Coimbatore City Map

Coimbatore, often called 'the Manchester of South India', is the second largest city in Tamil Nadu. On the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the scenic Western Ghats, the city is a major industrial center known for its factories, engineering firms, and automobile part manufacturers.

Administered by the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation, the city is a district headquarters as well .Most of the urban development is outside the Municipal Corporation limits as the residential areas of the city have grown around existing industrial areas. The main industrial areas are at Peelamedu, Ganapathy, SITRA, Kurichi industrial estate (SIDCO), and Velandipalayam.

Three major national highways pass through the city- The NH 47, NH 67 and NH 209.

The city itself has seven major arterial roads- Avinashi road ,Pallakad ( part of the NH47) , Trichy Road , Mettupalayam road (part of the NH 67), Pollachi road ( part of the NH209), Marudhamalai, and Satyamangalam Road . The railway station is in the southwest part of the city. There are two major bus stands north of the railway station and one bus stand south of it. The town bus stand is at Gandhipuram for buses for intra city travel and the Singanallur bus stand is for buses for intercity travel to neighboring towns and cities. As the city is the main entry point into the neighboring state of Kerala and to Ooty and other hill stations at Nilgiri Hills, the railway junction and bus stands are often very crowded. With a high vehicle to population ratio, the roads are choked with traffic.

Coimbatore has only 40% of its area covered with underground sewage systems. Open and lined drains often run next to the roads.

Places of worship

Though Coimbatore is a traditional city, it is also one of the cosmopolitan cities in Tamil Nadu and has a variety of places of worship for all faiths. The main places of worship are the Patteswarar temple, Perur temple, Arulmigu Echanari Vinayakar temple, Koniamman Koil temple, Saibaba temple, Athar Jamad Mazid, Gurudwara and Jain temple at R S Puram, Immanuel Church, and Christ Church.

Education and Sports

With over 80% literacy rate and a number of government and private educational institutions, the city is the educational hub of the state. The main colleges and universities are; Government College of Technology, Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Coimbatore Medical College, Coimabatore Law College, the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Anna University, Bharathiar University, Amrita University, Karpagam University and the Avinashilingam university. Apart from these there are a number of research institutes such as the Institute for Forest Genetics and Tree breeding, Indian council for Forestry Research & Education, and the Tamil Nadu institute of Urban Studies.

Coimbatore has a 3.2 kilometer long racing track, the Kari Motor speedway at Chettipalayam. National Championship races for Go-Karting, Motor Cycle racing and Formula (car racing) are conducted regularly on the track. Football tournaments, cricket matches and other athletic events are held at Nehru Stadium, a multipurpose stadium near V O Chidambaram Park in the heart of the city.

Shopping

With a number of small and medium textile mills, as well as textile research institutes such as Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR) and the South Indian Textile Research Association (SITRA), and exhibition halls, Coimbatore is the hub of cotton textile trade.

The main shopping areas in Coimbatore are the Big bazaar Street, Oppanakara Street, Raja street, and Rangey Gounder street. Sukravarpetti (for handloom sarees), Chinthamani supermarket, Poompuhar handicrafts Emporium and Co-optex near Nehru stadium are other popular places.

Last Updated on : 07 April 2011