AR4062 Urban Design

Winter Semester 2014-15

Assignment on

URBAN DESIGN IN COIMBATORE CITY - A CASE STUDY

Group Members

Sl. No.

Roll No.

Name of the Student

B110576CE

ABDHUL KHADHIR S H

B110510CE

ANKIT SINGH

Under the Supervision of

Ms. JESNA BHARGHAV

Department of Architecture
National Institute of Technology Calicut

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that this report entitled URBAN DESIGN IN COIMBATORE CITY - A CASE
STUDY is a bonafide record of the work carried out by
Sl. No.

Roll No.

Name of the Student

B110576CE

ABDHUL KHADHIR S H

B110510CE

ANKIT SINGH

during Winter semester 2014-2015 in partial fulfilment of the credit requirements of AR4062 Urban
Design

Date: 13/04/2015

Faculty in-charge

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We would like to thank Ms. Jesna Bharghav faculty in charge of Course Urban Design (A4062), for
her kind support, guidance and valuable information provided without which it would have been
impossible to complete the report successfully.
We would also like to thank our friends and family for their constant support and guidance. And last
but not the least lord Almighty for his blessings

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CERTIFICATE ............................................................................................................................................ 2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................................................. 3
1.

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 6
1.1 Geography and climate ................................................................................................................. 6

2.

DEMOGRAPHY................................................................................................................................. 8
2.1 Population ..................................................................................................................................... 8
2.2

3.

Density .................................................................................................................................... 8

SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE .......................................................................................................... 10

3.1 Employment ................................................................................................................................ 10
3.2. Land and Housing ....................................................................................................................... 10
3.3. Health ......................................................................................................................................... 11
3.5. Economic Development ............................................................................................................. 12

4.

LANDUSE ....................................................................................................................................... 13

5.

TRANSPORTATION, ACCESSIBILITY AND CONNECTIVITY .............................................................. 16

5.1 Road Network ............................................................................................................................. 16
5.3 Coimbatore BRTS ........................................................................................................................ 19
5.4 Air Transport ............................................................................................................................... 20
5.5 Railway ........................................................................................................................................ 20
5.6. Connectivity ............................................................................................................................... 20

6.

PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE ......................................................................................................... 21

6.1 Water Supply System .................................................................................................................. 21
6.1.1. Siruvani River water supply scheme ................................................................................... 21
6.1.2. Combined water supply with Pillur as Source .................................................................... 21
6.2. Electricity.................................................................................................................................... 21
6.3 Drainage ...................................................................................................................................... 22
6.4. Solid Waste Management .......................................................................................................... 22

7.

Major Landmarks in City ............................................................................................................... 24

8.

Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 28

9.

References .................................................................................................................................... 29

List of Figures
Figure 1.1
Figure 2.1
Figure 4.1
Figure 5.1
Figure 7.1
Figure 7.2
Figure 7.3
Figure 7.4
Figure 7.5
Figure 7.6
Figure 7.7
Figure 7.8
Figure 7.9
Figure 7.10

Coimbatore City Map .......................................................................................................... 6

Density of Administrative Wards ........................................................................................ 9
Existing Landuse map 2011 ............................................................................................... 13
Coimbatore Road Map ...................................................................................................... 18
Victoria Town Hall ............................................................................................................. 24
PSG College ....................................................................................................................... 24
Ukkadam Lake ................................................................................................................... 25
Gandhipuram Bus Terminal .............................................................................................. 25
Mettupalayam Bus Stand .................................................................................................. 26
Avinashi Road .................................................................................................................... 26
Coimbatore Junction Railway Station ............................................................................... 26
Fun Republic Mall.............................................................................................................. 27
Tidel Park........................................................................................................................... 27
VOC Park ......................................................................................................................... 27

List of Tables
Table 1-1
Table 2-1
Table 2-2
Table 3-1
Table 3-2
Table 3-3
Table 4-1
Table 4-2
Table 6-1
Table 6-2

Climate Data Coimbatore ..................................................................................................... 7

Population Growth ............................................................................................................... 8
Zone-wise density distribution............................................................................................. 9
Occupied Census houses .................................................................................................... 10
Distribution of Census houses by type of roof ................................................................... 11
Distribution of census houses by type of floor .................................................................. 11
Existing Lanuse breakup 2011 ............................................................................................ 13
Proposed Landuse breakup 2021....................................................................................... 15
Various sub-stations with their capacities ......................................................................... 21
Consumption of Electric Power.......................................................................................... 22

1. INTRODUCTION
Coimbatore also known as Kovai is a fast growing tier II city in India. It is the second largest city in the
Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Coimbatore is well known for its textile industries and has excellent
potential for industrial growth and hence popularly known as The Manchester of South India. In
addition to textiles, it is also an industrial, commercial, educational, information technology, healthcare
and manufacturing hub in Tamil Nadu. Coimbatore is the 4th largest metropolis in South India and the
administrative capital of Coimbatore district. Coimbatore has been ranked 4th among Indian cities in
investment climate by CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) and ranked 17th among the top global
outsourcing cities by Tholons.

1.1 Geography and climate

Coimbatore is surrounded by the western Ghats mountain range to the west and North. It is situated in
the western part of Tamil Nadu. The city has a border with the Palakkad district in Kerala through the
Palghat gap in the Western Ghats. In the northern part it has the Nilgiri Biosphere reserve. The Noyyal
River runs through Coimbatore and forms the southern boundary of the corporation. The eastern side
of the Coimbatore district, which includes the city, is predominantly dry. The western and northern
parts of the district border the Western Ghats the Nilgiri biosphere, the Anaimalai range and the Munnar
range. A western pass to Kerala, popularly referred to as the Palghat Gap is the western boundary

Figure 1.1 Coimbatore City Map

Coimbatore has a pleasant, salubrious climate due to its proximity to thickly forested mountain ranges
and the cool breeze blowing through the Palghat gap which makes the consistently hot temperatures
pleasant. Under the Kppen climate classification, the city has a tropical wet and dry climate, with the
wet season being from October to December due to the northeast monsoon. Coimbatore is located at an
elevation of about 411 meters. The mean maximum and minimum temperatures varies between 35 C
(95 F) and 18 C (64 F). highest temperature ever recorded is 41 C (106 F) and lowest is 8 C (46
F).
Table 1-1 Climate Data Coimbatore

Climate data for Coimbatore

Month

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Year

Record high

33

37

39

40

41

38

37

38

37

37

33

33

41

C (F)

(91)

(99)

(102)

(104)

(106)

(100)

(99)

(100)

(99)

(99)

(91)

(91)

(106)

Average

30

32

35

35

34

31

30

31

32

31

29

29

31.6

high C (F)

(86)

(90)

(95)

(95)

(93)

(88)

(86)

(88)

(90)

(88)

(84)

(84)

(88.9)

Average

19

19

21

23

23

22

22

22

22

22

21

19

21.3

low C (F)

(66)

(66)

(70)

(73)

(73)

(72)

(72)

(72)

(72)

(72)

(70)

(66)

(70.3)

Record low

10

20

20

20

20

21

20

14

11

C (F)

(48)

(48)

(50)

(68)

(68)

(68)

(68)

(70)

(68)

(57)

(52)

(46)

(46)

Rainfall mm

14

12

19

53

76

38

57

42

56

153

123

50

693

(inches)

(0.55)

(0.47)

(0.75)

(2.09)

(2.99)

(1.5)

(2.24)

(1.65)

(2.2)

(6.02)

(4.84)

(1.97)

(27.27)

Source: India Meteorological Department (record high and low up to 2010)

2. DEMOGRAPHY
2.1 Population
The population of Coimbatore city has grown from 47,007 in 1911 to 10,50,721 in 2011. Table 2.1
shows the growth of population from 1911. It can be seen that the population has increased by nearly
22 times. The sudden increase in population in 1921 is due to the inclusion of surrounding villages into
the municipal corporation limits in 1913. The electric power made available from the year 1935
encouraged the establishment of a number of industries between the years 1941 to 1951 resulting in the
population growing by 52%.
The dramatic increase in population in the year 1981, is attributed to the up gradation of Coimbatore
Municipality to the status of Corporation, whereby additional areas were included in its jurisdiction..
By statistical methods, the population of Coimbatore City by the year 1921 is estimated to be 11,17,709.
Table 2-1
Year

Population Growth

Population

Variation

% Increase

1911

47007

1921

65788

18781

39.95

1931

95198

29140

44.29

1941

130348

35150

36.92

1951

197755

67407

51.71

1961

286305

88550

44.78

1971

356368

70063

24.47

1981

700923

344555

96.69

1991

806321

105398

15.04

2001

923085

116764

14.48

2011

1020397

97312

10.54

2021

1117709

97312

9.54

2.2 Density
The population in Coimbatore is spread over an area of 246.75 km2 (Before expansion area= 105.60
Km2 ) with a density of 9.950 person/Km2. The density has increased from 7,727 persons/Km2 in
1991 to 9,950 persons/Km2 in 2011 (increase of 28%). Out of the total area of 246.75 Km2, 75.97%
is developed area. The city is divided into four zones namely, North Zone, South Zone, East Zone
and West Zone containing 18 ward each (total of 72 wards) The figure 2.1 shows the population
density of each ward in a map as per the 2001 census data. It is to be noted that the population
density at 2001 was 8,830 persons/Km2

Figure 2.1

Density of Administrative Wards

Table 2.2 shows the zone wise density distribution. It is noted that, North, South and West zones have
equitable density of about 9,200 persons per sq.km, while the east zone has density of about 7,945
owing to larger area when compared to other zones.
Table 2-2 Zone-wise density distribution
Zone
North

Area (sq. Km)

Population

Density (ppl/sq. Km)

28.1

2,56,434

9115

33

2,61,889

7945

South

21.5

2,20,021

9383

West

22.8

2,10,538

9235

East

3. SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE
3.1 Employment
Tertiary Sector mainly in industries and related ancillary activities provides major employment in the
City. Approximately 89 percent of the workforce is employed in tertiary sector. It is also noted that,
Coimbatore serves as a major commercial hub for its surrounding towns and villages with about 7
percent of the property tax assessments being commercial establishments. These commercial activities
also generate significant employment opportunities. Owing to the presence of numerous engineering
colleges in and around Coimbatore and the proposals for emergence of IT industries, would also serve
as a potential employment base and present a great opportunity for the development of Coimbatore.

3.2. Land and Housing

As per Census 2001, there are 251,266 census houses, out of which 235,828 are occupied and the
remaining 15,438 are vacant. The residences form the major occupied houses in the town with 95.97
percent of total occupied census houses. The commercial and public institutions like shops and offices
account for about 10.71 percent of the total occupied census houses. The details of occupied census
houses are presented in Table 3.1
Table 3-1 Occupied Census houses

Average Household Size. The total number of households in Coimbatore according to census 2001 is
224,687. Correspondingly, the household size is 4.14, which is lesser than national average of 5.

Census of Tamil Nadu has classified houses based on the type of roof material, which is
detailed out in Table 3.2.

Like any other town or city in India, concrete roof and tiled

roof is most predominant in Coimbatore.

10

Table 3-2

Distribution of Census houses by type of roof

Based on the type of floor in occupied census houses, the census classification is given in Table 3.2.
The use of concrete floor is most preferred with 65 percent of the total occupied census houses followed
by the usage of mosaic and other types of tiles.
Table 3-3

Distribution of census houses by type of floor

3.3. Health
The Corporation maintains 16 dispensaries (11 Allopathy, 2 Siddha and 3 Ayurvedha) and 2 maternity
homes with 20 urban health posts. All the dispensaries and maternity homes are run by qualified doctors
and other para- medical staff using modern equipments and diagnostic techniques. In addition to these
corporation maintained hospitals, there are about 850 nos. of private hospitals, dispensaries, etc. in the
city.

3.4. Education
Coimbatore houses government education institutions along with aided and private institutions. It also
houses some of the best engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu like the Coimbatore Institute of
Technology, P.S.G College, etc. The literacy rate in the town is 80 percent marginally higher than the

11

Coimbatore district figures. The main reason for higher literacy can be attributed to the presence of
many engineering colleges and other technical institutes. The Corporation maintains 98 schools with a
total teaching strength of 1318 and student strength of 39,360. Of the 98 schools maintained by the
Corporation, 60 are Elementary schools, 13 Higher Elementary or Middle schools, 11 Higher Secondary
schools, and one special school for the deaf and dumb.

3.5. Economic Development

Coimbatore is the largest industrial centre after Chennai, and is a part of the Coimbatore-Tiruppur Erode
Industrial corridor. Apart from the numerous large textile mills, a number of small scale engineering
industries are also located in and around the city.
The dry belt of the Coimbatore region comprising of black cotton soil was suitable for cotton cultivation.
The British exploited this feature and the first textile mill was started in the year 1888. The commercial
potential of setting up textile mills led to the shift in most workers from the primary to the secondary
sector, and included a substantial number of farmers. This resulted in the large-scale growth of textile
mills ranging from small, medium to the large-scale sector, thus earning the name `Manchester of South
India.
The omnipresent demand for cotton by the mills pressurized the farmers to improve their irrigation
method in order to increase the production. This paved way for setting up of the pump industry, which
brought along with it the foundries and electric motor manufacturing units. The servicing industry soon
followed suit. Commissioning of the Pykara Hydro Electric Project in 1929 gave impetus to the spinning
mills and was also instrumental in the establishment of the pump industry. Currently, about 40 percent
of the countrys requirement of pump sets is catered to by the industries in Coimbatore. The foundries
and machine shops have provided the necessary base for the light engineering entrepreneur of
Coimbatore to venture into the textile machinery accessories and spares.
Occupational Pattern: The city has witnessed rapid growth over the past few decades with its economy
revolving around production of textiles, engineering equipment and now, the IT sector boom. As per
the 2001 census, 38.49 percent of the total populations of the city constitute the workforce, which has
registered as increase of over 4 percent from the previous decade. 90 percent of the total workforce is
in the tertiary sector followed by secondary sector contributing 5 percent.

12

4. LANDUSE
Study of the land use pattern of Coimbatore, for an area of 105.60 sq.km as indicated in Coimbatore
Master Plan shows that approximately 76 percent of land is put to development use, whereas
approximately 23 percent of the land is still being put to agricultural use, water bodies, vacant areas and
heritages sites. Almost 80 percent of the developed area is put to residential use. In the proposed land
use plan for 2021, it is noted that the city is predominantly expected to develop in residential area and
in industrial area. Table 4.1 shows the existing Landuse pattern as per 2011 data.
Table 4-1 Existing Lanuse breakup 2011
Land Use

Area in Hectare

Residential
Commercial
Industrial
Educational
Public & Semi Public
Agricultural
TOTAL

% of the total area

63.1868

59.84

2.794

2.65

4.91

4.65

6.615

6.26

2.7189

2.57

25.3753

24.03

105.6

100.00

Figure 4.1 Existing Landuse map 2011

13

Residential use: The residential development is spread over 65 sq. kms. High density residential
development is found in the old parts of the city especially in the areas around Rangai Gounder street,
Edgar street, etc. While the newly developed residential areas are well planned with regular street
pattern, well-shaped plots and spaces for public use, the old areas are devoid of
public spaces and a regular street pattern.
Commercial Use: The main commercial area in the old city is located at Oppankara street, Rangai
Gounder street, Big Bazaar street and the adjacent areas. R.K.Puram, Gandipuram are other areas are
coming up as commercial hubs of the city. The retail trade is concentrated along Dewan Bahadur road,
Crosscut road, Avinashi road upto Race Course road, Jail road and N.S.R.road. Most of the wholesale
business and warehousing activities take place in the old city. These activities demand substantial space
in the prime areas and attract heavy vehicles thus adding to the problem of congestion.
Industrial use: The area under industrial use is 4.40 sq. km in 2011 and it expected to increase to 6.8
sq.km in 2021 as per the master plan. The major industrial areas are Peelamedu, which houses an
Industrial Estate, Singanallur and Uppilipalayam. Most of the textile mills and engineering units in the
city are located along Trichy road, Avinashi road and Mettupalayam road. Three textile mills are located
near the over bridge at the heart of the city. Apart from these, number of printing presses and small
automobile workshops are distributed all over the city along important roads. Thus, a pattern of mixed
land use exists in the city.
Coimbatore has also attracted investment in hi-tech industries in the recent years, especially in the field
of solar energy and computer software. There is a modern unit manufacturing solar energy equipment
near Coimbatore and several major software companies have set up development centers in the City.
Educational Use: The total area under educational use is 6.6 sq. kms, which are nearly 8.15 percent of
the total developed area of the city. Educational institutions are mainly concentrated towards the eastern
part of the city, with most of the technical and higher educational institutes located along Avinashi road
and Mettupalayam road. The location of educational institutions on these roads is one of the main
reasons for the growth of the city along these major corridors.
Public and Semi Public Use: The main components under this use are the medical and recreational
facilities. Parks, playgrounds and recreational clubs are the major recreation components under this use.
The botanical garden adjoining the Agricultural University is spread over an extensive area and attracts
large crowd. The other main parks in the city are the Bharati Park, Gandhi Park, Nehru Park and the
VOC Park.
Slums: Coimbatore consists of 60 approved slums that are developed and maintained by the Tamil Nadu
Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) and the City Corporation. Works with regards to water supply, public
toilets, road improvement and drainage, street lighting, etc. are regularly taken up in these settlements.
Further, under the National Slum Development Program about 102 works are proposed to be taken up
to provide basic services to the slum dwellers.
14

The city being an industrial hub attracts migrants from rural areas thereby resulting in a proliferation of
illegal slums and squatter settlements. These areas become unhealthy locations and are prone to a
variety of health related hazards. In addition, high land prices with inappropriate and unclear land
ownership, poor access to credit and inadequate provision of serviced land has further accentuated this
growth in slums.
The proposed landuse breakup for the year 2021 is given below in Table 4.2
Table 4-2
Land Use

Proposed Landuse breakup 2021

Area in Hectare

% of the total area

Residential

66.1714

62.26

Commercial

4.3348

4.10

Industrial

7.2138

6.83

Educational

8.0565

7.65

Public & Semi Public

4.5230

4.28

15.2973

14.48

105.6

100.00

Agricultural
TOTAL

15

5. TRANSPORTATION, ACCESSIBILITY AND

CONNECTIVITY
Coimbatore has a decently-developed transport infrastructure. Coimbatore has good connectivity by
Road, Rail and Air with most cities and towns in India except through waterways. The city has fairly
better transport infrastructure, though road infrastructures are not well maintained and developed
proportionate to the growing needs of transport, making traffic congestion a major problem in the city.
A comprehensive transport development plan is made part of Coimbatore Masterplan 2021 to ease many
of the traffic problems.

5.1 Road Network

The city and metropolitan area are served by major arterial roads that run either in an east-west or northsouth direction . Avinashi road is one of the city's most important arterial road. It traverses most of
central and east Coimbatore (National Highway 47) connecting the metropolis of Bangalore, Chennai.
The road runs in a West-east direction. Other arterials include Trichy Road (Central-Southeast),
Mettupalayam Road (North-South), Sathy Road (South-North East), Palkkad Road(East-West),
Pollachi Road(North-South) and Thadagam Road (east-west). Maruthamalai Road starts at the
intersection of Lawley Road Junction and connects Vadavalli and extends up to Maruthamalai foothills.
Other roads include 100 feet road, Bharatiyar Road, Dr.Nanjappa Road, Balasundarum Road, Cross cut
Road in Gandhipuram Area, Diwhan Bahadhur Road(DB Road), TV Swamy Road, Brooke Bond Road
in RS Puram Areas, Race Course Road etc.
Three major National highways pass through Coimbatore and radiate outward from Coimbatore to 6
major directions

NH47 (Avinashi road) towards Salem leading to Bangalore and Chennai.

NH47 (Pallakad road) towards Trichur, Kochi and Trivandram

NH 67 (Trichy Road) towards Karur, Tichy, Thanjavur and Nagapattinam.

NH 67 (Mettupalayam Road)towards Ooty and Gudalur leading to Karnataka and Kerala.

NH 209 (Sathy Road) towards Sathyamangalam, Chamrajnagar, Bangalore.

NH 209 (Pollachi Road) towards Palani, Dindigul.

There is an outer ring road existing which connects the major arterials. Though this has reduced the
traffic congestion to a some extend, the congestion problem still persists. As a solution for this, the
master plan 2021 has proposed a inner ring road connecting all the major arterials
Intersections: Intersections being accident-prone areas, its geometry assumes great significance. Few
intersections with heavy traffic flow are:
a). Sathyamangalam road and Crosscut road
b). Puliakulam road and Avinashi road
c). Sathyamangalam road and 100 ft. road
16

d). Mettupalayam and Sivanand colony road

e). Cross cut road and Dr. Nanjappa road.
The above mentioned intersections being located in the busy commercial areas cater to heavy vehicular
and pedestrian traffic. Thus, it is imperative to improve the above junctions either by proposing flyovers
and grade separators to ensure pedestrian safety and smooth traffic flow.
Parking: The growth in number of personalized vehicles has increased the demand for parking
tremendously over the past years. Lack of parking space in the commercial areas has resulted in on
street parking which consumes valuable road space, leading to congestion and reducing the carrying
capacity of the roads.
Intense on - street parking activity is seen all along the major roads in the Central Business District
(CBD). On other commercial roads like Dr. Nanjappa road and Cross- Cut road in Gandhipuram on
street parking of taxis and tempos, apart from private vehicles is prevalent.
Few Stretches with intense street parking are:
K.G. street to Oppankara street
Dr. Nanjappa road to Power House road
Edayar Street to Big Bazaar street
NSR Road and Thadagam Road Junction
The need is felt to create off-street parking areas, especially in the CBD and regulate the on-street
parking along the major commercial roads

17

Figure 5.1

Coimbatore Road Map

18

5.2. Public Transport

A major portion of Coimbatore's intra-city transport requirements are met by an extensive public
transport. The bus service, which is run by the government-owned TNSTC Coimbatore covers the city
and its suburbs. In addition to this a large number of intra-city private buses operate within the city. Bus
services are generally considered efficient, but buses on some routes can get very crowded at times. The
bus service ply about 1257 buses on 322 routes covering the entire city and the suburbs. The city is also
served by auto rickshaws and call taxis.
In addition to the bus service, private metered call taxis and fixed-rate tourist taxis are available at all
entry points to the city like airport, bus terminus and railway stations. Vans which are run like bus
services and popularly called "Maxi Cabs" also ply on many routes in the city. The outlying suburban
areas of the city are also served by private mini bus company services as well as government bus
transport corporations of neighbouring districts. Town bus services serve most parts of the city, as well
as other towns and villages in the district. Buses also connect the district with all major towns in Tamil
Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Pondicherry and Andhra Pradesh. The number of inter-city routes operated
by Coimbatore division is 119 with a fleet of more than 500 buses. The major bus terminus are:

Gandhipuram Town Bus stand

Gandhipuram Moffusil Bus stand

Gandhipuram Thiruvalluvar Bus stand (For SETC(TNSTC) and KSRTC Buses)

Gandhipuram Omni Bus stand (Near G.P. Signal)

Snganallur Moffusil and Town Bus stand

Mettupalayam Road Bus stand (Near Saibaba Temple)

Ukkadam Moffusil and Town Bus stand

vellalore Integrated Bus stand (Upcoming)

5.3 Coimbatore BRTS

The Coimbatore Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) is a proposed bus rapid transit project for the city
of Coimbatore under the JNNURM scheme. Project stretch of about 18.6 km starting at Avinashi Road
and ending at Mettupalayam Road running through Dr.Rajendra Prasath Road. After Avinashi road, the
project road turns left from Stanes School and passes along Dr.Nanjappa road and joins at Dr. Rajendra
Prasad Road (100 Ft. Road).
Avinashi road, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Road and Mettupalyam road are provided with the exclusive lane
for buses termed BRTS lane and the connecting links are allowed to flow with the mixed traffic.A
Dedicated Two Lane carriageway of width 7.0m is provided for BRTS corridor. A Dual Lane for Mixed
Traffic of Width 7.0m is provided on either side of the BRTS corridor. The Mixed traffic lane is
separated from the BRTS lane by providing 250mm wide CC block on both sides. 2.0m wide Cycle

19

Track over and 2.0m wide Footpath over built-up drain is proposed on either side of Mixed Traffic
Lane. The Cycle Track is separated from Mixed Traffic Lane by providing 250mm CC Buttons. Out
of total 17.6 km BRTS is passing at grade for a length of 6.64 km (dedicated) and 6.87 km is passing
though elevated section. It is proposed to have 14 at grade bus stops and 3 elevated bus stops.

5.4 Air Transport

The Coimbatore International Airport, which is the second bussiest airport in Tamil nadu serves the city
and its suburbs. The city is connected to major in India and major hubs in South Asia, South East Asia
and Middle East through over eight international carriers. The Airport lies around 18 km from the city
centre and is accessible by road and rail transport services. The other airport in the metropolitan area is
the Indian Air Force base at Sulur- Sulur Air Force Station

5.5 Railway
Coimbatore Junction, also known as Kovai Junction, is the primary railway station serving the city of
Coimbatore. It has six platforms. It is a Major Railway junction in South India and the second busiest
and revenue yielding railway station in Tamil Nadu. Many trains from Kerala to other parts of the
country pass through Coimbatore Junction apart from 18 pairs of terminating express trains. It is one of
the top booking stations in India according to Indian Railway.
The other junctions are located at Coimbatore North Junction (2.6 km away from CBE on the northern
side), Podanur Junction (5.8 km away from CBE on the southern side)and Irugur(16 km from CBE on
eastern side)

5.6. Connectivity
The major Bus terminals are located along the arterials and are well interconnected. The railway stations
are also well connected to the CBD. There is frequent bus service to the International Airport and the
airport is also accessible through the railway. The Irungur junction is located near the International
airport

20

6. PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
6.1 Water Supply System
The water needs of the corporation is met mainly through two major water supply schemes,
i)

Siruvani Connected water supply scheme

ii)

Combined water supply scheme with Pillur as source

6.1.1. Siruvani River water supply scheme

Coimbatore corporation has protected water supply scheme with Siruvani river as source which is at
about 40 km west of the city The water flowing in the river is headed up by a Dam with a capacity of
18.41 million cubic metre and directed through a tunnel in western Ghats to the Coimbatore city. In the
foot of the hill the water is purified and conveyed through distribution network. The quantum of water
supplied by this scheme to Coimbatore city alone is 85 MLD and for the Urban agglomeration is 11.980
MLD.
6.1.2. Combined water supply with Pillur as Source
This water supply scheme with Pillur river as source supplies 65.97 MLD to the Coimbatore city It was
commissioned in the year 1996 for meeting the water supply demands of the local planning area. It has
a total capacity of 125 MLD
Though the two water supply schemes together satisfy the water demand of the present to a great extent,
the current water supply schemes would be inadequate to meet the demands of the future. Hence a new
combined water supply schemes with Pillur reservoir and Bhavani river as source is being planned for
the Local Planning Authority.

6.2. Electricity
The electric power distribution is done directly to various consumers by the electricity board. The
various sub-stations with their capacities are shown in Table 6.1
Table 6-1 Various sub-stations with their capacities

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Table 6.2 shows the consumption of electricity for different uses. The supply is broadly divided into
two- Low Tension Supply and High Tension Supply
Table 6-2 Consumption of Electric Power

The existing source of getting power is sufficient for the entire population of Coimbatore Local Planning
area and meet out the future load growth. The Electricity Board has also proposed three new substations
at Sullur, Kallimadi and Kalapatti each of 32 MVA capacity.

6.3 Drainage
The existing sewage system covers an area of 23.10 sq. km which together has a discharge of 36.04
MLD. Individual septic tanks cover the area not covered by the underground drains. These are disposed
and treated at two plants at Ukkadam and Vellalore.
As the exixsting system fails to meet the futre demand, the corporation has planned a new plant at
Nanjundapuram to cater to the excess demands of the future.

6.4. Solid Waste Management

The SWM in the corporation area is taken care of by the Health Department of the Corporation. The
total waste produced is 601 tons per day. Which works out to approximately 606 grams per capita per
day. Major portion of the waste collection is done through the door-to-door primary collection by the
sanitary workers. Vegetable markets waste is being collected in the night conservancy in South and
West Zones. Mopping of bus stand floors are being done in the night on all Saturdays. 2137 sanitary
workers are involved in the conservancy works, which works out to be about 275 m of road length per
conservancy workers, which is low according to the norms.

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Disposal Sites: There are 4 disposal yards out of which only one is operational at Vellalore sewage
farm. The landfill site at Vellalore has been operational for the last two years, subsequent to the closure
of the citys earlier dumpsites. The corporation has obtained permission from the Tamil Nadu Pollution
Control Board (TNPCB) to use this land for municipal solid waste disposal. The Vellalore compost
yard has an extent of 604 acres of dry land acquired from farmers with one Weigh Bridge and 30 acres
of greenery around it. The Coimbatore Corporation initially acquired this property for the sewage
disposal.

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7. Major Landmarks in City

1.

Victoria Town Hall

Figure 7.1

Victoria Town Hall

2. PSG College of Technology

Figure 7.2

PSG College
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3.

Ukkadam Periyakulam Lake

Figure 7.3

Ukkadam Lake

4. Gandhipuram Bus Terminal

Figure 7.4

Gandhipuram Bus Terminal

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5. Mettupalayam Bus Stand

Figure 7.5 Mettupalayam Bus Stand

6. Avinashi Road

Figure 7.6

Avinashi Road

7. Coimbatore Junction railway Station

Figure 7.7

Coimbatore Junction Railway Station

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8. Fun Republic Mall

Figure 7.8

Fun Republic Mall

9. Tidel Park

Figure 7.9

Tidel Park

10. VOC Park

Figure 7.10

VOC Park

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8. Conclusion

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9. References

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