District Profile

KOZHIKODE- Gateway to the Western World

District  Head Quarters	Kozhikode
Area	2,344 Sq.Km
Population	28,78,498
Literacy	92%

 

 

Geographical hints: - 71 Km Seashore. North-east area covering forest. Embilasserry, Nattuvaram, Mottila are the important hills.

Rivers: Kuttiyadi, Korapuzha, Kallai, Chaliyar,Kadalundi  and Mayyazhi.

Total forest land : 41,386 Hectare
          Opening up the gateway of India to Vasco-da-Gama the adventurous Portuguese navigator in 1498, Kozhikkod has carved for itself a landmark in the history of India. The land of the ancient Zamorins had many more things to offer to the western world other than the savoury spices for which they even ventured to discover a sea route.
          Occupying a prominent place in the international trade map of the country right from the 13th century Kozhikkod paved the way for trade tourism in India. This trade centre is regaining much of its ancient glory by opening up air routes to Persian Gulf and other regions.

Kappad
            Vasco da Gama landed on this beach on 27 May 1498 with three vessels and 170 men. Sixteen Kms from Kozhikkod town this extensive beach of historical importance is one of the major beaches being developed in Kerala with a view to tourism promotion.

Kallai
             Kallai on the bank of River Kallai has the pride of being the major timber trading centre in Kerala. It still remains a potential trade centre of the timber industry.

Vadakara
           Vadakara has a prominent place in the folkore of Kerala. Lokanarkavu, the famous temple of Thacholi Othenan the hero of the Vadakkanpattu Ballads is only 5 Kms from here. Vadakara is reverberating with stories of the heroic exploits of Othenan.

              Following the footsteps of the martial hero Othenan the famous martial art form of Kerala. Kalarippayattu has several arenas in Vadakara.The erstwhile Malabar district of British India became a part of the newly formed Kerala  state on November 1st 1956. And a new revenue district named Kozhikode was formed on 1st  January  1957. Calicut is the anglicized form of ‘Kalikut’, the Arabic word for the Malayalam Kozhikode. It is also called ‘cock fort’. According to historian, K.V.Krishna Iyyer the term means Koyil (palace) Kodu (fortified). Anyhow it is a historical town with a rich past to proud of.

.: History :.

              Kozhikode was known to the world even before Christ as the Centre of Malabar, the land of Spices and festivals. Traders have been coming here for  centuries in search of  spices and other precious commodities. Vascoda Gama opened the gateway to India by landing at ‘Kappad’, 16 Kms north of Kozhikode city in May 1498 as the leader of a trade mission from Portugal. He was welcomed by the Zamorin of Calicut.  Kozhikode attained a position of pre-eminence in the trade of pepper and other spices since 13th Century, which made it an ‘Indian Emporium’ of international trade. As Kozhikode offered full freedom and security, the Arabs and Chinese merchants preferred it to all other parts.
             The major sources of income of the people of Kozhikode are agriculture, fisheries and industries. Agriculture is the main occupation of the people and it continues to be the primary economic source of the district. According to the latest census report agriculture provides full time employment to 15.52 percent of the total workers. More than half of the income of the district is from agriculture and allied sectors. Heterogeneity in Cultivation Practices and diversity in cropping patterns are the important features of agriculture in the district. The predominant crops of the low land and the mid land regions are Coconut, paddy, tapioca, ginger, Areconut and pepper, while plantation crops like cocoa, coffee etc are dominant in the high land regions.
The natural forests fall made three main categories, the southern tropical most deciduous, Western tropical west evergreen and semi ever green. The important rivers of district are Mahe river, the Morrad (Kutttiadi river), the Korapuzha, the Kallai river, the Chaliyar and the Kadalundi river. The total area under forests in Kozhikode district is estimated as 291.2268 Sq.Kms., that is reserve forests 86.1388 Sq.Kms and vested forests 205.0880 Sq.Kms

Topography
Topographically the district includes three distinct region – the Sandy belt, the rocky highlands formed by the hilly portion of the Western Ghats and lateritic midland. The total area of the district is2344 Sq.Kms, comprising 362.85 sq.Kms of Sandy Coastal belt, 1343.50 Sq.Kms of lateritic midlands, and 636.765 Sq.Kms of rocky high lands. The district has a coastal length of about 80 Kms. The highland region accounts for 29.80 percent and the low land region for 15.55 percent of the total area of district. Kozhikode district has one City Corporation, Two municipalities, three taluks, and 117 villages.

Kozhikode District at a glance

Land structure

             The total area of the district is 2345 Sq. Kms. Out of these 336 Sq. Kms fall under urban area and the remaining 2009 Sq. Kms falls under rural area.The district is bounded on the north by Kannur district, on the east by Wayanad district, on the south by Malappuram district and on the west by the Arabian Sea. Kozhikode district is situated between n North latitudes 11.08’ and 11.50’ and East longitudes 75.30’ and 76.08’. The area of this district is 2345 Sq.Kms.

Source : Final  Population Totals (Supplement 2001)

        The natural forests fall made three main categories, the southern tropical most deciduous, Western tropical west evergreen and semi ever green. The important rivers of district are Mahe river, the Morrad (Kutttiadi river), the Korapuzha, the Kallai river, the Chaliyar and the Kadalundi river. The total area under forests in Kozhikode district is estimated as 291.2268 Sq.Kms., that is reserve forests 86.1388 Sq.Kms and vested forests 205.0880 Sq.Kms.
DISTRICT INCOME
            The major sources of income of the people of Kozhikode are agriculture, fisheries and industries. Agriculture is the main occupation of the people and it continues to be the primary economic source of the district. According to the latest census report agriculture provides full time employment to 15.52 percent of the total workers. More than half of the income of the district is from agriculture and allied sectors. Heterogeneity in Cultivation Practices and diversity in cropping patterns are the important features of agriculture in the district. The predominant crops of the low land and the mid land regions are Coconut, paddy, tapioca, ginger, areca nut and pepper, while plantation crops like cocoa, coffee etc are dominant in the high land regions.
Fishing is the main occupation of a large number of people in the coastal belt. Fishing industry makes sizable contribution to the economy of the district. The major fish landing centres are Beypore, Vellayil, Puthiyappa, Koyilandy, Vatakara, and Chombala.
Another major source of income of the people of Kozhikode is industry. There are large scale and small-scale industries like textiles, steel, tiles, soap, cosmetics, oils, wheat flour, coir, printing & publishing, Timber, Seafood processing in this district. Kallai was known as the world’s best timber trading centre. Feroke is the cradle of the tile industry in Kerala. Majority of the people who live in the rural areas win their bread from agriculture related occupations. As the 2001 census reveals 15.52 % of the total workers makes their livelihood engaging in this area. The local people are engaged in coolie works. They get jobs at irregular intervals. The head load workers, coconut tree climbers, female farmers etc.. belong to this category. Labourers, skilled workers form a major section of the population. Drivers, Artisans, Tailors, Spinners, Carpenters, Masons, Plumbers, Fabricators, Electricians etc... are skilled workers.
The traditional labours like barbers, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, and cobblers are another category. Employees both in public and private sector constitute a small portion of the total working population.
The most important thing about the occupational status of the district is that a large number of people depend up on Gulf countries for their livelihood. They contribute greatly for the economical advancement of the district.
POPULATION
The population of the district as per census 2001 is 28, 78,498, which comes about 9.0% to total population of the state. As per this report Kozhikode stands in the fifth place in the district population rate of Kerala. The male population of this district is 1398674 and the female population is 1479824. The density of the population of this district is 1228 Sq.Kms and the sex ratio is 1058. The population of the district has recorded an increase of 9.87% as per the 2001 census. The district has an urban population of 10, 00,104 and a rural population of 16, 09,579. Over 61.58% of the district population comes under the rural area.
Density of Population
As per the census 2001 density of population in Kozhikode district is 1228. The block wise details are given below. Source : Final  Population Totals (Supplement 2001)

Block (CD)	Area in Sq. Km	Population	Density of Population
Balussery	278.5	231764	832
Panthalayani	69.5	104575	1505
Kozhikode	92.7	327265	3530
Chelannur	138.7	208450	1503
Kunnamangalam	324.5	303354	935
Kunnummal	262.5	189745	723
Melady	84.1	126008	1498
Thuneri	144	135116	938
Perambra	275	159273	579
Koduvally	390.5	261710	670
Thodannur	97	127467	1314
Vatakara	50.9	123016	2417
Kozhikode Coro	84.29	436556	5179
Vatakara Mun	21.32	75847	3558
Koyilandy Mun	29.09	68982	2375

 

EDUCATIONAL PROFILE
There are 1054 primary schools and 313 secondary schools in the district at the end of the year 2001-02 under general education department. In the secondary school  level there are 78 higher secondary schools and 28 Vocational higher secondary schools, and 3 Technical schools. The fisheries technical higher secondary high schools are situated at  Koyilandy, Beypore and madappally there is residential school at vatakara. At Silver hills there is Juwanile Home also.   In the higher educational sector the district has 1 Medical College, 4 Engineering Colleges, 3 Poly Techniques, 1 Dental college, 1 Homoeopathic Medical College, 4 Industrial Training Institutes, 1 Physical Education college and 1 Oriental textile institute. In the teacher training sector there are 8 Colleges of Teacher Education (CTE) (out of these 3 are University teacher education centres.), 4 Teacher Training Institutes and 1 DIET. The DIET has both pre-service and in-service units. The pre-service units conduct T.T.C. course where as in service unit comprises 6 different units namely Educational Technology, District Resource Unit, IFIC, CMDE, Planning and Management and work experience to provide in service training to primary teachers. In addition to these there are 25 Arts and Science Colleges and 1 Law College under the University of Calicut.

Details of Schools IN KOZHIKODE District
Standard- wise number of L.P Schools (I -IV, I -V,I-VII &V-VII)

 

Standard- wise number of High Schools

 

There are 379 Govt Schools, 826 Aided Schools and 41 Unaided Schools in the District. And a total number of 1246 Schools