Coimbatore was known as Kovanpadhi during the Sangam Era. The Noyyal was the gift of nature to the region. This small river fuelled an ancient civilisation. The people farmed, had cattle in order to supplement their income in a place known for lesser rainfall. Weavers and craftsmen and potters were involved in production. Forest produce was sourced through the tribal populace who lived near the western ghats. The infrastructure was just provided by nature and pollution was minimal. Noyyal waters were tasty because of the huge amlas ( gooseberry ) that fell into them from the riparian forests.
Coimbatore was known as Kovanpadhi during the Sangam Era. The Noyyal was the gift of nature to the region. This small river fuelled an ancient civilisation. The people farmed, had cattle in order to supplement their income in a place known for lesser rainfall. Weavers and craftsmen and potters were involved in production. Forest produce was sourced through the tribal populace who lived near the western ghats. The infrastructure was just provided by nature and pollution was minimal. Noyyal waters were tasty because of the huge amlas ( gooseberry ) that fell into them from the riparian forests. Perur had a tiny shrine for Lord Patteswarar, the deity who was revered by the grazers. Koniamman, was the Mother Goddess and she was the deity for the tribal people and farmers alike. People went about with their work during the Sangam Age when merchants from the Middle East, Greece and Rome came over in order to purchase goods for their people. They had their own infrastructure in Vellalore. The Cholas under Aditya ( 875 - 907 ) conquered this region and created the hydrological infrastructure. They created check dams, canals, lakes etc., along with the trading area known as Pettai during their period of governance. This created an agricultural boom in the region. The rulers of Vijayanagar took over in the fourteenth century and the fort came up due to their efforts. Coimbatore became the rallying point for the garrison and the Polygars had to report with their armies at the fort. Commerce flourished under the Naicks of Madurai ( Viceroys under Vijayanagar ) who added to the infrastructure. The rulers of Mysore ( seventeenth century ) took over and built a few temples. This was followed by the rule of Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan ( eighteenth century ) and the incessant wars caused a lot of hardship for the people. The fort was razed down by Tipu in 1793 and the city had to wait until the third quarter of the nineteenth century for further development. European inexperience and misrule had also caused a lot of hardship for the people.
Modern infrastructure was created with the advent of railways under the Europeans. New roads were created in order to facilitate movement of troops and materials in aid of the English. Of course the locals used it too. Industry came through Sir Robert Stanes who founded C.S. & W Mills. The visionary S.P.Narasimhalu Naidu studied the Siruvani in the nineteenth century and suggested that it be harnessed in the interest of the town. It took another forty years and the waters of Siruvani were brought by C.S.Rathinasabapathy Mudaliar ( 1886 - 1956) during his tenure as the Chairman ( 1921 - 1936 ) of the Coimbatore Municipality ( 1929 ). CSR, the Chairman did much for the infrastructure of Coimbatore. R.S.Puram and Ramnagar were created. The plans had been drawn during the tenure of T.A.Ramalingam Chettiar itself. Bridges, the Kumaran Market, roads, schools etc., came up in a rapid pace. The infrastructure created by Rathinasabapathy Mudaliar and District Board Chairman V.C.Vellingiri Gounder added to the well being of the city. This infrastructure has been serving the city loyally for decades now and in spite of population expansion.
Tamilnadu is an urbanised state and nearly 48 % of the people live in the cities. It is time that the people and the authorities think in a practical manner in order to make the cities liveable for eternity. Otherwise the cities will go waste and its a crime to waste resources. Several programmes were created to make self sufficient cities and JNNURM ( named after Jawaharlal Nehru ) was among them. Now the SMART CITY programme is underway. Each of these initiatives have had their own results. Let us now look at the old demographics, finances and infrastructure briefly after having celebrated the Coimbatore Day on November 24.
Coimbatore was about 4.2 square miles in between 1800 and 1870. The population moved from 15,000 to 35,000 during the same period. It increased to 95000 plus by 1931. It had just been 65,000 in 1921. Bus transport and commerce along with the good civilian infrastructure created by Rathinasabapathy Mudaliar had accelerated the migration. Let us credit G.D.Naidu for the buses. The city stood on an area of 7.5 square miles between 1931 and it was 10 square miles in 1951. Meanwhile the population moved upto 194,000 by 1951. It had more than doubled in 20 years. The migrants and the baby boomers must thank the textile industry for that.
The Municipal Administration was carried out by a council which had 36 members and they met twice a month. Chairman S.R.P.Ponnuswamy Chettiar had done a lot for Coimbatore. Eleven committees carried out work on behalf of the council - Appointment Committee, and committee existed separately for each area : finance, bill passing, appeal, land developers, contract, town planning, public health, education, works and other enterprises. A five year programme for dustless surfacing of roads began in the early fifties of the last century at a budget of Rs.350,000. The travellers bungalow had got refurbished. The beggar home sponsored by the noble citizens, a special home for the infirm and diseased beggars had been in place from 1947. The inmates who had stayed in the Langarkhana since 1871 were moved there. A sum of Rs.4000 was spent on it annually. In the deaf and dumb school, the pupils were taught speech, language, speech reading, sense training, arithmetic, articulation, history, geography, social adjustment, drawing, spinning, dress making, needle work and tailoring. Rs.7500 was allotted for this in 1952.
The total number of street lights were 3637 in 1953 and Mercury lamps had been 154. Three traffic round abouts had ornamental dome lights. There were 6 fluorescent tubular lights and 52 high power lamps. The total expenditure on the lights had been around Rs.60000 in 1954. The Siruvani scheme was completed in 1933 - 34 and capital expenditure on water supply had been Rs.94 lakhs upto 1953. The supply of water in 1952 - 53 had been 1,10,00,00,500 gallons and it worked out to 15.4 gallons per head per day.
Let us now look at health and sanitation. Eight hospitals and five maternity centres were under the municipality. There had been good protection from Cholera, Small pox, Plague and Malaria due to the steps taken by the authorities. The cost of hospital maintenance had been Rs.100,000 and the maternity homes - Rs.50,000. The capital expenditure that had been incurred for the drainage scheme until 1953 had been Rs.24 lakhs. 50 public toilets and 6 flush out latrines were in function. A night soil depot was maintained in which all compost was manufactured from 1954 from the rubbish and night soils collected in the wards. The compost thus manufactured was sold to farmers. A sewage farm measuring 90 acres had an officer from the agricultural department as the in charge person. 72.5 acres of the sewage farm was under cultivation and was yielding well.
Compulsory elementary education was in force from 1933. In 1953 there were 22 elementary schools with a strength of 8382 puplis. Private schools are not counted. 4 % of the full population was in the elementary schools. 200 people were in about 10 adult schools. Special attention was paid to the Dalit community who got free books and slates. The poor and deserving were given free meals and it cost Rs.4000 per annum. A sum of Rs.256,200 per annum was spent on primary education and Rs.331,950 on secondary education. Nine parks were maintained by the municipality. The total ordinary and capital receipts had been Rs. 89,47,681 in 1952 - 53. Property tax was Rs.14,72,909, Secondary School fees - Rs.162,424, Market Fees - Rs.150,802, Profit under electricity licence scheme - Rs.158,224, Water Charges - Rs.180,668 in 1952 - 53.
The Madras Fire Service was in the Railway Station Road which was known as the Imperial Bank Road. 12 post offices and 1 telegraph office helped in communication. A public call office was attached to the Bazaar Street Post Office and one was attached to the Telegraph Office on Head Post Office Road. A total of 9 Police Stations kept people safe and sound.
The city and its people were marvellous and the citizens crossed obstacles ingeniously too. Let us see how they did so on the lighter side. Raja Theatre and Murugan Theatre were under the management of the family of P.A.Raju Chettiar. Same movies was released in both the theatres at the same time. A level crossing on Avinashi Road ( current fly over ) had been on the way. The guy carrying the same reel to be shown in Murugan Theatre used to park his cycle in the neighbourhood of the level crossing and walk across in order to deliver it on time to Murugan Theatre. This took place for nearly a quarter of the century. People were ingenious and the authorities were responsible. Coimbatore saw much during those times and the fine foundation laid by the pioneers have stood by the people for a long time. Let us salute them as we welcome the Coimbatore Vizha 2020.
Modern infrastructure was created with the advent of railways under the Europeans. New roads were created in order to facilitate movement of troops and materials in aid of the English. Of course the locals used it too. Industry came through Sir Robert Stanes who founded C.S. & W Mills. The visionary S.P.Narasimhalu Naidu studied the Siruvani in the nineteenth century and suggested that it be harnessed in the interest of the town. It took another forty years and the waters of Siruvani were brought by C.S.Rathinasabapathy Mudaliar ( 1886 - 1956) during his tenure as the Chairman ( 1921 - 1936 ) of the Coimbatore Municipality ( 1929 ). CSR, the Chairman did much for the infrastructure of Coimbatore. R.S.Puram and Ramnagar were created. The plans had been drawn during the tenure of T.A.Ramalingam Chettiar itself. Bridges, the Kumaran Market, roads, schools etc., came up in a rapid pace. The infrastructure created by Rathinasabapathy Mudaliar and District Board Chairman V.C.Vellingiri Gounder added to the well being of the city. This infrastructure has been serving the city loyally for decades now and in spite of population expansion.
Tamilnadu is an urbanised state and nearly 48 % of the people live in the cities. It is time that the people and the authorities think in a practical manner in order to make the cities liveable for eternity. Otherwise the cities will go waste and its a crime to waste resources. Several programmes were created to make self sufficient cities and JNNURM ( named after Jawaharlal Nehru ) was among them. Now the SMART CITY programme is underway. Each of these initiatives have had their own results. Let us now look at the old demographics, finances and infrastructure briefly after having celebrated the Coimbatore Day on November 24.
Coimbatore was about 4.2 square miles in between 1800 and 1870. The population moved from 15,000 to 35,000 during the same period. It increased to 95000 plus by 1931. It had just been 65,000 in 1921. Bus transport and commerce along with the good civilian infrastructure created by Rathinasabapathy Mudaliar had accelerated the migration. Let us credit G.D.Naidu for the buses. The city stood on an area of 7.5 square miles between 1931 and it was 10 square miles in 1951. Meanwhile the population moved upto 194,000 by 1951. It had more than doubled in 20 years. The migrants and the baby boomers must thank the textile industry for that.
The Municipal Administration was carried out by a council which had 36 members and they met twice a month. Chairman S.R.P.Ponnuswamy Chettiar had done a lot for Coimbatore. Eleven committees carried out work on behalf of the council - Appointment Committee, and committee existed separately for each area : finance, bill passing, appeal, land developers, contract, town planning, public health, education, works and other enterprises. A five year programme for dustless surfacing of roads began in the early fifties of the last century at a budget of Rs.350,000. The travellers bungalow had got refurbished. The beggar home sponsored by the noble citizens, a special home for the infirm and diseased beggars had been in place from 1947. The inmates who had stayed in the Langarkhana since 1871 were moved there. A sum of Rs.4000 was spent on it annually. In the deaf and dumb school, the pupils were taught speech, language, speech reading, sense training, arithmetic, articulation, history, geography, social adjustment, drawing, spinning, dress making, needle work and tailoring. Rs.7500 was allotted for this in 1952.
The total number of street lights were 3637 in 1953 and Mercury lamps had been 154. Three traffic round abouts had ornamental dome lights. There were 6 fluorescent tubular lights and 52 high power lamps. The total expenditure on the lights had been around Rs.60000 in 1954. The Siruvani scheme was completed in 1933 - 34 and capital expenditure on water supply had been Rs.94 lakhs upto 1953. The supply of water in 1952 - 53 had been 1,10,00,00,500 gallons and it worked out to 15.4 gallons per head per day.
Let us now look at health and sanitation. Eight hospitals and five maternity centres were under the municipality. There had been good protection from Cholera, Small pox, Plague and Malaria due to the steps taken by the authorities. The cost of hospital maintenance had been Rs.100,000 and the maternity homes - Rs.50,000. The capital expenditure that had been incurred for the drainage scheme until 1953 had been Rs.24 lakhs. 50 public toilets and 6 flush out latrines were in function. A night soil depot was maintained in which all compost was manufactured from 1954 from the rubbish and night soils collected in the wards. The compost thus manufactured was sold to farmers. A sewage farm measuring 90 acres had an officer from the agricultural department as the in charge person. 72.5 acres of the sewage farm was under cultivation and was yielding well.
Compulsory elementary education was in force from 1933. In 1953 there were 22 elementary schools with a strength of 8382 puplis. Private schools are not counted. 4 % of the full population was in the elementary schools. 200 people were in about 10 adult schools. Special attention was paid to the Dalit community who got free books and slates. The poor and deserving were given free meals and it cost Rs.4000 per annum. A sum of Rs.256,200 per annum was spent on primary education and Rs.331,950 on secondary education. Nine parks were maintained by the municipality. The total ordinary and capital receipts had been Rs. 89,47,681 in 1952 - 53. Property tax was Rs.14,72,909, Secondary School fees - Rs.162,424, Market Fees - Rs.150,802, Profit under electricity licence scheme - Rs.158,224, Water Charges - Rs.180,668 in 1952 - 53.
The Madras Fire Service was in the Railway Station Road which was known as the Imperial Bank Road. 12 post offices and 1 telegraph office helped in communication. A public call office was attached to the Bazaar Street Post Office and one was attached to the Telegraph Office on Head Post Office Road. A total of 9 Police Stations kept people safe and sound.
The city and its people were marvellous and the citizens crossed obstacles ingeniously too. Let us see how they did so on the lighter side. Raja Theatre and Murugan Theatre were under the management of the family of P.A.Raju Chettiar. Same movies was released in both the theatres at the same time. A level crossing on Avinashi Road ( current fly over ) had been on the way. The guy carrying the same reel to be shown in Murugan Theatre used to park his cycle in the neighbourhood of the level crossing and walk across in order to deliver it on time to Murugan Theatre. This took place for nearly a quarter of the century. People were ingenious and the authorities were responsible. Coimbatore saw much during those times and the fine foundation laid by the pioneers have stood by the people for a long time. Let us salute them as we welcome the Coimbatore Vizha 2020.