Porur
Neighbourhood
Porur Porur (Chennai) Show map of Chennai Porur Porur (Tamil Nadu) Show map of Tamil Nadu
Coordinates: 13°02′18″N 80°09′23″E / 13.038200°N 80.156500°E / 13.038200; 80.156500
Country	India
State	Tamil Nadu
District	Chennai
Taluk	Maduravoyal
Zone	Central Chennai Zone
Government
• Type	Chennai Corporation
• Body	Chennai Corporation
Area
• Total	3.78 km2 (1.46 sq mi)
Elevation	43 m (141 ft)
Population  (2001)
• Total	28,783
• Density	7,610/km2 (19,700/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Tamil
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	600 116
Vehicle registration	TN 10(RTO, Chennai(South West))

Porur (Tamil: [poːɾuːɾ]) is a neighbourhood of the city of Chennai, India. It forms part of the Maduravoyal taluk of Chennai district.^[1] Situated about 18 kilometres (11 miles) by road from Chennai Central railway station in the western part of the city, Porur is largely a residential neighbourhood known for the Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Porur market and the Porur Lake which supplies drinking water to the city of Chennai.

The earliest recorded history of Porur goes back to the Chola period when it formed a nādu of the Chola Empire. Porur was administered by a village panchayat till 1 October 1977, when it was elevated to the status of a town panchayat. In 2011, the Porur town panchayat was abolished and its jurisdiction included within the Greater Chennai Corporation as part of the Corporation wards 151 and 153.

During the 2001 census, Porur had a population of 28,782. Porur is well-connected by road and has a bus terminus, railway stations and an airport in close proximity. Six Chennai metro stations are being constructed in Porur as part of the Phase II extension activities. The Porur Lake is one of the biggest lakes in the Chennai metropolitan area and one of the major sources of drinking water to the city. The Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute, a top-ranked private health sciences university is situated in Porur.

Location

Porur is located at 13.03° N and 80.16° E, and 52 feet (15 metres) above sea level. It is bounded on the east and south-east by the Pallavaram Hills.

History

The Ramanatheswarar Temple in Porur has an inscription of the Chola king Kulothunga I who ruled from 1070 CE to 1122 CE.^[2]Porur might have served as the administrative centre of the eponymous Perūr Nādū of the Chola province of Puliyur Kottam. The juridisction of Perur Nadu extended over a considerable area and included the surrounding neighbourhoods of Manapakkam and Kolapakkam as evidenced by inscriptions at the Agasteeswarar Temple in Kolapakkam.^[3][4]

The earliest modern references to Porur come from British maps and books of the late 18th century. In the early 19th century, the Kodambakkam-Kunrathur road and the St. Thomas Mount-Poonamallee Road were major trade and communication routes leading into Chennai city.^[5][6]However still, Porur was predominantly rural and sparsely populated till the 1960s, when the W. S. Industries and the Moonlight factory were established with land and support from the Government of Tamil Nadu.^{[7][8][9][10][11][12]} The population grew from 1,938 in 1961 to 3,539 in 1971 and accelerated even further in the following decades achieving growth rates of 144 percent and 126 percent during 1971-81 and 1981-91 respectively.

Porur village panchayat was upgraded to a Grade-I town panchayat on 1 October 1977.^[13] It was further upgraded to a selection grade town panchayat on 24 February 1982.^[13]Porur was transferred from the Saidapet taluk of Chengalpattu district to the Poonamallee taluk of Tiruvallur district when Tiruvallur district was carved out of Chengalpattu district in 1991.

During a major reorganization exercise in October 2011, the Porur town panchayat was abolished and the areas under its jurisdiction absorbed into the Greater Chennai Corporation where they were divided between wards 151 and 153 of the corporation. In 2018, Porur was transferred from Tiruvallur district to Chennai district where it forms part of the Maduravoyal taluk.

Demographics

As of 2001^[update] India census,^[14] Porur had a population of 28,782. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Porur has an average literacy rate of 79%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 83%, and female literacy is 76%. In Porur, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Administration and utility services

Prior to 2011, Porur was administered by a town panchayat headed by a President assisted by 18 councillors. Since its inclusion in the Greater Chennai Corporation, Porur elects two members to the Greater Chennai Corporation. The town panchayat office now forms the offices of both Ward 151 as well as Ward 153 of the Greater Chennai Corporation.

Porur has many ancient Hindu temples like the Ramanatheswarar Temple that dates from the Chola period. There are also temples that have constructed quite recently. The Sethu Kshetram temple was constructed in 1964 for the employees of W. S. Industries and inaugurated by the Shankaracharya of Sringeri. A tree was planted during the kumbabhishekam of the shrine on 27 October 1966 by R. Venkataraman, Minister of Industries for the Government of Madras.

Transport and Communication

Porur is well connected by road to the rest of Chennai city. The Mount-Poonamallee Road that runs between Poonamallee and Kathipara Junction is a State Highway that connects Porur with the Grand Southern Trunk Road. Beyond Poonamallee, the Mount-Poonamallee Road links with the National Highway 4 (India, old numbering) to Bengaluru. The Porur Junction is an extremely busy traffic intersection in Porur where the major arterial roads meet. The Arcot Road connects Porur Junction with Kodambakkam while the Kundrathur Road links Porur Junction with Kundrathur.

Porur is served by an efficient public transportation. The nearest MTC bus depot is situated at Iyyappanthangal. There are bus services linking Porur with Royapuram, Saidapet, Little Mount, T. Nagar, Thiruvanmiyur, Mandaveli, Nanganallur, Mugalivakkam, Ramapuram, Poonamallee, Vellavedu, Kundrathur, Pattur, Mangadu and Sriperumbudur and Porur Junction with Royapuram, Vadapalani, K. K. Nagar, Vallalar Nagar and M. K. B. Nagar. There are seven major bus stops: Saravana Stores/Sakthi Nagar, Gopalakrishna theatre, Porur Junction and Sri Ramachandra Medical College on the Mount-Poonamallee Road and Lakshmi Nagar, Alapakkam and Karambakkam on Arcot Road. There are private bus and share auto services from Porur Junction to Guindy and small bus services providing connectivity from Porur Junction to the Alandur metro station and Porur Junction to Guindy Racecourse bus stop. The nearest suburban railway stations are Guindy (6 kms) and Kodambakkam (7 kms) while the nearest domestic-cum-international airport is located at Meenambakkam.

The Porur Junction metro station, Porur Bypass metro station, Karambakkam metro station, Thelliyaragaram metro station and Alapakkam metro station are under construction along the Yellow Line while the Mugalivakkam metro station is being built on the Red Line of the Chennai Metro. The Alandur metro station is the nearest operational metro station.

Notes