Palakkad

This article is about the municipality in Kerala, India. For its namesake district, see Palakkad district.

Palakkad Palghat
—  city  —
Palakkad Location of Palakkad in Kerala and India
Coordinates	10°46′N 76°39′E
Country	India
State	Kerala
District(s)	Palakkad
Chairman	Mr.Abdul Khudoos(Congress)
Language(s)	Malayalam, English,Tamil
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 84 metres (276 ft)
Codes • Pincode • 678XXX • Telephone • +91 491 • Vehicle • KL-9(District), Municipality codes

Palakkad (Malayalam: പാലക്കാട്), formerly known as Palghat, is a municipality and a town in the state of Kerala in southern India, spread over an area of 26.60 km².The city is situated about 350 kilometres (217 mi) north of state capital Thiruvananthapuram. It is the administrative headquarters of Palakkad District. Palakkad lies near the Palghat Gap, a pass or natural depression through the Western Ghats ranges that run parallel to the west coast of India, and connects Kerala to the plains of the state of Tamil Nadu to the east.Kerala would have an IIT in Palakkad under the 12th five-year plan. The land belonging to the Instrumentation Limited in Palakkad was finally chosen for the project.Since the IITs are set up by an act of Parliament, the whole process is the centre's prerogative, and the state government has only a limited role.

Etymology

In earlier times Palakkad was also known as Palakkattuchery. Some etymologists trace the word "Palakkad" from the word Palai nilam, which means "dry lands". The commonly held belief, however, is that the name is a fusion of two Malayalam/Tamil words, Pala, a tree (Alstonia scholaris) that is found abundantly in Palakkad, and Kadu, which means forest.

Transport

Air

The nearest international airport is Coimbatore Airport, which is around 62 km from Palakkad. Coimbatore airport has connecting flights to Singapore, Sharjah, Colombo. Other nearby airports are Kozhikode Airport about 103 km & Kochi Airport which is about 111 km from Palakkad.

Now in the recent days there has been a proposal for a mini domestic airport near the city at East Yakkara with respect to setting up domestic airports for enhanced air connectivity by the civil aviation ministry of India. 60 acres has been identified for the project at East Yakkara.

Railways

There are two railway stations serving Palakkad - Palakkad Junction is a broad gauge railway junction (located at Olavakkode) and Palakkad Town located in the heart of the Palakkad town. Palakkad Junction also houses the office of The Divisional Railway Manager (Palakkad Division). The cities of Coimbatore, Erode, Salem, Thiruvananthapuram , Kozhikode and Ernakulam are connected by the broad gauge line. Pollachi, Dindigul and Madurai were connected by a metre gauge line starting from the Palakkad Junction railway station through Palakkad Town station. Under a policy "Project Unigauge", metre gauge tracks have been dismantled for conversion to broad gauge tracks. So trains on Palakkad - Pollachi - Dindigul route have been indefinitely suspended till the broad gauge is completed.

Road

Palakkad is well connected by roads. The National Highway 47 (NH 47) from Salem to Kanyakumari and the Palakkad – Kozhikode National Highway 213 pass through the district. Another important road is the Palakkad – Ponnani which connects NH 47 and NH 17.

Apart from the National Highways, Palakkad is well connected through State Highways to nearby districts and towns in Kerala.

Demographics

In the 2011 census, Palakkad has a population of 293,566. Males constituted 49% of the population. The average literacy rate of the area is 81%, much higher than the national average of 59.5%. Malayalam is the most spoken language. Tamil is spoken and understood by a significant proportion of the population due to and presence of Tamil speaking communities like Iyers and proximity to Tamilnadu.

Places of interest

View from outside the northern wall of Palakkad Fort.

• Palakkad Fort – Fort dating from 1766, built by Hyder Ali of Mysore. In 1784, after a siege which lasted eleven days, the British Colonel Fullerton stormed the Fort. Later it fell into the hands of the Zamorin’s troops, but was recaptured by the British in 1790. This well-preserved fort is also known as Tipu's (Tipu Sultan, son of Hyder Ali) Fort. Today there is a functioning jail and Hanuman Temple in the fort grounds.

Paddy fields in Palakkad

• Jain Temple of Jainimedu – Situated on the western border of Palakkad town and not far from the railway station, this is an historic Jain Temple. The area around the temple is known as Jainimedu. This is one of the few places in Kerala where vestiges of Jainism in Kerala have survived without substantial damage. The granite walls are devoid of decoration. The temple, 32 feet (9.8 m) long and 20 feet (6.1 m) wide, consists of four divisions with images of Jain Thirthankaras and Yakshinis in three of them. Kumaran Asan wrote his monumental poem Veena Poovu (the fallen flower) at a Jain house here during his brief stay with his master Sri. Narayana Guru.^{[citation needed]}

• Kalpathi One of the 21 Agraharams of Palakkad District on the banks of the Kalpathy river, famous for its annual Ratholsavam (Temple car Festival) and annual music festival. One of the oldest settlements of Tamil Brahmins in Kerala, it dates back to the 15th century.

• Malampuzha Dam and Gardens - Situated about 10 km from Palakkad Town, Malapuzha Dam was completed in 1955 and is the largest reservoir in Kerala. The spot is also known for its scenic beauty and sprawling gardens. It is one of the major attractions in this part of Kerala.

• Dhoni : Dhoni is situated around 15 Kilometers from Palakkad town in Kerala, India. Its famous for Dhoni Waterfalls and the Western Ghat forests. Dhoni is bordered by Western Ghats on north. Its also a popular trekking spot for tourists. The dhoni farm of KLD Board an Indo-Swiss project is situated there and is set amidst a beautiful location and is relatively unknown for its tourist potential.

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Local Festivals

• Vadakkanthara Vela : It is held at Vadakkanthara Thirupurakkal bhagavathi temple once in 3 years. This is the most famous local festival of Palakkad town which is celebrated by people of all castes and denominations.

• Manappullikavu Vela: It is held in the Cheruppil Kavu situated 2km from Palakkad railway station. The Goddess is "Cheruppil amma". It is a 41 day festival. Various famous art forms are performed on these days. One of the famous rituals is "PANA" which happens once in every 5 years.

• Kalpathy Ratholsavam: It is held during the second week of November every year. This is basically a festival of Tamil brahmins of Kalpathy and cannot be termed as a popular festival of all walks of people.

Religious Places

• Vadakkanthara Thirupurakkal Bhagavathy temple is a popular Bhagavathy temple in Palakkad town situated at Vadakkanthara.
• Manappullikavu temple : Hindu religious place situated near the N.H.47 on the eastern side of the town.
• C.S.I Holy Trinity Church : The Anglican church situated in the Fort Maidan area of Palakkad town. The only church in Palakkad where the English worship is held. The congregation started in the 18th century.^{[citation needed]}
• C.S.I Robinson church Palakkad : The Basel Mission church which was renovated recently and is named after Mr.Robinson, who was the collector of Palakkad during the British days. The congregation dates backs to 18th century.^{[citation needed]}
• Manjakkulam Dargah : The pilgrim centre of Muslims near K.S.R.T.C Bus stand. Shaikh Husain Madani, an eighteenth century sufi lived here and was cremated here.^{[citation needed]} The dargah still exists and is visited by devotees.

Educational Institutions in Palakkad

• NSS College of Engineering, Palakkad
• Government Victoria College, Palakkad
• Mercy College, Palakkad
• Govt Polytechnic, Palakkad, Palakkad
• VTB College Srikrishnapuram
• MES Kalladi College, Mannarkkad
• VV College Kanjikkode
• CO OPERATIVE Arts&Science College,OLAVAKKODE

See also

• Palakkad District
• Palghat (Lok Sabha constituency)
• Olavakkode
• Ottapalam

External links

• http://www.palakkad.gov.in - Official Website of Palakkad District Administration