CHAPTER - III

A PROFILE OF TIRUCHIRAPPALLI THE AREA OF STUDY

III.1. INTRODUCTION

The district of Tiruchirappalli, was formerly called by the

British as Trichinopoly and is commonly known as Tiruchi. It is

the fourth largest city in the state of Tamil Nadu after Chennai,

Madurai and Coimbatore with an estimated population of 1 1,39,534

(as of 2009) exclusively in the city zone . It is situated in the centre

of the state, on the banks of river Cauvery.

Tiruchirappalli may well be termed as one of the prominent

educational and fast developing industrial centres of Tamil Nadu.

Tiruchi is a Municipal Corporation and the administrative

headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district.

The most famous landmark of Trichy is the Rockfort temple

which is perched on a huge rocky out crop, 83 metres in height,

from where one can enjoy a panoramic view of Tiruchirapalli. This

smooth crop was first hewn by the Pallavas but it was the Nayaks

of Madurai who later built the Rock fort temple , which was also

used as their military fort. Hence Trichy is also called as Rock

City. Around the rock temple is a busy commercial region , mainly

known for its textiles, several departmental stores and bazaars

holding imported goods. Trichy city also encompasses Srirangam, a

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Vaishnavite temple which is one of the biggest functioning Hindu

temples in the world. There are a few forts located within the city

and the prominent among them are Golden Rock, Rock Fort,

Kajamalai and one in Thiruverumbur.

III.2 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Woraiyur , a part of present day Tiruchirappalli, was the

capital city of Cholas from 300 B.C. onwards. This is supported

by archaeological evidences and ancient literatures 1. The oldest

human-built dam, Kallanai, about 10 miles from Woraiyur, was

built by Karikala Cholan across the river Cauvery. Later, Woraiyur

along with the present day Tiruchirappalli and its neighboring

areas came under the control of Mahendra Varma Pallava I, who

ascended the throne in A.D. 590. It was in A.D. 880,

Aditya Chola brought a downfall to the Pallava dynasty and their

region also became a part of Greater Cholas. In A.D. 1225 the area

was occupied by the Hoysulas. Afterwards, it came under the rule

of later Pandyas till the advent of Mughal Rule. The short span of

Mughal rule was put to an end by the Vijayanagar rulers. The

Nayaks, the Governors of Vijayanagar empire, ruled this area till

A.D. 1736. It was Viswanatha Nayaka who built the present day

Teppakulam and the Fort. After the fall of the Nayaks dynasty,

the Muslims ruled this region again with the aid of either

the French or the English armies. Finally the English

brought Tiruchirappalli and other areas under their control.

1 www.trichy.co.in

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Soon after the area was ceded to East India Comp any as per the

agreement at the eve of the Kanatic war, Tiruchirappalli di strict

was formed under the Collectorship of Mr. John (Junior) Wallace in

1801. The district was then under the hegemony of British for

about 150 years till the independence of India.

III.3 GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE

North Latitude Between 10 to 11 - 30'

East Longitude Between 77 - 45' to 78 - 50' 2

The topology of Trichy is flat. It lies at an altitude of 78 m

above sea level. The river Kaveri (also called Cauvery) and the

river Coleroon (also called Kollidam) flows through Trichy, the

latter forms the northern boundary of the city.

There are a few reserve forests along the river Cauvery,

located at the west and the north -west of the city. The southern and

the south-western part of the district are dotted by several hills

which are thought to be an offset of the western ghats. Eastern

ghats also pass through the district. The soil here is considered to

be very fertile. As two rivers flow through the city, the northern

part of the city is filled with greeneries rathe r than other areas of

the city.

Tiruchi has a moderately dry climate, with humidity slightly

above normal. The city experiences mild winters and humid

2 www.tn.gov.co.in

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summers. The monsoon rains in this part of the country over the

past few years have become unpredictable, with the rainy season

starting between mid-October and early-November and extending

until early or mid-January.

III.4 DEMOGRAPHY

Tiruchirappalli is a centrally located inland district, without

any sea-coastline. This district has an area of 11,095 square

kilometers, bounded on the north by Namakkal district, to the east

by Thanjavur district, to the south by Sivaganga and Madurai

districts and to the west by Karur district 3.

III.5 POPULATION

According to 2001 census, the population of T iruchirappalli

district was 41.14 lakhs, ranked fourth in the state, with a density

of 371 per square kilometers. 73 .27 percent of the total population

live in rural areas whereas only 26.73 percent live in urban area, as

it is clear from the following table:

3 www.tn.gov.co.in

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 Table III.1

Population in Tiruchirappali district by residence and gender.

No. of Persons Male Female

Total 4114323 2074415 2039908

Rural 3014698 1515984 1498714

Urban 1099625 558431 541194

Source: Tiruchirappalli Corporation

Chart III.1
Population in Tiruchirappali district by residence and
gender.

1600000
1515984 1498714

1400000

1200000

1000000
Population

Rural
800000
Urban

600000 558431 541194

400000

200000

0
Male Female
Gender

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 Table III.2

Literates in Tiruchirappalli district by residence and gender

No. of Persons Male Female

Total 2211211 1337304 873907

Rural 1426513 902034 524579

Urban 784698 435270 349328

Source: Tiruchirappalli Corporation

As per the above table, out of the rural population of

3014698, only 1426513 are literates showing the literacy level at 47

percent. But amongst urban population, lit eracy level is quite high

at 71 percent. The percentage of literacy to the total population is

54.

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 Chart III.2
Literates in Tiruchirappalli district by residence and gender

1000000

902034
900000

800000

700000

600000
No. of persons

524579
Rural
500000
435270 Urban

400000
349328

300000

200000

100000

0
Male Female
Gender

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III.6 INDUSTRIAL GROWTH AND ECONOMY

Trichy is a major engineering hub and fabrication centre. This

district has seen considerable advancement in modern

industrialization, particularly, after the advent of Bharat Heavy

Electricals Limited (BHEL), with an array of ancillary units around

it. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited is a leading Power Plant

manufacturer in the world 4. At Tiruchirapalli, the High Pressure

Boiler Plant of the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited was setup in

1963. Now, it is one of the foremost manufacturing facilities within

BHEL and it has 3 major plants namely, High Pressure Boiler Plant,

Seamless Steel Tube Plant and Boiler Auxiliaries Plant. A labour

force of 1,20,000 is absorbed in the industrial belt around Trichy

Town. It is a highly profitable public sector undertaking, which

along with its ancillary industries, contribute nearly 6000 crores of

rupees per annum. BHEL is the first state -owned company to

acquire ISO 9000 certification during 1993, for all its operations.

Further it has been accredited to ISO 14001 Standard. There are

also many BHEL groomed small to medium industries in the

national and the international market such as Cethar vessels,

Vessons Energy systems, Anand Engineeering, GB industries and

Adela Software and Services Private limited.

4 Live registrar of Tiruchirappalli Municipal Corporation Limited.

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 The Ordinance Factory (HAPP and small Arms Project),

Golden Rock Locomotive Workshop, Sugar mills, Paper mills and

Dalmia cements etc., have enabled Tiruchirappalli district to find a

place in the industrial map of the country.

Recently, the government has taken initiatives for setting up

Information Technology Park in the city which would shoot up the

economy of the city. More ove r the city has many reputed MNC s

and still many more to pop up.

This district does not lag behind in respect of banking

facilities. With 516 branches of commercial banks and 87 branches

of co-operative banks spread throughout the district, there is a

steady flow of credit, to and from the industrial sectors.

III.7 DEPARTMENTAL STORES IN TIRUCHIRAPPALLI CITY

The Tiruchirappalli city being a big educational center, a

center of business transaction and a developing center of focus for

Information Technology companies, is well knitted with the

transport facilities. Comprising of customers of varied status, in the

recent years the retail marketing has gained mome ntum in

Tiruchirappalli city, meet ing the needs of the customers under one

roof.

As retailing is the final stage in the distribution process (from

manufacturers to consumers), the retailer plays an intermediary rol e

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as he collects an assortment of goods and services from various

sources and offers them to the customers. With the growing needs

and expectations, the retailer is in the threshold of providing a

worldclass comfortable shopping and work environment for

customers and employees respectively. The departmental stores in

Tiruchirappalli city have become a life style center s often with

products that speak to shoppers of various demography and age

group. The emergence of new departmental stores meet s out the

varied demands of the customers under a singl e roof in

Tiruchirapalli city.

In recent years there is a tremendous growth in the

departmental stores and the buying habits of the customers in

Tiruchirappalli city. According to the statistics provided by the

Sales tax office, Tiruchirappalli city has be en divided into 10

divisions. The following table reflects the statistics of the study

area and the sample distribution used in the study.

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 Table III.3

Departmental stores in Tiruchirappalli City

No. of

No.of departmental
Sample
Division departmental stores
selected
stores (Universe of the

study)

Woraiyur 238 21 2

Palakarai 1 188 19 2

Palakarai 2 192 21 2

Gandhi Market 170 20 2

Myllam market 1 186 20 2

Myllam market 2 132 17 2

Singarathope 196 21 2

Rock Fort 152 21 2

Srirangam 181 19 2

Thiruverumbur 176 19 2

Total 1911 198 20

The table shows the ten divisions of Tiru chirappalli city and

the total number of departmental stores in each division. The

departmental stores with large plinth area, serving large number of

customers by providing suffici ent product mix were selected for the

present study. Out of 1911 departmental stores only 198 stores fall

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within the purview of the definition of sample taken in the study.

Thus two shops from each division were taken as the source to

collect the primary data.

III.8 TIRUCHIRAPPALLI CITY MAP

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