Pallithode

In ancient times, Pallithode was a border post marking the northern border of the Kingdom of Travancore (16th century to 1947), adjacent to Chellanam, a southern border post of the Kingdom of Cochin (Kochi) (12th century to 1947) and which now marks the southern border of Ernakulam district.{{cite book |last=George |first=Mathew |year=1989 |title=Communal Road to A Secular Kerala |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |location=New Delhi, India |isbn=9788170222828 |page=20}} The border posts demarcated the kingdom boundaries and controlled trade between the kingdoms,{{refn|group=nb|The borderstones called “KothiKallu” (because “Thi” and “Ko” were written on their sides) are seen along Pallithode Chellanam borders.{{cite web |url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/history-and-culture/history-etched-in-stone/article4504820.ece |title=History Etched in Stone |work=The Hindu |date=13 March 2013 |accessdate=24 July 2013}}}} which competed with each other for dominance and territory by means of war and diplomacy.{{cite book|last=A Sreedhara|first=Menon|date=January 1, 2007|title=A Survey of Kerala History|publisher=DC Books|isbn=9788126415786|pages=97–99}} Pallithode, as a border village, felt these struggles more intensely.

The arrival of foreign traders, starting with the Portuguese in 1498, followed by the Dutch, and then the British, made the situation more complex.{{cite book|last=P.Shungoonny|first=Menon|year=1879|title=A History of Travancore from the Earliest Times|publisher=Higginbotham & Co|location=Madras|page=307}} The kingdoms received military aid from the foreigners to fight one another, and ended up being ruled by them, finally as princely states under the British. Under British administration, trade restrictions continued, and the border checkpoints were maintained for collection of trade taxes, part of which went to British coffers.

Stability was finally achieved—with the independence of India in 1947, and with the formation of the State of Travancore-Cochin (Thiru-Kochi) in 1949—by the merger of these two princely states of British India.{{cite web|last=Varma |first=Sivadas |url=http://newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/article112248.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150111205549/http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/article112248.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 January 2015 |title=Glimpses of a historic moment |publisher=The New Indian Express |date= |accessdate=2013-08-16}} Pallithode became a village of Alappuzha district bordering Ernakulam district.{{refn|group=nb|The State of Kerala was formed in 1956 by the merger of the state of Travancore Cochin with the Malabar District of Madras State during that reorganization of Indian states.{{cite book |last=Paslithil |first=A. |title=Public Library Movement: Kerala |date=2006 |page=117 |location=Delhi |publisher=Kalpaz Publications |isbn=9788178355795}}}}

{{Main|Geography of Kerala}}

Pallithode is a green, palm-fringed, scenic village in the coastal region of Kerala, on a narrow strip of land, with white, sandy beaches bordering the Arabian Sea to the west, and a lake (kayal)—the Pallithode Pozhi, a part of the Cochin estuary—to the east, as well as extensive, interconnected paddy fields and backwaters to the east of the Pozhi.{{cite web |author=Staff |title=Fantastic family-friendly travel destinations |url=http://www.news.com.au/travel/holiday-ideas/fantastic-familyfriendly-travel-destinations/story-e6frfqd9-1226678430332 |publisher=News.com.au |date=14 July 2013 |accessdate=15 January 2015}} In the old days the only access to Pallithode was by water but this has changed today with modern roads, bridges and State Highway 66 (Kerala) (SH66) passing through Pallithode. Chappakadavu beach, in South Pallithode, provides local fishing boats access to the sea.{{cite journal |last=Chacko |first=Tomy |title=Artisanal Fishing along Alleppey Coast, Southwest India |url=http://sfaa.metapress.com/content/733162668182j455/ |date=1998 |journal=Human Organization |volume=57 |issue=1 |pages=61–62 |publisher=Society for Applied Anthropology |doi=10.17730/humo.57.1.733162668182j455 |issn=0018-7259 |accessdate=17 January 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150119032851/http://sfaa.metapress.com/content/733162668182j455/ |archive-date=19 January 2015 |url-status=dead |url-access=subscription }} Chellanam is to the north; Valiathode, Parayakad, Chavadi, and Thuravoor are to the east; Andhakaranazhy ({{convert|4|km|mi}} west of National Highway 66 at Pattanakad), Manokkam Harbor, Azheekal, and Ottamassery are to the south.{{cite news |last=Harikumar |first=A. |title=Rehabilitation work progressing |url=http://www.hindu.com/2005/12/28/stories/2005122800640500.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103190004/http://www.hindu.com/2005/12/28/stories/2005122800640500.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 November 2012 |date=28 December 2005 |department=Kerala – Alappuzha |work=The Hindu |accessdate=17 January 2015}}

The coastal land masses are formed or modified both by action of the sea currents and tides, and by the rainwater flow through the estuaries, from the rivers and backwater systems, supplying sediments.{{cite thesis |last=Rajan |first=R. V. |title=Texture, Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Sediments from the Coastal Plains Between Kodungallur and Chellanam, Central Kerala, India |url=http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/3548/6/06_chapter%201.pdf |date=November 2006 |accessdate=16 January 2015}} Deposition or erosion of coastal areas are common and dynamic.{{cite journal |last1=Narayana |first1=A.C. |last2=Priju |first2=C.P. |title=Landform and Shoreline Changes Inferred from Satellite Images along the central Kerala Coast |date=July 2006 |journal=Journal of the Geological Society of India |volume=68 |pages=35–49 }} Sea erosion claims land in some areas with the eroded soil being deposited in other areas.{{cite tech report |last=Nair |first=K.K. |title=Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology of Coastal Plains of Kerala |date=2007 |series=Special Publication No.88, vi |location=Kolkata |publisher=Geological Society of India |issn=0254-0436}} Severe floods and tidal changes have caused more abrupt and drastic transformations at times.{{cite book |editor1-last=Sharma |editor1-first=Yogesh |title=Coastal Histories: Society and Ecology in Pre-modern India |year=2010 |page=81 |location=Delhi |publisher=Primus Books |isbn=9789380607009}} The Cochin estuary itself is said to have resulted from the floods of 1341, which caused the silting up of the ancient harbor of Muziris and the opening of the channel at Cochin Azhi.{{cite book |last=Tomy |first=P.J. |year=2007 |title=The Kerala Coast: Causes of its ruin and methods for revival |url=http://www.keralacoastfate.com/the%20kerala%20coast.pdf |publisher=Kerala Agricultural University |accessdate=14 January 2015}}{{cite news |title=Search for India's ancient city |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4970452.stm |date=11 June 2006 |website=BBC News |accessdate=18 January 2015}}

Chellanam, on Pallithode's northern border,{{cite web |author=Staff |title=Maintenance dredging may harm Kochi port |url=http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/News.aspx?ElementId=f3eac6ac-d159-4e33-90b9-7c80da13a3ea |publisher=Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide |date=17 June 2013 |accessdate=14 January 2015}} extends from Kattiparambu (near Thoppumpady) in the north to St. George's Church at the Pallithode border, where a channel known as Andhakaranazhy once passed through to the sea at the church's current location. The channel connected Pallithode Pozhi to the sea. This channel closed later naturally and reformed at a more southern location and came to be known as the present Andhakaranazhy. Although Pallithode Pozhi is no longer an estuary, but a kayal, or lake, no longer connected directly to the sea except by canals, the name remains.{{refn|group=nb|There is a spot at the old location known as Azhikkal as a remainder of the past. Azhikkal means by the Azhi.}}.{{cite book |last1=Soman |first1=K. |title=Geology of Kerala |edition=2nd |date=2002 |pages=12, 315 |publisher=Geological Society of India |isbn=9788185867502}}

Recent sea erosion has caused loss of more than half the width of the village in the 20th century.{{cite news |title=Rs 16.73 crore additional aid for five districts |url=http://newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/Rs-16.73-crore-additional-aid-for-five-districts/2013/07/30/article1708854.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113150851/http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/Rs-16.73-crore-additional-aid-for-five-districts/2013/07/30/article1708854.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 January 2015 |agency=Express News Service |newspaper=The New Indian Express |date=30 July 2013 |accessdate=15 January 2015}} This recent erosion, in many geological analyses, is considered to be an indirect result of the man-made development of the Cochin estuary into Cochin harbor.{{cite news |last=Santhosh |first=K. |title=Maintenance dredging may harm Kochi port |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/maintenance-dredging-may-harm-kochi-port/article4819865.ece |newspaper=The Hindu |date=16 June 2013 |accessdate=17 January 2015}} Sea erosion has been controlled for the last three decades by seawalls.{{cite news |title=Coir to be used in bio-engineering technology |url=http://expressindia.indianexpress.com/fe/daily/20001209/fco09065.html |date=9 December 2000 |agency=United News of India |newspaper=The Indian Express |location=Bombay |publisher=The Indian Express Newspapers, Ltd. |accessdate=15 January 2015}} The price paid is the loss of the once long and beautiful white sandy beaches, except in a few areas left free of seawalls. Mechanized gates, where the backwaters flow into the Arabian Sea, regulate the flow of seawater entering the paddy fields of Pallithode, Thuravoor, Pattanakad, and Ezhupunna, and they also prevent flooding of paddy fields during heavy rainfalls.{{clarify|date=January 2015|reason=More than seaside gates needed to prevent all paddy floods.}}

Pallithode's has a wet and maritime tropical climate, classified as a tropical monsoon climate under the Köppen climate classification. Temperatures differ very minimally through the year, with average maximum highs between {{convert|29|C|F}} and {{convert|33|C|F}}.

The population is mainly Christian with a minority of Hindus.St.Sebastian’s Catholic Church in Pallithode is built in Portuguese architectural style and dates from 1880.{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.churchesinindia.com/alleppey/st-sebastian-church-pallithode.html |title=St Sebastian Church Pallithode, Churches In India |publisher=Churchesinindia.com |date= |accessdate=2013-08-16}} The nearest major Hindu temple is the ancient Thuravoor Mahakshetram.{{cite web |last=Administrator |title=Thuravoor Mahakshetram |url=http://www.thuravoortemple.org/ |publisher=Thuravoortemple.org |date=28 July 2011 |accessdate=19 January 2015}}

The local employment is mainly in the fishing industry or agriculture.

Pallithode is in the Kerala Legislative Assembly constituency of Aroor and the Indian Parliamentary constituency of Alappuzha.{{refn|group=nb|Census villages are more numerous and heterogenous than political units (gram panchayats).{{cite book |last=Clark-Decis |first=Isabelle |title=A Companion to the Anthropology of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=98uLj5FpTHQC&pg=PA1980 |year=2011 |page=1980 |isbn=9781444390582 |accessdate=16 January 2015}}}}

Pallithode village is connected to the nearest towns by NH-47, Thuravoor-Ezhupunna Road, and the Pallithode-Chellanam-Kochi Beach Road (State Highway 66 (Kerala)). The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), and a number of private bus operators, provide bus service connecting the village to Ernakulam and Alappuzha.

The Alapuzha-Ernakulam Railway has a crossing station at Thuravoor providing access to the national railways.{{citation needed|date=January 2015|reason=Could be redundant of following.}} The Ernakulam-Kayamkulam coastal railway line connects to the national railways at Kayamkulam Junction railway station.

Inland waterway canals and backwaters with chains of lakes connect Pallithode with Kochi in the north and Alappuzha (Alleppey) in the south through National Waterway 3. A canal links Pallithode Pozhi to Chappakadvu.

Pallithode is a densely populated village with important fishing and tourism industries.

The Kerala state government has designated Pallithode as a fishing village for development and has allocated funds.{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/fund-sanctioned-for-15-matsya-gramams/article4084074.ece |title=Fund sanctioned for 15 'Matsya Gramams' |work=The Hindu |date=2012-11-10 |accessdate=2013-08-16}} The Manakkodam minor fishing harbor is projected for up-gradation. Chappakadavu in Pallithode is among the major fish landings on the Kerala coast. The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT), and the Fisheries ministry of Kerala use Pallithode as a field station for research and development of fisheries projects.{{cite journal |last=Prasad |first=G. |title=Length-Weight Relationships of Penaeus monodon Reared in Semi-Intensive Culture Systems of Kerala, India |url=http://www.worldfishcenter.org/Naga/Naga24-1&2/pdf/aquabyte%203.pdf |volume=24 |number=1 & 2 (January–June 2001) |journal=Naga, ICLARM Quarterly |accessdate=21 January 2015}}{{cite tech report |last=Rajendran |first=G. |title=Success Story of Matsya Keralam First Phase |url=http://www.kerala.gov.in/docs/govt_departments/dept_fisheries/matsyakeralam.pdf |date=September 2009 |location=Thiruvananthapuram |publisher=Department of Fisheries |format=PDF |accessdate=19 January 2015}} Pallithode is also a model village in the pilot project of rainwater harvesting sponsored by the Center for Science and Environment to supplement sources of drinking water.{{cite web|url=http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/Rural/Pallithode.htm |title=Pallithode : Rural Water Harvesting |publisher=Rainwaterharvesting.org |date= |accessdate=2013-08-16}}

Tourism is a fast developing industry of increasing importance in the Kerala economy. Pallithode with its indisputable scenic beauty is playing its part in the tourism industry.{{cite book|last=Biju|first=Mathew|year=2012|title=Kerala Traditions & Fascinating Destinations|publisher=Info Kerala|isbn=9788192128412|page=20}} There are cruises on offer in Pallithode Pozhi and surrounds, including excursions to Andhakaranazhy. The sandy beaches are attractive to visitors. Resorts in the backwaters of Pallithode cater to Indian and international tourists.{{cite web|url=http://www.kondailip.com/ |title=Backwater Heritage Resort |publisher=Kondai Lip |date= |accessdate=2013-08-16}} The Kerala government has developed infrastructure at Andhakaranazhy and its beaches to cater to tourists. Ecotourism is being promoted by the Kerala State Tourism Department and nongovernmental agencies.{{cite web |title=Kerala's Ecotourism Initiatives |url=http://dqianalytics.in/articles/Ecotourism%20Projects%20in%20Kerala.pdf |website=dQi analytics.com |accessdate=20 January 2015}} Kumbalangi, the first model tourism village in India, is close by.{{cite web|url=http://www.kerala.com/kumbalangi/htm/ecotourism.htm |title=Kumbalangi.Kerala.com – Kumbalangi, The Model Tourist Village, Kumbalangi, Kerala, India. A Worldviewr.com / Kerala.com Site |publisher=Kerala.com |date= |accessdate=2013-08-16}}{{cite web|url=http://www.keralatourism.org/destination/destination.php?id=1193906478 |title=Kumbalangi |publisher=Keralatourism.org |date= |accessdate=2013-08-16}} Help and guidance in setting up ecotourism ventures is provided by tourism offices. It's common to have visitors housed with local families, to gain insights into local culture and lifestyle. Apart from local excursions and cultural events, this may include agricultural or fish farm activities. NGO’s, including Women’s Initiative groups (WIN Society), and Farmer’s Co-operatives, give assistance and financial support in setting up homestays and associated activities.

The Pallithode Pozhi is a backwater lake that is situated very close to the sea, less than two to three hundred meters in many spots. Its network of canals connects it to the Arabian Sea at Andhakaranazhy, as well as to the Kerala backwaters system, and by the Kuthiathode Canal to Vembanad Kayal. The Pozhi, lined with Chinese fishing nets (cheenavala), and the neighboring paddy fields are important sources of freshwater fish, as well as a scenic lake important to tourism.{{citation needed|date=September 2015}}

The action of the sea and backwaters have caused changes in geography through the ages, changes in the nature and location of the sea outlets of the backwater system in the remote past,{{cite book |last=Sebastian |first=P.L. |title=The Parayakattil Story |date=1998 |page=4 |publisher=Mukhachitra Publications}} and the loss of land mass due to sea erosion in the more recent times.{{cite book |last1=Ward |first1=B.S. |last2=Conner |first2=P.E. |title=Geographical and Statistical Memoir of the Survey of Travancore & Cochin States 1816–20 |volume=II |date=1891 |location=Madras |publisher=Government Press}}

Andhakaranazhy means "Azhi of darkness". {{refn|group=nb|Azhi means a bar, a sand bar in this context. It can also mean "sea" or "deep".}} It is a part of the Kerala backwater system at the Arabian Sea.{{citation needed|date=September 2015}} There are sandy beaches at Andhakaranazhy. The area has been developed by the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation into a tourist spot.{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/travel/the-shadow-lines/article3865940.ece |title=The shadow lines |work=The Hindu |date=2012-09-06 |accessdate=2013-08-16}} There are Restaurants and an aerial walkway.{{cite web|url=http://www.4yathra.com/Destinations/Andhakaranazhi.aspx |title=Kerala Tourism Guide |publisher=4yathra.com |date= |accessdate=2013-08-16}} It is a natural harbor rated as a minor port by the Central Port Authority. The Kerala government, the Indian Ports Association, and the Inland Waterways Authority of India are planning its development jointly.{{cite journal |last=G K |first=Aby Abraham |title=Taking to the water |url=http://www.economic-update.in/stories/2012/03/26/taking-to-the-water/ |journal=Enterprise & Economic Update Kerala |publisher=Economic-update.in |date=26 March 2012 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130719082831/http://www.economic-update.in/stories/2012/03/26/taking-to-the-water/ |archivedate=19 July 2013 |accessdate=22 January 2015}}

Manakkodam fishing harbor, with its lighthouse, is at Andhakaranazhy, and is designated as a minor port and a green field site.{{cite web |title=Department of Ports Index |url=http://www.old.kerala.gov.in/dept_port/index.htm |date= |website=Official Website of Kerala.gov.in |accessdate=15 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924055706/http://www.old.kerala.gov.in/dept_port/index.htm |archive-date=24 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}

Chappakadavu{{refn|group=nb|Kadavu means a landing place.}} is the mainstay of the fishing industry in the area.{{cite web |last1=Jayakumar |first1=C. |last2=Dillepkumar |first2=N. |title=Study of turtles, traditional practices and rights of fishermen in the Kerala coast and development of an education strategy for protecting the coastal biodiversity through a community-based Turtle conservation programme |url=http://www.cds.ac.in/krpcds/report/turtle.pdf |date=September 2004 |publisher=Thanal Conservation Action and Information Network |accessdate=12 January 2015}} Earlier it was a unique place close to the sea, with a canal having quick and easy access to the backwater system and thence to the consumers.{{citation needed|date=September 2015}} Now transport is mainly overland, but the prominence of this fish processing area and market continues. The provision of the fishing gap has helped to retain the importance of Chappakadavu.{{clarify|date=January 2015|reason=What is meant by "fishing gap"?}}

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• {{cite book |last=Puthur |first=John Jacob |title=The Untold Story of a Coast|publisher=CreateSpace IPP |isbn=978-1482531558 |date=19 February 2013}}
• {{cite book |last1=Jayappa |first1=K S |last2=Narayana |first2=A C |title=Coastal Environments: Problems And Perspectives |date=15 June 2009 |publisher=I.K.International |isbn=978-9380026282}}

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• [http://www.archive.india.gov.in/allimpfrms/alldocs/16116.pdf Archives of India] Model fishing village scheme
• [http://www.livemint.com/Politics/rOFyi3baM1800Zif2DDrkK/The-vanishing-wetlands-in-India.html Livemint] About ecology of wetlands

{{Alappuzha district}}

Category:Villages in Alappuzha district