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Wellington
Jakkatalla Badaga:ಜಗತಲ ஜகதலா | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Mettupalayam-Ooty Mountain Train Hauled By Diesel Locomotive approaching Wellington Station | |
| Nickname: Jacketallah | |
  Wellington | |
| Coordinates: 11°21′49″N 76°47′19″E / 11.3636°N 76.7885°E[1] | |
| Country |  India |
| State |  Tamil Nadu |
| District | Nilgiris |
| Elevation | 1,855 m (6,086 ft) |
| Population (2001) | |
• Total | 20,220 |
| Language | |
| • Official | Tamil |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 643231 |
| Vehicle registration | TN43 |
Wellington (Native name: Jakkatalla (Badaga)) is a town in the Nilgiris District of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located at three kilometres to the north of Coonoor on the NH-181. The town includes a Wellington Bazaar, and the Wellington Cantonment. The Wellington Cantonment is home to The Madras Regimental Centre (MRC) and The Defence Services Staff College (DSSC). The Nilgiri passenger train passes through Wellington, which also has a railway station.
The settlement of Wellington lies immediately outside of Wellington Cantonment, which was earlier known as Jakkatalla (or Jacketallah) from the Badaga Village of that name to the north of it. In 1852, Sir Richard Armstrong, the then Commander-in-Chief, recommended that the name should be changed to Wellington in honour of the Iron Duke, who had previously evinced an interest in the establishment of a sanatorium in the Nilgiris. In 1860, Sir, Charles Trevelyan held that this interesting Military Establishment could not be connected with a more appropriate name than Wellington. He, therefore, ordered that Jakkatalla Station be called henceforth Wellington.
The construction of the barracks began in 1852 and was completed in 1860, popularly known as Wellington Barracks. It assumed importance in the Station, and since February 1942 is occupied by the Madras Regimental Centre. The Wellington Barracks is now named as Srinagesh Barracks in memory of the First Indian Colonel of the Madras Regiment Gen. S.M.Srinagesh.
The native Bazaar, now known as the Cantonment Market, is away from the Barracks and is on the other side of the stream after crossing the Waterloo Bridge (commonly known as Black Bridge, a tarred wooden construction, reconstructed in March 2009, and renamed as Manekshaw Bridge in memory of Field Marshal SHFJ Manekshaw) onto NH 181.