History: The region around Chennai has served as an important administrative, military, and economic centre for many centuries.. The Portuguese first arrived in 1522 and built a port called Sao Tome after the Christian apostle, St. Thomas, who is believed to have preached in the area between 52 and 70 AD.
In 1612, the Dutch established themselves near Pulicat, north of Chennai. On 22 August 1639, which is referred to as Madras Day, the British East India Company bought a small strip of land on the Coromandel Coast. They got a license to build a fort and a castle in the contracted region.The ruler Damarla Chennappa Nayakudu, the Nayaka of Vandavasi, granted the British permission to build a factory and warehouse for their trading enterprises. The region was then primarily a fishing village known as "Madraspatnam". A year later, the British built Fort St.
George, the first major British settlement in India, which became the nucleus of the growing colonial city In 1746, Fort St. George and Madras were captured by the French under General La Bourdonnais, the Governor of Mauritius, who plundered the town and its outlying villages.The British regained control in 1749 through the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle and strengthened the town's fortress wall to withstand further attacks from the French and Hyder Ali, the Sultan of Mysore. By the late 18th century, the British had conquered most of the region around Tamil Nadu and the northern modern–day states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, establishing theMadras Presidency with Madras as the capital. Gradually, the city grew into a major naval base and became the central administrative center for the British in South India.
With the advent of railways in India in the 19th century, the thriving urban centre was connected to other important cities such as Bombay and Calcutta, promoting increased communication and trade with the hinterland. Sir Arthur Lawley was Governor of Madras from 1906 to 1911 and promoted modern agriculture, industry, railways, education, the arts and more democratic governance. The Governor lived in Government House, Fort St George, a palatial residence with numerous servants, and had an official Daimler car at his disposal. In the First World War as Red Cross Commissioner in Mesopotamia, he looked after the welfare of Indian soldiers.
Madras was the only Indian city to be attacked by the Central Powers during World War I, when an oil depot was shelled by the German light cruiser SMS Emden on 22 September 1914, as it raided shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean, causing disruption to shipping. After India gained its independence in 1947, the city became the capital of Madras State, which was renamed as Tamil Nadu in 1969. The violent agitations of 1965 against the compulsory imposition of Hindi in the state marked a major shift in the political dynamics of the city and eventually it had a big impact on the whole state.On 26 December 2004, an Indian Ocean tsunami lashed the shores of Chennai, killing 206 people in Chennai and permanently altering the coastline. Geography: Chennai, sometimes referred to as the "Gateway to South India," is located on the south–eastern coast of India in the north–eastern part of Tamil Nadu on a flat coastal plain known as the Eastern Coastal Plains. Its average elevation is around 6.
7 metres (22 ft), and its highest point is 60 m (200 ft). Two major rivers meander through Chennai, the Cooum River (or Koovam) through the centre and the Adyar River to the south.A third river, the Kortalaiyar, flows through the northern fringes of the city before draining into the Bay of Bengal, at Ennore. A protected estuary on the Adyar forms a natural habitat for several species of birds and animals.
The Buckingham Canal, 4 km (2. 5 mi) inland, runs parallel to the coast, linking the two rivers. The Otteri Nullah, an east–west stream, runs through north Chennai and meets the Buckingham Canal atBasin Bridge. Several lakes of varying size are located on the western fringes of the city.Some areas of the city have the problem of excess iron content in groundwater Chennai's soil is mostly clay, shale and sandstone Climate: Chennai has a tropical wet and dry climate. The city lies on the thermal equator and is also on the coast, which prevents extreme variation in seasonal temperature.
The weather is hot and humid for most of the year. The hottest part of the year is late May to early June, known regionally as Agni Nakshatram with maximum temperatures around 35–40 °C (95–104 °F).The coolest part of the year is January, with minimum temperatures around 15–22 °C (59–72 °F). The lowest temperature recorded is 13. 8 °C (56.
°F)and the highest recorded temperature is 45 °C (113 °F). The average annual rainfall is about 140 cm (55 in). The city gets most of its seasonal rainfall from the north–east monsoon winds, from mid–October to mid–December. Cyclones in the Bay of Bengal sometimes hit the city. The highest annual rainfall recorded is 257 cm (101 in) in 2005. Prevailing winds in Chennai are usually southwesterly between April and October[64] and northeasterly during the rest of the year.
Beaches and parks: The old corporation limit of Chennai has a total coast length of about 19 km, which has more than doubled with the expanded corporation limits.Marina Beach runs for 6 km (3. 7 mi), spanning along the shoreline of the city between the deltas of Cooum and Adyar, and is the second longest urban beach in the world. Elliot's Beach lies south of the Adyar delta.
Chennai is one of the few cities in the world that accommodates a national park, the Guindy National Park, within its limits. The city has an estimated 4. 5 percent of its area under green cover, Politics: Chennai remained the centre of politics in the southern region of India during the British era. After Independence, it remained the centre of political activities of the state of Tamil Nadu.Chennai is the birthplace of the idea of the Indian National Congress, commonly known as the Congress Party. During the first 50 years of the Indian National Congress, the city played host to its conferences seven times in 1887, 1894, 1898, 1903, 1908, 1914 and 1927, becoming one of the strong bases for theIndian independence movement.
Chennai is also the birthplace of several regional political movements since the British era. South Indian Welfare Association, one of the earliest regional parties, was founded in 1916, which later came to be known as the Justice Party.The Anti-Hindi agitations in mid-1960s made the DMK more popular and more powerful political force in the state. The agitations of the 1960s played a crucial role in the defeat of the Tamil Nadu Congress party in the 1967 elections and the continuing dominance of Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu politics.
Administration: Chennai city is governed by the Chennai Corporation (formerly "Corporation of Madras"), which was established in 1688. It is the oldest municipal corporation in India and the second oldest corporation in the world.In 2011, the jurisdiction of the Chennai Corporation was expanded from 174 km2 (67 sq mi) to an area of 426 km2 (164 sq mi),[84] dividing into three regions—North, South and Central, which covers 200 wards. The corporation is headed by anIndian Administrative Service officer. The Mayor and councillors of the city are elected through a popular vote by the residents The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) is the nodal agency responsible for planning and development of Chennai Metropolitan Area.
The larger suburbs are overned by town municipalities, and the smaller are governed by town councils called panchayats. Chennai, as the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu, houses the state executive and legislative headquarters primarily in the Secretariat Buildings in the Fort St George campus. The Madras High Court, is the highest judicial authority in the state, whose jurisdiction extends across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. LAW AND ORDER : The Greater Chennai Police is the main law enforcement agency in the city. It consists of 121 Police stations and is headed by a commissioner of police.The Chennai police is a division of the Tamil Nadu Police, and the administrative control lays with the Tamil Nadu Home Ministry.
Chennai City Traffic Police (CCTP) is responsible for the traffic management in the city. The Metropolitan suburbs are policed by the Chennai Metropolitan Police, In 2011, North Chennai zone had 30 police stations and 3 police out posts, Central Chennai zone had 28 police stations and 3 police out posts, and South Chennai zone had 30 police stations. Utility services: The city's water supply and sewage treatment are managed by the Chennai MetroWater Supply and Sewage Board.Water is drawn from Red Hills Lake and Chembarambakkam Lake, the primary water reservoirs of the city,and treated at water treatment plants and supplied to the city through 27 water distribution stations. There are 714 public toilets in the city managed by the city corporation, The Corporation of Chennai provides civic services to the city. Garbage collection in some of the wards is contracted to Ramky Enviro Engineers Limited, a private company, while the Corporation looks after the removal and processing of solid waste .
Eight transfer stations exist within the city for treating the waste .The civic body also spends 4,000 million a year on solid waste management Electricity is distributed by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. Fire services are handled by the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Service. [The city, along with the suburbs, has 33 operating fire stations Housing : There are about 1,240 slums in Chennai home to about 1.
4 million people. Per 2011 census, there are 1. 1 million households in the city and the residential housing stock available is 1. 15 million – a surplus of about 50,000 houses. About 43,700 of them are kept vacant.
As of 2012, an estimated population of 11,116 (0. 16 percent) were homeless. Music and performing arts. music and performing arts: Chennai is a major centre for music, art and culture in India. The city is known for its classical dance shows. An arts festival called the Chennai Sangamam, which showcases not only various arts of Tamil Nadu but also from the neighbouring states, like kalari (from Kerala), which is a major attraction, is held in January every year.
Chennai is also known for Bharata Natyam, a classical dance form that originated in Tamil Nadu and is the oldest dance form of India.An important cultural centre for Bharata Natyam is Kalakshetra, on the beach in the south of the city. Chennai is also home to some choirs, who during the Christmas season stage various carol performances across the city in Tamil and English. Tourism and Recreation: With temples, beaches and centres of historical and cultural significance, including the UNESCO Heritage Site of Mahabalipuram, Chennai remains the most visited city in India. In 2011, Chennai was ranked 41st in global top 100 city destination ranking, with 3,174,500 tourists, Zoo, beaches, and wildlife parks form the primary recreation areas of the city.
The Arignar Anna Zoological Park, one of the largest zoological parks in the world, attracts nearly 2 million visitors per year. The city boasts two popular beaches, the Marina and Elliot's. Guindy National Park, a protected area of Tamil Nadu, has a children's park and a snake park, which gained statutory recognition as a medium zoo from the Central Zoo Authority of India in 1995. Chennai houses several theme parks, namely MGM Dizzee World and Queens Land.
Other important recreation centres include Madras Boat Club, and Gymkhana Club, which is famous for its 18-hole golf courses.Chennai is home to several malls, due to its status as an IT hub. Communication: Chennai is one of the four cities in India through which the country is connected with the rest of the world through undersea fiber-optic cables. The city is thelanding point of major submarine telecommunication cable networks.
Nine mobile phone service companies operate and there are four land line companies. Chennai was the first Indian city to have the Wi-Fi facility in a widespread manner. Chennai had the fourth highest number of active Internet users in India, with 2. million users.
. Health care: Chennai has world-class medical facilities, including both government-run and private hospitals. Chennai attracts about 45 percent of health tourists from abroad and 30 percent to 40 percent of domestic health tourists.The city has been termed India's health capital. The city has more than 12,500 beds in its hospitals, including about 5,000 in multi-specialty hospitals in the private sector and over 6,000 beds in the public sector. Education : Chennai is in second place for literacy among metropolitan city centers in India with a 90.
3 percent literacy rate. [291] Chennai has a mix of public and private schools. The public school system is managed by the Chennai Corporation with an enrollment of 142,387 students in over 330 schools. [292] Tamil and English are the primary media of instruction.
Public schools run by the Chennai Corporation are all affiliated with the Tamil Nadu State Board, while private schools may be affiliated with either of the Tamil Nadu Board of Secondary Education or the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).Education in Chennai starts with two years of Kindergarten from age three onward and then follows the Indian 10+2+3 plan, ten years of school, two years of higher secondary education, and three years of undergraduate education. English is the medium of instruction in the majority of institutions for higher education. [ The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) and the Anna University are two well known centers for engineering education in the city.
The Indian Army's Officers Training Academy is also headquartered in the city.
