1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
3.
States and union territories of India
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India is a federal union comprising twenty-nine states and seven union territories. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and further into smaller administrative divisions, the Constitution of India distributes the sovereign executive and legislative powers exercisable with respect to the territory of any State between the Union and that State. The Indian subcontinent has been ruled by different ethnic groups throughout its history. Between 1947 and 1950, the territories of the states were politically integrated into the Indian Union. The new Constitution of India, which came into force on 26 January 1950, the new republic was also declared to be a Union of States. The nine Part A states were Assam, Bihar, Bombay, Madhya Pradesh, Madras, Orissa, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. The eight Part B states were former princely states or groups of states, governed by a rajpramukh, who was usually the ruler of a constituent state. The rajpramukh was appointed by the President of India, the Part B states were Hyderabad, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Bharat, Mysore, Patiala and East Punjab States Union, Rajasthan, Saurashtra, and Travancore-Cochin. The ten Part C states included both the former chief commissioners provinces and some states, and each was governed by a chief commissioner appointed by the President of India. The Part C states were Ajmer, Bhopal, Bilaspur, Coorg, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Cutch, Manipur, Tripura, the only Part D state was the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which were administered by a lieutenant governor appointed by the central government. The Union Territory of Puducherry was created in 1954 comprising the previous French enclaves of Pondichéry, Karaikal, Yanam, Andhra State was created on 1 October 1953 from the Telugu-speaking northern districts of Madras State. The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 reorganised the states based on linguistic lines resulting in the creation of the new states, as a result of this act, Madras State retained its name with Kanyakumari district added to from Travancore-Cochin. Andhra Pradesh was created with the merger of Andhra State with the Telugu-speaking districts of Hyderabad State in 1956, kerala was created with the merger of Malabar district and the Kasaragod taluk of South Canara districts of Madras State with Travancore-Cochin. The Laccadive Islands which were divided between South Canara and Malabar districts of Madras State were united and organised into the territory of Lakshadweep. Bombay State was enlarged by the addition of Saurashtra State and Kutch State, Rajasthan and Punjab gained territories from Ajmer and Patiala and East Punjab States Union respectively and certain territories of Bihar was transferred to West Bengal. Bombay State was split into the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra on 1 May 1960 by the Bombay Reorganisation Act. Nagaland was formed on 1 December 1963, the Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966 resulted in the creation of Haryana on 1 November and the transfer of the northern districts of Punjab to Himachal Pradesh. The act also designated Chandigarh as a territory and the shared capital of Punjab
4.
Kerala
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Kerala historically known as Keralam, is an Indian state in South India on the Malabar Coast. It was formed on 1 November 1956 following the States Reorganisation Act by combining Malayalam-speaking regions, spread over 38,863 km2, it is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Lakshadweep Sea to the west. With 33,387,677 inhabitants as per the 2011 Census, Malayalam is the most widely spoken language and is also the official language of the state. The region has been a prominent spice exporter since 3000 BCE, the Chera Dynasty was the first prominent kingdom based in Kerala, though it frequently struggled against attacks by the neighbouring Cholas and Pandyas. In the 15th century, the spice trade attracted Portuguese traders to Kerala, after independence, Travancore and Cochin joined the Republic of India and Travancore-Cochin was given the status of a state in 1949. In 1956, Kerala state was formed by merging Malabar district, Travancore-Cochin, Hinduism is practised by more than half of the population, followed by Islam and Christianity. The culture is a synthesis of Aryan and Dravidian cultures, developed over millennia, under influences from other parts of India, the production of pepper and natural rubber contributes significantly to the total national output. In the agricultural sector, coconut, tea, coffee, cashew, the states coastline extends for 595 kilometres, and around 1.1 million people in the state are dependent on the fishery industry which contributes 3% to the states income. The state has the highest media exposure in India with newspapers publishing in nine languages, mainly English, Kerala is one of the prominent tourist destinations of India, with backwaters, beaches, Ayurvedic tourism and tropical greenery as its major attractions. The name Kerala has an uncertain etymology, One popular theory derives Kerala from Kera and alam is land, thus land of coconuts, this also happens to be a nickname for the state due to abundance of coconut trees and its use by the locals. The word Kerala is first recorded in a 3rd-century BCE rock inscription left by the Maurya emperor Ashoka, the inscription refers to the local ruler as Keralaputra, or son of Chera. This contradicts the theory that Kera is from coconut tree, at that time, one of three states in the region was called Cheralam in Classical Tamil, Chera and Kera are variants of the same word. The word Cheral refers to the oldest known dynasty of Kerala kings and is derived from the Proto-Tamil-Malayalam word for lake, the earliest Sanskrit text to mention Kerala is the Aitareya Aranyaka of the Rigveda. It is also mentioned in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the two Hindu epics, the Skanda Purana mentions the ecclesiastical office of the Thachudaya Kaimal who is referred to as Manikkam Keralar, synonymous with the deity of the Koodalmanikyam temple. Keralam may stem from the Classical Tamil cherive-alam or chera alam, the Greco-Roman trade map Periplus Maris Erythraei refers to Keralaputra as Celobotra. According to Hindu mythology, the lands of Kerala were recovered from the sea by the warrior sage Parasurama. Parasurama threw his axe across the sea, and the water receded as far as it reached, according to legend, this new area of land extended from Gokarna to Kanyakumari. The land which rose from sea was filled with salt and unsuitable for habitation, so Parasurama invoked the Snake King Vasuki, out of respect, Vasuki and all snakes were appointed as protectors and guardians of the land
5.
Panchayati raj
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The Panchayat raj is a South Asian political system found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Trinidad and Tobago, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of government in the Indian subcontinent. The word raj means rule and panchayat means assembly of five, traditionally panchayats consisted of wise and respected elders chosen and accepted by the local community. However, there were varying forms of such assemblies, traditionally, these assemblies settled disputes between individuals and between villages. The leader of the panchayat was often called the mukhiya or sarpanch, the modern panchayati raj of India and its gram panchayats are not to be confused with either the traditional system nor with the extra-constitutional khap panchayats found in northern India. Mahatma Gandhi advocated panchayat raj as the foundation of Indias political system and it would have been a decentralised form of government where each village would be responsible for its own affairs. The term for such a vision was Gram Swaraj, instead India developed a highly centralised form of government. However, this has been moderated by the decentralisation of several functions to the local level. There are significant differences between the traditional panchayati raj system, that envisioned by Gandhi, and the system formalised in India in 1992
6.
Malayalam
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Malayalam /mʌləˈjɑːləm/ is a language spoken in India, predominantly in the state of Kerala. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and was designated as a Classical Language in India in 2013 and it was developed to the current form mainly by the influence of the poet Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan in the 16th century. Malayalam has official status in the state of Kerala and in the union territories of Lakshadweep. It belongs to the Dravidian family of languages and is spoken by some 38 million people, according to one theory, Malayalam originated from Middle Tamil in the 7th century. However, the current understanding proposes the separation of Malayalam from Proto-Dravidian in the pre-historic era, Malayalam incorporated many elements from Sanskrit through the ages. Before Malayalam came into being, Old Tamil was used in literature and courts of a region called Tamilakam, including present day Kerala state, silappatikaramit was written by Chera prince Ilango Adigal from Chunkaparra, and is considered a classic in Sangam literature. Modern Malayalam still preserves many words from the ancient Tamil vocabulary of Sangam literature, the earliest script used to write Malayalam was the Vatteluttu alphabet, and later the Kolezhuttu, which derived from it. As Malayalam began to borrow words as well as the rules of grammar from Sanskrit. This developed into the modern Malayalam script, many medieval liturgical texts were written in an admixture of Sanskrit and early Malayalam, called Manipravalam. The oldest literary work in Malayalam, distinct from the Tamil tradition, is dated from between the 9th and 11th centuries, the first travelogue in any Indian language is the Malayalam Varthamanappusthakam, written by Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar in 1785. Due to its lineage deriving from both Tamil and Sanskrit, the Malayalam script has the largest number of letters among the Indian language orthographies, the Malayalam script includes letters capable of representing almost all the sounds of all Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages. Malayalam serves as a language on the islands including the Mahl-dominated Minicoy Island. The word Malayalam originated from the Sanskrit resp, Malayalam words malai or mala, meaning hill, and elam, meaning region. Malayalam thus translates as hill region and used to refer to the land of the Chera dynasty, the language Malayalam is alternatively called Alealum, Malayalani, Malayali, Malean, Maliyad, and Mallealle. The word Malayalam originally meant only for the name of the region, Malayanma or Malayayma represented the language. With the emergence of modern Malayalam language, the name of the language started to be known by the name of the region, hence now, the word Malayanma is considered by some to represent the olden Malayalam language. The language got the name Malayalam during the mid 19th century, the origin of Malayalam, an independent offshoot of the proto-Dravidian language, has been and continues to be an engaging pursuit among comparative historical linguists. Together with Tamil, Toda, Kannada and Tulu, Malayalam belongs to the group of Dravidian languages
7.
Postal Index Number
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A Postal Index Number or PIN or Pincode is a code in the post office numbering or post code system used by India Post, the Indian postal administration. The code is six digits long, the PIN Code system was introduced on 15 August 1972 by Shriram Bhikaji Velankar, an additional secretary in the Union Ministry of Communications. The system was introduced to simplify the manual sorting and delivery of mail by eliminating confusion over incorrect addresses, similar place names, there are nine PIN zones in India, including eight regional zones and one functional zone. The first digit of the PIN code indicates the region, the second digit indicates the sub-region, and the third digit indicates the sorting district within the region. The final three digits are assigned to individual post offices, a state may have one or more sorting districts depending on the volumes of mail handled. The fourth digit represents the route on which a Delivery office is located in the sorting district and this is 0 for offices in the core area of the sorting district. The last two represent the delivery office within the sorting district starting from 01 which would be the GPO or HO. The numbering of the office is done chronologically with higher numbers assigned to newer delivery offices. If the volume of mails handled at an office is too large, a new delivery office is created. Thus two delivery offices situated next to each other only have the first four digits in common. Each PIN code is mapped to exactly one delivery post office which receives all the mail to be delivered to one or more lower offices within its jurisdiction, all of which share the same code. The delivery office can either be a General Post Office, a Head Office or Sub Office which are located in urban areas. The post from the office is sorted and routed to other delivery offices for a different PIN or to one of the relevant sub offices or branch offices for the same PIN. Branch offices are located in areas and have limited postal services
8.
Vehicle registration plate
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A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate or a license plate, is metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric ID that uniquely identifies the owner within the issuing regions database. The first two letters indicate the state to which the vehicle is registered, the next two digit numbers are the sequential number of a district. Due to heavy volume of vehicle registration, the numbers were given to the RTO offices of registration as well, the third part indicates the year of registration of the vehicle and is a 4 digit number unique to each plate. In some countries, the identifier is unique within the entire country, whether the identifier is associated with a vehicle or a person also varies by issuing agency. In the vast majority of jurisdictions, the government holds a monopoly on the manufacturing of vehicle registration plates for that jurisdiction. Thus, it is illegal for private citizens to make and affix their own plates. Alternately, the government will merely assign plate numbers, and it is the owners responsibility to find an approved private supplier to make a plate with that number. In some jurisdictions, plates will be assigned to that particular vehicle for its lifetime. If the vehicle is destroyed or exported to a different country. Other jurisdictions follow a policy, meaning that when a vehicle is sold the seller removes the current plate from the vehicle. Buyers must either obtain new plates or attach plates they already hold, as well as register their vehicles under the buyers name, a person who sells a car and then purchases a new one can apply to have the old plates put onto the new car. One who sells a car and does not buy a new one may, depending on the laws involved, have to turn the old plates in or destroy them. Some jurisdictions permit the registration of the vehicle with personal plates, in some jurisdictions, plates require periodic replacement, often associated with a design change of the plate itself. Vehicle owners may or may not have the option to keep their original plate number, alternately, or additionally, vehicle owners have to replace a small decal on the plate or use a decal on the windshield to indicate the expiration date of the vehicle registration. Plates are usually fixed directly to a vehicle or to a frame that is fixed to the vehicle. Sometimes, the plate frames contain advertisements inserted by the service centre or the dealership from which the vehicle was purchased. Vehicle owners can also purchase customized frames to replace the original frames, in some jurisdictions licence plate frames are illegal
9.
Erattupetta
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Erattupetta is a Municipality town in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India. It is 38 km east of Kottayam, the district Centre, Erattupetta was known as Erappili and Erappuzha before. The Eraaru part in all the variation of the names arose from the geographical location, Erattupetta is situated in the foothills of High Ranges. It was the capital of the Poonjar principality until 1949. Erattupetta lies in an ancient route from Athirampuzha to Tamil Nadu, Hill produce from the Cardamom hills were brought down by the Muthuvans for trade. Erattupettas current economy is primarily rubber and scores of large and small estates dot the landscape, wagamon, a Hill Station, lies some 22 km east of Eruttupetta. As of 2001 India census, Erattupetta had a population of 29,675, males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Erattupetta has an literacy rate of 80%, higher than the national average of 59. 5%, male literacy is 83%. In Erattupetta, 14% of the population is under 6 years of age, Syrian Christians, Hindus and Muslims live here peacefully. Rubber is the item of cultivation and this town is known as the mosque Nainar Juma masjid. It is one of the most fast developing townships in central Kerala, the population is predominantly Syrian Christian, Hindu and Muslim. The Syrian Christians of the region are entirely Catholic, belonging to the Palai diocese of the Syro Malabar Catholic church and they are mainly in farming, particularly of plantation crops such as Rubber, and are evenly spread across the country side surrounding the town. Many aristocratic Catholic Nasrani families of Central Travancore have their origins in Erattupetta, many such families have also migrated to places around Erattupetta, such as Poonjar, Teekoy etc. A century ago, as part of the expansion in Central Travancore. The Muslims of Erattupetta are Tamil Muslims who come from Tamil Nadu and they are mostly into trade related occupations and are considered different from The Mappila Muslims, which is a Malayali Muslim community, common in the central and northern half of Kerala. The Erattupetta Muslims reside in Thodupuzha and some parts of the Idukki, valiyaveettil is one of the prominent Muslim families in Erattupetta. Khan The Former royal family of Madurai came here in 11th century from Tamil Nadu and this place, which was under the control of the Thekkumkur king, transferred his power to the royal family of Madurai. For the stability of government they greeted sincere and able Muslim Nobles and their next generation are known by the name as KHAN
10.
Kottayam district
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Kottayam is one of the 14 districts in the state of Kerala, India. Though the district is 157 km south to Kunnamkulam, the center of kerala, it is located in an area with biggest diameter and it is the only district having no border with either Western Ghats or Arabian sea. The Kerala government and Central govt both agreed to built an airport near Sabarimala, cheruvally Estate in Erumeli may be the site. Given it is a plateau with strong soil, Aviation ministry estimated that the airport could be completed in just six months. The district has its headquarters at Kottayam town, located at 9. 36° N and 76. 17° E. Pala or Kidangoor may be the point of district. Rubber Board campus located in Puthuppally with head office in Kottayam town is the central govt organization in the district. Kottayam is known as city of three Ls - Literacy, Lakes and Latex, Kottayam is the first town to achieve 100% literacy rate in India. On 27 September 2008, Kottayam district also became the first tobacco free districts in India, Kottayam City is also known as Akshara Nagari and Chuvar Chitra Nagari. Bordered by hills on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west, rulers of Munjanad and Thekkumkur had their headquarters at Thazhathangadi near Kottayam town. Marthanda Varma of Travancore attacked Thekkumkur and destroyed the palace and the Thaliyil Fort, the remnants of the palaces and forts are still seen here. Kottayam has played its role in all the political agitations of modern times, the Malayali Memorial agitation may be said to have had its origin in Kottayam. The Malayali Memorial sought to secure representation for educated Travancoreans in the Travancore civil service against persons from outside. The Memorial, which was presented to the Maharaja Sri Moolam Thirunal was drafted at a meeting held in the Kottayam Public Library. The event marked the beginning of the political movement in the state. It was in Kottayam that the famous Vaikom Satyagraha, a struggle for eradication of untouchability. Scheduled castes and other classes in Travancore were denied not only entry into temples. Vaikom, the seat of a celebrated Siva Temple, was the venue of the symbolic satyagraha and it is of immense historic significance that national leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, C. Rajagopalachari, Acharya Vinoba Bhave and E. V, ramswami Naykar, associated with this struggle
11.
Western Ghats
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Western Ghats மேற்கு தொடர்ச்சி மலை is a mountain range that runs parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula, located entirely in India. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the eight hottest hot-spots of biological diversity in the world and it is sometimes called the Great Escarpment of India. The range runs north to south along the edge of the Deccan Plateau. These hills cover 160,000 km2 and form the catchment area for complex riverine drainage systems that drain almost 40% of India, the Western Ghats block southwest monsoon winds from reaching the Deccan Plateau. The average elevation is around 1,200 m, at least 325 globally threatened species occur in the Western Ghats. The Western Ghats are the mountainous faulted and eroded edge of the Deccan Plateau, geologic evidence indicates that they were formed during the break-up of the supercontinent of Gondwana some 150 million years ago. Geophysical evidence indicates that the west coast of India came into being somewhere around 100 to 80 mya after it broke away from Madagascar, after the break-up, the western coast of India would have appeared as an abrupt cliff some 1,000 m in elevation. Basalt is the predominant rock found in the reaching a thickness of 3 km. Other rock types found are charnockites, granite gneiss, khondalites, leptynites, metamorphic gneisses with detached occurrences of limestone, iron ore. Residual laterite and bauxite ores are found in the southern hills. The Western Ghats extend from the Satpura Range in the north and it traverses south past the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala. Major gaps in the range are the Goa Gap, between the Maharashtra and Karnataka sections, and the Palghat Gap on the Tamil Nadu and Kerala border between the Nilgiri Hills and the Anaimalai Hills. The mountains intercept the rain-bearing westerly monsoon winds, and are consequently an area of high rainfall, particularly on their western side. The northern portion of the coastal plain between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea is known as the Konkan, the central portion is called Kanara. The foothill region east of the Ghats in Maharashtra is known as Desh, the range is known as Sahyadri in Maharashtra and Karnataka. The Western Ghats meets the Eastern Ghats at Nilgiris in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Nilgiris connects Biligiriranga Hills in southeastern Karnataka with the Shevaroys and Tirumala hills. In the southern part of the range is Anamudi, the highest peak in Western Ghats, following is a list of some of the highest peaks of the Western Ghats, The Western Ghats form one of the four watersheds of India, feeding the perennial rivers of India. The major river systems originating in the Western Ghats include Godavari, Kaveri, Krishna, Thamiraparani, majority of streams draining the Western Ghats join these rivers and carry large volume of water during the monsoon months
12.
Kodaikanal
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Kodaikanal is a city in the hills of the Dindigul district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Its name in the Tamil language means The Gift of the Forest, Kodaikanal is referred to as the Princess of Hill stations and has a long history as a retreat and popular tourist destination. Kodaikanal was established in 1845 as a refuge from the high temperatures, much of the local economy is based on the hospitality industry serving tourism. As of 2011, the city had a population for 36,501 and it is not known who first used this name or what they intended it to mean. The word Kodaikanal is an amalgamation of two words, kodai and kanal, the Tamil language has at least four possible interpretations of the name Kodaikanal. Kanal, in Tamil, can mean dense or closed forest, in this case, Kodai can have at least four meanings. By pronouncing Kodai with the long Tamil O and short e, Kodaikanal could mean the end of the forest which makes poetic and geographical sense — Kodaikanal is at the crown of the Palani Hills and is effectively surrounded and protected by thick forests. By pronouncing Kodai with the short Tamil O, it means creepers or vines, Kodaikanal could mean forest of creepers or the forest of vines. The forest of creepers is thought to be the English language meaning given in 1885 during the early habitation of the place and is still accepted. By pronouncing Kodai with a short Tamil O, and a long E, it might be interpreted to mean gift, rendering Kodaikanal as gift of the forest. Keeping the short Tamil O but adding a long A, Kodai could be understood as the Tamil word for umbrella, or perhaps umbrella just because of the once pristine shola, it rained so much in Kodai. Another Tamil word for creeper or vine is valli, the honey collecting daughter of the chief of the Veddas mountain tribe. The chief and his wife prayed to the Mountain God for a girl, as she was found among creeper plants, they named her Valli and she grew up as princess of the tribe in Kurinji and became the consort of lord Murugan. The romantic traditions of Murugan in Sangam literature are thus associated with the name Kodaikanal, the earliest residents of Kodaikanal were the Palaiyar tribal people. The earliest specific references to Kodaikanal and the Palani Hills are found in Tamil Sangam literature of the early Common era, modern Kodaikanal was established by American Christian missionaries and British bureaucrats in 1845, as a refuge from the high temperatures and tropical diseases of the plains. In the 20th century a few elite Indians came to realise the value of this hill station. To date no proper clean-up operation has been mounted, the issue gained prominence in early 2015 when Kodaikanal Wont, a rap music about mercury pollution in the region went viral globally getting more than a million views in 4 days. The town of Kodaikanal sits on a plateau above the escarpment of the upper Palani Hills at 2,133 metres
13.
Tourism in Kerala
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Kerala, a state situated on the tropical Malabar Coast of southwestern India, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. Named as one of the ten paradises of the world by National Geographic Traveler, Kerala is famous especially for its ecotourism initiatives and its unique culture and traditions, coupled with its varied demography, have made Kerala one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Growing at a rate of 13. 31%, the industry is a major contributor to the states economy. Until the early 1980s, Kerala was an unknown destination. In the decades that followed, Kerala Tourism was able to transform itself into one of the holiday destinations in India. The tag line Kerala – Gods Own Country was adopted in its tourism promotions, Kerala is regarded as one of the destinations with the highest brand recall. In 2010, Kerala attracted 660,000 foreign tourist arrivals, Kerala is an established destination for both domestic as well as foreign tourists. Kerala is well known for its beaches, backwaters in Alappuzha and Kollam, mountain ranges, the backwaters region—an extensive network of interlocking rivers, lakes, and canals that centre on Ashtamudi Lake, Kollam, also see heavy tourist traffic. Heritage sites, such as the Padmanabhapuram Palace, Hill Palace, the city of Trivandrum ranks first in the total number of international and domestic tourists in Kerala. To further promote tourism in Kerala, the Grand Kerala Shopping Festival was started by the Government of Kerala in 2007, since then it has been held every year during the December–January period. The states tourism agenda promotes ecologically sustained tourism, which focuses on the culture, wilderness adventures, volunteering. Efforts are taken to minimise the effects of traditional tourism on the natural environment. Since its incorporation as a state, Keralas economy largely operated under welfare-based democratic socialist principles. This mode of development, though it resulted in a high Human Development Index and standard of living among the people, led to a stagnation in the 1980s. )This apparent paradox—high human development and low economic development—led to a large number of educated unemployed seeking jobs overseas. Due to the number of expatriates, many travel operators. However, the trends soon reciprocated, with the travel agencies noticing the potential of the state as a tourist destination. The first travel agency in Kerala, Kerala Travels, was founded by Col G. V, raja of the Travancore royal family along with P. G. C. By 1986, tourism had gained an industry status, Kerala Tourism subsequently adopted the tagline Gods Own Country in its advertisement campaigns
14.
Kerala Tourism Development Corporation
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The Kerala Tourism Development Corporation is a public sector undertaking that conducts and regulates the tourism activities in the Indian state of Kerala. The KTDC is headquartered at Thiruvananthapuram and has offices all the districts of Kerala. The agency also operates hotels, resorts, and tourist rest houses in key locations in the state and its official slogan is Official host to Gods own country. It is one of the most profitable ventures of the Kerala government, Kerala was a relatively unknown state among tourist circles until the early 1960s. When Travancore merged with India, Kerala Tours Limited became an entity under the Travancore royal family. For more than 20 years since Independence, Kerala trend to ignore tourism as a key industry, leaving KTL, in the 1960s, KTL struck gold, by collaborating with Thomas Cook and started popularizing Kovalam in western countries which started the advent of hippie culture in Kovalam Beach. The strong inflow of tourists into Kovalam, started Kerala government to consider tourism as a key industry, though it tried to nationalize Kerala Tours Limited, it soon fell into legal issues. This resulted in the government to think starting a new entity known as Kerala Tourism Development Corporation IN1966, started as a government department, KTDC became a separate commercial entity by the 1970s. Several premium guest houses of Kerala Government were identified and converted into hotel brands, lt. Col. G. V. Raja was also the President of Tourism Promotion Council of Kerala. He was the architect in developing Kovalam as an international tourist spot. Bolgatty Island Resort, which houses the Bolgatty Palace, a property which is the largest Dutch palace outside the Netherlands. Built in 1635 as Palace of Dutch Governor of India, this soon became British Residency for Travancore-Cochin Kingdoms, the palace is part of Bolgatty resort which has another property, branded as Island Resort, which has a nine-course golf club, horsing tracks and other facilities. Mascot Hotel Trivandrum, located in state capital Thiruvananthapuram is a property built in 1902 which used to accommodate Travancore Army officials. Lake Palace, a summer palace of the King of Travancore, is on an island in the middle of the Periyar Lake —20 minutes by boat from the mainland. KTDC has 7 resort styled hotel properties aiming for leisure travellers, all properties in the premium range are individually branded. Marina House, KTDC manages Indias first marina which includes a 24-room hotel, Marina House, located in Bolgatty Island, the facility features 34 berthing spaces of yachts and Marina Club House for travellers to unwind their journeys with facilities for embarkation and disembarkation process. Bolgatty Island Resort- Part of Bolgatty Island, the features a world class urban resort with a nine course golf course. Aranya Nivas Thekkady built within Periyar National Park is a jungle lodge
15.
Chinese fishing nets
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In India, Chinese fishing nets are fishing nets that are fixed land installations for fishing. While commonly known as Chinese fishing nets in India, the formal name for such nets is shore operated lift nets. Huge mechanical contrivances hold out horizontal nets of 20 m or more across, each structure is at least 10 m high and comprises a cantilever with an outstretched net suspended over the sea and large stones suspended from ropes as counterweights at the other end. Each installation is operated by a team of up to six fishermen, while such nets are used throughout coastal southern China and Indochina, in India they are mostly found in the Indian cities of Kochi and Kollam, where they have become a tourist attraction. The Indian common name arises because they are unusual in India, the system is sufficiently balanced that the weight of a man walking along the main beam is sufficient to cause the net to descend into the sea. The net is left for a time, possibly just a few minutes. The catch is usually modest, a few fish and crustaceans, rocks, each 30 cm or so in diameter, are suspended from ropes of different lengths. As the net is raised, some of the rocks one-by-one come to rest on a platform thereby keeping everything in balance, each installation has a limited operating depth. Consequently, an individual net cannot be operated in tidal waters. Different installations will be operated depending on the state of the tide and it was earlier thought that the nets might have been introduced by the Chinese explorer Zheng He. Recent research shows that these were introduced by Portuguese Casado settlers from Macau, the Chinese fishing nets have become a very popular tourist attraction. Their size and elegant construction is photogenic and the rhythm of their operation is quite hypnotic. In addition, catches can be purchased individually and need be only a short distance to a street entrepreneur who will cook it. Fishing in India Zheng He and Kochi Short documentary about Chinese fishing nets in Fort Kochi
16.
God's Own Country
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The phrase has been abbreviated to Godzone or less often Godzown. The phrase was used in its more literal meaning to refer to Heaven. The phrase later found use to describe several American regions. Most known is the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, also was used by the Confederate army to describe parts of Tennessee in the 1860s. The phrase was used to describe California in the 1860s. None of these remained a used to describe a region. Goebbels ridiculed America as a land that lacked culture, education. In 1943, the Nazis published an anti-American, anti-semitic propaganda book written by Erwin Berghaus called USA - nackt, bilddokumente aus Gottes eigenem Land which also mockingly characterized the USA with the phrase. Several modern German newspapers such as Die Welt, Der Tagesspiegel and Die Zeit have also used the phrase Gottes eigenem Land to criticize American culture and society. The earliest recorded use of the phrase as applied to New Zealand was as the title of a poem about New Zealand written by Thomas Bracken. It was published in a book of his poems in 1890, Gods Own Country as a phrase was often used and popularised by New Zealands longest serving prime minister, Richard John Seddon. He last quoted it on 10 June 1906 when he sent a telegram to the Victorian premier, Thomas Bent, just leaving for Gods own country, he wrote. He never made it, dying the day on the ship Oswestry Grange. Brackens Gods Own Country is less well known internationally than God Defend New Zealand which he published in 1876. The latter poem, set to music by John Joseph Woods, was declared the national hymn in 1940. In Australia, the phrase Gods own country was used to describe the country in the early 1900s. The phrase Godzone is distinctly different and was not used in Rhodesia, kerala is a state in south-west India, known as Gods own country, and is one of the popular tourist destinations in the country. The phrase was adopted as a slogan by the department of the states government in the 1980s when it was relatively unknown
17.
Chundan Vallam
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Chundan Vallam, known outside of Kerala as Kerala snake boats, are one of the icons of Kerala culture used in the Vallamkali boat race. Constructed according to specifications taken from the Sthapathya Veda, an ancient treatise for the building of wooden boats, with the rear portion rising to a height of about 20 feet, and a long tapering front portion, it resembles a snake with its hood raised. Hulls are built of planks precisely 83 feet in length and six inches wide, the boats are a good example of ancient Vishwakarma prowess in naval architecture. Traditionally each boat belongs to a village, and the worship that boat like a deity. Only men are allowed to touch the boat, and to show respect they should be barefooted, repair work is done annually by the village carpenter. Sitting two to a row along the length of the boat, there will be 64 paddlers and they row in rhythm of the vanchipattu. There will be around 25 singers in a row at the middle between the paddlers, in the middle of the second half of the boat is a platform for eight people to stand from where the cantor will lead the song. Vallam Kali Aranmula Boat Race Aranmula Kannadi Kallada Boat Race
18.
Kerala backwaters
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The Kerala backwaters are a chain of brackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast of Kerala state in southern India. The network includes five large lakes linked by canals, both man made and natural, fed by 38 rivers, and extending virtually half the length of Kerala state. The backwaters were formed by the action of waves and shore currents creating low barrier islands across the mouths of the rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range. The Kerala Backwaters are a network of interconnected canals, rivers, lakes and inlets, a system formed by more than 900 km of waterways. In the midst of this there are a number of towns and cities. National Waterway 3 from Kollam to Kottapuram, covers a distance of 205 km, the important rivers from north to south are the Valapattanam river, Chaliar, Kadalundipuzha, Bharathapuzha, Chalakudy river, Periyar, Pamba, Achancoil and Kalladayar. Other than these, there are 35 more small rivers and rivulets flowing down from the Ghats, most of these rivers are navigable up to the midland region, in country crafts. Vembanad is the largest of the lakes, covering an area of 2033 km², the lake has a large network of canals that meander through the region of Kuttanad. The backwaters have an ecosystem, freshwater from the rivers meets the seawater from the Arabian Sea. A barrage has been built near Thanneermukkom, so water from the sea is prevented from entering the deep inside. Such fresh water is used for irrigation purposes. Palm trees, pandanus shrubs, various plants and bushes grow alongside the backwaters. The kettuvallams in the backwaters are one of the prominent tourist attractions in Kerala, more than 2000 kettuvallams ply the backwaters. The Kerala government has classified the tourist houseboats as platinum, gold, the kettuvallams were traditionally used as grain barges, to transport the rice harvested in the fertile fields alongside the backwaters. Thatched roof covers over wooden hulls,100 feet in length, at some point in time the boats were used as living quarters by the royalty. Converted to accommodate tourists, the houseboats have become floating cottages having an area, with western-style toilets, a dining area. Most tourists spend the night on a houseboat, Food is cooked on board by the accompanying staff – mostly having a flavour of Kerala. The houseboats are of various patterns and can be hired as per the size of the family or visiting group
19.
Pooram
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Harimattom pooram is the one of the famous pooram in Ernakulam. The most famous pooram in whole world is Thirumandhamkunnu Pooram which has a participation of 11 Lack people across the country. Most pooram festivals have at least one ornately decorated elephant being paraded in the procession out of the temple precincts. Vela is also a festival like pooram, thrissur Pooram is the most famous of all poorams. The second best known Pooram in Kerala is Uthralikavu Pooram. A melam is a performance of different kind of musical instruments that are unique to Kerala and is something akin to the jazz. The most traditional of all melams is called Pandi Melam which is performed outside the temple. Another kind of melam is called Panchari Melam, which is similar to Pandi Melam going by the kind of instruments, panchavadyam is another classical musical ensemble performed in Kerala. Here, five different kinds of instruments create a breathtaking and fastmoving percussion performance, the five instruments are Madhalam, Kombu, Edakka, Elathalam and Timila. Interesting attractions of Pooram can be seen in the Valluvanad and Talappilly region, there is the Harijan Vela or Parayar Vela as well as the Tholpavakoothu, a traditional shadow puppetry show. Harimattom Temple is situated near Tripunithura, the temple festival is started on malayalm month medam star UTTRAM. The main highlight of the festival is harimattom pooram which is on the 7th day of the festival, the main attraction of this pooram is kudamattam and famous pandimellam with the presents of most the famous 10 elephants from Kerala. The one of the most important things is the Harimattom pooram and festival is conducting as per keeping the Kerala tradition, beliefs and culture
20.
Puli Kali
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Pulikkali is a recreational folk art from the state of Kerala. It is performed by trained artists to people on the occasion of Onam. On the fourth day of Onam celebrations, performers painted like tigers and hunters in bright yellow, red, literal meaning of Pulikkali is the play of the tigers hence the performance revolve around the theme of tiger hunting. The folk art is mainly practiced in Thrissur district of Kerala, best place to watch the show is at Thrissur on the fourth day of Onam, where Pulikkali troupes from all over the district assemble to display their skills. The festival attracts thousands of people to the Thrissur city, Pulikkali is also performed during various other festive seasons. Later, Konar of used to celebrate with great fervor and they popularised the folk genre with steps and body language peculiar to a tiger being stalked by a hunter, enacting a play of the hunter and the beast. Along with the celebrations, they used to perform the art form decked as tigers with peculiar steps resembling the tiger, Pulikkali in Thrissur is held in memory of this event. Over the years, there has been changes in the adornment of Pulikkali dancers, in the early days, masks were not used and participants would have themselves painted all over, on their faces as well. But now, ready made masks, cosmetic teeth, tongues, beards, the tigers also wear a broad belt with jingles around their waist. The festival in Thrissur has now become an all peoples event with huge response from people, especially youths who come forward to participate in the festival, and also from sponsors. The event is organized by the Pulikkali Co-ordination Committee, a council of Pulikkali groups formed in 2004 in Thrissur to preserve. The Thrissur Municipal Corporation give a grant of Rs 30,000 for each Pulikkali troupe, a striking feature of this folk art is the colorful appearance of the performers. A particular combination of powder and varnish or enamel is used to make the paint. First of all, the remove the hair from the body, and then. It takes two to three hours for the coating to dry, after that, the second coat of paint is applied with enhanced design. This entire procedure takes at least five to seven hours, a large number of artists gather to apply paint on the tigers. It is a process and often starts from the wee hours in the morning. Scenes such as the tiger preying on an animal, and a tiger being hunted by a game-hunter are enacted beautifully in between, thousands of spectators line the streets enjoying the dance, cheering the dancers some of them even trying to join in
21.
Temple festivals of Kerala
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Kerala which is often referred to as Gods Own Country has a large number of Hindu temples. Many of the temples have unique traditions and most hold festivals on specific days of the year, temple festivals usually continue for a number of days. A common characteristic of these festivals is the hoisting of a flag which is then brought down only on the final day of the festival. Some festivals include Poorams, the most famous of these being the Thrissur Pooram, temples that can afford it will usually involve at least one richly caparisoned elephant as part of the festivities. The idol of the God in the temple is taken out on a procession around the countryside atop this elephant, when the procession visits homes around the temple, people will usually present rice, coconuts, and other offerings to the God. Processions often include traditional music such as Panchari melam or Panchavadyam
22.
Vallam Kali
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Vallam Kali is a traditional boat race in Kerala, India. It is a form of racing, and uses paddled war canoes. It is mainly conducted during the season of the harvest festival Onam in autumn, Vallam Kali includes races of many kinds of paddled longboats, the traditional boats of Kerala. The race of Chundan Vallam is the major event, hence Vallam Kali is also known as the Snake Boat Race and is a major tourist attraction. Other types of boats which do participate in events in the race are Churulan Vallam, Iruttukuthy Vallam, Odi Vallam, Veppu Vallam, Vadakkanody Vallam. The Nehru Trophy Boat Race is a popular Vallam Kali event held in the Punnamada Lake near Alappuzha, Kerala, hence, the technical methods for creating these Snake Boats are around 650 years old. Of the snake boats still in use today, the Parthasarathi Chundan is the oldest model, Vallam Kali has mainly been conducted during the season of the harvest festival Onam in Autumn. The race of Chundan Vallam is the major event, Vallam Kali also includes races of many other kinds of traditional paddled longboats of Kerala, and is one of the major tourist attractions in the state. Vanchipattu is the form of poetry in Malayalam language commonly using while Vallam Kali, during Aranmula Uthrattadi Vallamkali, the vanchipattu is performed by the participants for its significance in the rituals. Ramapurathu Warrier is considered to be the pioneer of the vanchipattu. gamezindia. com Snake Boat Race Gothuruth Boat Race since 1938
23.
Wildlife of Kerala
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This article relates to flora and fauna of the state of Kerala, south India. Most of Kerala, whose native habitat consists of wet evergreen rainforests at lower elevations and highland deciduous, however, significant variations in terrain and elevation have resulted in a land whose biodiversity registers as among the world’s most significant. Despite this, Kerala contains 9,400 km2 of natural forests, such forests together cover 24% of Keralas landmass. Kerala also hosts two of the world’s Ramsar Convention-listed wetlands, Lake Sasthamkotta and the Vembanad-Kol wetlands are noted as being wetlands of international importance, there are also numerous protected conservation areas, including 1455.4 km2 of the vast Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Overall, Keralas forests are home to more than 1,000 species of trees, smaller flora include bamboo, wild black pepper, wild cardamom, the calamus rattan palm, and aromatic Vetiver grass. In turn, the forests play host to such major fauna as the Asian elephant, Bengal tiger, leopard, nilgiri tahr, more remote preserves, including Silent Valley National Park in the Kundali Hills, harbor endangered species such as the, Indian sloth bear, and gaur. Many reptiles, such as tree snake, green snake, king cobra, viper, python, additionally, freshwater fish such as kadu and brackishwater species such as Choottachi also are native to Keralas lakes and waterways. Teak Museum Idukki is the district having more forest land in Kerala while Alappuzha have no forest land, sreedharan, TP, Biological Diversity of Kerala, A survey of Kalliasseri panchayat, Kannur district, Kerala Research Programme on Local Level Development, retrieved January 13,2006
24.
Aranmula International Airport
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Aranmula International Airport is an airport project planned to be built at Aranmula, Kerala in India, at a cost of Rs.20 billion. The airport is proposed to be built on about 700 acres of land, the controversial project faces strong protest from environmentalists and local people as well as the opposition parties in Kerala. The project is expected to generate 1,500 direct and 6,000 indirect jobs, the project has been rejected by Ministry of Environment. World Malayalee council said they already finalised few sites in Kottayam, Idukki and Pathanamthitta and preference has been given to few estates in Erumeli and they said they already met Oommen Chandy who assured them that he will study the report soon. They said they will meet Modi soon, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced officially that Aranmula is a closed chapter and government is looking for a new airport site as airport is a must for Sabarimala pilgrims. Supreme Court of India ratified the order of National Green Tribunal Verdict declaring Aranmula Airport Project as violating all environmental requirements, consequently, Govt of India has withdrawn its sanction for the Airport. The airport is planned to be built on about 700 acres of land at a cost of ₹2,000 crore and it will cater to wide body aircraft like the Boeing 747 with a runway length of 3,100 x 45 meters with PCN45 F/B/W/T. The terminal building is being designed to handle 1,000 passengers at a time, the company plans to have a Special Economic Zone, a multi-specialty hospital, a shopping mall, a luxury hotel and an international school within the airport complex. The project is being funded through equity and debt, the equity portion accounts for around Rs 10 billion. Three banks including ICICI, IDBI Bank and SBI have funded the debt portion, the first phase of the project is expected to cost Rs 7.50 billion. The Kerala government had sanctioned an in principle approval for the airport during the Left Democratic Front regime in 2009, however, the Central Government gave the green signal for the proposed airport in October 2012 and the project was estimated to be completed within 18 months. An executive summary of the project including the environmental impact was prepared by Chennai-based Enviro Care India Pvt. Ltd. and was submitted to the Government of India. However, the Environmental clearance for the project has not been granted yet, allegations of discrepancies in awarding clearances through easy processes have been raised, adding to the projects controversies. The agitations are being led by members of the Paithruka Grama Karmasamithy, the runway is being constructed over the Kozhithode canal, which is a tributary of the Pamba river. Several species of fish migrate upstream from the river through the canals to the paddy fields. Reclamation of these wetlands would deprive the fish of their breeding grounds, razing hills in the neighbourhood for soil to reclaim the fields could lead to biodiversity loss and water shortage. The Board warned the government of water scarcity and flooding in the areas neighbouring the site if paddy fields. The Board recommended a series of programmes to ensure that the airport project did not impact on the biodiversity of the region
25.
Calicut International Airport
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Calicut International Airport, also known as Karipur Airport, is an international airport serving the cities of Kozhikode and Malappuram in Kerala, India. It is located in Karipur, about 25 km from Malappuram and 28 km from Kozhikode, the airport serves as an operating base for Air India Express. It was the twelfth busiest airport in India in terms of passenger traffic. It is the third busiest airport in Kerala after Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram and it was given international airport status on 2 February 2006. The airport was inaugurated in April 1988, Calicut airport gained its sanction after a long period of struggle, which began in 1977, under the leadership of freedom fighter late K. P. In the 1990s, Gulf Malayalis played an important part in the development of the airport - they collected funds for the purpose and this led to the inception of, the Malabar International Airport Development Society, which helped raise funds for the airports development. Consequently, major developments of facilities, such as extension of runway from 6,000 feet to 9,000 feet to facilitate operation of big-bodied aircraft, were carried out, with loans from HUDCO. It received the status of an airport on February 2,2006. It holds the distinction of being the 12th busiest airport in India, runway Re carpeting completed and 24 hour operation started on 01/03/2017. A15,000 m2 international terminal has opened to passengers. Five conveyor belts have been installed at the arrival terminal, the approach to Calicut airport runway is surrounded with hills and valleys. The approach funnel area of the runway 28 is a 30 m to 70 m deep undulated valley up to a distance of 6,000 m, immediately following the tabletop runway of 2,860 m long. This terrain needs a special type of approach lighting system to enhance safety for aircraft operations both during night and poor visibility conditions. Airports Authority of India have provided runway lead-in lighting system for the first time in India at Calicut airport as per the recommendations of the DGCA. As a result, Emirates, Saudia and 2 Air India 747 flight operations had to move temporarily to Cochin International Airport during this time, AAI had earlier instructed all airports using widebody aircraft must have 240m of RESA on each direction vs Calicut airports 75m. The major hurdle in extending the runway is the delay in acquiring the land which require a total of 385 acres of land for extending the runway, the state government has been finding the task difficult as it requires evacuation of 1500 families living around the airport. As of June 10,2016, not much action has taken for land acquisition to help increase the runway length. On 17 January 1969, Douglas C-47A VT-DTH of Hindu Publications crashed on take-off, the aircraft was operating a cargo flight
26.
Cochin International Airport
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Cochin International Airport is an international airport situated in the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. It is the busiest and largest airport in the state of Kerala, the airstrip was converted into a military airport by the Indian Navy during World War II. The Royal Navy chose it as a site for their headquarters in Southern India and as an air station cum landing craft. The military facility hosted naval fighter planes and was intended to thwart possible Japanese air raids, a small naval unit set up just two days before the outbreak of World War II. After Indian Independence, the Indian Navy operated the airport, though it permitted civilian aircraft to use the facility, the Gulf economic boom of the 1980s made it necessary to develop international transportation to Kochi in the interests of expatriates working in the Middle East. The resolution was rejected by the Navy for security reasons, however, the government of Indias Airport Authority of India did not have enough funds to commence a greenfield airport. This led to the formation of an idea of collecting funds from the public and individuals to construct an airport. The idea was put forward by Mr. V. J. Kurian, the original proposal for the airport outlined an estimated cost of ₹100 crore and an expected date of commission in 1997. Approval was granted in May 1993, a body called the Cochin International Airport Society, under the chairmanship of the chief minister of Kerala, was registered in July 1993 to execute the project. A total of 2,000 acres of land was acquired for the construction of the airport, approximately 2,300 landowners and 872 families were resettled under a rehabilitation package. Major electric lines and a canal had to be diverted. The facility was inaugurated by the then President of India, KR Narayanan on 25 May 1999. The operations from the old airport were moved to CIAL on 1 July 1999. The airport had 18,580 m2 of floor space at its inauguration, CIAL envisioned six phases of expansion over 20 years, the third phase of which was completed in 2009. The original airport terminal was small enough envisioned to handle just 100 passengers at a time, however, by 2001, the international passenger traffic were growing, making necessary to redevelop the terminal. Most of the expansion has occurred in the terminal, as it accounts for more than 78% of all traffic. In 2002 the original floor area had risen. As part of two of the expansion plans, an airline center complex of 7,500 m2 was constructed on the western side of the terminal to accommodate airline
27.
Kannur International Airport
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KIAL intends Kannur International Airport to become a major airport. The airport is expected to begin operations in mid 2017 The airport project was initiated in 1996. Ibrahim was the Union minister for Civil Aviation, nayanar-led state government pursued the project in 1997 with the proposal of a Greenfield Airport at Kannur. The Government of Kerala appointed Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation as a Nodal agency in January 1998 for implementation of the project, the latter was appointed to undertake feasibility studies which were submitted to the Government of India in 2005. The proposal for the development of the ‘Kannur International Airport’ received ‘in principle’ approval from the Ministry of Civil Aviation in February 2008, Kannur International Airport Limited was founded in December 2009. The foundation stone for the Airport was laid on 17 December 2010, the airport will be built on 2,061 acres acres 25 km from Kannur. The Cochin International Airport Limited submitted the project report in May 2012. On November 2013, L&T was chosen to construct the runway, passenger terminal buildings, the construction work commenced in November 2013 and the completion target date is 31 December 2016 with commercial operations expected to begin by Mid 2017. The airport is expected to act as a cargo hub for the Malabar region. The runway length of Kannur International Airport will be 4000 m which is expected to be completed in Phase 1 of the project, the current length of the runway is 3050 m which was completed on 29 April 2016. The orientation of the runway is 07/25 which permits obstacle free approach, the parallel taxi way will be extended to full length of the runway including 2 rapid exits. Construction of the 3050 m runway started in Q42013 and was completed on 29 April 2016. Once the extension to 4000 m extension is completed, Kannur will be the fourth airport in India to have a length of 4000 m after Delhi, Hyderabad. The official date for trial landing was planned for 31 December 2015 but was delayed due to incessant non-seasonal rains that delayed runway work, in February 2016, The airport had obtained mandatory DGCA clearance for test flight on the 2400 m runway. Only 75% of the total 4000 m of the runway was complete at the time of test, the Government announced that it will conduct a test flight from the airport on 29 February 2016 with an aircraft belonging to the defence ministry. On 29 February 2016 at 0906 hrs, the landing operation was successfully completed at Kannur International Airport by a Dornier 228 aircraft from the Indian Air force. This 10 seater aircraft is capable of landing on unprepared land, Air Marshal R. Nambiar, a native of Kannur and co-pilot Wing Commander Vipin Neni from Pune were at the controls. The then Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Ministers K. Babu, K. C. Joseph, mohanan received the pilots after the landing
28.
Quilon Aerodrome
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Quilon Aerodrome or Kollam Airport was an aerodrome in the city of Kollam in the former state of Travancore, now in Kerala, India. During the 1920s, there were no other civil aerodromes in the kingdoms of Cochin, Travancore, with the 1932 commissioning of Trivandrum International Airport in the state capital 57 kilometres to the south, the aerodrome fell into disuse and came to be known as the Asramam Maidan. The landing strip of the aerodrome was strengthened with red soil from the adjoining hills because the local loose soil was unsuitable for the purpose. There were no buildings in the aerodrome, however, a concrete pad for parking aircraft was built. The aerodrome was under the control of the Public Works Department, the aerodrome was also used for training operations. These were stopped when an accident involving an aircraft at the boundary of the aerodrome, resulted in the death of the pilot. During 2009 -2012, local authorities made plans to revive the aerodrome for an academy with a 4,000 foot runway for light aircraft. Trivandrum International Airport Cochin International Airport Calicut International Airport Kannur International Airport Aranmula International Airport List of airports in India
29.
Trivandrum International Airport
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Trivandrum International Airport is in Thiruvananthapuram and is the first airport in the state of Kerala, India. It was the international airport of India declared by then Prime Minister of India. The airport is a base for Air India Express operations and is a focus city for Air India, Jet Airways, SpiceJet. There are flights to Middle eastern and South eastern countries from here, Trivandrum International Airport operates two terminals. Terminal 1 handles domestic operations and Terminal 2 handles all international flight operations as well as all domestic flights by Air India. In addition to operations, Trivandrum Airport caters to the Indian Air Force. IAF have an apron to handle all their operations. Trivandrum airport also caters to the Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology which carries out training activities. The airport was established in 1932 as part of the Royal Flying Club under the initiative of Colonel Goda Varma Raja, Consort Prince of HRH Queen Karthika Thirunal of Travancore Kingdom. Col G. V Raja, a pilot, felt the need an airport to accommodate Travancore in the aviation map of India. A detailed report was made and presented to the King by Consort Prince in this regard, in 1935, on royal patronage of H. H Maharaja Chithira Thirunal, Tata Airlines made its maiden flight to the airport using DH. The first flight took off on 1 November 1935, carrying mails of Royal Anchal to Bombay, in 1938, the Royal Government of Travancore acquired a Dakota as Maharajas private aircraft and placed the first squadron of Royal Indian Air Force for protection of state from aerial attacks. After Independence, the airstrip was used for flights with construction of a domestic terminal. International operations were initiated by Air India to cities in the Arabian Peninsula in the late 1970s using Boeing 707, by early 80s, the then Indian Airlines started service to Colombo, followed by service to Male. Later, SriLankan Airlines and Air Maldives, the cargo warehouse is on the airport premises. It has a capacity to import 21000 MT and export 27000 MT per annum, in 2010-11, the airport achieved MT of import cargo and MT of export cargo. Major cargo jets such as Emirates has begun flights to Trivandrum International Airport, the air traffic control tower is 18 m tall. There are plans to build a new 43m tall ATC tower for Trivandrum airport near the new international terminal. The airport has an instrument landing system using distance measuring equipment, the Instrument Landing System allows aircraft landings in reduced visibility
30.
Kottakkunnu
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Kottakkunnu is a tourist destination in the state of Kerala located at Malappuram. Stationed right at the heart of the city, Kottakkunnu attracts large number of domestic as well as international tourists, Kottakkunnu, Known as Marine Drive of Malappuram is a hill garden. Kottakkunnu park contains an Open Air theater, Lalitha Kala Academy Art gallery, there is Water fountain and Laser show on every weekends and on festivals like Eid, Onam, New year eve etc. At Kottakkunnu one can see traces of the first fort built by the Zamorins and this tourism destination turned historic hill attracts lakhs of people per annum. Visitors are allowed up to 9pm, KSRTC Bus station located adjacent at Up Hill is the nearest bus station. Kottakkunnu being one of the high earning tourism destination in the state in the form of tickets, in 2015, tourism minister inaugurated Kottakkunnu Master plan of 100cr worth projects. Some of the components under the plan has opened and many are underway
31.
Vismaya
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Vismaya is an amusement water theme park situated near Taliparamba in Kannur, Kerala. The park is developed and run by Malabar Tourism Development Co-operative Limited and it is situated near to the famous Muthappan temple in Parassinikadavu. It was officially inaugurated in August 2008 and since then it has one of the favorite holiday destination in Malabar. The park is operated by the rain water collected by the reservoir spread over two acres of land with a capacity of 50 million litres of water. Malabar Tourism Development Cooperative Limited was registered on February 15,2000, and one month later on March 9,2000 kick-started its operations with E. P. Jayarajan as the Chairman. But all these occupations faced many challenges which gradually lead to an economic decline, in such scenario, to meet the growing market and to create more job opportunities in addition to catering to the growing tourism industry, MTDC came into existence. The main objects of MTDC are to promote, establish, maintain and manage the business related to tourism and hospitality industry by setting up establishment such as, Amusement park, tour operations for foreign and domestic tourists. Hotels, restaurants, cool bars, ice cream stall, motels etc, shops for selling handicrafts, curious etc. Hill and beach resorts with all facilities to attract foreign and domestic tourists. Vismaya park is one of the first projects started by MTDC, vismaya is a blend of amusement, water theme and infotainment park. It has got water rides, informative and entertaining activities for kids, virtual waterfall and Laser show are the two main attractions of this amusement park. Virtual waterfall is a waterfall where the visitors dance under the water stream to the background music. This crowd puller is open everyday starting 2 pm and usually ends by 3 pm, Laser shows are usually staged in the evening, and are a major attraction
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Wonderla
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Wonderla Holidays Limited is a leading amusement park designing and operating company in India headquartered near Bidadi,28 kilometres from Bangalore. It is promoted by Kochouseph Chittilappilly and his son Arun Chittilappilly, wonderlas flagship amusement park located at the same address is the second theme park project from the company and has been operational since October 2005. It is spread over an area of 82 acres, the first amusement park, Wonderla Kochi, was set up in 2000. The third amusement park project Wonderla Hyderabad was commissioned in April 2016, the parks have been set up with a total investment of over ₹7.5 billion. The Initial Public Offering of Wonderla Holidays for about Rs 180 crores received overwhelming response, the IPO proceeds are slated to be used for its upcoming theme park project in Hyderabad. Wonderla has 55 land and water-based rides, the park features a wide variety of attractions including some rides, water rides, a musical fountain and laser shows, a virtual reality show. Wonderla Bangalore has a dance floor with a twist, electronically controlled rain showers. Wonderla also has specially designed for children, and these are gentle yet unusual like a kiddies free fall ride. It uses solar-heated water for all its pools during winter and it has conference facilities for up to 1,000 persons, and features five restaurants with a total seating capacity of 1,150. It has locker rooms with over 2,350 lockers and restrooms, the park also features a first aid facility and a paging system. The park opened its resort, an 84-room hotel complex spread over 100,000 square feet to public in 2012, the resort features dedicated childrens play areas and other recreational and conferencing facilities. Wonderla, Bangalore has been ranked 1st in India and 7th best in Asia by Tripadvisor for 2014 and this park will open a new roller coaster in 2016. It previously operated in the United States as the Zoomerang at Alabama Adventure, Wonderla Holidays owns and operates the popular Wonder la Amusement Park in Kochi, which was originally called Veegaland until it was re-branded in April 2011. This park is situated on the top of a hill at Pallikkara,12 kilometres from the city of Kochi, the park was set up in 2000 and was designed by architect Joseph John. Wonderla Hyderabad offers the perfect package for all the age groups with its 25 land based rides and 18 water based attractions on 50acres of land, Wonderla Amusement Park is located 28 km away from Hyderabad City. At the Tamil Nadu Global Investors Meet 2015, Wonderla revealed plans to construct an amusement park in Chennai at a cost of ₹3 billion, spread over 55 acres of land. Wonderla also announced that an amusement park would be set up in Andhra Pradesh on a land of 50 acres between Guntur and Vijayawada at a cost of ₹2.5 billion
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Anchuthengu
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Anchuthengu, formerly known as Anjengo or Anjenga, is a coastal town in the Thiruvananthapuram District of Kerala. The town contains old Portuguese-style churches, a lighthouse, a 100-year-old convent and school, tombs of Dutch and British sailors and soldiers, kaikara village, the birthplace of the famous Malayalam poet Kumaran Asan, is located nearby. Temples in the area are Sree Bala Subrahmanya Swami Kshethram and Parambil Sree Bhadrakali Yogeeshwara Kshethram, Anchuthengu is about 36 kilometers north of Thiruvananthapuram. The nearest airport is Trivandrum International Airport, kadakkavur Railway Station is 2 kilometers away. Anjengo is located in an oxbow at the mouth of Parvathy Puthanaar canal, originally, it was an old Portuguese settlement between Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram, and near Varkala. In 1694, the Queen of Attingal granted the British East India Company the right to establish a factory and a fort at Anjengo, the Anjengo Fort was erected in 1694-8. It was a port of call for East Indiamen. The fort played an important role in the Anglo-Mysore Wars of the 18th century but, by the 19th century, the EIC abandoned tt, and the factory, in 1813. In the 19th century, the town remained known for its excellent ropes and also exported pepper, homespun cotton cloth, citations References Anjengo, Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed. Vol. II, New York, Charles Scribners Sons,1878, p.58
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Kudakkallu Parambu
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Kudakkallu Parambu is a prehistoric Megalith burial site situated in Chermanangad of Thrissur District of Kerala. The site have 69 megalithic monuments spread over a small area, different types of burials are in this area includes Topikkal, Kudakkal, multiple hood stones and stone circles. Archaeological Survey of India says that these monuments are built around 2000 Before Christ, archaeological Survey of India has declared it as a centrally protected monument
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India
