Route
NH 81 runs 318 km from Papampatti Pirivu, Tamil Nadu to Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu.
Crosses Tamil Nadu.
Through Papampatti Pirivu, Palladam, Vellakovil, Karur, Kulithalai, Pullambadi, Ariyalur and Chidambaram.
Why it matters
It joins the industrial west of Tamil Nadu to the delta and the coast, and it is a working freight road for textiles, cement and farm produce.
History
National Highway 81 crosses Tamil Nadu west to east from the Coimbatore outskirts through Palladam and Kangeyam to Karur, then across the Cauvery country through Kulithalai and Ariyalur to Chidambaram on the coast. Its western half runs through the Tiruppur knitwear belt, one of the densest industrial clusters in India, and its eastern half through the delta.