Salem District

Salem District is a district of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The city of Salem is the district headquarters. Other major towns in the district are Mettur, Omalur and Attur. The district is well connected by rail and road networks.

Salem district is known for its mangoes, steel and Mettur dam, which is a major source of irrigation and drinking water for the state of Tamil Nadu.

History:

Salem was the largest district in Tamil Nadu before it was bifurcated into two as Salem and Dharmapuri districts. Later, Salem district was again divided with the formation of the Namakkal district.The first cinema theater named Modern Theater was in Salem[citation needed].And it is the fourth urbanized city next to madurai.

Geography:

Mettur Dam across Kaveri river in Salem district

Salem is a Geologist's paradise, surrounded by hills and the landscape dotted with hillocks. Salem has vibrant culture dating back to the ancient Kongu Nadu. As a district, Salem has its significance in various aspects. Yercard is one of important tourism in Salem.

Modern Theatres was started by T R Sundaram in 1937, soon after the era of silent films ended in the South Indian film industry. It is built on nearly nine acres of land at the foot of the picturesque Yercaud hills. Sundaram or TRS as he was known, chose his location well. He was able to access verdant and beautiful shooting sites for his films within a 50 kilometer radii. He was also able to hire cheap and efficient labour in lightboys, cameramen and starstruck locals for his films. He produced nearly 117 films in Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Sinhalese and other languages. Most of them were box office hits and he is credited with introducing M Karunanidhi, M G Ramachandran, M N Nambiar and Jayashankar to films. Sundaram was a punctuality freak and forced his crew to follow. It is rumoured that he would not hesitate to shout or use fists against rebellious actors. After his death in the 1970's, his son Sundaram continued his tradition shooting cowboy remake films with actor Jayashankar in the lead roles. However by then, the focus had shifted to studios in Chennai. After the younger Sundaram died, his widow Kalavani gave the studios to building promoters in 2004. The studios were demolished except for a small signpost and the gigantic stone arch with the Modern Theatres sign. Today it is the entrance to a township of bungalows and small flats called Sundaram Gardens. However nostalgic fans often visit the spot to gaze at the arch and relive the more exciting times. This includes current Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi.

Hills:

* Nagaramalai
* Jeragamalai
* Kanjamalai
* Godumalai
* Kalrayan Hills
* Pachaimalai
* Shervaroyan Hills
* Eastern Ghats
* Sankagiri malai
   
Rivers:

Thirumanimuthar
Vasishta Nathi
Kaveri
sarabanga nathi
   
Minerals:

* Iron
* Magnasite

Education:

Salem is known for its quality educational institutes, ranging from Government schools, Arts and Science colleges to prestigious Engineering colleges like Sona College of Technology. Salem has 2 Universities, Periyar University and Vinayaka Mission University Deemed University). There are several medical schools (including of Dental, Homeopathy, Siddha, Yogic and Naturopathy Colleges .


    Revenue Divisions                                            2

    Taluks                                                             4

    Blocks                                                           15

    Corporation & Municipalities                           5

    Town Panchayats                                          19

    Revenue Villages                                          391

    Panchayat Villages                                       331