Thoothukudi, also known as Tuticorin, is a port city and a Municipal Corporation in Thoothukudi district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thoothukudi is the headquarters of Thoothukudi District. It is located about 590 kilometres (367 mi) south of Chennai and 190 kilometres (118 mi) northeast of Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum).
Thoothukudi is known as "Pearl City" due to the pearl fishing carried out in the town. It is a commercial seaport which serves the inland cities of Southern India and is one of the sea gateways of Tamil Nadu. It is also one of the major seaports in India with a history dating back to the 6th century AD. The city is believed to be of significant antiquity and has been ruled, at different times, by the Early Pandyas, Medieval Cholas, Later Cholas, Later Pandyas, Ma'bar Sultanate, Tirunelveli Sultanate, Vijayanagar Empire, Madurai Nayaks, Chanda Sahib, Carnatic kingdom, Portuguese, Dutch and the British. Thoothukudi was settled by the Portuguese, Dutch and later by the British East India Company. The city is administered by a municipal corporation covering an area of 90.663 km (35.005 sq mi). As of 2001, the city had a population of 320,466.
Industries like Southern Petrochemical Industrial Corporation(SPIC), Tuticorin Alkali Chemicals, Heavy water plant, Sterlite, Venus Home Appliances, Maris Associates, VVD Coconut oil, Ramesh flowers and KSPS Salts have their manufacturing units in Thoothukudi. Majority of the people of the city are employed in salt pans, sea-borne trading, fishing and tourism. The major attraction in the city is Our Lady of Snows Basilica, a 16th century site. There are in total 117 schools, five arts and science colleges, three polytechnics, two engineering colleges, one medical college and a fisheries college in the city.
The 21 islands between Thoothukudi and Rameswaram shores in the Gulf of Mannar are notified as the
