Poonamallee is a town in the Tiruvallur District of Tamil Nadu, India situated about 23 kilometres (14 miles) west of the capital city of Chennai. Historically, an important administrative and commercial centre and garrison town, Poonamallee serves as a taluk headquarters and is administered by a municipality. Poonamallee has been one of the important transit points on the Chennai-Bengaluru Highway and is connected with Chennai city by one of its longest and well-known arterial roads, the Poonamallee High Road. It also has a bus terminus with regular services to Broadway through Poonamallee High Road as well as Mount-Poonamallee Road to Kathipara Junction and Anna Salai thereafter. Rapid growth in recent years has resulted in Poonamallee's assimilation into the Chennai Metropolitan Area of which it forms a prominent part. As of 2011, the town had a population of 60,607.
The town of Poonamallee dates from the Chola period though it became a place of significance only during the twilight of the Vijayanagar Empire when it served as the residence of a provincial governor (Nayak). The Nayak of Poonamallee was a representative of the Vijayanagar kingdom in its negotiations with the British East India Company in 1639 which concluded in the grant of the village of Madraspatnam to the Company and the establishment of the English settlement of Fort St. George. As the British built their empire, they set up a cantonment alongside the zamindari town with a fort, church, barracks, schools and a dispensary.
Until 1997, Poonamallee was part of the Sriperumbudur taluk of Chingleput district. When the district was bifurcated in 1997, Poonamallee became part of Tiruvallur district and a separate Poonamallee taluk was carved out.
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Location
Poonamallee is situated at a distance of 22 kilometres (14 miles) from Chennai Central railway station and about 18 kilometres (11 miles) west of the Bay of Bengal coast at Marina Beach. It is located at the end of the Mount-Poonamallee Road, Poonamalle High Road and Pallavaram-Kundrathur-Poonamallee Road, 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) from Kathipara Junction and 13 kilometres (8.1 miles) from Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus on the Chennai bypass. The nearest railway station is at Avadi (9 kilometres (5.6 miles)) while the nearest railway station within Chennai metropolitan limits are Guindy and Kodambakkam, both 13 kilometres (8.1 miles) away. The Chennai International Airport is situated at a distance of 15 kilometres (9.3 miles).
Etymology
The name "Poonamallee" is derived from the Tamil phrase Poo irundha Valli, which refers to "the place with a pond of flowers" or "flower-abundant pond." It is the birthplace of Saint Thirukatchi Nambigal, a revered Vaishnava devotee, whose daily service of offering flowers to Lord Varadharaja underscores the town's association with floral offerings. The Sanskrit name Pushpagirimangalam, meaning "auspicious place of the flower hill," highlights its sanctity and link to Nambi’s devotion. The Varadaraja Perumal Temple, Poonamallee, a significant Chola-era shrine, commemorates Nambi’s devotion and the divine darshan he received from Lord Varadharaja, Lord Ranganatha, and Lord Venkateswara. This place was also called Lakshmipuram and Ulagu Vuyya Konda Cholapuram, emphasizing its spiritual and cultural significance in the Chola era.
History
Poonamallee might have been inhabited in prehistoric times as the Archaeological Survey of India has discovered a number of Stone Age burials in the region around Poonamallee town. The oldest recorded history of Poonamallee, however, dates from the Chola period. The celebrated Azhwar saint Thirukachi Nambi is believed to have been born in Poonamallee in 1009 CE. A Hindu temple in the town celebrates his memory.
Poonamallee rose into prominence as a town towards the end of the Vijayanagar period when it was the residence of the powerful Velama Damarla family of chieftains. There are also attested European colonies from this period. The Portuguese constructed the Poonamallee Fort in 1553. The Jama Masjid in Poonamallee was constructed during the rule of the Golconda sultanate and has a Persian inscription from the 17th century.
When the British East India Company acquired a grant of land from the Vijayanagar emperor in 1639 for the construction of a factory at Fort St George, the names of the Velama Nayak chieftain, Damarla Venkatappa Nayak and his brother, Damarla Ayyappa Nayak of Poonamallee feature prominently in the negotations. According to one theory, the name "Chennai" derives from the name of their father, Damarla Chennapa Nayak and the new settlement was named so in deference to the wishes of Venkatappa Nayak.
In the 18th century, Nayak of Poonamallee became subordinate to the Nawab of Carnatic and was in 1763, attached to the "jagire" of Chingleput whose revenues were assigned to the British East India Company. The Company eventually established political control in 1780 and formed the district of Chingleput in the 1790s with Poonamallee as one of its taluks. In 1860, when the district of Chingleput was abolished and merged with Madras district, the taluk of Poonamallee was also done away with. When the Chingleput district was separated from Madras district once again in 1870, Poonamallee became part of Sriperumbudur taluk. Historically, Poonamallee played a significant role during the Carnatic Wars. The old fort, which no longer exists, was a key military stronghold during this period. In the late 19th century, Poonamallee served as a convalescent depot for British troops stationed across the Madras Presidency and Burma, primarily due to its healthy climate. A hospital with 90 beds was built on the site of the old fort. The fort was eventually levelled to make way for these medical facilities. The town also had administrative importance during the British period, with a resident Magistrate and District Munsif. Additionally, Poonamallee was home to a significant number of European pensioners, mainly retired military personnel. The Poonamallee High Road which connected Madras city with Poonamallee, become one of the city's important roads during this time as the city expanded rapidly along the sides of the road and the localities on either side were favoured by European civil servants and later, the Indian rich, for their "garden houses" and became priced pieces of real estate.
Demographics
According to 2011 census, Poonamallee had a population of 57,224 with a sex-ratio of 999 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. A total of 6,496 were under the age of six, constituting 3,313 males and 3,183 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 15.24% and 0.1% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 78.88%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The town had a total of 14668 households. There were a total of 22,411 workers, comprising 133 cultivators, 226 main agricultural labourers, 576 in house hold industries, 18,084 other workers, 3,392 marginal workers, 29 marginal cultivators, 35 marginal agricultural labourers, 128 marginal workers in household industries and 3,200 other marginal workers. As per the religious census of 2011, Poonamallee had 75.88% Hindus, 13.34% Muslims, 9.03% Christians, 0.02% Sikhs, 0.02% Buddhists, 0.29% Jains, 1.41% following other religions and 0.01% following no religion or did not indicate any religious preference.
Administration
Poonamallee is governed by Municipality of Poonamallee, coming under the Thiruvallur district. Poonamallee Municipality is situated in the West Chennai of Tamil Nadu in Thiruvallur District. This town is surrounded with infrastructural facilities and it is near to visit Chennai Metropolitan Bus Terminal (CMBT). The town's traffic is managed by the Avadi Traffic Police (ATP). The town's police comes directly under Chennai Metropolitan Police department. The town elects 1 MLA to the state legislature and comes under Thiruvallur Parliamentary constituency. The town is famous for its 8 courts including the special courts for bomb blasts. It has gained importance since this court system dealt with the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
RTO: Poonamallee comes under RTO-Poonamallee (TN-12). It is one of the largest RTO in Tamil Nadu in terms of vehicle registered. Previously it was under Tiruvallur RTO (TN20).
Politics
Poonamallee assembly constituency is part of Thiruvallur (Lok Sabha constituency).
The Current MLA For Poonamallee Constituency is R. Prakasam (TVK) from 2026 May.
The Current MP is Sasikanth Senthil (INC) from 2024 June.
City
Landmarks
Poonamallee is home to Varadaraja Perumal Temple. The neighbourhood has a Shiva temple which has three inscriptions dating to the 18th century CE. there are three old traditional Catholic churches and a mosque was built and completed by Rustom, son of Dhulfiquer of Astrabad, a servant of Nawab Jumlat-ul-mulk. A Persian inscription dated 1653 CE, found in the mosque reveals this information. There is also a Muhammedan fort nearby. There is also old cemetery in Poonamallee, which is the resting place of many British missionaries. The bus stop next to the cemetery says Kallarai, which is the Tamil word for cemetery.
Educational institutions
Colleges
Alpha College of Engineering
Apollo Engineering College
Panimalar Engineering College
Rajalakshmi Institute of Technology
SKR Engineering College
Sri Muthukumaran Institute of Technology
Apollo Arts & Science College
Iqueue Technologies
Sastha Engineering College
Schools
Arignar Anna Government Higher Secondary School
Apollo Vidyashram
Christ Matriculation Higher Secondary School
Daniel Matriculation School
Government ADW Higher Secondary School
Holy Crescent Matriculation Higher Secondary School
Jeya Jeya Sankara International School
Joy Bell Matriculation School
Kalashetra Matriculation Higher Secondary School
Karthik Matriculation School, Ambal Nagar
New St. Joseph's Matriculation Higher Secondary School
Pencil Park School of Arts, Nambi Nagar
Sarojini Varadappan Girls Higher Secondary School
Sathya Matriculation School
Sri Rani Bai Matriculation school
St. Joseph's Matriculation Higher Secondary School
Sundar Matriculation Higher Secondary School
Thiruvalluvar Middle School, Nambi Nagar
Velammal Vidyalaya, Senneer Kuppam