town. There are six Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) in the town, two of which are operated by the government. Electricity supply to Cuddalore is regulated and distributed by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB). The town and its suburbs form the Cuddalore Electricity Distribution Circle. A chief distribution engineer is stationed at the regional headquarters. Water supply is provided to the town by the Cuddalore municipality from three sources: Pennaiyar River, borewells from Caper Hills and Thirvanthipuram. The water from the sources is stored in ten overhead tanks located in various parts of the town. During the period 2000–01, 6.065 million litres of water was supplied every day to households in the town. About 103 tonnes of solid waste are collected from Cuddalore every day by door-to-door collection. Subsequently, the sanitary department of the Cuddalore municipality carries out the source segregation and dumping. The coverage of solid waste management had an efficiency of 100 per cent as of 2001. There is no underground drainage system in the town, and the sewerage system for disposal of sullage is through septic tanks, open drains and public conveniences. The municipality maintains stormwater drains for , covering 32% of municipal roads. There is one government hospital, six municipal maternity homes, and 37 other private hospitals that take care of the citizens' healthcare needs. There are 4,517 street lamps in the town: 275 sodium lamps, 201 mercury vapour lamps and 4,041 tube lights. The municipality operates five markets, namely, Aringar Anna Daily Market at Manjakuppam, Banbari Daily Market at Thirupapuliyur, Bakthavachalam Daily Market at Cuddalore OT, Pudupalayam Daily Market at Pudupalayam and Devanampattinam Daily Market at Devanampattinam, that cater to the needs of the town and the surrounding rural areas. Administration and politics The Cuddalore municipality was established in 1866 during British times as a revenue village. It was promoted to a selection-grade municipal municipality in 1991 and special grade in 2008. The municipality has 45 wards, and there is an elected councillor for each of those wards. The municipality's functions are devolved into six departments: general administration/personnel, Engineering, Revenue, Public Health, city planning and Information Technology (IT). All these departments are under the control of a Municipal Commissioner who is the executive head. The legislative powers are vested in a body of 45 members, one each from the 45 wards. The legislative body is headed by an elected Chairperson assisted by a Deputy Chairperson.