Malappuram district


 * For the town with the same name, see .

Malappuram District is a district of state in southern. The district headquarters is at.

The district has a population of 3,625,471 (2001 census), and an area of 3550 km², with a population density of 1,022 persons per km². It was formed on,.

History
The district has a rich cultural and political heritage. Malappuram is known for national movements such as and, in which the common man struggled against  and  alike. Though there were occasional religious overtones associated with such movements, many historians acknowledge them as part of.

Before India's Independence in, Malappuram was part of in the  of. The area covered by the present district was administered as part of, Ernad, and  s. Malabar District remained part of  immediately after Indian Independence. On, Malabar District was merged with  to form the state of Kerala, and large-scale changes in the territorial jurisdiction of this tract took place in  and. On, Tirur taluk was newly formed taking portions of Ernad and  taluks. Another portion of Ponnani taluk was transferred to the newly formed Chavakkad taluk, while the residuary portion was known as Ponnani taluk. was a new taluk formed out of the erstwhile Valluvanad taluk. Of these, Ernad and Tirur continued under Kozhikode District and Perinthalmanna as well as Ponnani under the Palakkad District. The new district of Malappuram was formed with four taluks, Ernad, Perinthalmanna, Tirur and Ponnani, four statutory towns, fourteen developmental blocks and 95 panchayats. Two more taluks, namely Tirurangadi and Nilambur, were formed later by bifurcating Tirur and Ernad taluks.

Geography
The district lies in northern Kerala, and is bounded on the north by and  districts, on the northeast by, on the southeast and south by , on the southwest by , on the west by the , and on the northwest by.

At present Malappuram District consists of 2 revenue divisions, 6 s, 135 villages, 14 blocks, 5 municipalities and 100 panchayats.

Four important rivers of, flow through Malappuram district. They are (Beypore river), Kadalundipuzha, Bharathapuzha and Tirurpuzha. Chaliyar has a length of 169 km and originates from Illambalieri hills in, important tributaries of this river are Chalipuzha, Punnapuzha, Pandiyar, Karimpuzha, Cherupuzha and Vadapurampuzha. Chaliyar traverses through Nilambur, Mampad, Edavanna, Areekade, Vazhakkad and flows into the sea at Beypore in. Kadalundipuzha is formed by the confluence of two rivers, the Olipuzha and Veliyar. Olipuzha originates form Cherakomban hill and Veliyar from Erattakomban hill. They flow through the Silent Valley and traverse through Ernad and Valluvanad regions, before flowing into the sea at Kadalundi Nagaram. It passes through places like Melattur, Pandikkad, Malappuram, Pankkad, Parappur, Kooriyad and Tirurangadi. Kadalundipuzha has a circuit course of 130 km.

Of these rivers, only Chaliyar is perennial; all others get dry up in summer and hence Malappuram district is prone to draught. In Tirur and Ponnani taluks, kayals (backwaters) like Biyyamp, Veliyancode, Manur, Kodinhi etc offer fishing and navigation facilities.

Demographics
According to the 2001 Census, the district has a population of 3629640. Of the total population 1759479 are males and 11870161 are females, forming a ratio of 1063 females for every 1000 males, the state ratio being 1058 females for 1000 males which is higher than the state average (819 per km².). Literacy as per 2001 census is put at 88.61%. Subsequently, Malappuram District was declared 100% literate along with other districts of the state; made possible by in intensive state wide literacy drive.

constitute the majority of the population, and next come the Hindu and the  Christian communities respectively. The Muslims of Malappuram District are known as s. A great majority of them are traditional s following the School of thought and the second majority is the followers  accelerated growth in social development and education among  Muslims. All of the social reforms in and around Malappuram District is due to the historical renaissence activities lead by Kerala Nadvathul mujahidheen (K.N.M) and its allied organisations Malappuram is the birth place of number of Muslim scholars and orators.

Places of Importance
There are various places of touristic,, and  importance in the district.

The and the  are located in Malappuram District.

Art and Culture
Malappuram district has a good tradition in the field of art and culture. Many of the renowned writers and poets hail from this part of the land. It is a long chain, starting with Thunjath Ezhuthachan, honoured as the father of modern Malayalam literature. He was born in Trikkandiyur near Tirur, 400 years ago. He wrote his poems in Malayalam, when the Kerala literary field was crushed under Sanskrit, the language of the upper class. Ramayana and Bharatham of Ezhuthachan are widely read in Malayali houses, as sacred books.

Industries
As on 31-03-2001,there were 11334 small industrial units with permanent registration. Out of them, 21.21 per cent are agro-based and 22.94 per cent are textile based. These units have a total investment of Rs. 176 cores and they provide employment directly to 45200 people. The average investment per unit is Rs.1.55 lakhs. There are about 696 women’s industrial units and about Rs.1 core is spent annually for various industrial promotion schemes like investment subsidy, interest subsidy, self employment assistance, etc. in the district. There are 25 medium industries of which only 11 are working which provide direct employment to 2,300 people. These units have a total capital investment of Rs. 46 cores. Among the medium undertakings, 3 are spinning mills.

There is one major industrial Estate (16 Industries and 8 mini industrial estate in the District – 51 working units.) About 1,000 persons were assisted under PMRY scheme every year of self-employment scheme. Preliminary steps for establishing an industrial growth centre in 250 acres bear panakkad, has been completed. Kinfra Food Park and IT park have come up at Kakkancherry. A rubber based common facility centre and industrial estate established at Payyanad at a cost of Rs.1 crore is showing promise. The estate is spread in an area of 15.03 acres, in which 32 plots have been given to entrepreneurs for rubber based units. 17 units are now functioning there.

A single window counter functions at the District Industries Centre, to mitigate problems faced by new entrepreneurs. Besides the District Industries Centre at Malappuram, 4 Taluk industries offices and 14 block extension offices are functioning.

Wood related business is widely seen in Malappuram district. In Kottakkal, Edavanna, Vaniyambalam, Karulai, Nilambur and Mampad; there are more than hundred wood related indutries. Saw mills, furniture manufactures and timber sales are the most important business in Malappuram district. The Nilambur teak musium is very famous.

Transport
The Kozhikode Airport, one of the most beautifully designed airports in India, is at Karippur, 26 km, away from Malappuram and 28 km. away from Kozhikode. It has a runway of 9377 feet with night landing facilities. Total 140 flight services are there i.e., 70 arrivals and 70 departures. Hajj flight services were started on 15th Jan 2002, and now the airport stands on the fore-front of the internationally acclaimed airports in the world.

Two Railways lines, namely Mangalore-Madras and Nilambur-Shornur are passing through the district. The first through the coastal belt. Vallikkunnu, Parappanangadi, Tanur, Tirur, Tirunnavaya and Kuttippuram (from north to South) are the railway stations in this line. Tirur is an important station. Nilambur-Shornur railway line passes through the eastern parts of the district. Nilambur, Vaniyambalam, Thuvur, Melattur, Pattikkad, Angadipuram and Cherukara are the railway stations.

The District has a good road network. The National Highway-17 enters at Idimuzhikkal in the north and runs through Calicut University. Kottakkal, Valancherry, Kuttipuram, Thavanur, Ponnani, Puduponnani, Veliyancode ends at Kadikkad, having a length of 82 km. The road proceeds to Thrissur district in the South. The National Highway 213 enters at Iykarappadi near Ramanattukara and pass through Kondotty, Malappuram, Perinthalmanna and ends at Karinkallathani. The NH having a length of 68 km Important State Highways like Kozhikode-Nilambur-Gudalur road, Thrissur-Kuttippuram, Palakkad-Perinthalmanna, Perumbilavu-Pattambi-Perinthalmanna-Nilambur road, Koilandi-Thamarasseri-Edavanna pass through the district. Total 208.178 km of State Highway and 1220.202 km of major district roads, 102 km of other district roads and 160 km of rural roads, provides sufficient interlink age of places.

The Chaliyar, Kadalundipuzha, Bharathapuzha rivers and their tributaries, necessitating the construction of a number of road bridges for smooth commutation, apportion the district, Kuttippuram bridge, Thutha bridge and Pulamanthole bridge across Bharathapuzha bridges at Kottakadavu, Parakkadav, Thayyilakadav, Panampuzha, Koomankallu, Nooradi, Kottilangadi, Aanakkayam, Melattur, Kalikavu, Olipram Kadavu, Koomankallu, Kuzhipram Kadavu and Panakkadu bridges across Kadalundi river and bridges at Areekode, Edavanna, Mampad, Vadapuram, Myladi, Karimpuzha, Koorad, kattadikadavu, Cherupuzha, Kadungallur and Poonkudi across the Chaliyar river and its tributaries and bridges at Edakulam, Thalakadathur, Tirur, Unniyal Mangattiri, Ettirikkadavu across Tirur river, Thanur bridge across T.N Canal provide for road traffic.

Bus Services are available to all centres and rural areas in the district. Nearly hundred schedules are operated by K.S.R.T.C in main routes besides 300 long rout buses passing through the district. There are 4 K.S.R.T.C bus Stations; at Ponnani, Malappuram, Perinthalmanna and Nilambur.

A total of 18806 vehicles have been registered under the Motor Vehicle Department in the district during the year 2000-02. There are 155149 small and heavy vehicles in the district as on 31st March 2001.

Post And Telegraph
There are two postal divisions viz., Manjeri and Tirur. Four Head Post Offices, 120 Sub Post Offices and 284 extra department branch Post Offices functions in the district. Speed post facility is available at Manjeri, Malappuram, Perinthalmanna, Calicut University, Karipur, Ponnani, Kottakkal, Kuttippuram, and Edappal. For Telecom Services, Malappuram revenue district come under Malappuram Secondary Switching Area. Seven divisional offices are there under telecom department, at Manjeri, Nilambur, Perinthalmanna, Tirur, Ponnani and Parappanangadi.

Mass Communication
Malayala Manorama, Mathrubhumi and Madhyamam dailies have their editions in the district. Prahelika is the only evening daily. A few periodicals-monthlies, fortnightlies and weeklies-devoted to religion and culture are also published. There are some local cable TV channels also. Doordarshan has two relay stations at Malappuram and Manjeri. All India Radio has a FM station at Manjeri.