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Idukki
THE GREAT PILGRIMAGE
The highland district of Kerala
with its mountains, valleys, dams, forests, wildlife, orchids, streams,
scenic points, trekking trails, sanctuaries, hill stations and lakes,
you could call Idukki - God's Own Hideaway.
Idukki, the unspoiled natural queen of Kerala is a tourist paradise. Idukki is the most gifted district of Kerala. With high ranges of altitude varying from 2500 feet above sea level, Idukki is the district where forest and wild life abound. About 1500 Sq.Km. of its area is reserved forest, much of which is home to a variety of flora and fauna. This forest area house wild life like, tigers, deer, Indian bisons and monkeys. Streams, valleys and hills combine to make Idukki an ideal year-round holiday destination.
For the people of Kerala, Idukki is always associated with power generation. About 60% of the State's power needs come from the hydro-electric power station at Moolamattom, the biggest in the state. The famous Idukki arch-dam, the first of its kind in India, is built between two huge granite hills across the river Periyar.
The district's name, 'Idukki' is supposed to be derived from the Malayalam word 'Idukku' which means a narrow gorge. That could be true, for narrow steep-sided valleys are not a strange phenomenon in this hilly district flanked by the Western Ghats in the East. Idukki district was formed on January 26, 1972 carving out Devikulam, Peermade and Udumbanchola taluks from the erstwhile Kottayam district and Thodupuzha taluk from the erstwhile Ernakulam district. This district lies between latitude 9°, 15' and 10°, 21' North and longitude 76°, 37' and 77°, 25' east. The area of the district is 5150.8 Sq. Kms. For purpose of developmental activities it is divided into Eight Community Development Blocks viz., Adimaly, Azhutha, Devikulam, Elamdesom, Idukki, Kattappana, Nedumkandam and Thodupuzha. The District is bounded by Kottayam, and Pathanamthitta districts on the south, Thrissur and Coimbatore districts on the north, Madurai Ramanad and Thirunelveli districts on the east and Ernakulam and Kottayam district in the west. Idukki accounts for 12.9 percent of the area of Kerala and only 3.7 percent of the population of Kerala.
Geographical and climatological characteristics of Idukki district are unique. Anamudi in the Kannandevan hills village of the Devikulam taluk is the highest peak, south of Himalayas. It is 2659 meters (8841 feet) from Mean Sea Level. Except a bit of midland region in the western portions of Thodupuzha taluk, all the remaining area of the district lies in the mountainous tract of the Western Ghats. There are 14 peaks in Idukki which exceed a height of 2000 meters above Mean Sea Level. The climate of the district undergoes a sudden variation as we go from west to east. The western part of the district comprising midland areas experience moderate climate. The eastern part comprising of the high ranges experience cool climate. In high peaks above an elevation of 2400 meters, the temperature at times falls down to freezing point in the winter. Occurrence of mist is usual in the highland regions.
The total area under irrigation in the district is 3281 Ha. The district office of the ground water department is located at Thodupuzha and is headed by a
Hydrogeologist.
Population according to the 1991 census is 10,78,066. Population increased by 11% during the decade ending 1991. Density of population as per 1991 census is 215 per Sq.Km. compared to 192 per Sq.Km of 1981 census.
Total area 5105.22 Sq.Km
Rural 5038.60 Sq.Km
Urban 66.62 Sq.Km
Total Population 10,78,066
Male 5,45,872
Female 5,32,194
Density of population 215 per Sq.Km
Total number of literates 8,16,912
Male 4,31,591
Female 3,85,321
There are 245 tribal settlements in this district. 74 in Thodupuzha, 11 in Peermade, 126 in Devikulam and 34 in Udumbanchola Taluks. The SC/ST population in the district is 2.07 lakhs constituting 19% of the population. Integrated Rural Development Project (IRDP) is being implemented in the district for the development of tribal population. Integrated Co-operative Development Project (ICDP) is also being implemented in the district which is expected to bring improvement in the functioning of Co-operatives and development of infrastructure for further credit flow.
Hilly terrain, lack of proper irrigation facilities and accessibility, forest cover and topography in general make a major portion of the available land unsuitable for cultivation. Even then agriculture and animal husbandry are the main occupation of the people. The occupational distribution of population are as follows
Total workers 3,89,136
Cultivators 75,392
Agricultural labourers 86,030
Cottage & Household Ind. 4,437
Other workers 2,20,783
Marginal workers 39,470
Non-workers 6,84,390
Of the total area of 5,10,522 Ha, 2,17,005 Ha are under cultivation. Non food crops occupies about 90,000 Ha. Small and marginal farmers are predominint in the district. However, in high lands there are comparatively large holdings of plantations owned by corporate bodies and other private agencies. It comes about 1,25,160 Ha. The per capita availability of the land in Idukki district is 0.24 Ha.
Agriculture is the most important segment of the economy and is still the largest source of employment in the district. The major crops grown and the area and production under these crops are furnished here under
Crop Area
(Ha) % age of total
Cropped area Production
(tonnes)
Cardamom 55174 27.23 2935
Pepper 34759 17.15 14096
Rubber 34595 17.07 24479
Tea 23557 11.62 46697
Coconut 14864 7.33 63 (M.Nuts)
Tapioca 6490 3.20 185688
Paddy 5078 2.50 10953
Coffee 10834 5.34 3990
Arecanut 1558 0.77 479 (M.Nuts)
Ginger 1551 0.77 5734
Banana & other Plants 2082 1.01 20878
Jack 3188 1.57 15978 (000's)
Lemon Grass 1476 0.73 99
Cocoa 1418 0.70 619
Mango 1426 0.70 2354
Sugarcane 2768 1.30 17964
Cashew 848 0.42 555
Pappaya 379 0.19 758
Pineapple 188 0.09 1932
Turmeric 192 0.09 454
Seasmum 146 0.07 42
Tamarind 168 0.08 319
Cardamom, Tea, Rubber and Coffee account for more than 50 % of the total cropped area and Pepper occupy about 25%. Paddy cultivation is comparatively less, confined to around 5000 Ha.
Livestock wealth has great significance in the agricultural economy of the district. The Dept. of Animal Husbandry Dairy Development, Livestock Dept. and Milk Marketing Board are involved in the Livestock Development programme in the district. As per the latest survey, there is a total cattle population of 215432 animals in the district, of which 192311 are cows, 20863 are buffaloes and 2258 are sheeps. There are additional population of 504076 of other animals.
About 1/4th forest area of the State is in this district. The total forest area in the district is 260907 Ha. The Social Forestry Dept. has identified about 25000 Ha as grass land degraded forest, failed plantations and waste land for developing it for tree crops such as Eucalyptus, Mahagony, Silver Oak, Acacia.
The district is accessible only by road. The total extend of road lines in the district is about 8000 Kms. of which only less than 1750 Kms are black topped. About 80% of roads are lower type. National Highway NH 49 passes through the district. Rail and Airlink are not available.
There are 99 bank branches of 11 Commercial Banks functioning in the district. More than 80% of the total branches are in rural areas. The Cooperative system in the district is well developed with Idukki District Co-operative Bank as the apex body with 29 branches and 76 Co-operative Credit Societies. The Co-operative societies are generally functioning well in the district. There is also a good network of Co-operative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks and Kerala Financial Corporation in the district.
Name of Taluk Area in Sq. Km No. of Villages
Devikulam 1774.16 13
Thodupuzha 973.29 19
Udumbanchola 1071.40 23
Peermade 1286.37 10
There are 64 Hospitals and 56 Dispensaries in the district
The district has 218 Lower Primary Schools, 111 Upper Primary Schools and 135 High Schools. In addition to these, there are 5 colleges, 1 Polytechnic, 4 Technical High Schools, 2 B.Ed. Centre and 1 Teacher's Training Institute in the district.
There are 27 Police Stations and 2 Police Outposts in the district in addition to the Crime Record Bureau, District Armed Reserve Police Camp, District Special Branch and one Women Police Wing. There are 8 Magistrate Courts, 3 Munisiff Courts, 1 District Court, 1 Additional District Court and 2 Sub-Courts also functioning in the district.
There are 297 Post Offices and 81 Telegraph Offices in the district. Out of 297 Post Offices, 211 have the facility of Public Telephone Calls. There are 22065 Telephone connections in the district. STD/ISD facility is extended to all exchanges in the district. The district is also provided with the facilities of Telex, Fax and Teleprinter.
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