Aroor

The busy Aroor - NH-47 bypass - Edakochi junction .

Aroor
—  town  —
Aroor Location of Aroor in Kerala and India
Coordinates	9°52′41″N 76°18′14″E
Country	India
State	Kerala
District(s)	Alappuzha
MLA	Adv. A.M. Arif (2006-2011, reelected in 2011 )
Parliamentary constituency	Alappuzha
Assembly constituency	Aroor
Population	35,281 (2001)
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Codes • Pincode • 688534 • Telephone • +0478 • Vehicle • KL-32

Aroor is a census town in Alappuzha district is a suburb of Kochi in the state of Kerala, India. It is a Sea food related industrial area south of Kochi. Though considered a part of Kochi for all practical purposes, Aroor technically belongs to the Alappuzha district. Aroor is a two way entrance to the Cochin city.

Geography

Aroor is located at 9°52′41″N 76°18′14″E.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, Aroor had a population of 35,281. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. Its average literacy rate of 84% is higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 51% of the males and 49% of females literate. 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

History

The name Aroor traces it origins to the phrase "Arayarude Oor", which means the place of fishermen. It later shortened as Arayaroor and subsequently to the present version.

Aroor, which bordered the former Travancore and Cochin states has a colourful history. In the pre-independence days, the coastal tip was known for its adventurous youngsters who would try to get goods past the vigilant customs (one state to another). Much later, in independent India, Aroor is famous for having elected K.R.Gowri Amma, the indomitable lady politician of Kerala for a record 8 times, to the Kerala Legislative Assembly.

Location

Aroor is the northern most tip of Alappuzha district and lies on the National Highway 47 (India). It is around 17 km south of Ernakulam (Kochi), the commercial hub of Kerala. Even though Aroor is a part of Alapuzzha, it is often referred as the southern most tip of the cochin city and Aroor is the Industrial Hub of Allapuzha District.

Aroor is linked to the nearby land Kumbalam through bridge. The Aroor -Kumbalam Bridge is the second longest bridge in Kerala state, spanning about 993 meters which links Aroor with Ernakulam district at Kumbalam through Aroor - Edapally Byepass. Byepass opened to traffic since 1997.

Places of worship

• Sree Puthuvaranattu Temple (Palliyarakkavu Temple)
• Karthyayani Devi Temple (Travancore Devasam Major Temple)
• Sree Kanakakunnu Temple (Poojappura Temple)
• Pavumpayil Sreekrishna Swamy Temple
• Sreekumara Vilasom Temple, Puthenangady.
• Vattakeril Sree Khandakarna Temple
• Ammanezhathu Sree Bhavaneeswara Temple
• Cherupally Devasam
• Sree Kumarthupady Devi Temple Chandiroor
• Sree Subramania Swamy temple
• St. Augustine's Church: A major landmark, right on the Highway.
• St. Mary's Church, Aroor
• Our Lady of Ransom Church, Chandiroor
• Calasanz Bhavan Chapel, Aroor
• Masjid ul Aman
• Masjid ul Rahman
• Mahal Muslim Jamath
• Indian Pentecostal Church of God - Philadelphia Hall
• Nadakal Sreedharma Shastha Temple

Educational institutions

• Government High School, Aroor
• Government Higher Secondary School, Chandiroor
• St. Augustine's High School
• Our Lady of Mercy Higher Secondary School
• Holy Angels Residential School, Aroor.
• Al Ameen Public School, Chandiroor
• Yahia ul Islam, Chandiroor
• Najmul huda Public School, Chandiroor

Prominent Hospitals

• State Government Hospital
• ESI Dispencery
• Lakshmi Hospital
• Mercy Hospital
• Karthika Hospital
• Jeevans Hospital, Chandiroor.
• Chandiroor Mission Hospital

Industries

• Seafood Export

A seafood export processing plant at Aroor.The coldstorage shipment containers are seen in the front of the plant.

Aroor lies in the vicinity of Vembanad lake, a part of Kerala backwaters. This eco-system helps large-scale prawn and shrimp farming as an alternative in the low-lying paddy fields, which have the interlocked water system connected to the Kerala backwaters. Secondly the Cochin fishing harbour and port is just 15 km away from Aroor. The abundance of marine wealth and logistical advantages has helped the seafood export to grow especially around Aroor. There are many marine food processing units in Aroor which provide large scale employment to number of people. The raw seafood catch is also purchased by large seafood export firms from North Kerala, Kollam, South Karnataka, Orissa, Tamilnadu etc., processed and preserved in cold storages and then trans-shipped through Cochin port.

• KELTRON Controls-Control & Instrumentation division of Keltron
• Elite Food Products Pvt Ltd - Bread Making
• Studio Complex Manorama News- Prominent Malayalam Television News Channel

Politics

Aroor assembly constituency is part of Alappuzha (Lok Sabha constituency).

The place has the distinction of electing K.R.Gowri Amma to the Kerala Assembly, on a record 8 occasions. During the last elections, however, she lost to a younger candidate A.M. Ariff of CPI(M). It was when Gowri Amma was a minister, that A.K.Antony lead Congress men blocked the NH 47 at Chandiroor over the Velluthully kayal issue. That was the start of A.K. Antony's political career. He later went on to become the Chief Minister of Kerala. Smt. Gowri Amma was the agriculture minister in his Cabinet. A.K. Antony is now the Defense Minister of India.

The panchayats that come under the Aroor Assembly constituency are Aroor, Ezhupunna, Kodamthuruth, Kuthiathode, Thuravoor, Arookutty, Panavally, Thaikkattuserry, Perumpalam and Pallippuram.