Ramanathapuram district split into three
Ramanathapuram district was trifurcated into Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga and Virudhunagar districts.
On 15 March 1985 the large Ramanathapuram district created in 1910 was divided into three. The eastern coastal part remained Ramanathapuram district, the central part became Sivaganga district and the western part became Virudhunagar district. Virudhunagar district covered industrial towns such as Sivakasi and Virudhunagar, and Sivaganga included the Chettinad area around Karaikudi. The split was meant to bring administration closer to people in the backward southern districts.
