Asramam Maidan

Asramam Maidan
Asramam Maidan, Kollam
Location	Asramam, Kollam, Kerala
Coordinates	8°53′36.8″N 76°35′36.7″E / 8.893556°N 76.593528°E / 8.893556; 76.593528
Area	71 acres
Founder	East India Company
Operated by	DTPC, Kollam
Open	All year

The Asramam Maidanam (Malayalam: ആശ്രാമം മൈതാനം) or Ashramam Maithanam is an urban park, or maidhanam, in the city of Kollam, in Kerala, India. At 72 acres (29 ha), it is the largest open space within Kerala Municipal Corporation limits. The maidan is considered as one of the green lungs of the city and regularly hosts the city's main cultural and sports events. It holds an adventure parkchildren's park, picnic village,British Residency and mangrove forests making it an important tourism spot in the city.

Asramam Maidan was used as an aerodrome during the British Raj. At that time there were no civil aerodromes either in Thiruvananthapuram or anywhere else in the erstwhile kingdoms of Travancore and Kochi nor in the British-ruled Malabar area of the Madras Presidency. Chartered flights, mainly using Avro aircraft, would land and take off from Quilon Aerodrome. The aerodrome was primarily used by VIPs from Madras en route to Thiruvananthapuram, who after landing at Quilon, would proceed to Thiruvananthapuram by car. Quilon Aerodrome was also used for flying training. During one such training exercise, an aircraft hit a tree on the boundary of the aerodrome, killing the pilot and the trainee. Training operations were stopped after the accident, but civilian aircraft continued to use the aerodrome.

Because of the loose soil in the Asramam area, the landing and take-off areas were prepared by bringing huge quantities of red laterite soil from the hilly areas. The aerodrome had strong barbed wire fencing round it, with two entry points, one at the south and the other at the north. There were no buildings in the aerodrome, not even a shed, although there was a concreted area in the shape of a ring where the planes stopped after landing. It was here that the passengers alighted and boarded the plane. Planes used to land sometimes once in two months. The airport then came under the control of Kerala Public Works Department (PWD). Residents of Asramam knew in advance about the arrival of planes, because the PWD authorities, on getting information about a coming arrival, hoisted a windsock on a tall wooden mast.