Puducherry

Puducherry, formerly know as Pondicherry, is a Union Territory (UT) of India with an assembly situated on the east coast of India 53 miles south of Chennai. This UT derives its name from the name Puducherry, which is the largest district in this territory. iArea of this UT is 480 sq km. It has a population of 12,44,464, with a literacy rate of 86.55, as per 2011 Census. Puducherry is its capital city. Principal languages of this UT are Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, English and French.

It is bounded on the east by the Bay of Bengal, and on the three sides by Tamil Nadu. About 150 km south of Puducherry on the east coast lies Karaikal. Mahe is situated on the Malabar Coast on the Western Ghats, surrounded by Kerala. It can be reached from Calicut Airport, which is 70 km from Mahe. Yanam is situated adjoining the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, and is about 200 km from Visakhapatnam airport.

Pondicherry is also referred by names such as 'Quintessence of French Culture', 'India's Little France' and 'The French Riviera of the East'. One can everywhere find French flavor, in the grand colonial mansions, beautiful boulevards, placid promenades, spellings on sign boards and buildings, and names of roads and public places.

The capital, Pondicherry (Puducherry) is also the headquarters a district of the same name. It has handsome tree-lined streets, government buildings, college, lighthouse, cotton mills, and dye-works. The harbour is an open roadstead; trade is small, the chief export oil seeds.

Weather

Winter season starts here from December and ends in February. Daily temperature around 30° C and nights are pleasant, even cool.

Summer runs from March through July. During this period the climate is generally hot and humid. Temperature routinely touches 40°C in May and June, but average temperature remains at around 35°C-38°C.

History

The territory of Puducherry comprises of the former French establishment Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam, which lie scattered in South India. Puducherry, the capital of the territory was once the original headquarters of the French in India. It was under the French rule for 138 years, and merged with the Indian Union on 1 November, 1954. However, Puducherry became officially an integral part of India only in 1963.

It was formerly a small French colony that was first occupied in 1674. It was captured by the Dutch in 1693, and by the English successively in 1761, 1778, and 1793, but on each occasion restored.

Districts

There are four districts in this Union Terrotory. Puducherry (formerly Pondicherry) is the largest among them.
1. Karaikal District, 2. Mahe District 3. Puducherry District and 4. Yanam District

Politics

There is only one Lok Sabha constituency in this UT which consists of 30 Vidhan Sabha constituencies.

Lok Sabha parliamentary constituency

1 Puducherry Lok Sabha Constituency

Before the delimitation order of 2008, this constituency was known as 1 Pondicherry.

Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly) constituencies after the delimitation order of 2008