lingam brought from Kasi" was installed came to be known as Sivakasi. Sivakasi was a part of the Madurai region during the 16th century. Madurai became independent from the Vijayanagar Empire in 1559 under the Nayaks. Nayak rule ended in 1736 and Madurai was repeatedly captured several times by Chanda Sahib (1740–1754), Arcot Nawab and Muhammed Yusuf Khan (1725–1764) in the middle of the 18th century. In 1801, Madurai came under the direct control of the British East India Company and was annexed to the Madras Presidency. The mutual confrontation between the Maravars and Nadars reached its peak in 1899, leading to a series of riots which became known as the Sivakasi riots. A total of 22 people were killed, as many as 800 houses and the Big Chariot in the center of the city (used by the temple during festivals) were burnt during the riots. Eventually, the riots came to an end after the intervention of the military in mid-July 1899. The Sivakasi municipality was established in 1920. After India's independence from the British in 1947, Sivakasi continued to be a municipality under the Madras state and later a part of Tamil Nadu, when the state was split on linguistic lines during 1953, 1956 and 1960 and renamed in 1968. It was promoted to a second-grade municipality in 1978, first-grade in 1978, selection-grade in 1998, special-grade in 2013 and proposed to be upgraded as municipal corporation in 2017. On 31-December-2020, both Sivakasi and Thiruthangal are merged with a view to promote Sivakasi as municipal corporation. It is declared as Municipal Corporation on 24-August-2021 in Tamil Nadu legislative assembly. Over the decades after independence, Sivakasi grew as an industrial town specialising in firecracker, match and printing industries. Several incidents of fire and explosions have occurred in the fireworks factories. Geography Sivakasi is located at and has an average elevation of 101 metres (331 feet). The town is located in Virudhunagar district of the South Indian state, Tamil Nadu, at a distance of from Madurai. Sivakasi is located to the east of Western Ghats and to the west of Sattur. The topography is almost plain, with no major geological formation. There are no notable mineral resources available in and around the town. The soil types are black and red that are conducive to cotton, chillies, and millets. These crops are predominant because of poor groundwater supply and soil type. Sivakasi experiences