Chalakudy is a municipal town situated on the banks of Chalakudy River in Thrissur district of the Kerala state in India. It is the headquarters of Chalakudy taluk. It is the base camp for travellers to Athirappilly Falls and Vazhachal Falls. Chalakudy lies on National Highway 544 and located about 47 km (23 mi) north of the city of Kochi, and 30 km (19 mi) south of Thrissur. Chalakkudy In the 16th century, the banks of the Chalakudy river became known as "Yagashalakudi" as the place where the monks regularly set up parnasalas and rested during their travels."Yagashalakudi" was later transformed into "Chalakudy"
Chalakudy | |
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Town | |
Chalakudy | |
![]() Chalakudy South Junction | |
![]() ![]() Chalakudy Location in Kerala, India ![]() ![]() Chalakudy Chalakudy (India) | |
Coordinates: 10°18′N 76°20′E / 10.30°N 76.33°ECoordinates: 10°18′N 76°20′E / 10.30°N 76.33°E | |
Country | India |
State | Kerala |
District | Thrissur district |
Government | |
• Type | Taluk |
• Body | Municipal Council |
• M L A | T J Saneesh Kumar Joseph |
Population (2011) | |
• Total | 49,525 |
Languages | |
• Official | Malayalam, English |
Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
PIN | 680307 |
Telephone code | 0480 |
Vehicle registration | KL-64, KL-8, KL-45 |
The name "Chalakudy" is derived from two words "Yagashala" (temporary settlement for conducting sacrifices) and "koti" (flag). Once Chalakudy was famous all over India as a place for conducting sacrifices. Many "rishis" (including Saptarshis) used to come over here as it was considered as a sacred land. In order to identify these settlements, they hoisted flags next to it. Thus those entire area got its name "yagashalakoti".[citation needed] History also says during the second Chera dynasty, people outside kerala visited Chalakudy to learn vedas and Kalaripayattu from Chukkikulam Shala. These people lived in the banks of Chalakudy River and this accommodation is called Kudi. The combination of these two words Shalakudi is later modified into Chalakudy.[1]
As per 2011 census report, Chalakudy municipality had population of 49,525 of which 23,744 are males while 25,781 are females.
Population of Children with age of 0-6 is 4574 which is 9.24% of total population of Chalakudy (M). In Chalakudy, Female Sex Ratio is of 1086 against state average of 1084. Moreover, Child Sex Ratio in Chalakudy is around 920 compared to Kerala state average of 964. Literacy rate of Chalakudy city is 97.03% higher than state average of 94.00%. In Chalakudy, Male literacy is around 98.09% while female literacy rate is 96.07%. Chalakudy town has 50.87% Christians, 42.1% Hindus and 6.91% Muslims.[citation needed]
Chalakudy Municipality came into existence in the year 1970. The municipality covering an area of 25.23 km2 is divided into 36 electoral wards. Chalakudy is a Grade-II municipality.[2] Chalakudy is an assembly constituency & Lok Sabha constituency.[3] Benny Behanan (INC) is the current MP of the Parliamentary constituency and T J Saneesh Kumar Joseph (INC) is the current M.L.A. of Legislative Assembly Constituency.[4][5]
Located along the National Highway 544, between Kochi and Coimbatore. Another major road is State Highway 21 which connects Chalakudy to Vazhachal and ends at the border of Tamil Nadu.[citation needed]
The main rail transport system in Chalakudy is operated by the Southern Railway zone of Indian Railways, and comes under Trivandrum railway division.[6][7]
The nearest airport is Cochin International Airport in Nedumbassery which is 19 km from Chalakudy. All the major domestic and international flights are available here. Direct flights are available to New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Goa, Mangalore, Calicut, Thiruvananthapuram, Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Bahrain, Kuwait, Muscat, Malé, Colombo, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Salalah, Jeddah and Riyadh.
Madura Coats, Geetha Flour Mill, Apollo Tyres, Codemazk, Paulson Distillery, Choice Foods, Amoeba Associates, Carborundum Limited, Eddie Current and the Sree Shakti Paper Mills are the major industrial establishments.[citation needed]
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