Punaloor
|
Punalur പുനലൂർ |
|
|---|---|
| Municipality, Town | |
Punalur Suspension Bridge
|
|
| Coordinates: 9°01′01″N 76°55′34″E / 9.017°N 76.926°ECoordinates: 9°01′01″N 76°55′34″E / 9.017°N 76.926°E | |
| Country |
 India
|
| State | Kerala |
| District | Kollam |
| Government | |
| • Type | Local |
| • Body | Municipality |
| Area | |
| • Total | 34 km2 (13 sq mi) |
| Area rank | 14 |
| Elevation | 56 m (184 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 46,702 |
| • Rank | 9 |
| • Density | 3,337/km2 (8,640/sq mi) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| PIN | 691305 to 034 |
| Telephone code | 0475 |
| Vehicle registration | KL 25, KL 24 |
| Nearest city | Kollam (44 km), Thiruvananthapuram (75 km) |
| Website | www |
Punalur (Malayalam: പുനലൂർ Punalūr)) is a town situated near the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border in the Kollam district of the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is situated on the banks of the Kallada River and derives its name from the Tamil words; punal, meaning "water" and ooru, meaning "place", literally, "place of water". It is about 45 kilometres (28 mi) north-east of Kollam and 75 kilometres (47 mi) north of Thiruvananthapuram. It is also known as the "Gateway of Western Ghats".
The second-largest town in Kollam and the fifth largest in south Kerala, it is home to a paper industry with the Punalur Paper Mills, established in the 1850s, one of the first industries in Kerala and a pioneer in the industrial development of the state. Punalur become an important trading and transport centre between Kollam and Sengottai (Tamil Nadu) under the rule of the Travancore Kingdom. Steady progress by the Punalur Panchayat administration saw an upgrade to municipality status in 1972.
The Punalur Suspension Bridge in Punalur is an old motorable suspension bridge in Kerala built by the British.
It is believed that Punalur derived its name by the word 'punal' (river in old Tamil and Malayalam as in "kuruthipunal=river of blood" according to Dr. Hermann Gundert), and "ooru" (place), referring to the river passing through the town.
Punalur is a town on a mountain path which had good relations with Tamil Nadu to the East from time unknown. Most parts of Punalur taluk were inhabited before the Indus Valley Civilization. Human civilizations existed in Punalur during the Mesolithic period, mainly around Thenmalai (known as Shenduruny). Punalur is described in inscriptions of Mithranandpuram and Vellayani. Until 1734, Punalur was under the direct rule of the Ilaydathu Swaroopam. Later it was annexed by Marthanda Varma and came under the rule of Travancore. The British Raj established a good hold over this part of India due to its rich agricultural resources.
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