Geography

Perungudi is located at 12.97°N 80.25°E. It has an average elevation of 9 metre

Metre

The metre , symbol m, is the base unit of length in the International System of Units . Originally intended to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the Earth's equator to the North Pole , its definition has been periodically refined to reflect growing knowledge of metrology...

s (29 feet).

Economy

What was a sleeping small village has become a vibrant and thriving commercial/residential hub after the boom in the Indian IT industry. Perungudi had developed an industrial estate in the 90's. It is still struggling with poor infrastructure for decades despite boasting offices of some the biggest IT companies in India.

Panchayat

Unlike other suburbs of Chennai, Perungudi is administered by the panchayat. Voters elect the panchayat head (popularly called the "thalaivare") directly. All administrative matters which would normally be administered by the Chennai Corporation

Chennai Corporation

Chennai Corporation , formerly known as Madras Corporation, is the civic body that governs the city of Chennai , India. The Chennai Corporation is the oldest municipal body of the Commonwealth of Nations outside the United Kingdom and the oldest corporation in India...

 are managed by the "Perungudi Panchayat".

Elections

Although the panchayat presidential election

Election

An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...

s are nominally held once every five years, no elections were held for a period of 15 years between 1979 and 1994.

Metropolitan Transport Corporation

The "Metropolitan Transport Corporation" ("MTC" from P(pallavan)TC) connects Perungudi to transit points like 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...

, Adayar, and Tiruvanmiyur. The bus numbers include 19B, 21H and 19K. New Bus services (routes T51, 19C, M5, S21, M19D, 519, 568) to Tambaram , Kannagi Nagar ,Kelambakkam, Royapettah, Marina have been added. There are plans to start new bus routes to the interior areas of Perungudi; Kamaraj Nagar, Rajiv Nagar, Telephone Nagar, Elim Nagar etc. Bus services are quite frequent but are still incapable of catering for the rising population. Overcrowded buses are common during peak hours.

Private vans

The use of unlicensed private vans is on the rise. The private operators seem to have worked out an arrangement with the police at the various checkpoints along the route between Perungudi and Adayar, whereby they share the booty. The vans, usually seating about 20, with about 10 made to stand, are usually driven by youngsters as young as 15 years old. The road users along this stretch are wary of them, and give way immediately at the sight of them for fear of being run over. The trip can be a luxury, as compared to those on the government-owned buses. They serve their customers quite well, and entertain themselves with the latest Kollywood hits. It is quite strange that although legal "share-autos" that seat between five to eight passengers, dominate the east coast road, they are conspicuously absent from the Perungudi roads.

Demographics

India census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

, Perungudi had a population of 23,481. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Perungudi has an average literacy rate of 72%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 77%, and female literacy is 65%. In Perungudi, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.