Palakkad

Palakkad
പാലക്കാട്
பாலக்காடு
City
Govt Victoria College, Palakkad
Palakkad
Palakkad
Coordinates: 10°46′12″N 76°39′00″E / 10.7700°N 76.6500°E / 10.7700; 76.6500Coordinates: 10°46′12″N 76°39′00″E / 10.7700°N 76.6500°E / 10.7700; 76.6500
State Kerala
District Palakkad District
Government
 • Type Municipality
 • Body Palakkad Municipality
 • Municipal Chairperson Prameela Sasidharan (BJP)
 • Member of Parliament M. B. Rajesh (CPIM)
 • District Collector P.Suresh Babu IAS
Population (2011)[1]
 • City 130,955
 • Rank 6th
 • Metro[2] 2,93,566
Languages
 • Official Malayalam, English
 • Other Tamil
Time zone UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN 678001
Telephone code Palakkad: 91-(0)491
Vehicle registration KL-09 (Palakkad)
KL-49 (Alathur)
KL-50 (Mannarkkad)
KL-51 (Ottappalam)
KL-52 (Pattambi)
KL-70 (Chittur)
Literacy 94.20%

Palakkad  pronunciation , also known as Palghat, is a city and municipality in the state of Kerala in southern India, spread over an area of 26.60 km2 and is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. The city is situated about 350 kilometres (217 mi) north of state capital Thiruvananthapuram and 54 kilometers south west of Coimbatore, and 66 km north east of Thrissur on the Salem-Kanyakumari National Highway NH 47.

Etymology

The commonly held belief is that the name Palakkad is a fusion of two Malayalam words, Pala, which was the name given for barren land during the Sangam period, and Kadu, which means forest.[3]

Geography

Topography map-Palakkad (Palghat)

Palakkad is the gateway to Kerala due to the presence of the Palakkad Gap, in the Western Ghats. Malayalam is the generally spoken language in Palakkad as it is the official language. The town is blessed with many small and medium rivers, which are tributaries of the Bharathapuzha River. Of the number of dams in Palakkad district, the largest Malampuzha dam is 12 km from Palakkad town.[4]

Climate

Palakkad has a tropical wet and dry climate. Temperatures remain moderate throughout the year, with exception in March and April being the hottest months. A very high amount of precipitation is received in Palakkad, mainly due to the South-West monsoon. July is the wettest month, and the total annual rainfall is around 83 inches (211 cm).

Climate data for Palakkad
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 33.0
(91.4)		 35.4
(95.7)		 37.3
(99.1)		 36.5
(97.7)		 34.0
(93.2)		 29.7
(85.5)		 28.3
(82.9)		 28.8
(83.8)		 30.3
(86.5)		 31.2
(88.2)		 31.8
(89.2)		 31.9
(89.4)		 32.4
(90.2)
Average low °C (°F) 21.8
(71.2)		 22.6
(72.7)		 24.2
(75.6)		 25.1
(77.2)		 24.8
(76.6)		 23.2
(73.8)		 22.5
(72.5)		 22.9
(73.2)		 23.0
(73.4)		 23.2
(73.8)		 22.9
(73.2)		 22.2
(72)		 23.2
(73.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 3.5
(0.138)		 6.7
(0.264)		 20.4
(0.803)		 72.9
(2.87)		 151.7
(5.972)		 408.2
(16.071)		 522.6
(20.575)		 317.6
(12.504)		 253.9
(9.996)		 215.2
(8.472)		 111.1
(4.374)		 27.6
(1.087)		 2,111.4
(83.126)
Source: [5]

Transport

Air

The nearest international airport is Coimbatore International Airport, which is about 62 km from Palakkad.

There has been a proposal for a mini domestic airport 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 Palakkad.[6]

Railways

There are two railway stations serving Palakkad - Palakkad Junction is a broad gauge railway junction (located at Olavakkode, which can be called a satellite town, about 4 km from the heart of the main town) and Palakkad Town railway station located in the heart of the Palakkad town. Close to Palakkad Junction is the office of Palakkad Railway Division. The cities of Coimbatore, Erode, Salem, Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Mangalore, Kozhikode and Ernakulam are connected by the broad gauge line. Train services to Pollachi, Dindigul and Madurai are through the broad gauge line through Palakkad Town station.[7]

Road

Palakkad is well connected by roads. The National Highway 47 from Salem to Ernakulam via Coimbatore, Palakkad and Thrissur – Kozhikode National Highway 213 via Malappuram pass through the district.[8]

Demographics

Religions in palakkad
Religion Percent
Hindus
 
 68%
Muslims
 
 27.9%
Christians
 
 3.8%
Others
 
 0.3%

As per Census 2011, population of Palakkad in 2011 is 130,955; of which male and female are 63,833 and 67,122 respectively.[9] Total literates in Palakkad city are 112,479 of which 56,065 are males while 56,414 are females. Average literacy rate of Palakkad city is 94.20 percent of which male and female literacy was 96.83 and 91.73 percent.[10][11] Hindus form 68% of the population with 89098 members.[9] Muslims constitute 27.9% of the population with 36620 members.[9] Christians constitute 3.8% of the population with 5006 members.[9]

The metropolitan area of Palakkad includes Hemambikanagar, Marutharode, Palakkad municipality, Pirayiri, Pudussery Central, Pudussery West, and Puthuppariyaram.[11] Its urban / metropolitan population is 293,566 of which 143,650 are males and 149,916 are females. The literacy rate of Palakkad Metropolitan Area is 92.14%, much higher than the national average of 59.5%. Malayalam is the most spoken language, followed by Tamil speakers. Since,a lot of Tamil migrants are residing in the city and it also the reason that the city located 5 km closure to the Indian state Tamilnadu, on the way to Coimbatore.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Census of India Search details". censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  2. ↑ "Thrissur City" (PDF). Census2011. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  3. ↑ A. Sreedhara Menon (1978). Kerala Samskāram. DC Books. p. 237. ISBN 9788126415854.
  4. ↑ Fact sheet on Indian dams at Diehardindian.com Archived 2006-12-13 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ↑ "climate of palakkad, palakkad climate, palakkad climate information, weather and climate of palakkad, palakkad climate information, temperature in palakkad, palakkad temperature, temperature data of palakkad, climate data of palakkad, climate and rainfall information of palakkad, palakkad weather and climate". Delhitourism.com. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
  6. ↑ "60 Acres Identified For Airport Project". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 2011-05-21.
  7. ↑ "Train services resume on Pollachi – Palakkad section". Coimbatore. The Hindu. 17 November 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  8. ↑ "National Highways and their lengths". National Highways Authority of India. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 4 http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/C-01/DDW32C-01%20MDDS.XLS
  10. 1 2 "Palakkad - Census of India". Censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  11. 1 2 "Palakkad Urban Region". Census2011.co.in. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
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