Cheruthoni

Cheruthoni ചെറുതോണി
village
Cheruthoni junction
Cheruthoni Location in Kerala, India Cheruthoni Cheruthoni (India)
Coordinates: 9°46′25″N 77°2′07″E
Country	India
State	Kerala
District	Idukki
Government
• Type	Panchayath
Languages
• Official	Malayalam, English
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	685602
Vehicle registration	KL-06
Nearest city	Kattappana

Cheruthoni (ചെറുതോണി) is a town on the Cheruthoni River, a major tributary of the Periyar River, the second longest river in Kerala state, South India. The area is known by Cheruthoni Dam, which is a part of Idukki reservoir, which provide hydroelectric power to the region.

Location

Cheruthoni dam

The town is adjacent to the famous Idukki Arch Dam and the Cheruthoni dam. These dams, along with the Kulamavu Dam, form the Idukki Reservoir. Cheruthoni is part of Vazhathope Panchayat, in the Idukki District. Other villages adjacent to Cheruthoni include Vazhathope, Thadiyampadu, Karimban, Manjappara, Maniyarankudi, Bhoomiyamkulam, Peppara, Manjikkavala and Painavu.

Origin

Following a famine in the 1940s, the government allowed farmers to migrate to unoccupied arable lands in the mountains, where they cleared the land for agriculture. Later, the region was identified as an ideal spot for a hydroelectric project. The Hindustan Construction Company was contracted to build the dams on behalf of the Kerala State Electricity Board. At this point, Cheruthoni began to grow.

History

During the 1960s, a majority of the people living in Cheruthoni were not Keralites, but Sikhs from Punjab (who constituted the workforce of Hindustan Construction Company) and manual laborers from neighbouring Tamil Nadu.