Mayiladuthurai

Mayiladuthurai is a town in Nagapattinam district in Tamil Nadu. It is the headquarters of the Mayiladuthurai taluk. The town is located at a distance of 60km from the district headquarters Nagapattinam and 281km from the state capital Chennai. Mayiladuthurai is known for the Mayuranathaswami Temple, a prominent Shaivite shrine. Mayiladuthurai was ruled by Medieval Cholas and subsequently ruled by various dynasties including the Vijayanagar Empire, Delhi Sultanate, Thanjavur Nayaks, Thanjavur Marathas and the British Empire. Mayiladuthurai was a part of the erstwhile Tanjore district until India's independence in 1947 and Thanjavur district until 1991 and subsequently a part of the newly formed Nagapattinam district. The town is known for agriculture, metal working and weaving. The region around Mayiladuthurai has considerable mineral deposits.Mayiladuthurai is administered by a municipality established in 1865. As of 2008, the municipality covered an area of 11.27km2 and had a population of 85,632. Mayiladuthurai comes under the Mayiladuthurai assembly constituency which elects a member to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly once every five years and it is a part of the Mayiladuthurai constituency which elects its Member of Parliament once in five years. Roadways are the major mode of transportation to the town and it also has rail connectivity. The nearest seaport, Karaikal port, is located 40 km from Mayiladuthurai, while the nearest airport, Tiruchirappalli International Airport, is located 130 km from the town.