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

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
areas came under
ascended

the control of Mahendra

the throne

and its neighboring

Varma Pallava I, who

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

the

French

brought
1

or the

Tiruchirappalli

again with

English

the aid

of

either

armies. Finally the

English

and other areas under their

control.

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

East Longitude

Between

10
77 - 45'

to

11 - 30'

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:

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

Population

1000000

Rural
Urban

800000

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

No. of persons

700000

600000
524579
Rural
Urban

500000
435270
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.

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

singl e

roof

in

in

the

Tiruchirapalli city.
In

recent

years

there

is

tremendous

growth

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

departmental

stores

Sample
Division

selected
stores

(Universe of the
study)

Woraiyur

238

21

Palakarai 1

188

19

Palakarai 2

192

21

Gandhi Market

170

20

Myllam market 1

186

20

Myllam market 2

132

17

Singarathope

196

21

Rock Fort

152

21

Srirangam

181

19

Thiruverumbur

176

19

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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