Punalur
|
Punalur പുനലൂർ |
|
|---|---|
| City and Municipality | |
Punalur Suspension Bridge
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| 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 city 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 "city", literally, "city 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 city 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. Despite this elevation in status, Punalur still lacks the basic infrastructure to cope with an ever growing population and an influx of tourists and pilgrims.
Oldest bridge in India is situated in Punalur. It is also the first motorable bridge in India, constructed in 1877.
It is believed that Punalur derived its name from "Punel" - the Malayalam word for "funnel". The other school of thought attributes the etymology to 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. Yet another suggestion is associated to Hindu epic, Ramayana, that the name originated from the pursuit of Khara for Rama and Lakshmana. Khara on seeing the duo, removed his sword from sheath, first at a place now known as Karavaloor (Malayalam Val – Sword, Ooruka – to remove). But unable to attack them there, followed and removed his sword again at Punalur ( Malayalam Punar- Again).
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Wikipedia