The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Agriculture in forefront

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Thursday, Feb 07, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Agriculture in forefront

— Photo N.Rajesh.

Great: A view of the Shenbagavalli Amman Temple tower in Kovilpatti.

Kovilpatti, situated on the north-western portion of Tuticorin district, is the gateway for entrants to Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts who were arriving from the northern parts of the state.

Located about 90 km from Madurai and about 65 km each from Tuticorin and Tirunelveli, the town is the headquarters of both the Kovilpatti taluk and the Kovilpatti revenue sub-division.

According to historians, development of the town dated back to 1876. But physical growth of the town was induced only after the establishment of Loyal Textiles in 1891 and setting up of government offices in 1911.

Historic temple

The development of the town was initially centred around the historic Shenbagavalli Amman temple situated at the backside of Gandhi stadium.

Built by King Shenbagavedhan, the temple has Poovanathaswamy, a form of Lord Shiva, as an important deity along with Shenbagavalli Amman.

Navarathri is celebrated with grandeur at the temple. Besides, a month-long festival is celebrated during the month of Margazhi at this holy shrine.

Agriculture

Though match industries and cotton ginning factories can be seen, agriculture continues to be the predominant occupation of the population in Kovilpatti taluk.

An Agricultural Research Station established in the town during the British regime in 1901 espouses the technical needs of the farmers in the area. The station has so far released about 55 varieties of various crops developed by its scientists, which helped the farmers to enhance the productivity.

Besides, new crop management techniques like pre monsoon sowing too were disseminated.

R. Vimal Kumar

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