Idukki district, kerala

Idukki (Malayalam :ഇടുക്കി ) is one among the 14 districts of Kerala state, India. The district headquarters is located at Kuyilimala (earlier it was at Painavu).

Geography

Idukki has an area of 5,105.22 km² (1,971.1 sq mi) and is the
largest District of Kerala. Rugged mountains and forests cover about 97
percent of the total area of the District. The district borders the
Kerala districts of Pathanamthitta to the south, Kottayam to the southeast, Ernakulam to the northeast and Thrissur to the north and Coimbature, Dindigul and Theni Districts in Tamilnadu to the east. See:map.

Anamudi,
the highest peak in India south of Himalayas, is in the Kuttampuzha
Panchayat of Adimali Block, in the K.D.H Village of Devikulam taluk. 13
other peaks in the district exceed a height of 2,000 m (6,561.7 ft).
The Periyar, Thodupuzhayar and Thalayar are the important rivers of the district.

History

The High Range of Idukki attracted Scottish planters in the 19th century and they left behind some bungalows in an around Munnar,
which are quite notable for their architectural beauty. Perhaps the
most visible one to the tourists is Ladbroke House,which is named after
the Ladbroke Square in London. The Trout,
coniferous trees and dark green planter\'s cap are all contributions of
those planters. Quite interestingly, Munnar had railway lines almost a
century back! This started from the KDHP office at Munnar and extended
up to Top Station
near the Tamil Nadu border. The torrential rain and storm of 1924
destroyed the major part of the rail system and the Mattupetty dam
still has the remains of the rail lines. Quite few of the rails are
used as electric posts in Munnar. KDHP\'s tea factory has one of the
wheels of the locomotives being kept there.

Idukki has the largest arch dam in India, the Idukki Dam, constructed for the Idukki Hydro Electric Power Project in 1969 with the cooperation of the Canadian Government. This single project powers almost half of the entire state and some parts of neighboring states. Mattupetty Dam is also here.

Population

Idukki had a population of 1,129,221 as of 2001. Censusinfo ^[1] Eminent persons from Idukki district include K.M. Beenamo (Sports), K.M. Biju,(Sports), Shiny Wilson (Sports), P.J. Joseph (Politics). 11516 Scheduled tribal families are living in the district, including: Malayarayan, Mannan, Muthuvan, Oorali, Paliyan, Hilpulayan, Malapandaram, Ulladan and Malayan

Protected areas

This district has several protected areas including: Periyar Tiger Reserve in the south, Kurinjimala Sanctuary to the east, Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary to the north east, Eravikulam National Park and Anamudi Shola National Park to the north, Pampadum Shola National Park to the south and Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary in the west. These protected areas are especially known for several threatened and endemic species including Tiger, Nilgiri Thar, Grizzled Giant Squirrel, Nilgiri Wood-pigeon, Elephant, Gaur, Sambar Deer, and Neelakurinji. ^[2], ^[3]

Idukki is known for the splendid green mountains, streams and
spices. It is one of the a main tourist destinations in Kerala with its
hill stations, Devikulam and Munnar, surrounded by lush hills, tea plantations and valleys. Mattupetty, is the headquarters of the Indo-Swiss Cattle Project, about 11 km away from Munnar.