Tumkur, officially renamed as Tumakuru, is a city located in the southern part of Indian state of Karnataka. Tumkur is situated at a distance of northwest of Bangalore, the state capital along NH 48 and NH 73. It is the headquarters of the Tumkur district. It is located at an altitude of 835 m (2739.5 ft). Tumkur hosts India's first mega food park, a project of the ministry of food processing. The India Food Park was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2014. Tumkur is also included in the Smart Cities Mission list and is among the 100 smart cities to be developed in India. Since 28 August 2010, Tumkur has been accorded the status of a city corporation. Etymology Etymologically, the name of the city is believed to have been mutated possibly from "Tumbe ooru" because of the abundance of thumbe hoovu, a kind of flower, or thamate ooru because of the folk musical percussion instrument thamate, that might have been used most here. It is also called Kalpatharu Nadu (land of coconut trees), due to the abundance of coconut trees in the area. Another story says that during the rule of cholas Gulur was their capital. Since Tumkur is at high elevation the guards used to be there on any hill with tumaki (a kind of drum) and used to make sound in case of any alerts, hence the name. The Indian central government approved the request to officially rename the Tumkur and 12 other cities in October 2014. The city officially became "Tumakuru" on 1 November 2014. Geography Tumkur is located at . Tumkur is a city located in the southern state of Karnataka, India. It is situated at an altitude of around 800 meters above sea level and is located about 70 kilometers northwest of the state capital, Bengaluru. The city is situated on the Deccan Plateau, which is a large plateau that covers a significant part of southern India. The region is characterized by a tropical savannah climate, with hot summers and mild winters. The average temperature in Tumkur ranges from around 25 degrees Celsius in the summers to around 15 degrees Celsius in the winters. The city receives an average annual rainfall of around 750 millimeters. The city is surrounded by low hills and rocky outcrops, which are a part of the Eastern Ghats mountain range. The Tumkur district, of which Tumkur