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Kundara Kundara | |
|---|---|
Satellite Town | |
 St. Antony's Shrine, Mukkada | |
 Interactive map of Kundara | |
| Coordinates:8°57′26.1″N76°40′23.3″E / 8.957250°N 76.673139°E /8.957250; 76.673139 | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Kerala |
| District | Kollam |
| Government | |
| • Type | Panchayati Raj (India) |
| • Body | Kollam Municipal Corporation Kilikollur zone , Kundara Grama Panchayat , Perinad Grama Panchayat, Elampalloor Grama Panchayat, Kottamkara Grama Panchayat |
| Area | |
• Total | 11.07 km2 (4.27 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 37 m (121 ft) |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
• Total | 14,651 |
| • Density | 1,323/km2 (3,428/sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Malayalam, English |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 691501 |
| Telephone code | +91 (0)474 |
| ISO 3166 code | IN-KL |
| Vehicle registration | KL-02 |
| Nearest city | Kollam (13 km) |
| Sex ratio | 1096♂/♀ |
| Literacy | 93.999% |
| Civic agency | Kundara Panchayat |
| Climate | Am/Aw(Köppen) |
| Avg. annual temperature | 27.2 °C (81.0 °F) |
| Avg. summer temperature | 35 °C (95 °F) |
| Avg. winter temperature | 24.4 °C (75.9 °F) |
Kundara is asatellite town inKerala and is part of theKollam Metropolitan Area,India.[2] Kundara is situated at the eastern end ofKollam city. Kundara is significant for its historic involvement in theIndian independence movement.[3]
Kundara was once the industrial hub of Southern Kerala, which was the home to prominent industrial companies includingKerala Electrical and Allied Engineering Company, The Aluminium Industries Limited, Kundara(commonly known as ALIND),The Kerala Ceramics Limited and the Lakshmi Starch company. Many of these companies have closed down or turned into sick industries. Kundara is attempting to revive this industrial tradition and glory of bygone era now by developingTechnopark Kollam andThe Kerala Ceramics Limited.[4][5][6]
Kundara is also famous for backwater fishing since it is located on the shores of Kanjiracode Lake, a branch ofAshtamudi Lake. This lake recently received Marine Stewardship council recognition for sustainable fishing.[7]
Kundara has a prominent place in the history of Kerala and the independence struggle of India. The place witnessed the historic Kundara proclamation made by then Dalava of Travancore,Velu Thampi Dalawa on 1809 January 11.[8]
Velu Thambi Dalawa, the Prime Minister/Diwan (Dalava) to King Balarama Varma of Travancore in present-day Kerala was one of the earliest opponents of British rule. Velu Thampi dalawa in January 1809 made a proclamation known as the Kundara Proclamation. It was an open call to arms, exhorting the common people to rise up against the British and to overthrow them. There was a massive response to his rallying call. Dalawa had to commit suicide on exile later at Mannadi nearAdoor.[9]
In the year 2007, the then Education Minister of Kerala, Shri. M A Baby, unveiled the 'Kundara Vilambaram' memorial at Ellampallor from where the proclamation was made two centuries ago.[10]
Since early days Kundara developed as a market place for trade due to21 feet wideQuilon Sengotta Road that connectedTravancore toMadras Presidency and proximity to water transport throughAshtamudi Lake. In 1904 theKollam-Sengottai rail line opened up through Kundara. This development facilitated ease of transportation of man, machine and raw material for industrial production to Kollam through rail line from Madras.
In the 1920sCashew industry boomed in and around Kollam. This gave the first taste of modern industry to Kundara and adjoining areas.
Kundara had abundant reserves ofChina-clay the key raw material forCeramic andPorcelain. In 1937 during reign ofChithira Thirunal Balarama Varma the clay processing industry was started in Kundara. In the 1960s this developed intoThe Kerala Ceramics Limited.[11]
The backbone of modern industrialisation of Kundara was setting up of a 66kVElectrical substation at Kundara on 3 May 1940 which complemented thePallivasal project, the first hydroelectric project in Kerala.[12] This was part of the network of first eight substations established inTravancore between Thrissur and Trivandrum in order to transmit hydroelectricity generated to households towns and industries. The Kundara substation was later upgraded to 220kV capacity and today it is vital in providing electricity toKollam City andKollam–Thiruvananthapuram trunk line ofSouthern Railways.
The power of availability of cheap hydroelectricity in Kundara then was such that, it prompted the famousNobel Laureate,C. V. Raman and his close associate,P. Krishnamurti to set up the first ever unit of their newly formed company,Travancore Chemical & Manufacturing Company Ltd (TCM Ltd) at Kundara in 1943.[13] The unit producedPotassium chlorate an ingredient used inSafety match.[14] This unit once existed near Elampalloor Masjid on present dayNH 183 and today it no longer exist
The setting up of substation also helped start Aluminium Industry in Kundara. On the invitation ofC. P. Ramaswami Iyer theDiwan of travancore, on 2 January 1946,Seshasayee Brothers Group of Madras started the famousALIND, Kundara.[15] The company was pioneers in aluminium electrical cable manufacturing in the region and has manufactured cables more than 1 crore km in length. The company slipped into crisis in the late 1980s due to labour issues and poor management.[16][17]
The industrial prowess of Kundara lead to establishment ofKerala Electrical and Allied Engineering Company unit in Kundara for manufacturing train lighting alternator in 1964.[18]
After two lost decades the industrial sector in Kundara received a renewed attention since the early 2010s. The setting up of Technopark Kollam at Kundara in February 2011 and renewed emphasis on revival of ALIND KEL and Kerala Ceramics since 2016 are currently happening.[19]
Kallumala Samaram a historic event inRenaissance in Kerala also took place inPerinad near Kundara.
| Religion | Percentage | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hinduism | 63% | |||
| Islam | 18% | |||
| Christianity | 18% | |||
| Others | 1% | |||
| Distribution of religions †Includes Not Stated,Sikhs (<0.01%),Buddhists (<0.01%). | ||||
As of the 2011 Census of India,[21] Kundara is a census town inKollam District in the state of Kerala with a total population of 33,959. The population of children aged 0–6 is 3243, representing 9.55% of the total population of Kundara. The female sex ratio is 1096 per 1000 males, against state average of 1084 and the child sex ratio is 993 females per 1000 males, compared to the Kerala state average of 964. Kundara's literacy rate is 93.99%, lower than the state average of 95%. The male literacy is 96.42% and the female literacy rate is 91.80%.
Kundara is one among the 11 legislative assembly constituencies in thedistrict of Kollam.P. C. Vishnunadh is the current elected member from Kundara constituency.
Kundara,Kilikollur,Kundara East andChandanattop are the railway stations in Kundara town. InKerala it is very rare to have more than one railway station in a town.[22][23] These stations are part of theKollam–Sengottai branch line.
Roadways
TheNational Highway 744 (India) andNational Highway 183 (India) connect the city ofKollam with places in Tamil Nadu such asMadurai andTheni, pass through Kundara.
The nearest airport isTrivandrum International Airport which is 67 km by road.
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