Uchipuli

Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)

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Ramanathapuram district map

Uchipuli-Mandapam

Uchipuli (ऊचिपुली) or Uchippuli is a locality in the Mandapam block of Ramanathapuram district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on Ram Van Gaman Path.

Variants

• Uchippuli (ऊचिप्पुली)

Location

Uchipuli is located on the National Highway 49 (NH 49) or 85 that connects Kochi to Rameswaram. The Uchippuli Railway Station is located on the Rameshwaram-Ramanathapuram route. Madurai Airport (140 km) is the nearest airport.

Uchipuli is a small Village/hamlet in Mandapam Block in Ramanathapuram District of Tamil Nadu State, India. It comes under Enmanamkondan Panchayath. It is located 31 KM towards East from District head quarters Ramanathapuram. 5 KM from Mandapam. 512 KM from State capital Chennai. Uchipuli Pin code is 623534 and postal head office is Uchipuli. Pirappanvalasai ( 4 KM ) , Nochiyurani ( 4 KM ) , Thamaraikulam ( 5 KM ) , Attangarai ( 5 KM ) , Pudumadam ( 5 KM ) are the nearby Villages to Uchipuli. Uchipuli is surrounded by Ramanathapuram Block towards west , Tiruppullani Block towards west , Bogalur Block towards west , Nainarkoil Block towards west.

Naval air station

An Indian naval air station located near Uchipuli has been in operation since 1982 at the site of the abandoned Ramnad Civil Aerodrome. Initially known as INS Rajali II, it was formally recommissioned as "INS Parundu" on 26 March 2009 by the Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sureesh Mehta.

INS Parundu is used primarily as a reconnaissance station to monitor the South East Bay of Bengal, the Palk Strait, and the Gulf of Mannar. A number of naval air squadrons operating Dornier 228 and Britten-Norman Islander aircraft, HAL Chetak helicopters and UAV squadrons are based here.

History

It is a major source of water supply for the Ramanathapuram town.