Palakkad

History

The region around Coimbatore was ruled by the Cheras during Sangam period between the first and fourth centuries CE and served as the eastern entrance to the Palakkad Gap, the principal trade route between the Malabar Coast and Tamil Nadu. Palakkad city was ruled by the Palakkad Rajas (Tarur Swaroopam). The original headquarters of Palakkad Rajas were at Athavanad, Tirur Taluk, in present-day Malappuram district. In 1766, Hyder Ali defeated the Zamorin of Kozhikode – an East India Company ally at the time – and absorbed Kozhikode into his state. His son and successor, Tipu Sultan, launched campaigns against the expanding British East India Company, resulting in two of the four Anglo-Mysore Wars. Tipu ultimately ceded the Malabar District and South Kanara to the company in the 1790s as a result of the Third Anglo-Mysore War and the subsequent Treaty of Seringapatam; both were annexed to the Bombay Presidency (which had also included other regions in the western coast of India) of British India in the years 1792 and 1799, respectively. Later in 1800, both of the Malabar District and South Canara were separated from Bombay presidency to merge them with the neighbouring Madras Presidency. Palakkad was under British Raj until 1947. The municipality of Palakkad was formed on 1 November 1866 according to the Madras Act 10 of 1865 (Amendment of the Improvements in Towns act 1850) of the British Indian Empire, along with the municipalities of Kozhikode, Kannur, Thalassery, and Fort Kochi, making them the first modern municipalities in the modern state of Kerala. At the time of 1951 Census of India, Palakkad was the second-largest city in the erstwhile Malabar District after Kozhikode. At that time only two towns in Malabar was treated as cities: Kozhikode and Palakkad.…

Geography

Palakkad is the gateway to Kerala due to the presence of the Palakkad Gap in the Western Ghats. The city is in central Kerala. Malayalam is the official language in Palakkad. Two main tributaries of Bharathapuzha, Kalpathi River and Kannadi River flows through the city. Of the numerous dams in Palakkad district, the largest Malampuzha dam is from Palakkad city. Palakkad is about northeast of Trivandrum, of Kochi, southwest of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, northeast of Thrissur, and southeast of Kozhikode, which are mainly connected by National Highways, namely Salem-Kochi National Highway NH 544, and Kozhikode-Palakkad National Highway NH 966 Palakkad has a tropical wet and dry climate. Temperatures remain moderate throughout the year, with the exception being March and April, the hottest months. A very high amount of precipitation is received in Palakkad, mainly due to the South-West monsoon. July is the wettest month, and the total annual rainfall is around 100 cm.

Most-observed species

• Brahminy Kite

  Haliastur indus (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  8,914
• White-throated Kingfisher

  Halcyon smyrnensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  8,754
• House Crow

  Corvus splendens Vieillot, 1817 · Aves
  8,099
• Common Tailorbird

  Orthotomus sutorius (Pennant, 1769) · Aves
  7,857
• Common Myna

  Acridotheres tristis (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  7,825
• White-cheeked Barbet

  Psilopogon viridis (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  7,366
• Indian Peafowl

  Pavo cristatus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  7,262
• Indian Pond-Heron

  Ardeola grayii (Sykes, 1832) · Aves
  7,087