Muvattupuzha (Malayalam:മൂവാറ്റുപുഴ ) is a municipality in Ernakulam district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is a medium sized town situated 42 km north-east of Ernakulam City, Kerala state, India.It is located at 9.9670N, 76.5830E. It is an important town in central Kerala. It lies between Thrissur and Kottayam on the Main Central Road (MC road) which runs along the length of the old Travancore, from Trivandrum to Angamaly.
Muvattupuzha River
The town is named after the Muvattupuzha (Muvattupuzha Aar) river which flows through it. The name is made up of three Malayalam words: 'Moo', which stands for 'three', 'aaru' - small river, and 'puzha', which also means a river. 'Aaru' is a word that is usually used to rivers in the southern half of Kerala, while 'puzha's are northern rivers. The three rivers in this case are the Kothamangalam river or Kothayaar, Kaliyar and Thodupuzhayaar, which merge to form a single river. Thus it is called Thriveni Sangamam or Centre Point in Malayalam.
Muvattupuzha Aar (Malayalam:മൂവാറ്റുപുഴയാറ്, Muvattupuzhu River) which starts and flows through Muvattupuzha town runs for 121 km. The major source of water is the Thodupuzha River which starts in the Idukki district and provides a good supply of water all the year, enabled by the supply of water from Idukki Arch Dam. Idukki Dam is the largest Arch Dam in India and it is used for hydro-electric power generation.
History
It was part of erstwhile Vadakkumkoor Kingdom until it was captured by Travancore kingdom, now merged into state of Kerala. Old documents prove that the lands of Muvattupuzha belonged to ‘Edappally Swaroopam’. Later the rights were transformed to various ‘Manas’ (Brahmin Families).[citation needed] The ‘Perandoor’ Temple at Edappally is still considered as the root temple of many Nair families of Kadathy, Vellorkunnam and Vazhappilli.
After Indian Independence, Muvattupuzha, as a village union, came under the control of a council of three members nominated by the government. V. P. Govindan Nair was the first president of the village union. A. P. Makkar and Penthitta Gopalan Pillai were the other two members of the council. This council was short-lived. By 1953, Muvattupuzha was declared a Panchayat. Kunnappillil Varkey Vaidyan was the first president of the elected Panchayat Committee. Muvattupuzha was raised to the status of a Municipality in the year 1958. N. Parameshwaran Nair became the first Municipal Chairman. Muvattupuzha made history as the first Municipality where the Communist Party came to power in a general election.
N. P. Varghese had the credit of being elected as the first MLA from Muvattupuzha Assembly Constituency. Later, K. M. George represented Muvattupuzha. The first MP of Muvattupuzha Lok Sabha Constituency was George Thomas Kottukapally. Of all the Municipal Chairmen of the town, P. P. Esthose deserves special mention. He was simultaneously an MLA and the Municipal Chairman of Muvattupuzha. He got state-level recognition as the Chairman of Chamber of Chairmen. In its entire history, he is the only Communist member elected to the Parliament from the constituency.
Demographics
Muvattupuzha is distinguished by the presence of three major religions. They are Hinduism, Christianity and Islam, majority being Hindus. Islam is also a main religion in Muvattupuzha Taluka. Syrian Christians are present in all areas.
As of 2001 India censusGRIndia, Muvattupuzha had a population of 29,230. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. Muvattupuzha has an average literacy rate of 84%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 85%, and female literacy is 82%. In Muvattupuzha, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Many important roads pass through Muvattupuzha. They are Kochi - Madurai NH 49, Muvattupuzha - Punalur state highway, Thekkady-Palarivattom highway, Main Central Road, etc. Muvattupuzha-Theni Highway-A new short route to reach Madurai is started from Chali Bridge touching Randattinkara,Kotta Road,Kalloorkadu,Udumbannur,Nedumkandom to reach Theni.if this road is established,will be a distance saviour for reaching Madurai City Tamil Nadu.
