Kollam district () (formerly known as Quilon district) is one of 14 districts of the state of Kerala, India. The district has a cross-section of Kerala's natural attributes; it is endowed with a long coastline, a major Laccadive Sea seaport and an inland lake (Ashtamudi Lake). The district has many water bodies. Kallada River is one among them, and land on the east bank of the river is East Kallada and that on the west bank is West Kallada.

Etymology

In 825 CE, the Malayalam calendar, or Kollavarsham, was created in Kollam at meetings held in the city. The present Malayalam calendar is said to have begun with the re-founding of the town, which was rebuilt after its destruction by fire.

The city was known as Koolam in Arabic, Coulão in Portuguese, and Desinganadu in ancient Tamil literature.

Overview

thumb|Dreams Mall ([[LuLu Group International|Lulu Hyper Market), Kottiyam in Kollam District]]

Kallada Boat race is one of the famous festival events of the district. Even though it is a competition between two land sides of the river, many boat clubs from various places, even beyond the district participate in the event. Kollam is known as the capital of Kerala's cashew industry. Plains, mountains, lakes, lagoons, and backwaters, forests, farmland and rivers make up the topography of the district. The area had trading relationships with Phoenicia and Ancient Rome.

Climate

Kollam's temperature is almost steady throughout the year. The average temperature ranges from 25 to 32 degrees Celsius. Summer usually runs from March until May; the monsoon begins by June and ends by September. Kollam receives an annual average rainfall of around .

It receives both southwest and northeast monsoons. Winter is from November to February; the temperature is moderately cool, ranging from 18 to 25 degrees Celsius.

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Demographics

According to the 2011 census Kollam district has a population of 2,635,375, roughly equal to the nation of Kuwait or the US state of Nevada. This gives it a ranking of 155th in India (out of a total of 640 districts).

Urban structure

The Kollam Urban Agglomeration (UA) is the 6th most populous UA in the state. Kollam is placed 49th in the list of most populous urban agglomerations in India. The total urban population of the entire district is .

Religion

thumb|[[Anandavalleeshwaram Sri Mahadevar Temple in Kollam]]

Hinduism (64.42%) is practised by majority of the people in Kollam district of which Nair (32%) and Ezhava (30.5%) are the largest sub groups. Islam (19.3%) is the second largest religion. Kollam is the only district in Southern Kerala where Muslims outnumber Christians. Despite this Kollam has a significant Christian population too (16%) among this the Latin Catholics (38.5%), Malankara Orthodox (36.1%) and Marthoma Church (15.8%) form the majority.

|-

| colspan="1" bgcolor="Orange" |<span style="color:white;">Hindu Castes</span>

|colspan="1" bgcolor="Orange" |<span style="color:white;">Percentage</span>

| colspan="1" bgcolor="DodgerBlue" |<span style="color:white;">Christian Denominations</span>

|colspan="1" bgcolor="DodgerBlue" |<span style="color:white;">Percentage</span>

|colspan="1" bgcolor="Green" |<span style="color:white;">Muslim Sects</span>

|colspan="1" bgcolor="Green" |<span style="color:white;">Percentage</span>

|-

| Nair ||32

|

|

|Sunni

|100

|-

| Ezhava ||30.5

|Syro-Malankara Catholics

|4.3

|

|

|-

| Brahmin ||2

|Latin Catholics

|38.5

|

|

|-

|Nadar

|0.4

|

|

|-

|Viswakarma

|7.7

|Malankara Orthodox

|36.1

|

|

|-

|Schedule Caste

|16.9

|Mar Thoma

|15.8

|

|

|-

|Schedule Tribe

|2.1

|Dalit Christians

|1.3

|-

|Others

|8.4

|Others

|4.0

|

|

|-

|

|

|

|

|-

|

|

|

|

|

|

|-

| style="background:#D7EEF4" |

TOTAL

| style="background:#D7EEF4" |

100%

| style="background:#D7EEF4" |

|style="background:#D7EEF4" |

100%

| style="background:#D7EEF4" |

|style="background:#D7EEF4" |

100%

|}

Largest cities & towns

*In 2015, the area of Kollam municipal corporation increased by merging Thrikkadavoor panchayat

*The area of Karunagapally municipality has expanded by merging Ayanivelikulangara village.

Administration

thumb|left|[[Lighthouse, Thangasseri, Kollam|alt=Red-and-white-striped lighthouse, behind a stand of palm trees]]

The history of the district's administration can be traced back to 1835, when the Travancore state consisted of two revenue divisions with headquarters at Kollam and Kottayam. When Travancore and Cochin were combined into Travancore-Cochin, Kollam was one of the three revenue divisions. When the state of Kerala was formed in 1957, half portion of Chenkotta taluk was merged with the state of Madras. Later in 1957, the Cherthala, Ambalapuzha, Mavelikara, Karthikapalli, Chengannur and Thiruvalla taluks (formerly in Kollam district) were united to form the new district of Alappuzha. In 1983, Pathanamthitta taluk and Adoor taluk and seven villages of Kunnathur taluk were removed from Kollam district to form the new Pathanamthitta district.

Revenue Divisions (RDO)

Administratively Kollam District is composed of two Revenue Divisions, viz Kollam and Punalur with three Taluks each under them.

Taluks

thumb|Talukwise map of Kollam district

Kollam is administratively divided into 6 taluks. They are Kollam, Karunagappally, Kunnathur, Kottarakkara, Punalur and Pathanapuram, which are subdivided into 104 villages. The tahsildar is the revenue official in charge of each taluk.

{|class="wikitable sortable" align="center" style="background:Lavender;"

|-

!! style="background-color:Violet" | Taluk

!! style="background-color:Violet" | Headquarters

|-

|Kollam Taluk

|Kollam

|-

|Karunagappally Taluk

|Karunagappally

|-

|Kunnathur Taluk

|Sasthamkotta

|-

|Kottarakkara Taluk

|Kottarakkara

|-

|Punalur Taluk

|Punalur

|-

|Pathanapuram Taluk

|Pathanapuram

|-

|}

Police administration

Police administration in Kollam is divided into two districts: urban and rural. The City Police is headed by a City Police Commissioner, an IPS (Indian Police Service) officer with the rank of SP; its headquarters is at Kollam. The rural police is headed by the Rural Superintendent of Police (SP), with its headquarters at Kottarakkara. Both heads report to the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP), Thiruvananthapuram Range (Kerala).

The Kollam City Police is divided into three subdivisions, each under an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP): Karunagappally, Kollam and Chathannoor. Each subdivision is divided into circles, headed by the Circle Inspector of Police. Each circle is divided into a number of police stations, headed by a Sub-Inspector of Police. The Kollam Rural Police District is divided into two subdivisions, each under an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP)/ Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP): Kottarakkara and Punalur. There are a total of 29 police stations, in 13 circles. Kollam city traffic is controlled by the City Traffic Police, with a Traffic Police Station located near the Asramam Ground.

Kerala's first coastal police station was established in Neendakara, Kollam.

The first police museum in India-The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Police Museum has a large collection of police artefacts and rare photographs. The museum has a room dedicated to officers martyred in the line of duty. Along with these, the district also has 11 block panchayats and one district panchayat. Each of these panchayats is governed by an elected council, headed by a President and Vice-President.

Municipalities

right|thumb|Corporations & Municipalities in Kollam district

There are four municipalities in Kollam District. Punalur, Paravur, Karunagappally and Kottarakkara are the municipalities. There is a long-standing demand for upgrading Pathanapuram & Anchal panchayaths into municipal status.

Elected representatives

Assembly representatives

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Lok Sabha constituencies

Kollam district has three Lok Sabha (lower house) constituencies. They include the Chavara, Kundara, Eravipuram, Kollam, Chathannoor, Chadayamangalam and Punalur assembly constituencies. While the Kunnathur, Kottarakkara and Pathanapuram constituencies are in the Mavelikara Lok Sabha constituency, the Karunagapally assembly constituency is in the Alappuzha Lok Sabha constituency.

Transportation

thumb|right|View of [[Kollam KSRTC Bus Station from Ashtamudi Lake|alt=View across a lake of buses, trees and an urban skyline]]

Road

Kollam is connected by bus and train service. It is also connected to neighbouring states by bus service operated by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Indian Railways.

Rail

thumb|220px|left|Entrance of [[Kollam Junction railway station]]

thumb|220px|left|[[Paravur railway station]]

Kollam Junction railway station (QLN) is the one and only rail head in the district. A total of 128 short & long-distance services (including weekly) and 10 services of MEMU are running through Kollam Junction railway station. A most modern MEMU maintenance shed is working in the railway station premises of Kollam city. In addition to that, there are some other major railway stations in the district namely Punalur (PUU), Karunagappalli (KPY), Paravur (PVU), Sasthamkotta (STKT), Kottarakara (KKZ) and Kundara (KUV).

The district has a good railway network, with 25 stations and about of track. Kollam district boasts the record of having most numbers of railway stations in the state.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;"

|+Railway stations in Kollam District

|-

| Ochira

| Karunagapalli

| Sasthamkotta

|-

| Munrothuruthu

| Perinad

| Kollam Junction

|-

| Eravipuram

| Mayyanad

| Paravur

|-

| Kilikollur

| Chandanathoppe

| Kundara

|-

| Kundara East

| Ezhukone

| Kottarakkara

|-

| Kuri

| Avaneeswaram

| Punalur

|-

| Edamon

| Ottakkal

| Thenmala

|-

| Kazhuthurutty

| Edappalayam

| Aryankavu

|}

Trains from here connect the city of Kollam to major cities of India, including New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Indore, Bhopal, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai, Madurai, Vizag, Jammu, Howrah, Guwahati, Madgaon, Itarsi, Hubli, Ahmedabad, Kanyakumari, Gwalior, Nagpur, Pune, Kota, Bhubaneswar, Gorakhpur, Kochi, Kozhikode, Amritsar, Vijayawada, Coimbatore, Chandigarh and Mangalore. There are also passenger services running in Kollam–Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam–Ernakulam and Kollam–Punalur routes.

Water

thumb|right|Kollam-Dalavapuram boat service

The district is having a fairly good network of waterways. The State Water Transport Department operates boat services to West Kallada, Munroe Island and Alappuzha. Double decker luxury boats run between Kollam and Allepey daily. Luxury boats, operated by Government and private owners, operate from the main boat jetty during the tourist season. The west coast canal system, which starts from Thiruvananthapuram in the south and ends at Kanhangad in the north, passes through Paravur, the city of Kollam and Karunagappally taluk. The Thiruvananthapuram-Shornur canal, which forms a part of the Thiruvananthapuram-Hosdurg system, runs a distance of about 62&nbsp;km. The other canal systems include the Paravur Kayal, Kollam Canal and Chavara canal. The waterways are popular attractions and scenic tourist destinations in the area. The Kerala State Water Transport Department (KSWTD) has an operating centre near the KSRTC bus stand. Tourists may hire motorised country boats and houseboats with amenities (Kettavulam in Malayalam) to cruise along the waterways.

Cashew industry

The cashew industry is centralised in this district. Kollam is approved by the central government as a "centre of cashew industry". Most workers in this industry are women; among them, a majority comes from the poorer sections of the society. There are several cashew-processing units in the district. The Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation Ltd., a Government of Kerala undertaking, has its headquarters in Kollam and serves as a model agency for the cashew-processing industry. The corporation has 30 cashew factories and employs more than 20,000 workers. Another government organisation in this field is CAPEX, which is part of the cooperative sector and has 10 cashew factories. Coir production, handloom industry, clay and wood-based industries contribute to the industrial health of the region. The name "Shenduruny" is derived from the name of a tree species locally called "Shenkuruny" or "Chenkuruny" (Gluta travancorica), a tree mainly found in this area. An artificial lake of about has developed following the construction of a dam across the Kallada River. Remnants of Stone Age culture from a large cave situated at the northwestern part of the Shenduruny River were excavated from this sanctuary.

One-third of Kerala's fish production (including 60 percent of its prawn catch) is contributed by Kollam, whose average fish production is estimated at 5,275 tonnes. Nearly 3,000 mechanised boats operate out of its fishing harbour.

Kollam was the seat of the Desinganad kings. Kottarakara is well known as the place where a new version of the classical dance form of Kathakali was conceived. It was also the capital of the Elayidath Swaroopam. Kundara is known for the 1812 proclamation against the British by Velu Thampi Dalawa.

Alappad village, located on the seashore, was impacted by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.

Varkala Beach (also known as Papanasham) is south of Kollam. The Duriyodana Temple is in Kunnathur Taluk. The Sakthikulangara Dharma Sastha Temple-Sree Ayyappa Swamy Temple is known for its Utsavam in the month of Makaram (between mid-January and mid-February).

Polachira, in Chirakkara Gramapanchayat, is a sightseeing destination. The Anathavalam is near here where one can see domestic elephants, touch and ride them. Mannathippara is at Polachira, south of Chathannoor.

Sasthamcotta Lake, about from Kollam, is the largest freshwater lake in Kerala and a domestic tourist destination.

Jetayu Para, a large boulder, is located in Chadayamangalam; it is named for a mythical character in the Ramayana. It is believed that Jatayu fell here, after his failed attempt to stop Ravana.

Kulathupuzha Forest Museum, a forestry museum in Kulathupuzha, is the first and largest forest museum in Kerala. Kerala Forest Minister A. K. Saseendran inaugurated the museum and opened to public in August 18, 2023.

See also

  • Alumpeedika
  • Asramam Maidan
  • Educational Institutions in Kollam District
  • Fatima Mata National College
  • Karunagappalli railway station
  • Kollam
  • Kollam Beach
  • Kollam Junction Railway Station
  • Kollam MEMU Shed
  • Kollam pooram
  • Kollam Port
  • Kureeppally
  • List of Hindu temples in Kerala
  • List of Sree Narayana Institutions
  • Malumel
  • Nadakkal
  • Paravur Kayal
  • Paravur
  • Paravur Railway Station
  • President's Trophy Boat Race
  • Protected areas of Kerala
  • Punalur
  • Punalur Railway Station
  • Punalur Suspension Bridge
  • Roman Catholic Diocese of Quilon
  • Thazhathu Kulakkada
  • University of Kerala
  • Valacode

References

Further reading

  • Official website
  • Official tourism website