Kerala - Alappuzha   

Happy birthday Alappuzha

ALAPPUZHA: Marking five decades of struggles, popular revolts and development that owes a lot to its geographical makeup, the district of Alappuzha will turn 50 on Friday.

It was on August 17, 1957, that Alappuzha, a name that finds mention in documents on trade relations between India and ancient Greece and Rome and even in Middle Age literature, came into being.

Carved out of the erstwhile Kottayam and Kollam districts, the district was formed as ‘Alleppey’ and later became Alappuzha as per GO (P) No.133/90/RD on February 2, 1990.

With Pathanamthitta district being constituted taking portions from Alappuzha, Kollam and Idukki districts, Alappuzha is now left with the six taluks of Cherthala, Ambalapuzha, Kuttanad, Karthikappally, Chengannur and Mavelikara.

From being mentioned in ancient literature including Unnineeli Sandesam, works of famous travellers Pliny and Ptolemy, Alappuzha was what Lord Curzon once described as the Venice of the East.

With a geographical indicator of its own in the form of ‘Alleppey Coir’ and developments initiated by the former Diwan of Travancore Raja Kesava Das, the district had several precedents and examples that few others could boast of.

It was in Mavelikara that one of the five subordinate courts opened in the State in connection with the reorganisation of the judicial system by Colonel Munro was located in the 19th century.

The credit of having the first post office and first telegraph office in the erstwhile Travancore State too goes to this district, which now has a defunct port and one of the country’s oldest light houses.

James Darragh and Henry Smail established the first modern factory for coir mats and mattings here in 1859. Alappuzha had a Town Improvement Committee as early as 1894.

However, old-timers here point out that Alappuzha’s trailblazing beginning has petered out over the years. Though the headquarters of the district still remains one of the few planned towns in Kerala with its parallel roads and maze of bridges over canals, the town has little space to grow out.

Major dilemmas like drinking water shortage, absence of water treatment plants, stunted industrial growth, an ailing agriculture sector and trade union strikes have applied brakes on the growth of the district, which once had its sons as the Chief Minister and the Leader of Opposition at the same time.

The issues that bother Alappuzha are likely to find some solutions as the district administration commences a month-long series of programmes, some of these in association with the Library Council, on development possibilities for the district.

A public meeting at the Collectorate from 5 p.m. on Friday will set the ball rolling. While the former Minister K.R. Gouri will be the chief guest, Coir Minister G. Sudhakaran will inaugurate the meeting. Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran, Alappuzha MLA K.C. Venugopal and others will attend.

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