Marakkanam

Marakkanam is a developing town and taluk in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu. It is well connected to the state capital Chennai and the nearby union territory of Puducherry by the East Coast Road. To the west, Marakkanam is connected to the city of Tindivanam by the SH-134. Marakkanam is situated on the declared National Waterways NW-4. On materialisation of National Waterways NW-4, Marakkanam will be connected to two states Andhra Pradesh (Kakinada) and Puducherry through north and south of Buckingham Canal. thumb|right|Map indicating blocks of Marakkanam Selection Grade Town Panchayat

==History== Marakkanam was connected to Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh through the Buckingham Canal, a 420 km long fresh water navigation canal. The 110-km stretch from Marakkanam to Chennai is called South Buckingham Canal. The canal connects most of the natural backwaters along the coast to the port of Chennai (Madras). It was constructed by the British Raj, and was an important waterway during the late nineteenth and the twentieth century. Canal was formerly used to convey goods up and down, but later the usage has downgraded due to industrial pollution of water. thumb|right|India's National Waterways NW-4 connects Kakinada, in [[Andhra Pradesh and Pondicherry, in Puducherry. The waterway passes through Rajamundry, Vijayawada, Pedakanjam, Chennai and Marakkanam.]]