Sulur
Sulur is a panchayat town and a taluk headquarters in Coimbatore District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
It is also a legislative constituency in the Coimbatore parliament constituency.
Sulur is located at 11°02 N 77°08 E / 11.03°N 77.13°E / 11.03°N 77.13°E.
It has an average elevation of 340 metres.
Sulur is the headquarters of the newly formed taluk.
Formerly, Sulur and adjacent areas were a part of renowned Palladam taluk of the integrated Coimbatore district.
The carvation of eastern parts of Coimbatore district into Tirupur district have given rise to this Taluk.
Sulur is a pleasant town situated very close to the cities of Coimbatore ( 19 km ) and Tirupur ( 35 km ).
Thereby it is a seat for various textile mills and weaving slots.
Sulur has a Railway station as well as an airforce station.
The twin lakes to the north of the town, bounding the Coimbatore – Nagapattinam highway adds a scenic view to the town.
The town is bifurcated into two parts by the holy Noyyal river.
Sulur is the eastern most town of the new Coimbatore district, thus it paves out the way to Trichy, Karur, Kumbakonam, Karaikudi, Madurai and other eastern parts of the state.
The History of Sulur dates back to about 2300 years ago ; ancient coins dating back to third century BC have been found at Sulur.
During the ninth century AD, Adithya Cholan introduced Agriculture in Sulur.
The Sulur Reservoir was constructed during the reign of Adithya Chola.
The Sulur pond was reconstructed in thirteenth century AD during the rule of Sundra Pandian.
Sulur was called Suralur until the ninth century and from the ninth century to fourteenth century it was called Ariyapirati Nallur, during the regime of Adithya Chola.
Until the eighteenth century it was called Sundrapandiya Nallur, during the regime of Sundra Pandiyan.
From eighteenth century it was called Suranur, which in due course got transformed to Sulur.
There are several theories for this name; it may be for a type of sugar cane, Sural, or for a previous ruler, Suranoor.
There is a rumour that previous name of Sulur was Suranoor.
As the Surasamsaram, the fight depicting the demon Suran and Lord Murugan, was famous in this place in earlier days, later the name transformed to ‘Suralur’ then in due course it got changed to the current name : ‘Sulur’.
The Megalithic pottery dating back to first century has been found in archeological digs at sulur and is currently in display at the British Museum, London.
The inscriptions on the pottery might even be from the harappa civilization.
Sulur is well connected by buses from Coimbatore and it has a small railway station.
The nearest domestic Airport is at Peelamedu, Coimbatore.
Sulur is about 30 minutes drive from the Coimbatore airport.
Buses connect Sulur to Tirupur, Palladam, Ukkadam, Gandhipuram, Peelamedu and all the nearby villages such as Kalangal.
Sulur has a Police Station, a BSNL telephone exchange and a Panchayat office.
Sulur has many cotton mills and provides employment to approximately 5,000 to 10,000 people from the surrounding area.
Most of the people who cannot continue their studies after school join these mills and the knitwear companies of Tirupur.
The local market opens near the Banks of Sulur river every Friday.
People from Sulur and from the nearby villages gather here and sell their vegetables and fruits.
The people of Sulur are known for their hospitality.
The ‘Pongal Vizha’ conducted in Sulur is very popular.
This Pongal Vizha is conducted in “Anna Kalaiarangam” which is the common stage in Sulur where all the get – togethers happen.
It is an annual event which encourages people from ages 6 to 60 to participate in a variety of games / events. It serves as a platform to bring in hidden talents from young kids to their grandparents. The Sulur Panchayat board started functioning on 30 August 1892. The Sulur Police Station came into existence in 1861 during the British Rule.
Until 1920, the police station was near the Girl’s High School.
After that it got shifted to Trichy road.
The Registrar Office opened on 1 January 1884.
The Electricity Board opened in Sulur on 1 November 1933, and the Telephone Exchange opened on 31 July 1961.
The Sulur Post Office was opened in June 1882.
The Sulur Telegram Office opened on 1 February, 1948 in the today’s Post Office.
The Cooperative Movement in Sulur started in 1911.
Sulur has produced various personalities non resident residing throughout the world including the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, France and Germany.
Another interesting fact is that many of the people from Sulur have the habit of adding the first letter ‘S’ from Sulur, along with their initials.
From February 22, 2009 Sulur started to function as the taluk headquarters in the bifurcated Coimbatore district.
Moreover the town is getting ready to face its first MLA election in 2011, as a separate constituency.