in 1996 in this district. Theni is one of the active business hubs in the western side of Tamil Nadu, inviting more industries to its locality. The district currently has 41.09 km of Metre gauge track serving 3 Railway Stations which connect to Madurai. The Teni Junction Railway Station is the most important railway station in the district. Forest resources The forest area in Theni district is about 33.70%. There are 27 forest areas in the district, constituting a total area of . Of these, 19 areas fall under the Reserve Forest category with and 8 areas under Reserve Land category with . Total area of forest under green cover classification was . Dense forest and sparse forest are and , respectively. There is no unclassed forest type in the district. About of artificial forest area are cultivated in the district. Wattle, softwood, fuel wood, cashew, neem, and tamarind are the main forest plantation species in the district. The forest area in the district is , which is 40.98% of the total geographical area of the district. The Meghamalai Wildlife sanctuary, Srivilliputhur elephant reserve, and part of Kodaikanal Wildlife Sanctuary are situated in Theni district. There has been no conservation of biological resources in the district. The information of wild life census in Theni district is yet to be made available. Demographics According to 2011 census, Theni district had a population of 1,245,899 with a sex-ratio of 991 females for every 1,000 males, much above the national average of 929. 53.81% of the population lived in urban areas. A total of 119,661 were under the age of six, constituting 61,873 males and 57,788 females. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 20.72% and 0.15% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the district was 69.84%, compared to the national average of 72.99%. The district had a total of 338,112 households. There were a total of 591,642 workers, comprising 36,371 cultivators, 275,585 main agricultural labourers, 12,714 in house hold industries, 205,921 other workers, 61,051 marginal workers, 1,996 marginal cultivators, 39,576 marginal agricultural labourers, 2,225 marginal workers in household industries and 17,254 other marginal workers. At the time of the 2011 census, 79.04% of the population spoke Tamil, 12.75% Telugu and 7.86% Kannada as their first language. Places of interest Periyakulam, Theni, Uthamapalayam, Cumbum, and Bodinayakanur are charming towns in the district. Cascades, silver-lined clouds resting atop green hill tops, sheer