page_title: Cuddalore
section_title: Economy
hierarchical_section_title: Cuddalore / Economy
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Boote bei der Altstadt von Cuddalore nahe der Flussmündung. Cuddalore liegt im südindischen Bundesstaat Tamil Nadu. English: Baots near the Old Town of Cuddalore near the river mouth. Cuddalore is situated in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
context_page_description: Cuddalore is the headquarters of the Cuddalore District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
  While the early history of Cuddalore remains unclear, the town first rose to prominence during the reign of Pallavas and Medieval Cholas. After the fall of Cholas, the town was ruled by various dynasties like Pandyas, Vijayanagar Empire, Madurai Nayaks, Thanjavur Nayaks, Thajavur Marathas, Tipu Sultan, French and the British Empire. Cuddalore was the scene of Seven Years' War and the Battle of Cuddalore in 1758 between the French and British. It has been a part of independent India since 1947. During the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, and the subsequent tsunamis it generated, Cuddalore was one of the affected towns, with 572 casualties.
  Apart from fishing and port-related industries, Cuddalore houses chemical, pharmacological and energy industries in SIPCOT, an industrial estate set up by the state government. The town is administered by a special-grade municipality covering an area of 27.69 km² and had a population of 173,676 in 2011. Cuddalore is a part of the Cuddalore legislative assembly constituency which is a part of the Cuddalore Lok Sabha constituency.
context_section_description: Being a coastal town, historically, Cuddalore's main industry was fishing. Although Cuddalore was once a port town, the shipping trade has now moved to larger centres. Cuddalore also hosts the heavy chemical, pharmacological and energy industries in SIPCOT, an industrial estate set up by the state government. The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) planned to commence power plants around the town.
  The industrial development in Cuddalore's recent past has resulted in extreme pollution. SIPCOT, the major industrial area in the town is a "global toxic hotspot" Local communities have voiced concern about industrialization and pollution. The SIPCOT chemical industry estate in Cuddalore was investigated in November 2002 by a team from the Indian People's Tribunal headed by J. Kanakaraj. The team reported "a noticeable stench of chemicals in the air". The report published in July 2003 reported that "Villages like Kudikadu, Thaikal, Eachangadu and Sonnanchavadi lie in a virtual 'gas chamber' surrounded on three sides by chemical factories and bounded on the fourth by the river". There are reports of illegal dumping of toxic waste. On 22 March 2008, a report for the "Tamil Nadu Pollution Board" prepared by the Nagpur-based "National Environmental Engineering Research Institute" found that residents of the SIPCOT area of Cuddalore were at least 2000 times more likely than their counterparts to contract cancer in their lifetimes due to exposure to high levels of toxic gases from chemical industries in the region.
  The Cuddalore Port operates at the confluence of the Gadilam River and the Paravanar River. The ships anchor in midstream at a distance of about a mile from the shore, where cargo is loaded and discharged through lighters. There is a bar at the mouth of the combined river, which maintains a depth of 5 to 6 feet at low water. During the months of July to September, the depth over the bar is reduced to about 3 to 4 feet. Other ports under construction in Cuddalore are Thiruchopuram port, Silambimangalam port, Parangipettai port (Porto Nova) and PY-03 Oil Field (operational).
caption: Fishing boats in Cuddalore
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