Kalpetta is the largest and first City, Town and municipality in the Wayanad district of the Indian state of Kerala. Kalpetta is the headquarters of Wayanad district,[2] as well as the headquarters of Vythiri taluk.[3] It is a bustling city, town surrounded by dense coffee and tea plantations and mountains. It lies on the Kozhikode-Mysore National Highway NH 766 (formerly NH 212) at an altitude of about 780 m above sea level. Kalpetta is 72 km from Kozhikode and 140 km from Mysore.

Kalpetta
Kalpetta Civil Station complex entrance in December, 2013
Kalpetta Civil Station complex entrance in December, 2013
Kalpetta is located in Kerala
Kalpetta
Kalpetta
Location in Kerala, India
Kalpetta is located in India
Kalpetta
Kalpetta
Kalpetta (India)
Coordinates: 11°37′21″N 76°04′53″E / 11.622550°N 76.081252°E / 11.622550; 76.081252
Country India
StateKerala
DistrictWayanad
Area
 • Total
40.74 km2 (15.73 sq mi)
Elevation
780 m (2,560 ft)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total
31,580
 • Density780/km2 (2,000/sq mi)
Languages
 • OfficialMalayalam, English
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
673121 (Kalpetta Head PO), 673122 (Kalpetta North)
Telephone code+91 4936
Vehicle registrationKL-12
Websitehttp://www.kalpettamunicipality.in

Apart from being the administrative capital of the district, Kalpetta is also the main hub of tourism activities in Wayanad due to its central location within the district and its proximity to most visited tourist sites. There is a good number of hotels and resorts within and surrounding the city of Kalpetta.

Etymology

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It is believed that the early Jain residents who migrated from Karnataka had named the place "Kalpetta". In Kannada, the words "Kal" and "Pettah" mean "deposits of stones". Rocks, large and small, are found throughout the landscape of Kalpetta. Hence this name was derived.[citation needed]

History

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Chambra peak

Entire north kerala was under Samoothirpaad's rule it was never under any other rule. Samoothiri's tasted defeat for the first time in 400 centuries when tipu sultan attacked with rockets. After that only British gained control[citation needed]

In Wayanad, the Indian independence movement started first at Kalpetta. The first political conference was held in 1921 under the leadership of Dharmaraja Iyer. K. P. Kesava Menon and A. K. Gopalan participated in this meeting. Formation of the committee of Indian National Congress also occurred around the same time. Father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi visited Kalpetta on 1934 January 14.[4]

Kalpetta became the headquarters when Wayanad district was formed on 1 November 1980. Kalpetta was still a Village Panchayath when it became district headquarters and it attained Municipality status on 1 April 1990.

Demographics

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As of 2011 India census,[5] Kalpetta had a population of 31,580. Males constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. In Kalpetta, 11% of the population is under the age of 6.

 
SKMJ School, Kalpetta
 
Jain Temple
 
Writer Kalpetta Narayanan
 
Civil Station

People

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Being the district headquarters, Kalpetta is home to a large number of government offices. Besides, the district level offices of Media Houses, Political Parties etc. also function out of Kalpetta. Hence a large section of the population of Kalpetta are office-goers. Like elsewhere in Kerala, Hindus, Muslims and Christians live in harmony in Kalpetta. There is a significant Jain population also in Kalpetta.

Transport

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Kalpetta has very good road connectivity with the rest of Kerala and neighbouring South Indian cities. NH766 connects Kalpetta with Kozhikode and Mysore. State Highways connect Kalpetta with Ooty in Tamil Nadu and Madikeri in Karnataka. En route to Mysore on NH 766, past Wayanad district boundary, which is also the Kerala state boundary, NH 766 passes through Bandipur National Park. There is a night traffic ban imposed on this stretch from 9pm to 6am since 2009.[6] The alternate road to take is, leave NH 766 at Kalpetta and proceed to Mysore through Mananthavady, Kutta, Gonikoppal, and Hunsur.

The nearest airport is Calicut International Airport, 90  km from Kalpetta. Kannur international airport is 100 km from Kalpetta

Tourist attractions

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Economy

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The Wayanad dairy of Milma (Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation) is situated at Chuzhali within Kalpetta Municipal Limits. There is a Mini Industries Park promoted by Kinfra at Kalpetta. Several small scale industries function out of this Park. Tourism and hospitality industry experienced a boom in recent years. This has led to mushrooming of resorts throughout Wayanad, with the largest concentration of hotels and resorts at Kalpetta and adjoining areas within Vythiri taluk.

Education

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  1. Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Pookode (14 km from Kalpetta)
  2. College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at Pookode (14  km from Kalpetta)
  3. Oriental School of Hotel Management located at Lakkidi (15  km from Kalpetta)
  4. Aster DM WIMS Medical College located at Meppadi (15  km) is the only Medical College in Wayanad district
  5. College of Dairy Science and Technology, Pookode offers B.Tech. degree course in Dairy Science & Technology
  6. WMO Arts and Science College, Muttil, Kalpetta North
  7. Aster DM WIMS Nursing College located at Meppadi
  8. Aster DM WIMS Pharma College, Meppadi
  9. Kendriya Vidyalaya, Kalpetta
  10. SKMJ Higher Secondary School, Kalpetta
  11. De Paul Public School, Kalpetta
  12. NSS Higher Secondary School, Kalpetta
  13. HIM UP School, Kalpetta
  14. Govt.College, Vellaramkunnu, Kalpetta.
  15. St: Joseph's Convent School, Kalpetta.
  16. Jawahar Navodaya, Kalpetta
  17. M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Kalpetta
  18. MCF Public School, Kalpetta
  19. Kristhuraja Public School, Kalpetta
  20. Govt. LP School, Kalpetta
  21. GVHSS Kalpetta
  22. KeyPees International School, Kunnampetta
  23. Falah Green Valley School, Kalpetta
  24. SDMLP School, Kalpetta
  25. Amrita Vidyalaya, Kalpetta
  26. WMO Higher Secondary School, Muttil, Kalpetta North
  27. GLPS Edapetty, Kalpetta North
  28. St. George ALP School, Kolavayal, Kalpetta North
  29. Prerana Special School, Kalpetta

Notable personalities

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Climate

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Climate data for Kalpetta, Kerala
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 27.2
(81.0)
28.8
(83.8)
30.4
(86.7)
30.4
(86.7)
29.4
(84.9)
25.9
(78.6)
24.4
(75.9)
25.1
(77.2)
26.0
(78.8)
26.6
(79.9)
26.5
(79.7)
26.5
(79.7)
27.3
(81.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 16.7
(62.1)
17.9
(64.2)
19.5
(67.1)
20.8
(69.4)
20.8
(69.4)
19.7
(67.5)
19.3
(66.7)
19.4
(66.9)
19.2
(66.6)
19.4
(66.9)
18.6
(65.5)
17.0
(62.6)
19.0
(66.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 4
(0.2)
10
(0.4)
19
(0.7)
99
(3.9)
210
(8.3)
664
(26.1)
1,229
(48.4)
637
(25.1)
275
(10.8)
239
(9.4)
92
(3.6)
24
(0.9)
3,502
(137.8)
Source: Climate-Data.org[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Kerala (India): Districts, Cities and Towns - Population Statistics, Charts and Map".
  2. ^ "Kalpetta". india9. Retrieved 14 October 2006.
  3. ^ Taluks of Kerala
  4. ^ "Kalpetta History". kalpettamunicipality. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  5. ^ "Kalpetta Census 2011 data". censusindia. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  6. ^ "Bandipur-road-to-be-closed-at-night". DNA India. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  7. ^ "CLIMATE: KALPETTA", Climate-Data.org. Web: [1].
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