Malappuram Fairvalue
Malappuram district was formed on 16 June 1969. Malappuram District is one the most important districts in Kerala State. It is located on the coast of Arabian Sea and the North Central of Kerala. This district is bordered by Kozhikode and Wayanad districts on the north, Thrissur and Palakkad on the south, Arabian Sea on the west and Tamil Nadu State on the east. Malappuram town is the headquarters of the district. As the name indicates Malappuram is a district with unique natural beauty along with the mountains. Malappuram District is considered as the third largest district in Kerala with a land area of 3550 square kilometers. It comprises 9.13% of the total district. This district still has the ruins of an ancient fort built by Tippu Sultan and important developments done by the British.
During the British Rule
During the period of British rule, Malappuram was the headquarters for European and British troops. Later it became the headquarters of the Malabar Special Police (MSP). In 1921, Malabar rebellion took place in Malappuram which was suppressed by the MSP and this incident happened before Indian Independence 1947. The district area covered was a part of Kozhikode, Ernad, Valluvanad and Ponnani taluks which belonged to Madras Presidency.
Introduction of New Taluks
Of these, Ernad and Tirur continued under Kozhikode district and Perinthalmanna as well as Ponnani under the Palakkad district. Malappuram district was newly formed with four taluks namely Ernad, Perinthalmanna, Tirur and Ponnani. These four statutory towns have fourteen developmental blocks and ninety five panchayats. Later two more taluks namely Tirurangadi and Nilambur were formed by splitting Tirur and Ernad taluk.
Landscape of district
Malappuram district can be divided into three categories namely lowland, interior and highland. The lowlands are located on the coastal portion, the inlands are located in the center and highlands are found on the eastern and east-west borders. The district has fairly flat topography, starting with large forests located on the Nilgiri hills in the east, gradually passing through small hills and valleys and finally ending with large coconut groves standing on sand dunes in the west.
Dense Forest Area
This district is a hilly region and also contributed a lot to the cultural and traditional arts of the state. Out of the total forest area in this district is 758.87 square kilometers, of which 325.33 square kilometers are reserve forests. The major parts of the forest area are located in Nilambur, Vantur and Melatoor blocks in the Western Ghats. The main trees found in the district are teak, spear, venteak, choropin, mahogany, etc., and kulama and villapine are used for the plywood industry. Bamboo groves are also found throughout the forest.
The district is also home to a large number of man-made plantations, mainly consisting of teak. The forest sector is the main source of raw materials for the timber industry in the district. Apart from various species of birds and reptiles, elephants, deer, blue monkeys, bears, bison and rabbits are also seen in the forest. Around 50 acres of mangroves are spread across the Kadalundi estuary in the Gram Panchayat.
Major Rivers Flows through this district
The four major rivers of the state are Kadalundipuzha, Chaliyar, Tiroorpuzha and Bharathapuzha flows through the district. Chaliyarpuzha originates from the Alambaleri hill in Tamil Nadu runs for 169 kms and includes major tributaries such as Chalipuzha, Punnapuzha, Pandiyar, Karimpuzha, Cherupuzha and Vadapurampuzha. It flows through Nilambur, Mampat, Edavanna, Areekode and Vazhakad and merges into the Beypur Sea in Kozhikode.
Kadalundipuzha river runs for 130 kms. It is formed by the confluence of the Olipuzha Rivers originating from Cherakomban Ranges and the Veliyar rivers originating from Twin Komban Ranges. It flows through the wilds and passes through Melatoor, Pandikkad, Malappuram, Panakkad, Parapur, Kooriyad and Tirurangadi in Ernadu and Valluvanad regions. It finally merges with the sea in Kadalundi city.