 velankanni ( vÄá¸·ÄÅkaÅÅi) officially spelled as vailankanni (virgin of velai, the town), also spelled as "velanganni" (due to tamil to english transliteration), is a panchayat town in nagapattinam district in the indian state of tamil nadu. it lies on the coromandel coast of the bay of bengal, 350&nbsp;km south of chennai (madras) and 12&nbsp;km south of nagapattinam. once a port that traded with rome and greece, the tiny commercial center gradually lost its importance to the larger city of nagapattinam. the canal built to link this town with vedaranyam still lies to the west. the vellayar, a minor branch of the cauvery river, runs south of the town and discharges into the sea. the town was among the worst hit by the tsunami caused by the 2004 indian ocean earthquake. the town is home to a significant roman catholic shrine dedicated to our lady of good health. ==demographics==  the indian census indicated velankanni had a population of 10,144. males constitute 48% of the population and females 52%. citizens there have an average literacy rate of 69%, higher than the national average of 68%: male literacy is 75%, and fem
2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake_and_tsunami Catholic_pilgrimage_sites Christianity_in_Tamil_Nadu Cities_and_towns_in_Nagapattinam_district Marian_apparitions Marian_shrines