Palakkad district

Palakkad District is one of the 14 districts of the South Indian state of Kerala. Also, it is the largest district in Kerala from 2006. The city of Palakkad is the district headquarters. Palakkad is bordered on the northwest by the Malappuram District, on the southwest by the Thrissur District, on the northeast by The Nilgiris District, and on the east by Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. The district is 24.4% urbanized according to the census of 2011.The district is nicknamed "the granary of Kerala".

Palaklad Govt. Victoria College Entrance
This article is about the district in Kerala. For other uses, see Palakkad (disambiguation).

Palakkad District

Palghat District
Gateway of Kerala
District
Clockwise from top:
Malampuzha Dam, Palakkad Fort, Victoria College,
Tholpavakoothu art form , Meenvallam Water Falls,
Bull race at chithali
Location of Palakkad district in Kerala
Coordinates: 10.775°N 76.651°E / 10.775; 76.651
Country India
StateKerala
HeadquartersPalakkad
Government
 • CollectorD.Balamurali.IAS
 • S.PDebesh Kumar Behera, IPS
 • DFONarendranath Veluri, IFS
Area
 • Total4,478 km2 (1,729 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total2,809,934[1]
 • Rank7
 • Density627/km2 (1,620/sq mi)
Languages
 • OfficialMalayalam
 • SpokenMalayalam and Tamil
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
ISO 3166 codeIN-KL-PKD
Vehicle registrationPalakkad KL-09, Alathur KL-49, Mannarkkad KL-50, Ottappalam KL-51, Pattambi KL-52, Chittur KL-70
Literacy94.48%[1]
Websitewww.palakkad.nic.in
View from outside the northern wall of Palakkad fort.

Palakkad is the gateway to Kerala due to the presence of the Palakkad Gap, in the Western Ghats. The total area of the district is 4,480 km2 (1,730 sq mi) which is 11.5% of the state's area which makes it the largest district of Kerala. Out of the total area of 4,480 km2 (1,730 sq mi), about 1,360 km2 (530 sq mi) of land is covered by forests. Most parts of the district fall in the midland region (elevation 75–250 m or 246–820 ft), except the Nelliampathy-Parambikulam area in the Chittur taluk in the south and Attappadi-Malampuzha area in the north, which are hilly and fall in the highland region (elevation > 250 m or 820 ft).

The climate is pleasant for most parts of the year, the exception is the summer months. There is sufficient rainfall and it receives more rainfall than the extreme southern districts of Kerala. The district is blessed with many small and medium rivers, which are tributaries of the Bharathapuzha River. A number of dams have been built across these rivers, the largest being the Malampuzha dam. The largest in volume capacity is the Parambikulam Dam[2]

Etymology
Entrance to the Varikkasseri Mana-one of the oldest traditional Namboothiri family houses (illam) in Kerala

In earlier times, Palakkad was also known as Palakkattussery.[3]Many concluded that Palakkad is derived from 'Pala', an indigenous tree which once densely occupied the land; and hence Palakkad or "the forest of Pala trees".Some believe, connecting the ancient Jain Temple in the town, that the sacred language Pali gave the name.[4] In 1757, to check the invasion of the Zamorin of Calicut, the Palakkad Raja sought the help of Hyder Ali of Mysore. Later his son Tipu Sultan became the ruler.

Administration
Main article: Political Divisions of Palakkad District

Kerala Legislative Assembly seats

There are 12 legislative assembly seats in Palakkad

Sl. No Constituency MLA Party Alliance
1ThrithalaV. T. BalramINC  UDF
2PattambiMuhammed MuhsinCPI  LDF
3ShornurP. K. SasiCPI(M)  LDF
4OttapalamP. UnniCPI(M)  LDF
5KongadK. V. VijayadasCPI(M)  LDF
6MannarkkadN. SamsudheenIUML  UDF
7MalampuzhaV. S. AchuthanandanCPI(M)  LDF
8PalakkadShafi ParambilINC  UDF
9TarurA. K. BalanCPI(M)  LDF
10ChitturK. KrishnankuttyJD(S)  LDF
11NenmaraK. BabuCPI(M)  LDF
12AlathurK. D. PrasenanCPI(M)  LDF

Members of Lok Sabha

There are two Lok Sabha seats in Palakkad district.

Sl. No Constituency MP Party Alliance
1PalakkadV.K SreekandanINC  UDF
2AlathurRamya HaridasINC  UDF
  • Under the amended Indian Constitution, decentralized planning has been implemented in the state. The headquarters of the District Panchayat is at Palakkad Municipal town. The District Panchayat office building is near the Civil Station.

Demographics
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901763,917—    
1911819,726+0.71%
1921853,988+0.41%
1931941,286+0.98%
19411,025,058+0.86%
19511,214,208+1.71%
19611,369,508+1.21%
19711,685,347+2.10%
19812,044,399+1.95%
19912,382,235+1.54%
20012,617,482+0.95%
20112,809,934+0.71%
source:[5]

According to the 2011 census, Palakkad district has a population of 2,809,934,[1] roughly equal to the nation of Jamaica[6] or the state Utah in the U.S.[7] so it a ranking of 138th in India (out of a total of 640).[1] The district has a population density of 627 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,620/sq mi).[1] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 7.39%.[1] Palakkad has a sex ratio of 1067 females for every 1000 males,[1].The literacy rate of Palakkad district is 89.49%, which is the lowest in Kerala.[8]However, Palakkad city has a higher literacy rate of 94.20%[1]

Religion
Religions in Palakkad District
Religion Percent
Hindus
 
 66.76%
Muslims
 
 28.93%
Christian
 
 4.07%
Others
 
 0.24%
Distribution of religions
Source: 2011 Census.
Kalpathi Ratholsavam
Kodikkunnu Bhagavathy Temple

Noted personalities
Main article: List of people from Palakkad district

Methil Devika Classical Dancer

Transport
Palakkad - Malappuram Road

Palakkad town consists of two railway stations, namely Palakkad Town railway station and Palakkad Junction Railway station. Palakkad Junction is an important station on the Southern Railway.The office of the Palakkad Division of the Southern Railway is situated near Palakkad Junction Railway Station. The trains coming from other parts of India are diverted to north and south Kerala from Shoranur Junction in Palakkad District. From here, there is train service to Calicut, Ernakulam, Trivandrum, Shoranur and Nilambur. Shoranur Junction also has rail connections to Mangalore and the Konkan Railway, enabling travel towards Goa and Bombay.

Palakkad has a medium grade network of roads. The Salem-Kanyakumari National Highway 47 and the Palakkad-Kozhikode National Highway 213 run through the district. Another important road is the Palakkad – Ponnani road which connects NH 47 and NH 17.

The nearest airport is at Coimbatore (Coimbatore International Airport) which is 60 kilometres (37 miles) from the city. The Calicut International Airport is 103 kilometres (64 miles) from Palakkad City, and Cochin International Airport is 111 kilometres (69 miles) from the city; it offers connections to all parts of India and a few international destinations. A domestic airport is announced for the future in Palakkad city. Air India, SpiceJet, Kingfisher Airlines (suspended as of Oct 2012), Goair, Paramount airways, Air Arabia and Air India are the major operators.

Education in Palakkad
Main article: Education in Palakkad district

Villages

See also

References
  1. "District Census 2011". Census2011.co.in. 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  2. "Fact sheet on Indian dams at Diehardindian.com". Archived from the original on 13 December 2006.
  3. "Ittipangi Achan passes away". The New Indian Express. 31 July 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  4. "The Palakkad district, an overview - History and Geography of Palakkad district" (PDF). INFLIBNET. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  5. Decadal Variation In Population Since 1901
  6. US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Retrieved 1 October 2011. Jamaica 2,868,380 July 2011 est
  7. "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 30 September 2011. Utah 2,763,885
  8. https://kerala.gov.in/literacy-rate-2011

Satellite Images
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