Economy and Transport
The service sector provides most employment in the town. Limited agriculture is carried out; the main crop is paddy rice. During the British Raj, Sirkazhi was known for mats made with a kind of cyperus. The headquarters of the taluka and panchayat union administration, and many government offices are located in the town. There are no major industries within the town, except for several rice mills. Sirkazhi has many Hindu temples, which draw in tourism activity. Sirkali Coop Urban Bank, founded in 23 Apr 1918 is the oldest bank in Sirkali. All major nationalised banks and private banks have branches in the town, and all have atms.
Sirkazhi municipality has 51.5 km (32.0 mi) of roads: 18.3 km (11.4 mi) of BT roads, 30.4 km (18.9 mi) of cement roads, 2.2 km (1.4 mi) of water-bound macadam surface and 0.6 km (0.37 mi) of other roads. Bullock carts are the traditional mode of transport; as late as the 1950s, landlords and rich farmers travelled mostly by bullock carts except on rare, long journeys, which they undertook by buses or motor vehicles. Buses are the main mode of public transport from Sirkazhi. The municipality operates a B-Class bus stand with 36 bays that accommodate local and intercity buses. The buses are operated by Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation, connecting the town to Chidambaram, Mayiladuthurai, Karaikkal and other cities in Tamil Nadu.
Sirkazhi's railway station is on the main line between Chennai and Trichy via Cuddalore and Chidambaram. Daily express trains connect major cities in Tamil Nadu like Chennai, Madurai and Trichy, and weekly express trains connect Tirupathi, Varanasi, Tiruchendur and Bhubaneswar. There are also daily passenger trains to Mayiladuthurai, Salem, Villupuram and Bangalore daily. The nearest airport is Tiruchirapalli Airport which is 160 km (99 mi) from Sirkazhi.
Read more about this topic: Sirkazhi
Famous quotes containing the words economy and/or transport:
“Cities need old buildings so badly it is probably impossible for vigorous streets and districts to grow without them.... for really new ideas of any kind—no matter how ultimately profitable or otherwise successful some of them might prove to be—there is no leeway for such chancy trial, error and experimentation in the high-overhead economy of new construction. Old ideas can sometimes use new buildings. New ideas must use old buildings.”
—Jane Jacobs (b. 1916)
“One may disavow and disclaim vices that surprise us, and whereto our passions transport us; but those which by long habits are rooted in a strong and ... powerful will are not subject to contradiction. Repentance is but a denying of our will, and an opposition of our fantasies.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)