Sithalapakkam is a suburb of south Chennai

Chennai

Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

, India. It is about 3 km away from Medavakkam

Medavakkam

Medavakkam is one among the southern suburbs of Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu. It is a residential municipality close to the Chennai Airport and is adjacent to the suburbs of Sholinganallur, Madipakkam, Selaiyur, Keelkattalai, Velachery and Tambaram and it is center place to the...

. Its new PIN

Postal Index Number

A Postal Index Number or PIN or Pincode is the post office numbering or post code system used by India Post, the Indian postal administration. PIN stands for Postal Index Number and the code is 6 digits long. The PIN was introduced on August 15, 1972.-Structure:There are nine PIN zones in India,...

 is 600126. Its older PIN Codes were 600073 and 601302. On one side of Sithalapakkam there is a lake, on its rear side there is a hill. Some portion of this hill is cutout for sand and stone. The hill at its bottom has a man made lake. One can see some wild birds in Sithalapakkam. Though some buildings have erupted, most of Sithalapakkam has no tar or concrete roads. It's difficult to navigate in rainy season.

It is often confused with Chitlapakkam

Chitlapakkam

- Overview :Chitlapakkam is a fast-developing suburb, located about 7 km from the Chennai International Airport. It is near to Tambaram. Land values grew as the demographics favoured software professionals working with various IT Companies in Sholinganallur or OMR as the IT super highway is...

  PIN 600064, which is an older suburb, more established and more closer to Tambaram

Tambaram

Tambaram is a suburb of Chennai situated 27 km south of the city in Tamil Nadu, India. It is an urban node. Tambaram is a hub to all major destinations in south Tamil Nadu as it lies on the busy Chennai–Trichy national highway. The highway and the railway line from Chennai Egmore to...

.

Major roads

Good roads connect Sithalapakkam to Tambaram, Velachery

Velachery

-Geography:Velachery has mostly areas of hard rock, and a big marshland in the southern region of the area. It is said that this marshland was once a natural bird sanctuary. But nowadays, due to encroachment and rapid real estate development, the sanctuary has disappeared. Even today there is a big...

, Saidapet

Saidapet

Saidapet is an important neighbourhood in Chennai , India. The Saidapet Court, the only other court of judicature in Chennai city apart from the Madras High Court and the Saidapet bus depot are located here...

, Old Mahabalipuram Road and Vandalur

Vandalur

Vandalur is a census town in Kancheepuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Arignar Anna Zoological Park, located here houses some rare species of wild flora and fauna and is famous throughout India....

 Kelambakkam

Kelambakkam

Kelambakkam is a rapidly growing suburb of Chennai in Tamil Nadu state in India. It is situated on the Old Mamallapuram Road and is about 35 km from Chennai....

 highway. The major roads that touch Sithalapakkam are

1. Mambakkam Main Road - Medavakkam to Mambakkam (via Sithalapakkam, Maduraipakkam, Ponmar, intersects the Vandalur Kelambakkam highway at Mambakkam),
2. Ottiyambakkam Main Road - Sithalapakkam to Kelambakkam (via Ottiyambakkam, Karanai, Thazhambur),
3. Madambakkam Main Road - Rajakilpakkam
   Rajakilpakkam
   Rajakilpakkam is a suburban area of Chennai to the south of the city, near East Tambaram in Tamil Nadu, India. Its post code is 600 073.Located 4 km from Madras Christian College, the place is a prominent hub of various religious communities. Madambakkam High Road connects from Velachery...
   
    to Sithalapakkam (via Madambakkam
   Madambakkam
   Madambakkam is a panchayat town in Kancheepuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It borders Selaiyur, Vengaivasal and Sithalapakkam.-Geography:Madambakkam is located at . It has an average elevation of 29 metres...
   
   ),
4. Vengaivasal Main Road - Santhoshapuram to Sithalapakkam (via Vengaivasal),
5. Sithalapakkam to Perumbakkam
   Perumbakkam
   Perumbakkam is a suburb of the southern Indian city of Chennai. It is bound by Sholinganallur to the east, Chemmencheri to the south, Medavakkam to the north and Sithalapakkam to the west. It is only a few kilometers from the fast developing IT corridor OMR of chennai...
   
    road (via Nookampalayam, Bollineni Hillside project), and
6. Sithalapakkam to Old Mahabalipuram Road road (via DLF Garden City project) (Under Construction)
7. Sithalapakkam to Lake road Via (Surya, N S K Street House)

Transport

Sithalappakkam does not have good means of public transport and its residents have to rely more on their own vehicles. Share autos are a more popular mode of transport to Medavakkam as they ply frequently.

Bus

Metropolitan Transport Corporation (Chennai)

Metropolitan Transport Corporation (Chennai)

- External links :* * * *...

 (MTC) operates the following services via Sithalapakkam.

1. 51K - Tambaram to Karanai/Navalur (via Sithalapakkam)

2. 551A - Tambaram to Kelambakkam (via Sithalapakkam)

3. M51B - T.Nagar to SITHALAPAKKAM

4. M51C - T.Nagar to Ottiyambakkam (via Sithalapakkam)

5. 51B - Saidapet to Karanai (via Sithalapakkam)

6. M51D - Saidapet to Kelambakkam (via Sithalapakkam)

7. 51L - C.M.B.T. to SITHALAPAKKAM

8. L51 - C.M.B.T. to Ottiyambakkam (via Sithalapakkam)

9. E51 - High Court to Ottiyambakkam (via Sithalapakkam)

10. C21 - Broadway to Ottiyambakkam (via Sithalapakkam)

11. M51V - T.Nagar to Kolathur (via Sithalapakkam)

12. 70C - Koyambedu/Tambaram to Maduraipakkam

13. 551 - Velachery to Acharavakkam

Rail

The nearest railway stations are Tambaram (10 km) and Velachery MRTS (10 km). MTC buses M51K and 551A ply from Tambaram and M51B and M51V are frequent from Velachery.

Real estate boom

Sithalapakkam became high profile place now. The population explosion in Chennai and its proximity to Old Mahabalipuram Road have made it a good real estate investment. Many independent houses are popping up in this region. Due to good ground water and being less polluted, many families find Sithalapakkam an attractive place to live in. But due to overdrawal of water by the mineral water companies the ground water level is receding now. Leo Housing had promoted many layouts here in the 70s and early 80s. Vivekananda Nagar, Vijayapuram, Venus Colony and Sankarapuram are some of them.

The DLF Garden city,Bollineni Hillside, Sankarapuram, Jothimangalam layout and ADP avenue are the most prominent residential townships being developed near Sithalapakkam. When completed, DLF Garden city and Bollineni Hillside will house a vibrant community of over seven thousand upper middle class households. These two residential townships will also be well connected to Siruseri IT park

Siruseri

Siruseri is a suburb of Chennai, India in Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu, located a 30 km south of the city, along Old Mahabalipuram Road...

 and other IT companies in the Old Mahabalipuram road. This change in demography is well poised to improve the general infrastructure and ambiance of Sithalapakkam.

Also government is incorporating four lane roads from Medavakkam to Mambakkam which connects Vandalor-Kelambakkam road where many colleges like Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT Chennai campus), Tagore engineering college are situated. Which will boom real estate in near future

Religion

Sithalapakkam has a secular religious mix. Hindus, Muslims and Christians live side by side. Like all other Indian regions Hindus are more in number than Muslims who are slightly more than Christians

The worshipful Goddess Kaliamman Koil is situated at Jayanagar Bus stop.This temple is one of oldest temple in sithalapakkam. Every year Festival and culturals occurs at this temple during month of AADI i.e middle of August month.People surrounding Karanai,puthupakkam,navallur,sithalapakkam will come here every week friday to worship and pays some offerings like fruit, Sarkkarai pongal(jagger rice) as prasadam.The pond is situated near the temple and 100 years old banyan tree, Neem trees are grown surrounding the temple.

Sithalapakkam has an Amman

Mariamman

Māri ,Tulu, also known as Mariamman , both meaning "Mother Mari", spelt also Maariamma , or simply Amman or Aatha is the South Indian Hindu goddess of disease and rain. She is the main South Indian mother goddess, predominant in the rural areas of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and...

 temple

Temple

A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...

 located at Valluvar nagar bus stop. It is very popular place of worship for its Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 residents and religious festivals are conducted regularly.

There is a Pilliar

Pilliar

Pilliar is the Tamil name given to lord Ganesh....

 Kovil located in Sky Lab Avenue, it's a small citadel for the God Ganesha

Ganesha

Ganesha , also spelled Ganesa or Ganesh, also known as Ganapati , Vinayaka , and Pillaiyar , is one of the deities best-known and most widely worshipped in the Hindu pantheon. His image is found throughout India and Nepal. Hindu sects worship him regardless of affiliations...

.

Sithalapakkam has a Mosque in Indra Naagar. Indra nagar has large Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 community.

Church of Sinai, a wing of [Shelter Ministries]http://www.shelterministries.in is located at Sithalapakkam. They offer regular services to Christian population here.

Sithalapakkam has an Amman temple

Temple

A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...

 located at Surya House.

Near Siva House you can find KANNI AMMAN KOIL (Temple ) , This old temple age is more than 25 years . No such Kanni ammam Koil near this area.

Schools

There are few good schools in Sithalapakkam. Mayfield residential school near Sankarapuram offers CBSE syllabus. There is a PSBB Millennium branch in the DLF Garden City. Kids of residents currently rely on Medavakkam or Selaiyur for good schools.

1. Zigma Matriculation School with in 3 km Radius
2. Zion Matriculation School with in 4 km radius
3. Bala Vidya Mandir was there with in 1.2 km radius (In Bollineni Hill Side Project).
4. R V Matriculation School
5. Govt School up to 8th Std

Hospitals

There are few private hospitals and doctors in Sithalapakkam. The nearest major hospital is the Global Hospitals & Health City off the Medavakkam-Sholinganallur road.
Raajan Hospital the group of balachandra hospital medavakkam has recently opened and it is 24hr facility with medical shop

Banks

Recently Karur Vysya Bank with ATM Facility openned at Vallura Nagar bus stop. Recently AXIS Bank ATM & Karur Vysya Bank ATM has been opened and the nearest other ATM is the ICICI Bank ATM in Medavakkam.
Axis bank ATM has been opened at jayanagar bus stop.
KVB ATM has been opened at TNHB stop(Kani kovil Street) on Mambakkam road.

Communication

BSNL is the major wired landline operator. BSNL, Aircel and Vodafone provide good mobile connectivity. Airtel has set up its new tower and now there is no problem with Mobile coverage. Reliance and Tata Indicom are good for wireless landline connections. Broadband coverage remains a pipe dream for Sithalapakkam and BSNL provides it in a few pockets. It is a classic chicken-and-egg case. Broadband operators will not be ready to invest unless there is more demand. People will not be ready to relocate to Sithalapakkam unless it has amenities typical of an urban suburb. The internet browsing center is opened in jayanagar bus stop.
Today(28-11-2011), KVB bank branch and ATM opened at Valuvar Nagar bus stop, sithalapakkam.

Provisions

There are small provision stores in Sithalapakkam. But they do not stock enough variety. Medavakkam has shops that stock almost everything. It has the look of a traditional 'sandhai'. It also has convenience stores from More and Reliance Fresh.

Fuel

There are no fuel outlets in Sithalapakkam. The nearest petrol bunks are in Medavakkam and ponmar which is 5 km away from either side.

Consumer durables

Medavakkam has Sekar Home Stores, Sathya Agencies and George Enterprises, which store most branded durables.

Water Shortage

Due to the immense population growth and due to extraction of ground water, Sithalapakkam now faces water shortage. Many borewells that goes up to 100 ft are turning to be dry. Though this place is witnessing a massive boom, this seems to come along with a curse of water scarcity.

Pollution

Sithalapakkam was a relatively unpolluted place, however, due factories and human settlement its pollution levels have increased dramatically. Gold Winner

Gold Winner

Gold Winner is a sunflower oil brand produced by Kaleesuwari Refinery Pvt Ltd. The early history of the company goes back to 1970s with a small grocery store started by G. Munusamy. He bought Kaleesuwari Refinery Private Limited near Chennai in 1993 and has markets in India, Singapore, Malaysia,...

 Oil company constantly pumps effluents into Palikarnai lake near Sithalapakkam. Though this hasn't resulted in contamination of ground water yet, it's said that this will have adverse effect on ground water tomorrow.

Both Gold Winner Oil company and Popular snacks company located in Sky Lab avenue pmp large volumes of smoke into air. Sky Lab avenue is worst affected by Popular snacks smoke stacks. The heavier than air particles that emerge out of it brings breathing difficulties to residents.

Politics

Sithalapakkam is ruled by a counselor who is elected by the people. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. It is a Dravidian party founded by C. N. Annadurai as a breakaway faction from the Dravidar Kazhagam headed by Periyar...

 (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. The party was founded by M. G. Ramachandran and is now headed by J. Jayalalithaa. The party headquarters is in Royapettah, Chennai, and was gifted to the party in 1986 by its...

 (AIADMK) are the dominant parties in Sithalapakkam. The current counselor is from the Independent.

Places near Sithalapakkam

• Medavakkam
  Medavakkam
  Medavakkam is one among the southern suburbs of Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu. It is a residential municipality close to the Chennai Airport and is adjacent to the suburbs of Sholinganallur, Madipakkam, Selaiyur, Keelkattalai, Velachery and Tambaram and it is center place to the...
  
  
• Vengaivaasal
• Madambakkam
  Madambakkam
  Madambakkam is a panchayat town in Kancheepuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It borders Selaiyur, Vengaivasal and Sithalapakkam.-Geography:Madambakkam is located at . It has an average elevation of 29 metres...
  
  
• Perumbakkam
  Perumbakkam
  Perumbakkam is a suburb of the southern Indian city of Chennai. It is bound by Sholinganallur to the east, Chemmencheri to the south, Medavakkam to the north and Sithalapakkam to the west. It is only a few kilometers from the fast developing IT corridor OMR of chennai...
  
  
• Maduraipakkam
• Semmancheri
• Ponmar
• Thalambur
• Karanai
• Navalur

External links

1. Sithalapakkam news
2. An article in The Hindu praising the virtues of living in Sithalapakkam

For Medavakkam information: http://sites.google.com/site/infomedavakkam