Koothanallur (shortened as KNR) is a town in Tiruvarur district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The town is located at a distance of from the district headquarters Tiruvarur and from the state capital Chennai. Koothanallur is known for the Big Mosque. Sri Ramanatha Swamy Thirukovil, an ancient temple at Tirurameshwaram, is located far to Koothanallur, southerly.
Koothanallur is believed to have obtained its name from two brothers named Periya Koothan and Chinna Koothan during the early 12th century. Koothanallur was a part of the erstwhile Tanjore district until India's independence in 1947 and Nagapattinam district until 1991 and subsequently a part of the Thiruvarur district. The town is a part of the fertile Cauvery Delta and the major profession in the town is agriculture.
Koothanallur is administered by a municipality established in 1994. As of 2011, the municipality covered an area of and had a population of 25,423. Koothanallur comes under the Thiruvarur assembly constituency which elects a member to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly once every five years and it is a part of the Nagappattinam constituency which elects its Member of Parliament (MP) once in five years. Roadways are the major mode of transportation to the town and the nearest railway station is at Mannargudi. The nearest seaport is Nagapattinam Port, located away, while the nearest airport is the Tiruchirappalli International Airport, located away from the town.
History
Koothanallur is believed to have obtained its name from two brothers named Periya Koothan and Chinna Koothan during the early 12th century. "Nallur" is a common term used to indicate the welfare of villages.
Koothanallur and its surrounding areas were incorporated into the Seljuk Empire (1037-1194) of Persia in the 11th century.They are Rowthers follows Hanafi Fiqh
Koothanallur was incorporated as a part of the erstwhile Tanjore district during the British colonial times until India's independence in 1947 and Nagapattinam district until 1991 and subsequently a part of the newly formed Tiruvarur district. It is populated predominantly by Muslim community
Geography and climate
Koothanallur is located at . Rivers Vennar and Koraiyar, which flows through the heart of the town, keeps the soil fertile. The topography is completely flat and the town is a part of the fertile Cauvery Delta. Koothanallur is situated at a distance of from the state capital Chennai and from Tiruvarur, the district headquarters. The type of soil is predominantly clay and sandy, conducive for cultivation. There are no commercial mineral resources in the town. The Ayacut area around the two rivers occupies more than of land. Like in the rest of the state, the period from November to February in Mannargudi has a climate full of warm days and cool nights. The onset of summer is from March to the end of June. The average temperature range from in January to in May and June. Summer rains are sparse and the first monsoon, the South-West monsoon, usually sets in June and continues until September. North-East monsoon usually sets in October and continues until January. The rainfall during North-East monsoon is relatively higher and is beneficial to the district at large because of the heavy rainfall and the Western ghats feeding the river Cauvery. The average rainfall is , most of which is contributed by the North-East monsoon.
Demographics
According to 2011 census, Koothanallur had a population of 25,423 with a sex-ratio of 1,090 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 2,758 were under the age of six, constituting 1,421 males and 1,337 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 22.27% and .46% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 78.65%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The town had a total of : 6025 households. There were a total of 8,261 workers, comprising 355 cultivators, 1,488 main agricultural labourers, 80 in house hold industries, 4,842 other workers, 1,496 marginal workers, 43 marginal cultivators, 756 marginal agricultural labourers, 94 marginal workers in household industries and 603 other marginal workers. Like in the rest of the state, Tamil is the most common language spoken in the town.
As per the religious census of 2011, Kuthanallur had 53.14% Muslims, 44.83% Hindus, 1.87% Christians, 0.01% Sikhs, 0.08% Jains and 0.06% following other religions.