Alappuzha district, is one of the 14 districts in the state of Kerala in India. It was formed as Alleppey district on 17 August 1957, the name of the district being changed to Alappuzha in 1990, and is the smallest district in Kerala. Alleppey town, the district headquarters, was renamed Alappuzha in 2012, even though the anglicised name is still commonly used to describe the town as well as the district.
The Kerala backwaters are a network of brackish lagoons and lakes lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast of Kerala state in southern India, as well as interconnected canals, rivers, and inlets, a labyrinthine system formed by more than 900 kilometres (560 mi) of waterways, and sometimes compared to American bayous. 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 many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range. In the midst of this landscape there are a number of towns and cities, which serve as the starting and end points of backwater cruises. There are 34 backwaters in Kerala. Out of it, 27 are located either closer to Arabian Sea or parallel to the sea. The remaining 7 are inland navigation routes.
Vembanad, also known as Punnamada is the longest lake in India, as well as the largest lake in the state of Kerala. With an area of 2033 square kilometers and a maximum length of 96.5 km, it is the second largest Ramsar site in India only after the Sunderbans in West Bengal. Spanning several districts in the state of Kerala, it is known as Vembanadu Lake in Kottayam, Vaikom, Changanassery, Punnamada Lake in Alappuzha, Punnappra, Kuttanadu and Kochi Lake in Kochi. Several groups of small islands including Vypin, Mulavukad, Maradu, Udayamperoor, Vallarpadam, Willingdon Island are located in the Kochi Lake portion. Kochi Port is built around the Willingdon Island and the Vallarpadam island.
Kuttanad is a region covering the Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta Districts, in the state of Kerala, India, well known for its vast paddy fields and geographical peculiarities. The region has the lowest altitude in India, and is one of the few places in the world where farming is carried on around 1.2 to 3.0 metres below sea level. is historically important in the ancient history of South India and is the major rice producer in the state. Farmers of Kuttanad are famous for Biosaline Farming. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has declared the Kuttanad Farming System as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS).
Achankovil is a 128 km long west flowing river in Kerala, India, which flows through Kollam, Pathanamthitta, and Alappuzha districts. The river drains vast tract of fertile plains of Upper Kuttanad in the Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta districts. It also sustains numerous urban settlements along its course such as Konni, Pathanamthitta, Pandalam, Mavelikkara etc.
The Pamba River is the longest river in the Indian state of Kerala after Periyar and Bharathappuzha, and the longest river in the erstwhile former princely state of Travancore. Sabarimala temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa is located on the banks of the river Pamba.
Alappuzha, also known by its former name Alleppey, is the administrative headquarters of Alappuzha district in the Indian state of Kerala. Alleppey is a city and a municipality in Kerala with an urban population of 174,164 and ranks third among the districts in literacy rate in the state. In 2016, the Centre for Science and Environment rated Alappuzha as the cleanest town in India. Alappuzha is considered to be the oldest planned city in this region and the lighthouse built on the coast of the city is the first of its kind along the Laccadive Sea coast.
Kainakary is a village in Kuttanad Taluk in Alappuzha District of the Indian state of Kerala.
Ramankary is a village in the Kuttanad region of India. It is 9 km away from Changanacherry town and 17 km from Alappuzha city. It is one of the villages in Alapuzha on the bank of the Manimala River with picturesque vast paddy fields.
Karuvatta is a village in Alappuzha District of Kerala region of India. It lies in between Haripad and Thottappally in Alappuzha, on National Highway 66. Karuvatta has a railway station, and the nearest airports are Trivandrum International Airport and Cochin International Airport.
G. Sudhakaran is an Indian politician. He is former Minister for Public Works in the Pinarayi Vijayan ministry of the Kerala Legislative Assembly. He belongs to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and represented the Ambalappuzha constituency from 2006 till 2021.
Muttar is a village in upper Kuttanad, Alappuzha district of Kerala, India. It is located 10 km west of Thiruvalla on the Kidangara Neerattupuram road, surrounded by Thalavady, Neerettupuram, Kunnamkary, Chathamkary & Mithrakary.
The West Coast Canal or National Waterway No 3 is a 205-km stretch of this inland navigational route located in Kerala, India and runs from Kollam to Kottapuram and was declared a National Waterway in 1993. In addition to the main stretch, Champakara and Udyogmandal canals are navigable and connect the industrial centers of Kochi to Kochi port Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) under the Ministry of Shipping is coordinating the task for developing, monitoring and administering national waterways. It is the first National Waterway in the country with 24-hour navigation facilities along the entire stretch. It has been extended to Kozhikode as per National Waterways Act, 2016. The National Waterway 3 is passing mainly through the alignment of erstwhile Thiruvananthapuram–Shoranur canal.
Punnapra is a village in Alappuzha district of Kerala, India. It is a coastal area of the Arabian Sea and lies west to Kuttanad, popularly known as The rice bowl of Kerala.
Manimala River or Manimalayar is a 92km long river which flows through South and Central Kerala. The river used to be wrongly considered as a tributary of Pamba River before satellite maps became popular, but this was proved incorrect. Manimala does not flow into the Pamba, instead a distributary of the Pamba river flows into the Manimala river at Kallunkal, later branches out again from Manimala at Nedumpuram and flows through Niranam, Thalavady, Edathua, Changankary, Champakulam, Nedumudy, Chennamkary, and finally Kainakary and then empties into the Vembanad lake. This branch again links with Manimala river at Chennankary in a short, but broad connection known as Munnattumukham.
State Highway 11 is a State Highway in Kerala, India that starts in Kalarcode, Alappuzha and ends in Perunna, Changanassery.The road is popularly known as AC road road. The highway is 24.2 km long.The road is closed for renovation from August 2021 for Two years
Thottappally Spillway is Kuttanad's drain-way out to the Arabian Sea. The Thottappally Spillway splits the Thottappally lake with the fresh water part to the east and saline Thottappally river mouth to the west merging with the Arabian Sea. Thottappally spillway is constructed to spill excess water coming over the Upper Kuttanad and Lower Kuttanad regions through Manimala River, Achancovil River and Pamba River. It is designed such that it could spill off 19,500 cubic meters of water per second, but after its construction it was found that it is able to spill 600 cubic meters of water per second. Reasons for this reduced flow rate are, strong sea breezes during rainy seasons resulting in a rise in sea level relative to the water level of Kuttanad, formation of sand bars on the western area of the spillway and the width of the leading canal is too narrow to carry this much water to the spillway.
Pallithode is a village in the Alappuzha district, in the state of Kerala, India, on the shores of the Arabian Sea. Pallithode is within the Gram Panchayat of Kuthiathode, Pattanakad Block, of Cherthala Taluk. During the 20th century, more than half of its width was eroded away by the action of river backwaters and the sea. The village is very densely populated and has a wet, maritime tropical climate. It has an important role in the fishing industry.
Thomas Chandy was an Indian businessman and politician. He was a member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly from the Kuttanad constituency, the transport minister of the state of Kerala, and president of the Nationalist Congress Party in Kerala. He resigned from the minister's office on 15 November 2017 after an allegation regarding his resort in Alappuzha arose. He died in Kochi on 20 December 2019 after a battle with cancer.
Kuttanad State assembly constituency is one of the 140 state legislative assembly constituencies at the state Kerala in southern India. It is also one of the 7 state legislative assembly constituencies included in the Mavelikara Lok Sabha constituency.
