Tourist City in Pattukotai

Unexploited Potential : A historical important tourist spot with a serene atmosphere and scenic beauty, with a calm Bay of Bengal surrounding it, is not fully exploited in Tanjore district. The place is Manora, located 20 km south of Pattukottai in Sethubhavachatram panchayat union in Tanjore district.

The place derives its name from the fort built here by King Serfoji who ruled Tanjore. The fort is called Manora, a derivative of the Minars of North Indian architecture. The 140 ft monument stands majestically on the shore amidst lush green coconut groves. Looking like an ancient lighthouse, the tower was built by King Serfoji in 1811 to commemorate the victory of the British army over Napolean Bonaparte, in the historic battle of Waterloo. The hexagonal shaped ten storeyed fort has a moat around it. Each story of the tower offers a different view of the sea, fishing boats and coconut groves. The Maratha Kings used the fort as a summer palace. The moat with sea water is provided with drainage facility. Rest sheds surround the moat; soldiers who used to guard the fort stayed in these sheds. Hanging lasers were used to reach the other side of the moat.

Graffiti on the walls of the fort has defaced it. Some of the portions have given way and the sheds are not clean. The sea water in the moat is highly polluted. Though the fort was declared as a monument and handed over to the Tamil Nadu Archaeological department, little had been done by the department to protect the monument. Now the Government has sanctioned Rs. 6 lakhs for the work which the Department of culture will take up. The tourism department is very keen to develop the place into a tourist spot.

According to Mr. G. Bhaskaran Dhanraj, Tanjore district officer, Department of Tourism, a plan has been prepared to develop the place into a water sports and seaside resort centre. The proposal has been sent to the Dr. M.S. Swaminathan foundation for getting aid under the Integrated Coastal Area development scheme.

Mr. Dhanraj said that the sea was suitable for wind surfing riding water scooters and developing various water sports. The sea is not rough at Manora as it takes a turn at Point Calimere and enters the Palk Strait. A beach resort around the fort would attract a lot of tourists to the place; the fort has approach roads. If the buses plying on the East Coast road which is one km from the fort are diverted to Manora it would solve the transport problem. It would also help a hundred families of fishermen who live near the fort in a colony. After Nagapattinam district was bifurcated from Tanjore, the parent district is left only with Manora for a beach resort. It is felt it developed properly it would serve the people of Trichy Pudukottai and Tanjore districts and also foreign tourists visiting Tanjore.