Aluva ആലുവ
—  suburb  —
Aluva Location of Aluva in Kerala and India
Coordinates	10°07′00″N 76°21′00″E / 10.1167°N 76.3500°E / 10.1167; 76.3500Coordinates: 10°07′00″N 76°21′00″E / 10.1167°N 76.3500°E / 10.1167; 76.3500
Country	India
State	Kerala
District(s)	Ernakulam
Established	1921
Mayor	M. T. Jacob
Population • Density	24,110 (2001[update]) • 3,358 /km2 (8,697 /sq mi)
Sex ratio	1000:1050 ♂/♀
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	7.18 square kilometres (2.77 sq mi) • 8 metres (26 ft)
Codes • Pincode • 6831xx • Telephone • +91.484 • UN/LOCODE • AWY • Vehicle • KL 41
Website	www.aluvamunicipality.in

Aluva (Malayalam: ആലുവ, formerly Alwaye), is a suburb of Kochi in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, India. Located on the River Periyar, Aluva is the industrial epicentre of the state.^[1] A major transportation hub, with easy access to all major forms of transportation, Aluva acts as corridor which links the highland districts to the rest of the state. The proximity of the Naval Armament Depot - one of the six in the country ^[2]- situated in the outskirts of the town makes Aluva a strategically important town.

Aluva, home to the summer residency of the Travancore royal family - the Alwaye Palace -^[3] is also famous for the Sivarathri festival celebrated annually at the sandbanks of Periyar. The Advaita Ashrams in Aluva founded in 1913 by Sree Narayana Guru, one of India's greatest social reformers adds to the cultural significance of the town.^[4] Today, whilst part of the Kochi urban agglomeration, Aluva is an autonomous municipality, its civic administration conducted by Aluva Municipal Council. The town also serves as the administrative centre of the Aluva taluk.

History[link]

Archaeologists have found evidence of settlements in Aluva as far back as 250 BC.^[5] The place used to be a continuous area of land spread across Kakkanad and Alangad; historians have recorded that it was so up to AD 1341. The town, by then thickly populated, became a holiday resort and a centre of commerce.^[6] Mangalappuzha, a branch of Periyar which bifurcates at Aluva was known to be the nerve centre of trade and commerce in this part of South India. Before Indian independence, Aluva was part of the Kingdom of Travancore and was the official summer residence of the royal family.

The etymology of the name of the town of Aluva has been the subject of speculation for centuries. One of the more accepted version relates to the mythological story of Hindu god Shiva drinking the Kalakootam poison to save the world. It is said that Shiva with the poison -Alam- in his mouth -Vaa- was made in to a deity which was then rested in a temple in Aluva.^[7] The Sivarathri festival for which the town is famous for is celebrated in the honor of Shiva.

Demographics[link]

Aluva Shiva Temple

Marthandavarma Bridge

As per the 2001 Indian census,^[8] Aluva had a population of 24,110.^[9] The sex ratio of the population is 1050-1000 tilted in favour of the females. Aluva has an average literacy rate of 96.29%;^[7] much higher than the national average of 75.06%. 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Politics[link]

Aluva is a constituency in the Kerala Legislative Assembly. The Aluva assembly constituency is part of the Chalakudy (Lok Sabha constituency).^[10] It is a minority community constituency and only Christian or Muslim candidates are elected. It was part of Ernakulam (Lok Sabha constituency) till 2009.

Administratively, Aluva is a municipality.^[11] The current municipal council is ruled by Indian National Congress Party, led by M. T. Jacob who was elected municipal chairman unopposed after the opposition staged a walkout prior to the election.

Education[link]

Servant of God Varghese Payapilly Palakkappilly had served as the manager of St. Mary's High School (1913–20, 1922–29) and founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Destitute (S.D.) in Chunangamvely on 19 March 1927.^[12]Union Christian College of Alwaye, founded in 1921 is one of the oldest and prominent institution in the field of education. SCMS Group of institutions, St Xavier's college, Al-Ameen College Edathala, KMEA Engineering College, MES College Aluva etc. are some of the other premier institutions in Aluva. CUSAT, Kochi, a prominent university in the state, has its main campus at a distance of 10 km from Aluva.^[13]

Tourism[link]

Popular tourist spots include:

• Sivarathri manappuram
• Aluva Palace
• Periyar banks
• Municipal Park
• Sivagiri Ashram
• Market Church
• Aluva Masjid
• Sree Krishna Temple

Tourists would find the Manappuram on the left as a long stretch of sand bank followed by a plain. In the festive weeks of Sivarathri lakhs gather here.

By going downtown from the NH bypass after the bridge, you will be heading the Bank Jn. Following the road ahead would take you to the Palace Road. This road runs the Periyar parallelly intervened by The Municipal Park, Aluva Palace(now the Guest House), and Sivagiri Ashram. They planted the trees in their compounds for the sake of providing relief for others. Sivagiri Ashram has a small temple which worships Sree Narayana Guru. The SIVAGIRI kindergarten is situated there.

Aluvarailwaystation

Aluva Railway Station1

Bank junction aluva

Bypass junction Aluva

Aluva-Bridge

Municipal Bus station aluva

Federal bank head office aluva

Aluva Railway Station[link]

Aluva Railway Station is a major stop for every train that passes North to South of Kerala, though there are exceptions. The station is so important for southern railway because of the quantity of passengers itself. The commuters and travelers from Idukki district have only this station for all their train journeys as there is no possible railway in the Idukki topography. But the people of Idukki district hopes the much awaited Angamaly-Sabarimala track would be completed as early as possible.

There are no trains starting or ending at this station because There are two much important stations just a few km from here. Ernakulam South st. and North st. But there are a lot of trains which stop for considerable durations here. goto http://www.indiantrains.org/station-details/?code=AWY&name=ALUVA for more details.

Aluva Railway station is situated at the railway station road junction near the KSRTC Stand. Talking about the KSRTC stand, this vast transport mini-hub hosts many buses from Ernakulam to the major districts and a lot of City LOW FLOOR BUSES both A/c and non A/c s. The travelers stopping here would get a huge choice of refreshments around the junction. The ones who prefer a heavier food can drive a bit more to the road ahead to find delighting food courts and family restaurants.

Junctions[link]

There are small junctions in the town which connects all the major roads once every kilometer. The Pump Junction is the busiest junction, situated near the main Aluva Water Pump - hence getting the name. This spot is situated near the CSI complex and the Matha-Madhurya theatre twins. This junction connects the Railway-KSRTC stations with the Aluva-perumbavoor transport route and the bank junction.

The Bank Junction is situated near the FEDERAL bank building and hence the name too. The palace road meets this junction along with the road from Private Bus Terminal(Rajiv Gandhi Bus Terminal) and a small road from the Periyar bank institutions hosting the Krishna Temple, a mosque and the municipal Park. Federal Bank had remained the tallest building in Aluva till a few years ago, when apartment towers started to appear.

Parur Junction is another Junction, but a bit more larger and crowder. This junction has nothing to share with Paravoor other than the old road to Paravoor. Some buses from Paravur arrives at Aluva via this junction. A petrol pump is situated nearby and a small road leads to the Manappuram. This junction is situated in the NH-47, passing through Aluva.

Airport Junction is situated before the Parur Junction which opens to the airport road. The juncion is of the size of a small baseball pitch. The Airport road leads to the Nedumbassery airport. This junction is situated in the NH also.

The NH-Bypass Junction is situated just after the Marthanda Bridge through which one can go downtown from the NH to Aluva. This is a major Junction among all in the whole district. The junction never remained empty even if there are many byways to escape the roadblocks and quick shuffling signal lamps. A flyover from Pulinchode junction opens here opposite to the twin bridges from the manappuram junction. All those major highlights made this Junction the biggest in Aluva.

From Ankamali side the order of the Jn.s are like this.

• NH 47 :- Airport Jn. -> Parur Jn. -> Manappuram Jn. -> (Bridges) -> NH-Bypass Jn. -> Pulinchode Jn. : To Kalamassery
• Downtown from NH-Bypass Jn :- Bank Jn. -> Pump Jn.
• Right to pump Jn. :- Railway Station Jn. -> Taluk Hospital Jn.
• Left to Pump Jn. :- Theatre Jn.(take right from here) -> Zeenath Jn.

left from Taluk hospital Jn. and this Zeenath Jn. would meet at The Powerhouse Jn. and hence Aluva Munnar Road. Ahead along this road would lead to Assisi Jn.asokapuarm.

Theatres[link]

Four major theaters of Ernakulam district are in Aluva. The Matha Theater and the Madhurya theater are in the same building. This is the first digital dolby theater in Aluva. Zeenath, just 1 km from the former, is famous for introducing UFO-moviez digital projection (Keerthichakra - 1st in Kerala) in Aluva. CASINO is a bit farther from these three. These theaters had been entertaining the people of Aluva for decades.

Matha and Casino are powered by UFO-cinemas and, Zeenath is powered by UFO-moviez. Madhurya runs in a dual mode, but under the UFO group itself. Large buildings do hold whole lot of people, probably the whole Aluvaians. All these are Full A/c multistoried halls with ultra modern state of art technology projectors assembled aback.

Uliyannur[link]

Uliyannur is a fantastic traditional and cultural spot in Aluva. This mysterious place is surrounded by many epics which tell a lot stories about the place centuries ago. Scrolls say that Perunthachan, a figure in the "Parayi petta panthirukulam" contributed his unique engineering works in this small isthmus. The place got its name from the epic that Perunthachan, consciously or not, dropped his 'Uli'(a sharp building apparatus) on to his son's neck which eventually killed him. Even though it's an insane anecdote, you would agree to him if you read the real "Aitheehyamala" by Kottarathil Sankunni. Uliyannur temple is famous for this event and its power. The God's presence can be felt at all the temples just as any others.

The place was proved to host very ancient civilizations near the Periyar bank. The canal system which is about 1000 years of age is stunning. A bridge starts from this place and ends at Paravur Junction! But it shall only be used for walking. The bridge platform is entirely on marble pieces. It is so narrow and tall that, when it crosses the huge Periyar, one can faint if he doesn't have a brave mind. The bridge was built by the British.

See also[link]

• Karingamthuruth, a village near Aluva

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Aluva

Aluva Sivarathri festival Aluva Railway Station Aluva West Aluva East