About Palakkad

Situated far from the coast, Palakkad district is a green jewel amidst some of the most beautiful areas of Southern India. Palakkad forms a gap in the Western Ghats and is called the Gateway to the verdant Kerala State. The entire district spans over four and a half thousand square kilometers with about one fourth of the land covered by thick deciduous forests. The elevation of the land ranges from seventy five to two hundred and fifty meters high. The higher range area is a beautiful hill station called the Nelliampathy – Parambikulam in the Southern Chittur taluk. Another similar area is the Northern Attapaddi-Malampuzha highland.


The district is irrigated by the mighty Bharathapuzha river which has several distributaries spread like the blood stream across the surface of the district. These rivers are interspread by several dams among which the largest is the Malampuzha Dam. Yet the dam having the large capacity in terms of water volume it can handle is the Parambikulam Dam.

History of Palakkad

The pride of place is held by the Palakkad fort which is situated in the very heart of the Palakkad township. This fort’s beauty is unsurpassed among all the forts of Kerala. The fort was built in 1766 by Hyder Ali. In 1784 it was besieged by a British Colonel who later had to surrender it to the conquering troops of the Zamorin. In 1790 it was captured yet again by the British. It is popularly called the Fort of Tipu Sultan because it had been built by his father Hyder Ali and later passed on to him.

Geography and People of Palakkad

Situated on the 10.780N longitude and 76.650E latitude, Palakkad district is virtually the Gateway from the Western Ghats to Kerala. The total population of the district is 28,10,892 according to the latest (2011) census. The males were 1,359,478 while the females were significantly more 1,450,456. The district constituted 8.41 per cent of the total population of Kerala. The district shows density of 627 persons per square kilometers. The literacy rate of the district is 89.32 per cent. Also the official languages of the district are Malayalam and Tamil. The sex ratio for Palakkad district is 89.32%. It is largely an area with just about 25% of the population living in the Urban area. In fact there are five urban settlements namely Palakkad city, Chittur, Shormur and Palakkad settlement.

Economy and Administration in Palakkad

Palakkad harbours Kerala Second largest industrial area. There is a huge presence of various industries that have been set up in the industrial area called Kanjikod Industrial area. There is also a proposal to set up a state of the art training institute called the Pudissery IIT. The public sector companies as well as an electronic unit called the Instrumentation Limited are prominent industrial units. Even through Kanjikode is located twelve kilometers from Palakkad township, other industrial plants in the region are the cold drink giants Pepsi and Coca Cola as well as the established electronic brand BPL.

The administration of Palakkad is having the distinction of being among the first paperless districts that have established all revenue inputs electronically. It is a fully computerized district. It is in fact one of the first computerized collectorates having five taluk and one hundred and fifty six villages within its jurisdiction.

Among the languages known and spoken in Palakkad are Malayam which is widely spoken in the district. The second most popular language spoken by about twenty five per cent of the dwellers of Palakkad is Tamil. Along with the above there are speakers of three other languages like Kannada, Konkani and Tamil.

Temples and Festivals Celebrated in Palakkad

There are a number of prominent temples in Palakkad. One of them is the Kullapully Sree Krishna Temple devoted to Lord Krishna. This temple is famous for its animal music festival held in April/ May. There is also the Kodinthirapully temple where the Durgaashtami and Mhanwari festivals are considered the most auspicious time to visit the temple. Hundreds of pilgrims visit the temple during these days. Another unique religious sect of Palakkad is the Kodumthirapully located settlement called the Agraharam. This settlement belongs to the community of Tamil Brahmans paying alliegance to the Jaiminiya Samajvedi Thalavakara Guru sakha of the Vaishnavaites. The settelemnt comprises rows of about a 100 uniformly built houses in which the members of this community dwell. The most significant festival of this community is the Nauratri where the entire community celebrates and performs austerities for nine days.

Natural Beauty of Palakkad’s Ecology

Palakkad is a natural reservoir of a number of beautiful outdoor locations like the Silent Valley Park, Nelliyampathi which is known as the ‘Ooty of Kerala’. The Sholayar Forest bears the highest peak in the district. It is surrounded by coffee and tea plantations. Dhoni is also a reserved forest. Attapaddy is the dwelling place of the Irula tribe. There are also some scenic dams namely the Pothundi Dam. It is India’s second dam that has been built with mud or earth built irrigation dam. There is also the Walayar Dam located at a distance of about twenty four kilmeters from the Palakkad town. Other dams are Sholayar, Kanjirapuzha and the Malampuzha dam.

Services and Utilities in Palakkad

The services and utilities provided by the government are good in this place and hence, make the lives of the citizens comfortable in every sense. They are listed below-

Post Office of Palakkad
Postmaster,
Post Office Palakkad (Head Office),
Palakkad, Kerala (Kl), India (In),
Pin Code: 678001

Muncipality
Palakkad Municipal Office
Pkd., Palakkad, Palakkad - 000000
Ph.: 0491 2534634, 0491 2534634

Chittur Thathamangalam Municipality
Karukamani, Chittur, Kerala 678104
Ph: 04923 222 343

Palakkad Fire Station
Kunathurmedu, Palakkad,
Kerala 678001

Fire Station
Durga Nagar, Palakkad,
Kerala 678001
Ph: 0491 253 7101

Banking Services

There are several public and private banks available in Palakkad.

SBI Bank
SH27, Vinayaka colony,
Palakkad, Kerala 678014
Ph: 0491 250 2128

Co-operative Bank
SH27, Sultanpet
Palakkad, Kerala 678001

State Bank of Travancore (SBT)
Town Bus Stand Rd,
Valakkad, Palakkad,
Kerala 678014
Ph: 0491 252 4715

ICICI Bank
Udaya Towers,
W Fort Rd, Palakkad,
Kerala 678001
Ph: 09020667777

HDFC Bank Ltd
Court Road,
Palakkad, Kerala 678541
Ph: 09895663333

Kerala Gramin Bank
Palakkad Main Branch
Joby’s Mall, Ground Floor
GB Road, P. O. Palakkad
Palakkad, Kerala.
PIN - 678001

Courier Facilities in Palakkad

There are several courier services available in Palakkad.

Blue Dart
Courier Services
Shreya Agencies, 4/654,
Pulikkathottiyil Plaza, 678582
Mannarkkad, Palakkad
Ph. No: 8089935059

Internet and Courier Services
Cyberl And,11/386, Robinson Road,
Palakkad Town, Palakkad- 678001
Ph. No: 9387805570
Email : badherdeen@gmail.com

Sree Bala Associates,
Courier Services
R S Road, Ottapalam, 679501
Ottapalam, Palakkad
Ph. No: 8891792894
Email. rameshpunarjani@gmail.com

Az Associates
Courier Services
Shornur Road, Kulappully, 679121
Palakkad
Ph. No: 9495322561

The Professional Couriers
Courier Services
Aiswaraya Shopping Complex
Ist Floor Cozhal Market Road
Koduvayur, 678501
Palakkad
Ph. No: 9495958298

Couriers
Courier Services
Palakkad Town, 679501
Palakkad
Ph. No: 9539001710

Telephone Services

There are several telephone facilities available in Palakkad

BSNL
Palakkad Chittoor Rd,
Kerala 678551
Ph: 094000 24365
Time: 10:00–18:00

Tata Indicom Exclusive Store
11/1157 (2) N M R Complex,
T B Road, Palakkad City,
Palakkad - 678014
Ph: 491-6451540, 09249408584

Reliance World
Metro Complex, Hpo Road,
Palakkad Ho, Palakkad - 678001,
Opp Ayurveda Hospital
Ph: 491-30337777, 30336363
Time: 09:30 Am To 06:30 Pm

Tata Indicom Exclusive Store
Apple Towers, Main Road, Palakkad Ho,
Palakkad - 678001, Mannargad, Near Rose Tower
Ph. 09249100200
www.tataindicom.com

How to Reach Palakkad

Palakkad town can be reached by road, rail and air. The National Highway number forty seven that connects Salim to Kanya Kumari serves to connect Palakkad. The other National Highway that connect it is the number NH-213 which connects Palakkad to Kozhikode. Yet another road connecting Palakkad to Poonani can be taken.

Palakkad boasts of two railway termini First there is the Palakkad Junction and secondly is the Palakkad town station. The Palakkad Junction is one of the significant junctions of the Southern railways.

Among the airports that are useful for reaching Palakkad the nearest one is Coimbatore. This international airport is located just 60 kilometers away. The other nearby airports are located at Calicut and Cochin

Quick Facts about Palakkad

Area : 4480 Sq.Kms.
Population : 2,617,072
Season : September to February
STD Code : 0491
Rain Fall : 4.244 mm
Temperature : 21.15oC - 33.3oC
Literacy : 984.31%