Sholinganallur, also spelled Solinganalloor or Sozhinganalloor, is a southern neighbourhood of Chennai, India.
Etymology
The etymology given by Tamil scholars is "Chola" + "Angam" + "Nallur", which indicates that Sholinganallur was once part of a Chola settlement, most likely during the 8th century before which this used to be a marshland with a mangrove forest.
Demographics
As of the 2011 Indian census, the population of Sholinganallur reached about 7.5 lakhs, making it one of the most densely populated places in Tamil Nadu.
The Sholinganallur Assembly’s constituency witnessed the highest population influx in Tamil Nadu in the last seven years. According to the official final electoral list released in 2021, the number of voters has risen to 694,845 electors. Sholinganallur continues to be the largest Assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu in terms of the number of voters. The number of the male voters is 348,262, female is 346,476, and transpersons is 107.
Religion
There are several temples, churches and mosques in the area.
The town is well renowned for Sholinganallur Prathyangira Devi Temple, visited by devotees, including from those outside the city. The temple is located close to the Sholinganallur junction and halfway down the link road of ECR and OMR.
Government and politics
Sholinganallur (state assembly constituency) is the biggest assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu in terms of voters.
Civic Administration
Sholinganallur was annexed in to Chennai Corporation in 2011, and it is the last (200th) ward of Chennai city, administered as a part of Chennai Corporation.
Other Authorities
Sholinganallur has a Regional Transport Office (RTO), near Sholinganallur Main Signal. The vehicle registration code is TN-14.
Economy
Chiefly residential, the rapid growth of Sholinganallur's economy, population and infrastructure can be attributed to information technology business parks and dedicated special economic zones (SEZ). Solinganalloor is surrounded by other IT based suburbs such as Siruseri, Perungudi and Taramani. Tamil Nadu government's TIDCO is building a Financial City in Solinganalloor to house global financial corporations. Solinganalloor has become the IT corridor for Chennai city since major IT companies and major workforce (around 2 lakh (200,000) employees) are located in this region.
Sholinganallur is home to a number of BPO and IT/ITES companies. Many major IT companies including Wipro, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Automotive Robotics, Flintobox, 4iapps solutions, PayPal, eBay, Exemplarr Worldwide, HCL Technologies, Cognizant (CTS), Tech Mahindra, Screen Plus have their own facilities in Sholinganallur. Many major IT/ITES companies including Accenture India, eBay, Trident Solutions, American Megatrends, PayPal have their presence here.
Housing
The suburb's population continues to grow rapidly as more and more employees and family of IT professionals (employed in the neighborhood) continue to move in and take up residence at Sholinganallur. Proximity to employment opportunities, good asset appreciation, outstanding road infrastructure, proximity to beaches at ECR and other entertainment venues continues to attract more residents to this suburb.
The Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) has created a satellite township at Shollinganallur with IT Parks, arterial roads, schools, parks, play grounds and bus Terminus. The TNHB township of 4,000 dwellings is situated next to the upcoming Rs1,000 crore National Maritime university complex. Budget serviced apartments are available, which are mostly used by corporates.
Popular restaurants such as Agusthya, Ponnusamy (Chettinad), Daawath (Mughal) and Thamburan (Malabar) are located here. Hanumaya mess and Bhaskar Andhra Mess are two local low budget cafeterias popular with people from all walks of life.
Residential areas of Sholinganallur include Akkarai, Panaiyur, Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, MGR Nagar, Ganesh Nagar and Uthandi (ECR Toll Plaza), which are located on the East Coast Road. Uthandi has a public beach that has been declared as a "turtle nesting site" where the endangered Olive Ridley turtles come to nest and lay their eggs.
Transport
By Air
Chennai International Airport at Meenambakkam is the nearest airport.
By Rail
The Government is constructing Metro Train-Phase 2 along this route from Madhavaram till Siruseri IT park (deadline to be operational for this Corridor-3 and Corridor-5 by 2024/26.