Thorapadi, Vellore

Thorapadi is a part of Vellore Corporation. It is a prominent area in the city of Vellore.Thorapadi is well known for its Vellore Central Prison, Warder's Training Institute, Women's Jail, Christian Medical College (ranked one of the two best Medical Colleges of India by India Today), Parade Grounds and Thanthai Periyar Govt. Engineering College and Polytechnic - a prestigious institute for technical studies run by Government of Tamil Nadu. Thorapadi is 7 km from Katpadi Junction Railway Station, 4 km from old bus terminus (FORT), 5 km from new bus terminus (GREEN CIRCLE) and 3 km from Cantonment Railway Station.GeographyThorapadi is located at 12.93° N 79.13° E. It has an average elevation of 216 metres (708 feet). It is surrounded by sripuram in the south, Allapuram in the north, Otteri-Bagayam in the east and Great Thorapadi Lake in the west.There is no recorded history for the name reference for Thorapadi. Padi is the common name for residential areas in Agricultural adjoining Hilly areas(cf: Hindi/Sanskrit Pahad meaning Hill) and that is why we find many villages having suffix 'padi' in Tamil Land viz.Velapadi, Katpadi,etc. Thorapadi would have derived its name from Thiru Padi and now corrupted to form Thorapadi. Thiru is a common name for almost all towns and cities in Tamil Nadu viz.Thiruvannamalai, Thirupattur and there are so many places starting with Prefix Thiru meaning 'the blessed'. The prominence of the place can be traced back to Britishers establishing a Central Prison during the 1800s.