Pathanamthitta

For the district with the same name, see Pathanamthitta district.
Pathanamthitta
പത്തനംതിട്ട
Town

Town Street after a monsoon shower
Pathanamthitta

Location in Kerala, India

Coordinates: 9°15′53″N 76°47′14″E / 9.26472°N 76.78722°E / 9.26472; 76.78722Coordinates: 9°15′53″N 76°47′14″E / 9.26472°N 76.78722°E / 9.26472; 76.78722
Country  India
State Kerala
District Pathanamthitta
Founded by K K Nayar
Government
 • Collector S Harikishore IAS
Area
 • Total 23.50 km2 (9.07 sq mi)
Elevation 31 m (102 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 37,538
 • Density 1,600/km2 (4,100/sq mi)
Languages
 • Official Malayalam,
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 689645
Telephone code 0468
Vehicle registration KL – 03
Website www.pathanamthitta.nic.in

Pathanamthitta (പത്തനംതിട്ട) is a town and a municipality situated in the Central Travancore region in the state of Kerala, south India, spread over an area of 23.50 km2. It is the administrative capital of Pathanamthitta district. The town has a population of 37,538. The Hindu pilgrim centre Sabarimala is situated in the Pathanamthitta district; as the main transport hub to Sabarimala, the town is known as the 'Pilgrim Capital of Kerala'.[1] Pathanamthitta District, the thirteenth revenue district of the State of Kerala. It was formed with effect from the 1st November, 1982 vide G.O. (M.S) No.1026/82/RD dated 29.10.1982, with headquarters at Pathanamthitta. Forest covers more than half (1396.95 km2.) of the total area of the District. Pathanamthitta District ranks the 7th in area (2652 sq. km.) in the State

A Skyview of Thiruvalla. The Biggest Town and Commercial Centre of Pathanamthitta District

Etymology

There are different versions on how the name Pathanamthitta came about. One view is that the name is derived from two Tamil / Malayalam words Pathanam and thitta, which together mean "array of ten "family" houses by the riverside". Another opinion is that is pattanam (town) which became 'pathanam'. Thus, Pathanamthitta meant a town by the riverside.

Pathanamthitta town is located on the fertile banks of the River Achenkovil.

Sri K. K. Nair, who formed the District, is known as the Father of Pathanamthitta.

Geography

A sign-board that indicates the direction to Sabarimala. The multilingual board is written in Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and English

Pathanamthitta has an average elevation of 18 metres (62 ft) above sea level.[2]

The main trunk road to Sabarimala is from Pathanamthitta. The Main Eastern Highway (Punalur-Muvattupuzha Road/SH-08) and T.K.Road (Thiruvalla-Kumbazha Road/SH-07) pass through Pathanamthitta. www.pathanamthittainfo.com . Main Roads passing through pathanamthitta are T.K Road, Adoor Road, Azhoor Road, Mannarakulanji Road

Major townships around Pathanamthitta
 Alappuzha & Kottayam Kanjirappalli Ranni /Mundakayam/Kumily
Pandalam/ Chengannur Tirunelveli
   Pathanamthitta  
Kollam Kottarakkara/Thiruvananthapuram Punalur/Tenkasi

Climate

The town enjoys a tropical climate, the monsoons start in June.[3] The months of April–May can get pretty humid. The best weather is from October to February.
Pathanamthitta experiences three distinct seasons: summer, monsoon and winter. Typical summer months are from March to May. The warmest month in Pathanamthitta is April. Although summer doesn't end until May, the city often receives locally developed heavy thundershowers in May (although humidity remains high).

The monsoon lasts from June to August, with moderate rainfall. Most of the heavy rainfall in the city fall between June and July, and June is the wettest month of the year. Last weeks of June is also days of floods. The three major rivers viz Pampa, Achankovil and Manimala swell with rainwater.[4]

Winter begins in December. December through February are the winter months. The lowest temperatures are experienced during January.

According to the latest World Health Organisation (WHO) study on ambient air quality among 123 Indian cities, Pathanamthitta was found to have the cleanest air in India, in terms of least concentration of dust particles in air. Two out of three least polluted cities in India are from Kerala, Kollam being second least polluted. As per the database, in Pathanamthitta, the annual mean of PM10 and PM2.5 is recorded at 23 and 10 respectively, which is closer to the recommended level of concentration of particulate matter. While a number of Indian cities are among the world's most polluted, Pathanamthitta's air quality is comparable to some of the cleanest cities in North America, Europe and Australia.

Climate data for Pathanamthitta, Kerala
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 31.0
(87.8)		 31.8
(89.2)		 32.9
(91.2)		 33.0
(91.4)		 32.5
(90.5)		 30.5
(86.9)		 29.8
(85.6)		 29.9
(85.8)		 30.4
(86.7)		 30.3
(86.5)		 30.0
(86)		 30.4
(86.7)		 31.04
(87.86)
Average low °C (°F) 22.4
(72.3)		 23.2
(73.8)		 24.6
(76.3)		 25.5
(77.9)		 25.4
(77.7)		 24.3
(75.7)		 23.8
(74.8)		 23.8
(74.8)		 24.0
(75.2)		 23.9
(75)		 23.6
(74.5)		 22.6
(72.7)		 23.93
(75.06)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 20
(0.79)		 36
(1.42)		 66
(2.6)		 160
(6.3)		 264
(10.39)		 476
(18.74)		 446
(17.56)		 306
(12.05)		 241
(9.49)		 318
(12.52)		 214
(8.43)		 57
(2.24)		 2,604
(102.53)
Source: Climate-Data.org[5]

Transportation

Airport

Thiruvananthapuram International Airport (113 km), Cochin International Airport, at Nedumbassery, Kochi (142 km) are the nearest airports.

Heliport

Perunad Heliport (helipad) is situated in Kuttikayam estate, Mampara road. Which is known as Sabarimala helipad. Chipsan Aviation Pvt Ltd, having service from various location. Most of the Sabarimala pilgrimages are using this heliport.

Rail

Tiruvalla railway station (Code: TRVL) (30 km) is the only railway station in the District. Chengannur railway station (Code: CNGR) (24 km) is the nearest Railway station. Kollam Junction Railway Station (Code: QLN) is 62 km away from Pathanamthitta. The location of Chengannur private bus stand in front of the station makes it the more convenient one. Direct Bus services to Pathanamthitta are operated from both Tiruvalla and Chengannur. The proposed Chengannur - Pandalam - Adoor - Kottarakkara - Thiruvananthapuram railway line passes through the district.

Road

The General Hospital Road stretch of the T.K. Road

Pathanamthitta is the meeting point of two major State Highways T.K. Road (SH – 07) and Main Eastern Highway (Punalur-Muvattupuzha Road / SH – 08). The city is well connected to major towns and cities inside and outside Kerala by the State run K.S.R.T.C and private buses as well as Luxury Services. Both the KSRTC and private buses play equal roles in satisfying the transportation needs of the town. The cities of Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Thrissur etc. are connected by KSRTC services whereas hi-range townships like Punalur, Kumali, Pala and the Malabar Area of Northern Kerala are connected by private bus services. KSRTC is running chain services that connect Pathanamthitta with the City of Kollam via Adoor. Plenty of A/C Luxury Bus services are operated from Pathanamthitta to Bangalore, Chennai, Mangalore and Mumbai on a daily basis.

KSRTC bus stations in Pathanamthitta district are Pathanamthitta, Thiruvalla, Adoor, Pandalam, Mallapally, Ranni, and Pamba.

Distance from pathanamthitta

Culture zone

Places around Pathanamthitta city within a distance of 15 km include, Elanthoor, Ranny, Vadaserikara, Kozhencherry, Kadammanitta, Vazhamuttom, Pandalam, Manjinikara, Mathoor, Omallur, Malayalappuzha, Kodumthara, Elavumthitta-Muloor Smarakam, Kodumon, Ayroor Cherukolpuzha, Ulanadu, Kaipattoor, Mylapra, Uthimoodu, Thumpamon, Maroor, Pramadom, Konni and Valamchuzhy. The places beyond these are Thiruvalla, Nilackal, Parumala, and Maramon. Pathanamthitta lies on the road route to the pilgrim town of Sabarimala, which is 65 km away. The Chettikulangara temple, at Mavelikkara is about 35 km from Pathanamthitta. Padanilam Parabrahma Temple is situated 26 km from Pathanamthitta. Aranmula is around 14 km from Pathanamthitta. Aranmula Temple is one of the biggest temples in South India en route to Sabarimala.

Sabarimala Mandala Pooja.[6]

Maramon Convention is the largest Christian gathering in Asia. The annual convention will be held during the first half of February.[7]

Cherukolpuzha Hindu matha convention[8][9]

Aranmula annual boat race.[10]

Making of the wonder mirror of the world. What is Aranmula Kannadi - Why It is world famous, What is the speciality?[11]

Notable people from Pathanamthitta District

See List of people from Pathanamthitta District

Demographics

As per Census of India 2011 Pathanamthitta had a population of 11,97,412 (11.97 Lakh) and which was lower than 12.34 lakh of previous Census of 2001. Males constitute 46.9% of the population and females 53.1%. 89% of Total population in Pathanamthitta lives in Rural area and only 11% lives in urban. Pathanamthitta District ranks the 12th place in terms of population size in the state. In total density of the District is 452 Persons per km2 which the 12th in States as per 2011 Census. In Sex-ratio, the District is in the 2nd position with 1132 females per 1,000 males. In Child Sex-ratio, the District has the 1st rank with 976 female children per 1000 male children. The District has the second position in total literacy rate (96.55 per cent) and female literacy rate (95.83 per cent). Agricultural Labourers constitute 14.1 per cent while Cultivators form 10.5 per cent of the Total Workers in the District. There are five engineering colleges and one medical college in Pathanamthitta District.

Pathanamthitta still has quite few settlements of aborigines called 'adivasis' deep in the forest area including areas like Thanithoddu, Chittar. The people from the settlements prefer not to be disturbed by the crowd from outside civilizations or lifestyles.

Religion

Hinduism , Christianity and Islam are the main religions followed here.Traditional Muslims living here are mostly Rowther ,who follow the Hanafi sect of Islam and speak mostly Malayalam and Malayalam mixed Tamil. There are certain section who follow other religions also. Various sections of Hindus, Christians and Muslims co-exist harmoniously.

Places of Worship

Politics

Pathanamthitta assembly constituency was part of the Idukki (Lok Sabha constituency) but now Pathanamthitta is a separate Lok Sabha constituency.[13] Pathanamthitta comes under Aranmula Assembly constituency. Earlier, Pathanamthitta itself was an Assembly constituency. But after delimitation, Pathanamthitta lost its named constituency.

Educational institutions

Pandalam

References

  1. ↑ http://www.keralatravels.com/resourcepage.php?sid=14&rid=281 KeralaTravels
  2. ↑ "FallingRain Map". Fallingrain.com. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  3. ↑ http://www.mustseeindia.com/Pathanamthitta-weather
  4. ↑ http://www.pathanamthitta.com/physiography.htm
  5. ↑ "CLIMATE: PATHANAMTHITTA", Climate-Data.org. Web: .
  6. ↑ "Mandala Pooja/ Makaravilakku". Sabarimala.kerala.gov.in. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  7. ↑ "pathanamthittainfo.com". pathanamthittainfo.com. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  8. ↑ "About it". Hmmp.org. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  9. ↑ "Festivals of India-Aranmula-Vallamkali (Boat Race )". Festivalsofindia.in. 2010-06-15. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  10. ↑ "Festivals of India- Aranmula Boat race". Festivalsofindia.in. 2010-06-15. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  11. ↑ "The Making of Aranmula kannadi". Youtube.com. 2010-01-04. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  12. ↑ http://www.elanthoordevi.org
  13. ↑ "Assembly Constituencies – Corresponding Districts and Parliamentary Constituencies" (PDF). Kerala. Election Commission of India. Retrieved 2008-10-20.

External links

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