COMMUNICATIONS

ROADWAYS

NATIONAL HIGHWAYS                        MAJOR DISTRICT ROADS
EAST-COAST ROAD - N.H.47A:

1. Karaikal - Nagore  Road             1. Karaikal - Ambagarattur Road   
2. Karaikal - Poraiyar Road             2. Karaikal - Nedungadu Road      
3. Annavasal Road 

OTHER DISTRICT ROADS                   VILLAGE ROADS

1. Niravi I Road                       	     1.   Dharmapuram Road              
2. Niravi II Road                      	     2.   Karaikalmedu Road             
3. Tittachcheri Road                       3. Kottucherry-Vadamattam Road   
4. Lemaire Road                             4. Kottucherry Main Road         
5. Sheshamulai Road                                                     
6. Beach Road
7. Sorakkudi Road
8. Akalanganni Road
9. Nallattur Road

Maintenance and construction of roads is being attended to by two agencies viz., the Public Works Department and Municipalities/Commune Panchayats.

So far as the Public Works Department was concerned, the work was attended to by the Roads Sub-Division.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

In the Olden days Dholi, palanquin (pallakku), horse, elephant, camel, besides horse drawn and bullock drawn carts known as garis. The hand-pulled rickshaw, the cycle rickshaws made its appearance after World War II, and at present auto-rickshaws are popular.

Bus Services : Number of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation [TNSTC], Pondicherry Tourism & Transport Development Corporation [PT & TDC], Tamil Nadu State Express Transport  and other private transport buses are connecting inside and outside regions. Some   omni  buses  are   traveling between   Karaikal-Chenni, Karaikal-Coimbatore, etc.  These  buses  are catering the needs of the public  in  transport facility.  Employees  of  the  Private  transporters are  having  their  own association for their welfare.

Local Transportation :  Taxis,  Auto-rickshaws, Mini Buses  and Local buses are also available for Local transportation. Maxi-caps-Vans- for group traveling in now common everywhere. Motor-cycles and scooters are convenient for individual carrying and Cars for family.

Goods Transportation : Lorries, Mini Lorries, Vans, Mini Vans are being used for carrying goods from place to place. Three wheels cycles fitted with motor (says as thattu vandi) is also used for transporting goods locally.

The subject of Motor transport including the work of registration of motor vehicles, issue of licences for drivers and conductors, permits for transport vehicles, etc., have been attended by the Registering and Licensing Authority for Karaikal Region. The Office of the Regional Transport Officer started functioning independently with effect from 1-04-1967.

The Pondicherry Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1966 (4 of 1966) which came into force on 1-07-1966.

RAILWAYS

As per the French Records shows the length of Karaikal-Peralam line as 15.577 km. within the limit of this Territory. The construction of a branch railway line branching off from the main Mayuram-Mottupet line and connecting Peralam with Karaikal was authorised by the French Government in December 1895. This railway line owned by the French Government was operated by the South Indian Railway in accordance with the terms of an agreement reached in 1902. The agreement was subject to termination at a year's notice. The Company had to remit to the French Government the net profit at after deduting the maintenance cost. Built at a cost of 1,201,840 francs the line was opened to traffic on 14 March, 1898. It covered a distance of 23.537 km.of the which eight kilometres fell with in the limits of Tamil Nadu. The distance was covered in one hour. There are four intermediate stations at Ambagarattur, Paruttikudi, Thirunallar and Karikovilpathu within the region.

After  merger, the owenership and administration of the line came to vest with  the Government of India and its operation came to rest with the Southern  Railway  which was formed on 14 April 1951.   However,  the train service  was  closed as per the report of the National Council  for Applied Economic Research.

PRESENT STAGE:  Karaikal-Nagore  broad-gauge line is now under preparation, which is a profitable  and having more comfortable to the public as well as  to the Industrial sector.  Therefore, steps would have been taken to process this project as early by this administration.

                                                               BRIDGES

All  the  bridges,  except  the Nandalar  bridge  at  Nallathur in Karaikal  region,  were  built during the French  period.   The  Nandalar bridge at  Nallathur  was  constructed only in 1968.   From  the  records available  it  is  seen that no damage had occurred to any  bridge  after 1900.  There  are again no inter-state bridges, although Nandalar  bridge along Poraiyar  road,  which  spans a length of 61 metres and  the  third longest in  the  region, is said to belong to Pondicherry and Tamil  Nadu presumably on the ground that the cost might have been shared by both the Governments.   While  the  Arasalar,  Thirumalairajanar,  Puravadaiyanar, Nattar, Uppanar,  and Nular claim a bridge each, the Nandalar is  spanned by two bridges, the Muliyar and Vanjiar by three each.

New  bridges were constructed by Public Works Department at  some places.  Proposals are also estimated to reconstruct/new bridges in these region.

TRANSPORT BY AIR

TRAVEL AND TOURIST FACILITIES

A Tourist Information Bureau started functioning at Karaikal from 17 August 1975.
 

BOARDING & LODGING (GOVERNMENT) :

BOARDING & LODGING (PRIVATE) :

POST, TELEGRAPHS AND TELEPHONES

POST AND TELEGRAPH SERVICES : The  post offices in this region were under the jurisdiction  of the Thanjavur  Postal Division.  From 1 December 1954, they were  brought under the  jurisdiction  of East Thanjavur Postal Division of  the  Tamil Nadu Postal  Circle under the charge of the Senior Superintendent of Post offices, having his headquarters at Nagapattinam.

POST OFFICES AT KARAIKAL

SNo

Name of office  

 PIN Code 

Type of Office

 1

Masthan Palli Street

609 602

 KARAIKAL MAIN
                 (Sub-Office)

 2

Church Street

609 602

       Sub-office

 3

Bus Stand

 609 602

          -do

 4

Thalatheru
                (Nehru Nagar)

609 605

          -do-

 5

Thirunallar

609 607

          -do-

 6

Nedungadu

609 603

          -do-

 7

T.R.Pattinam

609 606

          -do-

 8

Ambagarathur

609 601

          -do-

 9

Niravy

609 604

          -do-

10

Kottucherry

609 609

          -do-

11

Nallambal

609 601

      Branch Office

12

Sethur

609 601

          -do-

13

Madagadi

609 602

          -do-

14

Dharmapuram

609 602

          -do-

15

Karaikovilpathu

609 602

          -do-

16

Kurumbagaram

609 603

          -do-

17

Mela Kasakkudi

609 605

          -do-

18

Akkaravattam

609 604

          -do-

19

Karaikalmedu

609 605

          -do-

20

Tiruvettakudy

609 609

          -do-

21

Varichikudi

609 609

          -do-

22

T,R.Pattinam

609 606

          -do-

23

Karukkangudi

609 607

          -do-

24

Sellur

609 607

          -do-

25

Sorakkudi

609 607

          -do-

All  Post  Offices  are  having   Telegraph  facilities  and  all Sub-Offices are having Telephone facilities also.

All  the  post offices in the region were provided  with  Savings Bank facilities.  Speed  post and other special services are available in the  main post office at Karaikal.

PRIVATE COURIERS

Apart from the Postal department services, Private Courier services are also provided by the various major couriers.

TELEPHONE SERVICES

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (A Govt. of India Enterprise) is an organization have been provided with reliable transmission. Electronic  telephone exchange  with latest equipments is placed in Beach road, Karaikal headed by the Divisional Engineer. He controls the SDCA (Shortest Distance Commercial Area)-04368 includes the exchanges of Karaikal, Ambagarathur, Kottucherry, Nedungadu and Vizhithiyur.    Karaikal SDCA comes under the Cauvery River Delta Area  (CRDA) Telecom District, Kumbakonam. 

It offers the telephone services like EPABX, Trunk call, STD, ISD, Telegrams, Greeting Telegrams etc. CELLPHONE  services  were also  started in Karaikal  by  this department.         

Number  of  STD/ISD/Local Call Private telephone booths are  also available all over the region.

INTERNET SERVICES

In 1988, Computer Communication Network is introduced in the Government Organizations with the help of National Informatics Centre, a Central Government Organization. 

In 1990, Internetworking is familiarised and  VSNL is a sole organization and acted as a Internet Service Provider (ISP). And then BSNL, a public sector organization and some privators  are also being provided a Internet Service. 

During this tenure,  NIC District Unit, Karaikal upgrades their VSAT and provides the internet facilities to the Government / Autonomous organization in Karaikal.

As like public telephone booths, Web Browsing Centres, Net-Cafe are found in the region.  Some of the Industries/ firms/ shops have launched their own websites for commercial purposes.

ALL INDIA RADIO

In Karaikal a F.M. (Frequency Modulation)   station is functioning and broadcasting various programmes which includes news, entertainments, science,  art and cultural,  agricultural, propogate Govt. Schemes to the public etc.,

PORTS AND LIGHTHOUSES

The  geographical position of Karaikal in the midst of the Cauveri delta offered good  prospects  for export of the commercial  products  of Tanjore district.   Considering its potentialities various projects  were studied to improve the port.         The   port  received  some  attention   after  merger  when   the possibility of developing it into fishing harbour, came to be explored by the Directorate of Fisheries.

LIGHTHOUSES:  A  lantern situated at 10.55' N.latitude and 79.24'  E.longitude, served as  a  lighthouse for the port of Karaikal.  It was placed upon  a masonry tower  of 13ms.height to the north of Arasalar.  on 1-11-1973 the fixed light  was  replaced  by  an eclipse type of  electric  light  with reflector.   However,  this  lighthouse was completely replaced  and  new lighthouse  has  been constructed with an effective modern reflector  has been placed in recent years.