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The district headquarters of Salem district in Tamil Nadu, Salem is presumed to be the birth place of the poetess Awaiyar who has written poems in Tamil which are popular even now. It is highly regarded for its mangoes, steel and also for the Mettur Dam which serves as a conduit for irrigation and drinking. Once upon a time Salem was the biggest district in Tamil Nadu until it was forked to create Dharmapuri district. But later on it again was bifurcated to form the Namakkal district to be pulled back to the fifth slot in terms of area. Salem is surmised to be the fourth city to be urbanized in Tamil Nadu.