TV. r I district hand book aaaM DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS DISTRICT HAND BOOKS OF KERALA IDUKKI DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC RELATIONS NIEPA DC D04224 District Handbooks of Kerala Idukki Department of Public Relations May, 1986 Printed at Governniont Press, Trivandrum (Not for Sale) ^ Compiled byi— I District Information Officcr Idiikki PREFACE This is the revised edition of the JDistrict Handbook on Idukki. Also tills is part of a series of revised editions of district handbooks of Kerala to be brought out by the Department of Public Relations. An attempt is made here to collect and present as mucli information as possible. It has been designed lo satisfy the needs o f the average reader and tiie touist as well, who look for a handy volume containing essential >nformation about the district. W e hope that the book will serve this purpose. Suggestions for impro* vements are most welcome. T . N. J a y a d e v a n , . Director, Fuhlic Uiiations Department. Ni , ■ Trivandrum. ^ ' M ay 1986. " ‘ ^ ^ CONTENTS Hagt History and heritage 1 Topography and Climate 2 Rivers and Lakes 2 Flora and Fauna 3 People 3 Important Religious Centres 5 Developmental Activities 6 Places o f interest 15 Development Blocks in the District IG Panchayats in the District Ifi District at a glance 17 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIUNS Page Asch Dam - Idukki 21 Moolamattom Tunnel 21 Periyar Wild Life Sanctuary - Thekkady 22 Peryiar Lake - Thekkady 22 Civil Station - Painavu 23 Aranya Nivas - Thekkady 23 Indo-Swiss Project - Mattupetty- 24 Sandal Woods - Marayur 24 Tea Plantations - Peermade 25 Coilkadavu Temple - Marayur 25 Cardamom Plantation - Idukki 26 Roman Catholic Church - Kumily 27 Mount Carmel Church - Munnar 27 Marayur Caves (Muniyara) 28 Pir Mohammed Mausoleum - Peermade 28 Mangala Devi Temple-Thekkady 29 Idukki District showing Villages The word Idukki derived from the word Idukku which means a gorge;. The perennial river Periyar flowed through a narrow gorge between two granite hills, the legendaiy KU R.-W AN and K.URA'rHI where the Idukki Arch Dam is constructed. History and Heritage The district was formed on January 26, 1972 carving out of Devicolam, Pccrmade and Uduinbanciiola taluks from Kottayam district and Thodupuzha taluk from Emakulam district. It extends by 115 kins, from south to nortii and 67 kms. from east to west. The area of the district is '>061 Sq. kms. For revenue administration the district is sub divided into four taluks viz. Devicolam, Peermade, Udumbanchola and Thodupuzha. For purposes of deveJopmental activities it i s divided into eight blocks Arudai, Devicolam Elamdesom, Idukki, Kattappana, Adimali, Nedumkandom and Thodupuzlia. The district is bounded by Kottayam and Pathanamthitta districts on the south, Trichur and Coimbatore districts on the north, Madurai, Raman ad and Thirunelveli districts on the oist and Ernakulam and Kottayam districts on the west. Though the district cannot boast o f a history of the rise and fall of a few dynasties, it played a significant role in the spiritual development of the country, especially the south. The Ramayana gives a gra])hic description of th<; (lora o f the Pamba Valley. It is believed that the name Sabnrimalai derived from Sabari Ashram which was located at Sabari Feedom near Sabari Malai, one o f the famous Pilgrim centres. The Lord Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimalai is supposed to be the place where a great Jain or Buddhist monk attained Nirvana. (Now Sabari­ malai is in Pathanamthitta district). The archaeological evidence of the Mangaladevi Temple 15 kms. from Thekkadi in the dense forest bespeaks of an equally shrouded antiquity. May be, with its undulating hills and valleys and the perennial rivers the district formed a recKisc for the spiritual seekers of ancient India. But the history of the present population o f the district is very recent. It is a history of colonisation braving inclement weather, wild animals and epidefnics. It is also a history of the exploitation of labour and lal)our itruggUs. Settling in the district began in all seriousness during the Ministry of .Sri T . K. Narayana Pillai, as a sequence to the grow-mere-food campaign ia tlie State. These migrants who constituted a few planters and a cross 32|3681IMC. scction of the people bccame the nucleus of the present population. In the days oi Sri Pattom Thanu Pillai it became a systematic colonisation. Kallar Pattom colony in Udumbanchola taluk bears the imprint of his name. That the earliest human habitation o f the district started from Tamil Nadu in the first two decades of the present century c-in be gauged from the story that while Maharaja Sri Mulam was personally supervising the construction of the Dam on Mullaperiyar river he i'elt thirsty and a shepherd caUed Ankur Kantar gave him milk hot from the udder of the sheep. The deliglued Nlaha- arja gave lum title over extensive forest land which his descendcnts sold to land owners in Tamil Nadu and with the help of cheap labour they were converted into C;udamom or Tea Plantations. The area around Munnar developed from the time when tlie British made it their summer resort. Here too the immediate accessible population was from Tamil Nadu and Munnar l>ecarae a Tamil pocket in Kerala. Topography and Climate Sprawling over an area o f 5,061 sq. kms. the district is marked by undulating hills and valleys. The highranges vary in altitude fi-om 2.‘>00 ft. above mean sea level in Kulamavu to more than 5,000 ft. above M.S.L. in Munnar. The highest peak in Kerala, Anamudi is in the district. It is 8,841 ft. high. The difl'erent levels of elevalion promote the growth o f diverse flora. Except a b it of midland region in the western portions of Thodupu/.ha taluk all the remauiing areas consisting of Devicolam, Peermade and Udumbanchola taluks and the eastern ]X)rtion of the Thodupuzha taluk are entirely higiilnnd region. (iranite hills touchhig the skies and being skirted round with thick rain-lcd sylvan forest render a terrific charm to the district. There arc eleven peaks in Idukki which exceed a height of 6000 ft. above M .S.L. The highland region is having a comparatively cold climate. In peaks above an elevation of 2400 metres the temperature at times falls down to near freezing point in the winter. Occurrence o f mist is usual in ihe highland region lying over an elevation o f 1300 metres al)ove M.S.L. The annual rainfall in the district varies from 250 to 425 cms. But, it is recorded that the annual rainfall had gone U])to 700 cms. in certain years. The eastern and north-eastern regions o f the district get very low rainfall in contrast to other areas. This may go up to 150 cms. at Marayur, Kanthalloor, Vattavada and Thalayar regions. Marayur and Kanthalloor are \irtually rain shadow areas, lying in the eastern side of the Western Ghats. Rivers and Lakes Periyar, Thodupuzliayar and Thalayar are the three important rivers of the district. Though the Pamba river originates from the district it mostly runs through the Pathanamthitta district, Devicolam, Eravikulam and Elaveezha Poonchira are three fresh water lakes in Idukki, Flora and Fauna The district has at present about 1500 sq. kms. o f reserved forests and this is approximately 30 per cent o f the total area o f the forest. However, the sylvan wealth o f the district and the animal life are fast disintegrating due to deforestation, indiscriminate felling of trees, encroachment and poa­ ching. AH kinds o f wild animals with the exception o f lions abound in the forests of Idukki. The grasslands o f Peermadeare a haven o f carnivora like the tiger and the leopard. This is chiefly so, as they are a natural habitat of deer, wild goats and similar genre which the carnivores prey upon. Bison, wild bear, languars and monkeys arc a few other common denizens of the jungle. The Thar (striped goat) seen in Marayur region and Rajamala is found nowhere else in the world. The forest glades o f Idukki resound in day time with the sweet voices of birds. They include the small wild parrots, mynas, redhorned sparrows and a host of other non­ descript species. The valuable trees growing in the forests are trak, rosewood, deodars, sandal etc. The Forest Department has reared large ILucalyptus planta­ tions in the hilly tract.'i. People The population o f the district, according to 1981 census, was 9,71,636. The density of population is 192 per sq.km. While density of population is high in Udumbanchola (330) and Thodupuzha (272) taluks it is lowest in Devicolani (101). Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes togetlier con­ stitute 17.69% o f the total population. Tamilians arc the linguistic minority of the district with a population of about 2.5 lakhs. ^ These are about 1,33,177 Scheduled C.astes and 38,712 Scheduled Tribes in the district. Most o f the Harijans work as agricultural labourers in the tea and cardamom estates, .\yyappancoil and Pampadumpara of Udum­ banchola Taluk, Kumali of Peermade Taluk, Kuttampuzha, Mannarnkandam and Marayur of Devieolam Taluk, Vannappuram, Vazhathope and V^elli- yamattom of I'hodupuzha Taluk are the concentrations of Hari jans. Mannans, Mala Arayans, Urali, Mulhuvatis, Hill Pulaya, Paliyan and Ulladan are the different groups o f tribals in the district. All these tribes are not aborigins. Tlie Muthuvans o f Marayoor, Kanthalloor and- Yattavada panchayats speak Tamil dialects. Their tribal legends show that they were the. loyal serv-ants of a section of the royal dynasty of Madurai and they carried the idols of Madurai Meenakshi for the fleeing royal members on their backs which arc known in Tamil as ‘Muthuku’.