Melapalayam is a neighborhood of Tirunelveli City in Tamil Nadu, India situated on the east bank of the Thamirabarani River. The neighborhood's name comes from its location west (Tamil: mela) of Palayamkottai, the "Oxford of South India." Eighty percent of the population is Muslim. Melapalayam is 4.1 kilometres (2.5 mi) west of downtown Tirunelveli and is an administrative zone of the Tirunelveli City Municipal Corporation.