangalam formerly Yamunambalpuram, is a town panchayat in Thiruvarur district in the Cauvery Delta of Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Needamangalam was originally part of composite Tanjore District during British Raj until 1997 AD. In the 18th and 19th century, it was also called Yamunambalpuram. Needamangalam is the headquarters of the Needamangalam Taluk. The town is located 20 km east of Thanjavur, 80 km east of Tiruchirappalli and 318 km south of Chennai. Needamangalam is a junction for two busy highways, National Highway 67 is a National Highway in Southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka that runs from Nagapattinam, a sea-side town in Tamil Nadu to Gundlupet, Karnataka State Highway SH-66 connecting Kumbakonam with Adirampattinam via Mannargudi in Cauvery Delta.

History

Battle of Venni
According to Poruna-raatr-uppadai, Karikala Chola fought a great battle at Venni now Kovilvenni near Needamangalam in which both Pandya and Chera suffered crushing defeat. Besides the two crowned kings of the Pandya and Chera countries, eleven minor chieftains took their side in the campaign and shared defeat at the hands of Karikala. The Chera king, who was wounded on his back in the battle, committed suicide by starvation. Venni was the watershed in the career of Karikala which established him firmly on his throne and secured for him some sort of hegemony among the three crowned monarchs. Venni which is also known as Vennipparandalai and now it is known as Kovilvenni. Kovilvenni is situated at a distance of 3 km from Needamangalam.

Geography

The town is surrounded by three rivers and town limit could not extend any more within those boundaries. Hence it is also named as needatha mangalam means "limited area".
Needamangalam Taluk is crossed by the Vennar River in the north and the Koraiyar River in the south.
Near the Bay of Bengal, the Venner River branches into three major distributaries, the northern branch retains its original name, Vennar. Other two branches are the Paminiyaar and the Koraiyar. They flow down to Muthupet Lagoon and from there join the sea.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, the taluk of Needamangalam had a population of 147,451 with 72,695 males and 74,756 females. There were 1028 women for every 1000 men. The taluk had a literacy rate of 74.99. Child population in the age group below 6 was 6,869 Males and 6,643 Females.

Climate and Places

Needamangalam is abutted by the Vennar River in the north and the Koraiyar River in the south. Needamangalam experiences abundant rainfall during rainy season and severe weather drop towards November and December of every year.

Cultural aspects

Rail Transport
Nidamangalam Junction railway station acts a connecting station to Mannargudi railway station. Trains connecting Mannargudi to various places like Chennai Egmore, Tirupati, Coimbatore Chemmozhi Express. Thanjavur, Trichy, Nagapattinam, Karaikkal, Velankanni, Mayiladuthurai pass via Needamangalam. There is a long pending demand for a ROB at Needamangalam Junction which is announced during 2013-14 budget by Tamil Nadu Government and work in progress.
The "Great Southern of India Railway", aka Southern Railway zone opened its first line for traffic between Nagapattinam and Tanjore in 1861 that runs via Needamangalam Junction. Subsequently, the line was extended up to Tiruchirappalli in March 1862.
Road Transport
Air/Sea Transport
Nearest Airport is Tiruchirappalli International Airport at a distance of 80 km from Needamangalam, and nearest seaport is Nagapattinam Port at a distance of 50 km from the town.

Educational Institutions

Three kilometres from the town of Needamangalam, there is a spot called Munar Thalaippu, the Koraiyar headworks where three rivers discharge by means of fine masonry sluice. It is a picnic spot where the main Koraiyar branches into three distributaries namely Vennar, Vettar, Pamaniyar. The Water Storage and Dams were built by Cholas as a measure to control the flow during flood season and boost agriculture to the entire region. Huge crowd is witnessed during Diwali, Pongal festivals at this spot and the name "Neeradu Mangalam" to the town also comes from this aspect that it has got three rivers branching out. Government of Tamil Nadu recently named Munar Thalaippu as a State Tourism spot and announced financial packages, to improve facilities.

Notables from Needamangalam

Director of photography Mr.Gopinath who did cinematography for films like DHOOL, GHILLI,THADAM - is also from Needamangalam.
https://m.imdb.com/name/nm1420284/

Temples

Santhana Ramaswamy Temple is popular, couple who does not have children visit this temple with prayers seeking blessings for granting children. This temple was built in 18th century by Thanjavur Marathas. King Simhan ruled Chola Nadu. His wife, Queen Yamunambal had dipped in the holy tank and prayed Santhana Ramaswamy and was blessed with baby in the 18th century. This town hence got another name "Yamunambalpuram"