myVariable=<b>Thuraipakkam,</b> is an area of Chennai, India. It is situated on the IT Highway, on Old Mahabalipuram Road, now known as Rajiv Gandhi Salai and the first six lane road in Chennai. Thoraipakkam is on the eastern banks of the Pallikaranai marsh which has been designated as a reserve forest area and is one of the few remaining significant natural ecosystems within Chennai . Thoraipakkam is 3 km in length, starting from Perungudi. Thoraipakkam consists of five main areas, named for nearby landmarks: Seevaram (tea stall bus stop area Krishna tea stall its is a famous tea shop in OMR ), Jain College area, RRE area, Mettukkuppam and PTC quarters.
The Pallavaram Thoraipakkam Bypass road connects the IT Highway and the GST Road (Grand Southern Trunk Road) making Thoraipakkam well connected to all parts of the city.
Thoraipakkam has experienced substantial growth over the past decade, and it serves as a residential and commercial hub for suburbs in the south of Chennai. A number of information technology companies are based in Thoraipakkam.
Thoraipakkam has considerable pollution related problem because a portion of the Pallikaranai marsh has been converted into a garbage dump yard and garbage including medical waste, plastics, tires, are burnt. However, since beginning of 2009, burning has been officially banned and this has led to considerable improvement in the air quality and reduced the levels of pollution.
After the Tsunami of 2004, affected fishermen were relocated to Kannagi nagar(part of Thoraipakkam).
Ground water is considerably better than Chennai city because of its proximity to the marsh though the water has become salty due to over exploitation.
Other than small shops, there are no shopping centers or malls. Thorapakkam police station is behind DB Jain College, and nearest cinema theatre is ARVIND DTS
Localities in Thoraipakkam include MCN Nagar,Balamurugan Nagar, Sakthi Nagar, Customs Colony, Annai Indra Nagar, PTC Quarters, Kannagi Nagar, MettuKuppam, Sai Nagar, State Bank Colony, Anand Nagar and Vinayaka Nagar.