Chengannur

Chengannur ചെങ്ങന്നൂര് Chenganoor
—  Town  —
Chengannur
Coordinates: 9°19′6.54″N 76°36′50.46″E
Country	India
State	Kerala
District	Alappuzha
Government
• Type	Taluk
Area
• Total	50.00 sq mi (129.51 km2)
Elevation	23 ft (7 m)
Population (2001)
• Total	179,759
• Density	3,594.9/sq mi (1,387.99/km2)
	(2011 not released)
Time zone	IST (UTC+5.30)
Post code	689121
Area code(s)	0479
Vehicle Code	KL-30, KL-30
Website	http://alappuzha.gov.in/

Chengannur , (Malayalam: ചെങ്ങന്നൂര്) is a municipal town in Alappuzha district of the state of Kerala in South India. Chengannur (also spelled Chenganoor, Chenganur, and Chengannoor) is located in the extreme eastern part of Alappuzha district. It is 117 kilometres (73 mi) north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram on the MC Road. Chengannur is connected to Kollam and Kottayam by NH 220. Chengannur is noted for its Shiva temple Chengannur Mahadeva Kshetram and tens of others and its Old Syrian Church. Chengannur is one of the major sabarimala pilgrim destination.

The nearest towns are Pandalam to the south, Thiruvalla to the north, Mavelikkara to the west and Aranmula, Kozhencherry, and Pathanamthitta to the east. The taluk contains villages such as Kurattissery, Mannar, Ennakkad, Pandanad, Thiruvanvandoor, Chengannur, Mulakuzha, Ala, Puliyoor, Cheriyanad, Venmony.

Local men

As of the 2001 India census, Chengannur had a population of 125,391. Males constitute 48% of the population and females 52%. Chengannur has an average literacy rate of 88%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 88% and female literacy of 88%. Nine percent of the population is under 6 years of age.

History

The 63 Nayanaars who are worshiped across different parts of South India is the pride of Shaivism. Two of those 63 were Keralites. One among those two was Cheraman Perumal and he was from Chengannur. He was a loyalist of Sundaramoorthy Nayanar. Cheran empire history shows Chengannur as one of the most important townships of their times. The Chengannur mahadevar Temple is a very important place of worship since olden times. There are several old sayings and historical facts associated with the temple. The temple is famous for the Menses period of goddess Parvati. This period is considered very auspicious. Cardamom, known popularly as Black Gold, was a major export item of Chengannur. Chengannur Munsif's court which recently completed its centenary was the most important judicial center of the region.

Demographics

According to 2011 census, Chengannur has a literacy rate of 96.26% (Males- 97.90% and Females- 94.80%). Chengannur has a sex ratio of 1100. The total increase in the population from 2001 has been estimated as 0.61% The population is predominantly Hindu and Christian with a very feeble Muslims population. The most widely spoken language is Malayalam. The standard dialect of Malayalam spoken is Central Travancore dialect.Most of the people are able to talk in English as well, as is evident from the literacy rate.

Transport

CHENGANNUR is well connected by road and rail. SH1 popularly known as the Main Central (MC) Road passes through the heart of the town and connects Chengannur to Thiruvananthapuram and Kottayam. The Chengannur - Kottayam stretch of the MC Road is also part of the NH 220 which stretches between Kollam and Theni. Another major road is the SH10 which connects Chengannur to Mavelikkara and Aranmula. Besides these two roads there are also many arterial roads running across the length and breadth of the town. Kerala State Road Transport Corporation(KSRTC) operates a depot here which is one among the 28 depots operated by it in the state. KSRTC buses to any place in the state is available from here. Besides these, interstate buses are also available. The Municipal bus stand is located in front of the railway station. buses to various places of Alappuzha, Kollam and Pathanamthitta district can be caught from here.

Chengannur (CNGR) is a major rail head of the Trivandrum Division of the Southern Railway. It caters to the needs 2 districts viz- Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta. By rail Chengannur is connected to Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Mangalore, Bhopal, Guwahati, Nagpur, Jammu and other majaor cities of the country. Recently the station has been declared as 'The Gateway to Sabarimala'. The rail line between Chengannur and Trivandrum is now doubled and lso electrified. Besides these, the Railways also own a huge portion of land around the Cheriyanad station which is on the outskirts of the town. Chengannur can easily accessed via air as well as the Trivandrum International airport and Cochin international airport are just 116 km and 125 km away from Chengannur respectively. A new greenfield airport has also been proposed in Aranmula, just 10 km away from Chengannur

Administration and Politics

Alleppey Town officials
Municipal Chairman	Smt.shoba varughese
Deputy Superintendent of Police	Mr.prasanna kumar

The two administrative systems prevailing in the Chengannur are revenue and local self-government, as per the revenue system, Chengannur is one of the two revenue divisions of Alappuzha district. The Chengannur revenue division comprises Karthikapally, Chengannur and Mavelikkara taluks consisting of a total of 44 villages. Under the local self-government system, Chengannur is divided into 1 statutory town and Development blocks consisting of 11 panchayats.

Chengannur assembly constituency is part of the Mavelikkara (Lok Sabha constituency), which after demarcation extends from Changanassery in Kottayam district to Kottarakkara in Kollam district. Chengannur is also one of the State Assembly Constituencies holding the number 110. The first speaker of the Kerala legislative assembly Mr. Sankaranarayanan Thampi was from a MLA from Chengannur. Chengannnurites, since the last five elections, have sent only a congress candidate to the assembly. The current MLA is P.C.Vishnunadh and this is the second time he is winning from here.

Temples

Chengannur Mahadeva Temple

1. Sree Dharma Sastha Temple, Karakkad
2. Mahadeva Temple-Chengannur
3. Mahadeva Temple-Chengann
4. Chengannur Mahadeva Temple
5. Vandimala Devasthanam-Chengannur
6. Vadasserikkavu Bhagavathi Temple
7. Thrichittatt Maha Vishnu Temple
8. Sasthamkulangara Narasimha Murthi Temple
9. Sharngakavu Devi Temple-Venmoney
10. Gandharvamuttam Devi Temple - Mulakuzha
11. Kozhuvalloor Devi Temple
12. Kuthiravattom Shri Dharma Sastha Temple
13. Sree Vinayaka Temple Venmoney Thazam.
14. Sree Sabariyamood Devi Temple Venmoney Thazam.
15. Talom Pillarkad Sreekrishna Temple Venmoney.
16. Sree Bhuvaneswari Temple Venmoney.
17. Sree Mahadevar Temple Venmoney(Cheriyalumood).
18. Divya Jyothi Temple of Narayana Guru at Kozhuvalloor
19. Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple
20. Cheriyanadu Balasubrahmanya Temple
21. Elanjimel Vallikkavu Devikshethram
22. Kalippil Sree Bhuvaneswari Temple, Elanjimel
23. Sri Krishna Swamy Temple, Elanjimel
24. Puthukkulangara temple, Othara
25. Azhakiyakavu Devi Kshethram
26. Neervilakom Ayyappa Temple
27. Edanadu Mahadeva Kshethram
28. Puthancavu Devi Kshetram
29. Malakkara Vishnu Kshethram
30. Kotta Mahadeva temple
31. Puliyur Mahavishnu Temple
32. Vandimala Devasthanam

Main article: List of places of worship in Chengannur

Education

Chengannur hosts one engineering college run by IHRD. The College of Engineering Chengannur. There is one Govt. Technical Institute, and a number of aided and unaided schools. Christian college is another arts college located near to the M C road about 3 km from Chengannur town.

Main article: List of colleges and schools in Chengannur

. Schoosl in Chengannur are affiliated to manily 3 syllabi viz ICSE, CBSE and Kerala. The following is the list of educational institutions in and around Chengannur

Colleges 1. College of Engineering, Chengannur 2. Mount Zion College of Engineering for Women 3. St.Thomas College of Engineering and Technology, Venmoney 4. Christian College, Chengannur 5. Sree Narayana College, Chengannur 6. Sree Ayyappa COllege, Eramallikkara 7. Sree Ayyappa College, Thiruvanvandoor 8. Sree Budha COllege of Engineering, Pattoor

Schools 1. Mathews Mar Athanasius Residential School, Chengannur (ICSE) 2. A.M.M Higher Secondary School, Edayaranmula 3. St. Gregorios School Senior Secondary School, Chengannur 4. St Anne's G.H School, Nursery, U.P, Highschool, Higher secondary 5. Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Chengannur 6. High School Kallissery 7. Metropolitan High School Puthencavu 8. Ebenezer EM High School, Kallissery 9. Government Boys School 10. Government Girls School 11. Thalapanagad LP School (also known as Madathilparampil School) 12. St. George Public School Kozhuvalloor 13. St Mary's Residential Mulakkuzha 14. Devaswom Board High School, Cheriyanad 15. Devaswom Board Higher Secondary School, Cheriyanad 16. Srivijayeshwari High School, Cheriyanad 17. St Bursouma's Public School & Junior College, Ayranikudy, Pandalam 18. St Judes UP School, Venmoney 19. Government High School, Puliyoor 20. Snehagiri UP School, Puliyoor 21. Government Primary School, Thonakadu 22. Mar Philexinos U P School, Puthencavu 23. G M P Kindergarten School, Puthencavu 24. C M S U P School, Kodukulanji 25. John Memorial High School, Kodukulanji 26. Christ Church Vidyapeeth, Kodukulanji 27. Mar Pilexinos L P School, Neervilakom 28. N S S High School, Edanadu 29. Government U.P.S Perissery 30. GHS Thiruvavandoor 31. Sree Hariharasutha Vilasom (S.H.V) High School, Karakkad 32. Government L.P School, Karakkad 33. St Joseph English medium school, Cheriyanad (I.C.S.E.) 34. L P School Piralassery (ESTD 1889) 35. E.A.L.P School Angadical 36. Government High School, Mulakuzha 37. Government Higher Secondary School, Angadical South 38. Swami Vivekananda High School Pandanad (SVHS) 39. St. Mary's English Medium School Kallissery 40. SCRV(Sree Chithira Raja Vilasam) TTI,Angadical(north),Chengannur

External links

• * http://alappuzha.gov.in/
• * http://chengannur.net/