District Profile

Palakkad district, formed on January 1, 1957, is the largest district of Kerala. Palakkad is bordered on the north-west by Malappuram district, on the south-west by Thrissur district, on the north-east by Nilgiris district, and on the east by Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. The district is known as "the granary of Kerala." The location of Palakkad district is in the Coordinates: 10.775^o N 76.651^o E

Demography

According to the 2011 census, Palakkad district has a population of 2,809,934. The district has a population density of 627 inhabitants per sq km. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 7.39 per cent. Palakkad has a sex ratio of 1067 and literacy rate is 93.10 per cent.

Administrative units

Details of LSGs

There are 109 Local Self Governments in Palakkad district

Geography

Palakkad is known as gateway to Kerala because of the Palakkad Gap in the Western Ghats. The total area of the district is 4,480 sq. km (1,730 sq. mi), which is 11.5 per cent of the State's area. Out of the total area of 4,480 sq. km(1,730 sq. mi), about 1,360 sq. km (530 sq. mi) of land is covered by forests. Most parts of the district fall in the midland region (elevation 75–250 m or 246–820 ft), except the Nelliampathy-Parambikulam area in the Chitturtaluk in the south and Attappadi-Malampuzha area in the north, which are hilly and fall in the highland region (elevation > 250 m or 820 ft). The district is blessed with many small and medium rivers, which are tributaries of the Bharathapuzha River. A number of dams have been built across these rivers, the largest being the Malampuzha dam. The largest in volume capacity is the Parambikulam Dam

Brief History

Palakkad is the land of palms and paddy fields.  It is a part of the erstwhile Malabar district of Madrass Presidency. Along with Kuttanad, Palakkad is a major paddy growing area of the State. The Sahya mountain ranges borders the region and the 32 km to 40 km long gap, known as “Palakkad Gap”, in the mountains has a major influence on the climate of the region.  This land was known as Palakkattussery in earlier days because of the Palakkad Gap.  Etymologists trace the origin of the name of the district to Palanilam, meaning the dry area.  Palakkad has a long history dating back to the Paleolithic period, which was substantiated by a number of megalithies recties discovered from this region. 

Agriculture

Details of Members of Parliament

Details of Members of Legislative Assembly

Prominent educational institutions

There are a number of schools and colleges, including engineering colleges. Government Victoria College was founded in 1866 and has many eminent persons as its former students. They include Sri E M S Namboodiripad, (the first Chief Minister of Kerala and Communist Party leader), Sri T N Seshan, former Chief Election Commissioner, Sri E Sreedharan, the architect of Konkan Railway and Delhi Metro, writers like Sri O V Vijayan and Sri M T Vasudevan Nair and cartoonist Sri Ravi Shankar.

The NSS College of Engineering is an institution founded in 1960 by the Nair Service Society.. The major engineering Departments are Civil, Electrical and Electronics, Mechanical, Electronics and Communication, Instrumentation and Control and Computer science Engineering.

There are two medical colleges in the district:

• Government Medical College, Palakkad,
• Karuna Medical College (aided)

The Chembai Memorial Music College, Government College Chittur, and NSS Colleges at Ottapalam and Nemmara are some of the older colleges in Palakkad. MES College Mannarghat, Run by Muslim Educational Society, Jamia Hasaniyya Islamiyya, Kallekkad, Islamic Central School Ottapalam, Katampazhipuram High School Royal dental college chalissery, Karuna Medical College Chittur, Arabic College Parli.

Industrial institutions