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Kerala Districts
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District Head Quarters – Palakkad, Palakkad Pincode - 678581 Palakkad Std Code – 0491, Dial : 00 – (Country/ISD Code 91)-(City/STD Code 491)-(Followed by Telephone Number) Important Places – Palakkad Fort, Malampuzha Dam Garden, Silent Valley National Park, Nelliampathi Palakkad is bordered on the northwest by the Malappuram District, on the southwest by the Thrissur District and on the east by Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. The district is 13.62% urbanised. In earlier times Palakkad was also known as Palakkattussery. The commonly held belief, however, is that the name is a fusion of two Malayalam words, Pala, a tree (Alstonia scholaris) that is found abundantly in Palakkad, and Kadu, which means forest. There are various industries in the district. The Public Sector companies and Instrumentation Limited have plants in Kanjikode, 12 km from Palakkad town. Other large companies are the BPL group, Coca Cola and Pepsi. There is an Industrial Area in Kanjikode with a number of medium industries. Fluid Control Research Institute (FCRI), a state of art facility for calibration, testing and measurement of various parameters related to fluid flow is also located in Kanjikode.
Agriculture is the main occupation. The most prominent crop is rice. Palakkad is known as the Rice Bowl of Kerala. But in recent times, rice cultivation has become unremunerative due to high wages and low prices. Hence, farmers have turned to other crops and the area under rice cultivation has decreased drastically. In the areas bordering Tamil Nadu, crops such as sugar cane, groundnut, tomato, jasmine etc. are cultivated. Rubber is the main crop in the hilly regions. Vegetables like pumpkin, ash gourd, bitter gourd, brinjal, etc. are now cultivated extensively. Tamarind, Neem, Mango and Palm trees are seen in abundance in Palakkad, as in Tamil Nadu. The district is a major centre of export for mangoes and tamarind. Jaggery, which is unrefined sugar, is made from sugarcane in Chittur Taluk. Malampuzha is a mini hydoro-electric project built across Malampuzha river (a tributary Nelliampathi is a popular hill station 60 km away from Palakkad. It is
Reference: Wikipedia |
of Bharathapuzha) in Palakkad district. It is also the biggest irrigation project in Kerala with a large network of canal systems. It is also one of Kerala's major tourist spots. Malampuzha dam, the biggest irrigation reservoir in Kerala, is celebrating its Golden Jubilee year in October, starting with Tourism Week and Onam celebrations in September.
Silent Valley National Park is located in the Nilgiri Hills, Palakkad District. The area in this national park was historically explored in 1847 by the botanist Robert Wight, and is associated with Hindu legend. The park is one of the last undisturbed tracts of South Western Ghats montane rain forests and tropical moist evergreen forest in India.
surrounded by tea and coffee plantations and has excellent weather conditions. The journey to Nelliampathi itself is an experience. The only route is from Nemmara, from where the first town of Nelliampathi, namely Kaikatty junction, is at a distance of 26 km. At the 9th kilometer is the Pothundi Dam, a small irrigation dam which provides water for the rice fields in the surrounding area. The dam is at the foot of the Nelliampathi hills. On the way, one can see wild animals like monkey, deer and porcupine. The view of the Pothundy dam from the height is a breathtaking sight. There will be many waterfalls by the roadside during the rainy season.