Punalur


Punalur is a municipality in the Kollam district of Kerala, India. It is the headquarters of the Punalur Taluk and Punalur Revenue Division. It is in the eastern part of the Kollam district of Kerala, on the banks of the Kallada River and foothills of the Western Ghats. It is about northeast of Kollam and north of Thiruvananthapuram.

Geography

Punalur has an average elevation of. Many tourists have visited scenic spots along the Kallada River. The Palaruvi Falls is from Punalur. The first planned ecotourism project in Kerala is only from Punalur on NH 744 towards Sengottai.

Politics

Punalur Assembly constituency is part of the Kollam and Punalur Assembly constituency.
K. Pushpaletha is the sitting Chairperson of Punalur Municipality. P. S. Supal of Communist Party of India is the MLA of Punalur assembly constituency and N. K. Premachandran is MP of Kollam.
The assembly constituency is continuously won by Communist Party of India since 1991. Punalur Municipality is currently ruled by Left Democratic Front.

Climate

Demographics

India census, Punalur had a population of 46,702. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. Punalur 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 Punalur, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Punalur taluk

Punalur taluk, of which Punalur is the centre, consists of 15 revenue villages as listed below:
It is the first paper mill in the Kerala, and one of the oldest paper mills of the country. It was started at Punalur in 1886. The mill used reeds to make paper and was opened by T.J. Cameroon, an industrialist from Britain. One of the mill's customers when they were open was the India Security Press. Up to 1931, Punalur was renamed multiple times. In 1987, the mill which was managed by L.N. Dalmia and had around 1020 employees was shut down due to huge liabilities.

Notable people