Punnavely

Punnavely
Village
Anikkattilamma Shiva Parvathy temple
Coordinates: 9°29′28″N 76°41′30″E / 9.4911°N 76.69178°E / 9.4911; 76.69178Coordinates: 9°29′28″N 76°41′30″E / 9.4911°N 76.69178°E / 9.4911; 76.69178
Country	India
State	Kerala
District	pathanamthitta
Elevation	81 m (266 ft)
Languages
• Official	Malayalam, English
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	689589
Vehicle registration	KL
Sex ratio	1058 ♂/♀

Punnavely is a village situated on the border of Pathanamthitta and Kottayam districts of Kerala, India. Punnavely is a typical Central Tranvancore village with rubber tree plantations, paddy fields, pepper farms, and other spices.

Etymology

"Punna" is the Malayalam term for the Ball Nut tree (Calophyllum inophyllum), and "Vely" means "fence". Punnavely is famous for its old time fences that were built with logs and branches from punna trees.

Location

Most areas of the wider Punnavely fall under Anicadu Grama Panchayat, but because of its location at the boundary between two districts, some of its wards are in Nedumkunnam, Kangazha, and Vellavoor panchayats. The Manimala River forms the boundary of Punnavely on the East.

Kottayam, Changanacherry, and Thiruvalla are the three major towns (and railway stations) near the village, approximately 25 km away from the village in three different directions. Other small towns close to the village are Mallappally, Nedumkunnam and Karukachal (in a radius of 7 km). Nedumkunnam and Mallappaly are famous for their weekly markets.

The nearest airport is Cochin International Airport at Nedumbassery, approximately 105 km away. However, Trivandrum International Airport is also widely used.

Educational institutions

Prominent educational institutions at Punnavely are: CMS LP School and CMS High School, managed by the local parish; St James Church of South India (CSI) Church, which falls under the CSI's Madhya Kerala Diocese; MRSLBV School Higher Secondary School at Thelappuzhakadav, a very famous old school started by Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi of Travancore Princely state; and Kumbiluvely Government LP School, which is located in Kurishunkal.

A Kindernothilfe (KNH) Boarding Home for needy children was functioning in Punnavely for decades but has since moved elsewhere, and the CSI English Medium School now occupies the same building.

Political Inclinations

The village is largely a stronghold of the Indian National Congress, although the CPI&CPI(M) as well as the Muslim League have a strong presence. BJP has sympathizers among the Nair and other 'Hindu' communities. There are a few RSS sakhas that are also active. The politics in the village is strongly influenced by the caste and religious concerns.

Religion / Religious institutions

Majority of the population are Syrian Christians and Hindus. A few Muslims are also present in the area.

Most of the common Kerala Christian denominations (Malankara Marthoma, CSI, Orthodox, Malankara Catholic, Roman Catholic, Protestants, etc.) are present here. St.Thomas Marthoma Church (Kallammakkal - St.Thomas Marthoma Yuvajanasakhyam , Punnavely), St James CSI Church at High School Jn. and four small churches affiliated to this church, St John's Orthodox Church (a.k.a. Thengumpallil Pally), Little Flower Catholic Church (Syro-Malabar) Punnavely, St. Joseph Catholic Church, Chakkalakunnu (Syro-Malabar) and two more Catholic churches at Mulayamveli & Nooromavu(Syro-Malankara) St. Stephen's CMS Anglican Church, Pattapurayidom, CMS Anglican Church, Ambalathinamkuzhy is also ancient Churches in Punnaveli and all other Christian denominations like Pentecostal Church, India Pentecostal, Church of God, Seventh Day Adventist, Evangilist etc. are in Punnavely. There are two convents (Little Flower Convent, Kulathunkal Kavala and SH Convent, Chakkalakkunnu), associated with the Catholic Church.

Two mosques are situated at Pidannaplavu and Kurunnamveli: Punnavely Muslim Puthoor Pally and Puthukkudi Puthoor Pally

There is one Hindu temple near Mulayamveli. Other temples in close proximity are Anikadu Devi Temple (Kavanalkadvu) anikkattilammakshethram and Vaipur Temple(Thelapuzha). Shree Krishna Temple is situated at the center of Noorommavu, Anicadu, and managed by Kerala Vishwakarma Mahasabha.

Hospitals and medical institutions

St. Martin's Hospital at Chakkalakkunnu is the one most residents depend upon. A government dispensary at Thelappuzhakkadavu as well as a couple of ayurvedic, homeopathic and dental clinics function in the village. The nearest medical college is at Kottayam. There are Primary Health Centres at Panakuzhipadi and Pullukuthy. There is also a veterinary clinic at Kulatungal Kavala.

Facilities

The main post office is near the CMS High School junction. A sub-post office functional is located at Noorommavu. The telephone exchange in the village serves 80% of the area of the Anicadu Panchayat. All major mobile providers like BSNL, Idea, etc. have their network towers in the village. There is a Krishi Bhavan (under the agriculture department) in the village.Two Major banks, The Catholic Syrian Bank and The Thiruvalla East Cooperative Bank, and four village cooperative banks function in the village.

Culture and population

The village is inhabited by various religious and caste communities. Farmers and the laborers have developed good inter-communal relationships over the years. There is strong emigration from the area and villagers are known to have migrated all parts of the world.

Arts, sports and entertainment

Football and volleyball are still alive in the village although the younger generations are more inclined to cricket.

There are two arts/sports clubs: Malarvadi Arts and Sports Club (at CMS Highschool junction) and Yuvadeepti Arts and Sports Club (in Kulathunkal Kavala).

Some important concerns

The village still lacks modern public transportation. There are only a very few buses to connect Punnavely with neighboring towns. Mining of sand from the Manimala river bed has been going on despite being banned—trucks and excavators loaded with sand are a commons sight on the road leading out of the village. This activity adversely affects the water table in the area, causing depletion of water levels in the village's wells.^[1]

Nowadays, there is a shortage of farm hands in Punnavely leading to a considerable increase in the cost of agricultural production. Consequently, one may find most of the paddy fields uncultivated and many of them being used for vegetable or tapioca cultivation. A lot of paddy fields have also been converted for housing development.

References