Munnar | |
|---|---|
 A view of Munnar downtown. | |
  Munnar  Munnar | |
| Coordinates:10°05′21″N77°03′35″E / 10.08917°N 77.05972°E /10.08917; 77.05972 | |
| Country | India |
| State | Kerala |
| District | Idukki |
| Taluk | Devikulam |
| Named after | Three riversconfluence |
| Government | |
| • Type | Grama Panchayat |
| • Body | Munnar Grama Panchayat |
| Area | |
• Total | 187 km2 (72 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,532 m (5,026 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 32,029 |
| • Density | 171/km2 (444/sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Malayalam[2] |
| • Regional | Tamil,[3]Malayalam |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 685612 |
| Telephone code | 04865 |
| Vehicle registration | KL-68,KL-06 |
| Literacy | 84.9% |
| Website | keralatourism |
Munnar (Malayalam pronunciation:[muːn̪ːɐːr]) is atown located in theIdukki district of the southwesternIndian state ofKerala. Munnar is situated at around 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) abovemean sea level,[4] in theWestern Ghats mountain range. This ancientplantation settlement, dominated by itstea industry, is also a growing modernhill station.
The name Munnar is a combination of the words "Munnu" and "Aaru" in the local languages ofMalayalam/Tamil meaning "three rivers",[5] referring to its location at theconfluence of theMuthirapuzha,Nallathanni andKundali River rivers.[6]
The region has been inhabited by hunter-gatherer tribals like theMalayarayan andMuthuvan for thousands of years.[7] In the early days, onlyTamils and fewMalayalis lived there. They were brought as workers in the tea plantations. Tradition states that ColonelArthur Wellesley, later the Duke of Wellington, was the first British person to pass through Munnar[8] duringTipu Sultan's campaign inTravancore, but this is unsubstantiated. The first survey of the terrain was undertaken by Benjamin Swayne Ward in 1816–1817, who followed Periyar into theWestern Ghats and established a camp at the confluence of three rivers, from which the name of Munnar is derived.[9]
50 years laterSir Charles Trevelyan who was the Governor ofMadras, instructed Col.Douglas Hamilton to explore the hill country in the western part of theMadras Presidency, requesting special advice on the feasibility of establishing sanatoria for the British in the South[10] and of developing revenue- earning projects without endangering the environment, as had happened inCeylon where coffee had destroyed not only the rain forest but also paddy cultivation in the north-central rice bowl of ancient Ceylon. Hamilton climbed throughout the Ghats in Munnar region. 15 years later, John Daniel Munro noted that much of Munnar's land was suitable for coffee plantations. Munro, Henry Turn, and his half-brother AW Turner obtained ownership of theCardamom Hills from the Raja of Travancore and began clearing forest aroundDevikulam in 1879. Soon many other Europeans began establishing tea plantations in the area throughout the 1880s. Early plantations had few facilities and were mainly huts of straw.
Eventually roads were opened to the lowlands and inBodinayakanur in western Madras Presidency, planters got provisions from a local headman - Suppan Chetty. He and his son, Alaganan Chetty (later anMLA) would continue providing supplies to the tea estates in the region. By 1894, 26 estates were established in the hills, but all were facing losses. In 1897, a separate company,Kannan Devan Hills Corporation (KDHC) was registered to operate the tea estates which was later taken over by the American Direct Tea Trading Company Ltd., who owned 26 estates, most with coffee and some withcinchona, almost all in the area except for a few in the lower areas.
In 1900, a ropeway was built and eventually monorails were installed for easier transport of goods to the plains. In 1901, P. R. Buchanan took over as General Manager and began the most extensive clearing of jungles for plantations. In 1908, construction started on a new railway which opened in 1909. By 1911, around 6,500 hectares (16,000 acres) of the region was under cultivation.
In 1924, a flood swept through Munnar, damaged the road and destroyed the rail track.[11] In its place it was decided to create a ropeway to transport tea. In 1930, this in turn was replaced by a modern road that made transport much easier. By 1952, almost 11,000 hectares (28,000 acres) of land was under cultivation. AfterIndependence, Indian planters took over. In 1964, the KDHC which owned most tea estates was acquired byTata and Finlay who started the first instant tea factory in the country.[12] In 1971, the Kerala government wanted to reforest all land in the hills not used for plantations. However, negotiations that followed resulted in Tata keeping most of the land, leaving it with 23,000 hectares (57,000 acres).
To this day, most tea estate labourers are landless. In the early 2000s, theViduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, aDalit outfit fromTamil Nadu, started demanding land for the labourers, started making inroads into Kerala. In 2009,VS Achuthanandan promised his support for providing land to the mainly Tamil Dalit estate labourers. However, the process became very slow and as of 2018, most families still hand no land.[13]
The former Kunda Valley Railway in Munnar was destroyed by a flood in 1924, but in 2019 tourism officials were considering reconstructing the railway line to attract more tourists to the area.[14]
The region in and around Munnar varies in height from 1,450 metres (4,760 ft) to 2,695 metres (8,842 ft) abovemean sea level. The temperature ranges between 5 °C (41 °F) and 25 °C (77 °F) in winter and 15 °C (59 °F) and 25 °C (77 °F) in summer.[15] Temperatures as low as −4 °C (25 °F) have been recorded in the Sevenmallay region of Munnar.[16][failed verification][failed verification]
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies it assubtropical highland (Cwb).[17]
| Climate data for Munnar | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 22.4 (72.3) | 23.7 (74.7) | 25.3 (77.5) | 25.6 (78.1) | 25.6 (78.1) | 23.7 (74.7) | 22.4 (72.3) | 22.8 (73.0) | 23.2 (73.8) | 22.7 (72.9) | 21.8 (71.2) | 21.9 (71.4) | 23.4 (74.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 17.6 (63.7) | 18.7 (65.7) | 20.2 (68.4) | 21 (70) | 21.4 (70.5) | 20.3 (68.5) | 19.3 (66.7) | 19.5 (67.1) | 19.6 (67.3) | 19.2 (66.6) | 18.3 (64.9) | 17.7 (63.9) | 19.4 (66.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 12.9 (55.2) | 13.7 (56.7) | 15.1 (59.2) | 16.5 (61.7) | 17.3 (63.1) | 16.9 (62.4) | 16.3 (61.3) | 16.3 (61.3) | 16 (61) | 15.7 (60.3) | 14.8 (58.6) | 13.5 (56.3) | 15.4 (59.8) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 18 (0.7) | 29 (1.1) | 47 (1.9) | 129 (5.1) | 189 (7.4) | 420 (16.5) | 583 (23.0) | 364 (14.3) | 210 (8.3) | 253 (10.0) | 164 (6.5) | 64 (2.5) | 2,470 (97.3) |
| Average rainy days | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 84 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 248 | 232 | 248 | 240 | 217 | 120 | 124 | 124 | 150 | 155 | 180 | 217 | 2,255 |
| Source 1:Climate-Data.org, altitude: 1461m[17] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:Weather2Travel for sunshine and rainy days[18] | |||||||||||||
Munnar is well connected by both National highways, state highways and rural roads. The town lies in theKochi -Dhanushkodi National highway (N.H 49), about 130 km (81 mi) from Cochin, 31 km (19 mi) fromAdimali, 85 km (53 mi) fromUdumalaipettai inTamil Nadu and 60 km (37 mi) fromNeriyamangalam.
Distance from major cities & tourist destinations.
The nearest railway station isBodinayakkanur (68 km) in Tamil Nadu and nearest major railway stations in Kerala are atErnakulam (126 km) andAluva (110 km).
Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus stand is in walking distance fromAluva Railway Station, and buses are available for Munnar every hour.
The nearest airport isCochin International Airport, which is 110 kilometres (68 mi) away. TheCoimbatore andMadurai airports are165 kilometres (103 mi) from Munnar.
The Panchayat of Munnar formed on January 24, 1961, and it is divided into 21 wards for administrative convenience.Coimbatore district lies to the north,Pallivasal to the south,Devikulam andMarayoor to the east, andMankulam andKuttampuzha Panchayats to the west.
According to the2011 Census, Munnar Grama Panchayat had a total population of 32,039. 16,061 were males and 15,968 were females, with 7,968 families total residing therein. Children represented in the age group of 0-6 were 2,916 (9.1% of the total population), which constitutes 1,478 males and 1,438 females. Munnar Panchayat had an overall literacy rate of 84.85%, substantially lower than the Kerala state average of 94.00%. Male literacy stands at 91.05% and female literacy at 78.64%.[19]
Most of the native flora and fauna of Munnar have disappeared due to severehabitat fragmentation resulting from creation of the plantations. However, some species continue to survive and thrive in severalprotected areas nearby, including the newKurinjimala Sanctuary to the east, theChinnar Wildlife Sanctuary,Manjampatti Valley and the Amaravati reserve forest ofIndira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary to the north east, theEravikulam National Park andAnamudi Shola National Park to the north, thePampadum Shola National Park to the south and the proposedPalani Hills National Park to the east.[citation needed]
These protected areas are especially known for severalthreatened andendemic species includingNilgiri Thar, thegrizzled giant squirrel, theNilgiri wood-pigeon,elephant, thegaur, theNilgiri langur, thesambar, and theNeelakurinji (that blossoms only once in twelve years).[20][21]
There has been action to address the problems of property takeovers by theland mafia that have, according to successive governments, plagued the area. In 2011, the government estimated that 20,000 hectares (49,000 acres) of land had been illegally appropriated and launched a campaign of evictions that had first been mooted in 2007.[22]
