Kollam district () (formerly known as Quilon district) is one of 14 districts of the state of Kerala, India. The district has a cross-section of Kerala's natural attributes; it is endowed with a long coastline, a major Laccadive Sea seaport and an inland lake (Ashtamudi Lake). The district has many water bodies. Kallada River is one among them, and land on the east bank of the river is East Kallada and that on the west bank is West Kallada. The district headquarters is Kollam.
Etymology
In 825 CE, the Malayalam calendar, or Kollavarsham, was created in Kollam at meetings held in the city.ending with the Royal sanction of Tarissapalli copper plates to Assyrian Monks by Vaishnaite Chera King Rajashekara Varma, against the backdrop of a Shivite revival led by Adi Shankara among the Nampoothiri communities Kerala government website The present Malayalam calendar is said to have begun with the re-founding of the town, which was rebuilt after its destruction by fire.
The city was known as Koolam in Arabic, Coulão in Portuguese, and Desinganadu in ancient Tamil literature.
Overview
Kallada Boat race is one of the famous festival events of the district. Even though it is a competition between two land sides of the river, many boat clubs from various places, even beyond the district participate in the event. Kollam is known as the capital of Kerala's cashew industry. Plains, mountains, lakes, lagoons, and backwaters, forests, farmland and rivers make up the topography of the district. The area had trading relationships with Phoenicia and Ancient Rome.
Climate
Kollam's temperature is almost steady throughout the year. The average temperature ranges from 25 to 32 degrees Celsius. Summer usually runs from March until May; the monsoon begins by June and ends by September. Kollam receives an annual average rainfall of around .
It receives both southwest and northeast monsoons. Winter is from November to February; the temperature is moderately cool, ranging from 18 to 25 degrees Celsius.Covt of kerala website, kollam page
Demographics
According to the 2011 census Kollam district has a population of 2,635,375, roughly equal to the nation of Kuwait or the US state of Nevada. This gives it a ranking of 155th in India (out of a total of 640 districts). The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 1.72 percent. Kollam has a sex ratio of 1113 females for every 1000 males. The total literacy rate of Kollam district was 94.09%. The male literacy rate was 96.09% and the female literacy rate was 92.31% in Kollam district. 45.05% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 12.46% and 0.41% of the population respectively.
Malayalam is the predominant language, spoken by 99.10% of the population. Small minorities of Tamil speakers live in Koovakkad village and bordering areas
Urban structure The Kollam Urban Agglomeration (UA) is the 6th most populous UA in the state. Kollam is placed 49th in the list of most populous urban agglomerations in India. The total urban population of the entire district is . The metropolitan area of Kollam includes Adichanalloor, Adinad, Ayanivelikulangara, Chavara, Elampalloor, Eravipuram (part), Karunagappally, Kollam, Kundara, Kulasekharapuram, Mayyanad, Meenad, Nedumpana, Neendakara, Oachira, Panayam, Panmana, Paravur, Perinad, Poothakkulam, Thazhuthala, Thodiyoor, Thrikkadavoor, Thrikkaruva, Thrikkovilvattom, and Vadakkumthala.
Religion
Hinduism (64.42%) is practised by majority of the people in Kollam district of which Nair (32%) and Ezhava (30.5%) are the largest sub groups. Islam (19.3%) is the second largest religion. Kollam is the only district in Southern Kerala where Muslims outnumber Christians. Despite this Kollam has a significant Christian population too (16%) among this the Latin Catholics (38.5%), Malankara Orthodox (36.1%) and Marthoma Church (15.8%) form the majority.
+ Percentage distribution of Castes, Denominations, and Sects in Hindu, Christian, and Muslim population of the District respectively(average 2008-2014)Hindu CastesPercentage Christian DenominationsPercentageMuslim SectsPercentage Nair 32Sunni100 Ezhava 30.5Syro-Malankara Catholics4.3 Brahmin 2Latin Catholics38.5Nadar0.4Viswakarma7.7Malankara Orthodox36.1Schedule Caste16.9Mar Thoma15.8Schedule Tribe2.1Dalit Christians1.3Others8.4Others4.0TOTAL100%100%100%
Largest cities & towns
*In 2015, the area of Kollam municipal corporation increased by merging Thrikkadavoor panchayat *The area of Karunagapally municipality has expanded by merging Ayanivelikulangara village.
Administration
The history of the district's administration can be traced back to 1835, when the Travancore state consisted of two revenue divisions with headquarters at Kollam and Kottayam. When Travancore and Cochin were combined into Travancore-Cochin, Kollam was one of the three revenue divisions. When the state of Kerala was formed in 1957, half portion of Chenkotta taluk was merged with the state of Madras. Later in 1957, the Cherthala, Ambalapuzha, Mavelikara, Karthikapalli, Chengannur and Thiruvalla taluks (formerly in Kollam district) were united to form the new district of Alappuzha. In 1983, Pathanamthitta taluk and Adoor taluk and seven villages of Kunnathur taluk were removed from Kollam district to form the new Pathanamthitta district.Administration page of quilon.com
Revenue Divisions (RDO)
Administratively Kollam District is composed of two Revenue Divisions, viz Kollam and Punalur with three Taluks each under them.
Taluks
Kollam is administratively divided into 6 taluks. They are Kollam, Karunagappally, Kunnathur, Kottarakkara, Punalur and Pathanapuram, which are subdivided into 104 villages. The tahsildar is the revenue official in charge of each taluk. Taluk HeadquartersKollam TalukKollamKarunagappally TalukKarunagappallyKunnathur TalukSasthamkottaKottarakkara TalukKottarakkaraPunalur TalukPunalurPathanapuram TalukPathanapuram
Police administration Police administration in Kollam is divided into two districts: urban and rural. The City Police is headed by a City Police Commissioner, an IPS (Indian Police Service) officer with the rank of SP; its headquarters is at Kollam. The rural police is headed by the Rural Superintendent of Police (SP), with its headquarters at Kottarakkara. Both heads report to the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP), Thiruvananthapuram Range (Kerala).
The Kollam City Police is divided into three subdivisions, each under an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP): Karunagappally, Kollam and Chathannoor. Each subdivision is divided into circles, headed by the Circle Inspector of Police. Each circle is divided into a number of police stations, headed by a Sub-Inspector of Police. The Kollam Rural Police District is divided into two subdivisions, each under an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP)/ Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP): Kottarakkara and Punalur. There are a total of 29 police stations, in 13 circles. Kollam city traffic is controlled by the City Traffic Police, with a Traffic Police Station located near the Asramam Ground. Kerala's first coastal police station was established in Neendakara, Kollam.
The first police museum in India-The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Police Museum has a large collection of police artefacts and rare photographs. The museum has a room dedicated to officers martyred in the line of duty. The forensic section has a large collection of photographs. The museum is located at the Kollam East Police Station.
Local Governments Panchayats Kollam district has 68 grama panchayats (village-level panchayats) as part of its rural local self-government structure. Along with these, the district also has 11 block panchayats and one district panchayat. Each of these panchayats is governed by an elected council, headed by a President and Vice-President.
Municipalities
There are four municipalities in Kollam District. Punalur, Paravur, Karunagappally and Kottarakkara are the municipalities. There is a long-standing demand for upgrading Pathanapuram & Anchal panchayaths into municipal status.
Elected representatives Assembly representatives
Lok Sabha constituencies
Kollam district has three Lok Sabha (lower house) constituencies. They include the Chavara, Kundara, Eravipuram, Kollam, Chathannoor, Chadayamangalam and Punalur assembly constituencies. While the Kunnathur, Kottarakkara and Pathanapuram constituencies are in the Mavelikara Lok Sabha constituency, the Karunagapally assembly constituency is in the Alappuzha Lok Sabha constituency.
Transportation
Road Kollam is connected by bus and train service.Southern Railway KSRTC official website It is also connected to neighbouring states by bus service operated by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Indian Railways. These are the KSRTC Depots & Sub Depots & Operating Centres (OC) in the district:
The district is connected to other parts of Kerala and India through the National Highways – NH 66 (earlier NH 47), NH 183 (earlier NH 220), NH 744 (earlier NH 208). The state highway - Main Central Road (MC Road) and Punalur-Pathanamthitta-Muvattupuzha Main Eastern Highway — connects Kollam with other districts. Intrastate road transportation is served by the KSRTC, Tamil Nadu State Transport and Karnataka State Transport Companies. KSRTC Interstate bus service operates from the Kollam and Kottarakkara KSRTC bus stations. Kollam zone of KSRTC is now the second most revenue generating zone in Kerala.Kollam KSRTC Zone
Rail
Kollam Junction railway station (QLN) is the one and only rail head in the district. A total of 128 short & long-distance services (including weekly) and 10 services of MEMU are running through Kollam Junction railway station. A most modern MEMU maintenance shed is working in the railway station premises of Kollam city. In addition to that, there are some other major railway stations in the district namely Punalur (PUU), Karunagappalli (KPY), Paravur (PVU), Sasthamkotta (STKT), Kottarakara (KKZ) and Kundara (KUV). The district has a good railway network, with 25 stations and about of track. Kollam district boasts the record of having most numbers of railway stations in the state.Kollam railway information
+Railway stations in Kollam District Ochira Karunagapalli Sasthamkotta Munrothuruthu Perinad Kollam Junction Eravipuram Mayyanad Paravur Kilikollur Chandanathoppe Kundara Kundara East Ezhukone Kottarakkara Kuri Avaneeswaram Punalur Edamon Ottakkal Thenmala Kazhuthurutty Edappalayam Aryankavu
Trains from here connect the city of Kollam to major cities of India, including New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Indore, Bhopal, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai, Madurai, Vizag, Jammu, Howrah, Guwahati, Madgaon, Itarsi, Hubli, Ahmedabad, Kanyakumari, Gwalior, Nagpur, Pune, Kota, Bhubaneswar, Gorakhpur, Kochi, Kozhikode, Amritsar, Vijayawada, Coimbatore, Chandigarh and Mangalore. There are also passenger services running in Kollam–Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam–Ernakulam and Kollam–Punalur routes.
Water