| Puttur | |
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| Coordinates | |
| Country | India |
| Region | Tulu Nadu |
| State | Karnataka |
| District(s) | Dakshina Kannada |
| MLA | Mallika Prasad |
| Population | 48,063 (2001[update]) |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+05:30) |
| Area |
• 87 metres (285 ft) |
Puttur (Tulu:ಪುತ್ತೂರು/Kannada:ಪುತ್ತೂರು/Konkani:ಪುತ್ತೂರು) is a town in the Dakshina Kannada district, in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of the Puttur Taluk. The town is located 52 km from Mangalore, along the Mysore-Mangalore highway, in a hilly region between the coast and the Western Ghats. In 2006, it has a population of 48,063. The major occupation of its inhabitants is agriculture. The National Research Centre for Cashew and main CAMPCO Factory is located in Puttur.
The other towns which are very close to Puttur are Sullia (35 km), Uppinangadi (12 km), Bellare (25 km) and Vittla (Vittal) (15 km).
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Puttur is located at .[1] It has an average elevation of 87 metres (285 feet).
The town municipal area comprises portions of surrounding villages namely Balnad, Padnoor, Kabaka, Bannur, Chikkamudnoor, Kemminje, Aryapu villages in addition to the thickly populated Puttur Kasaba, the original Town area. Puttur is also known as the rich town of the district
Puttur Town Municipal Council was formed in the year 1973 by upgrading the Town Panchayath. The area covered by the then TMC was only Puttur Kasaba village extent being 11 km². Later in the year 1996 the portions of adjacent villages, which were developing as part of this Town, were merged to form the present Town Municipality extending the area to 34 km² with 27 councilor wards.
Puttur is the second biggest town in the District, situated on Mangalore-Mysore Highway (Bantwal-Mysore State Highway 88) and is 52 km away from Mangalore, the District head quarter. Puttur was the Taluk Headquarters to the present Sullia Taluk, Belthangady Taluk and present Vittla (Vittal) Firka of Bantwal Taluk. After the taluk reorganization Puttur is the taluk headquarters with 37 Village Panchayaths covering 68 villages. Even after the reorganization of Taluks, Puttur continues to be a center for the economic, educational & medical services for the surrounding Taluks. The southern portion of this Taluk is surrounded by the villages of Kerala State.
Puttur is an agro based town of the Coastal region surrounded by several hillocks with lush green forest situated in the belt of Western ghat heavy rainfall. The Major occupation of the people is agriculture. The crops grown mainly are paddy, areca, coconut, cashew, rubber, cocoa bean, chilli, vanilla, pepper and plantains. In addition dairy farming, sericulture and horticulture activities supplement the earnings of the people to some extent.
It is a joint venture of Government of Karnataka and Government of Kerala. It is an enterprise to promote the welfare of cocoa bean growers of both the states. It is the Biggest Factory of its kind in the Asian Continent with imported machineries from Holland. The Factory produces cocoa butter of which major Portion is exported. The different varieties of Chocolate produced here are having indigenous market and some portion is exported. The Nestle company has an agreement with Campco and produces chocolate in its brand name. This chocolate factory has given a new life to the Cocoa Growers of both the States. When commissioned, this was the largest chocolate factory in the country.
As of 2001[update] India census,[2] Puttur had a population of 48,063. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. The average literacy rate is 79%, which is higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 83%, and female literacy is 75%. About 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.Tulu,Kannada,Konkani and Malayalam are the languages spoken here .
Puttur got its name after pearl "Mutthu" in kannada,Place of pearl "Mutthur" slowly renamed itself to Puttur.The famous believed myth is Centuries ago,due to draught priests were performing rituals with rice as prasad in the Holy pond of Mahalingeshwara temple,suddenly the water started coming from all the corners to turn those rice into pearl.
Rail Puttur railway station falls on the railway line linking Mangalore and Bangalore. It is around 1 km away from heart of the town.
Air The nearest airport is Mangalore International Airport which is at a distance of around 55 km from Puttur
Road Puttur is situated on Mangalore-Mysore state highway and it is 52 km away from Mangalore. It is also connected to the national highway NH-48(Mangalore-Bangalore) through Uppinangadi which is at a distance of 12 km from city.
Another story about the famous Mahalingeshwara temple of Puttur is that elephants can never enter the temple premises. The story goes that once a thief entered the temple and stole the main Idol and when he could not escape he threw the idol into the pond in front of the temple. It went so deep that an Elephant was brought to lift it up. A rope was tied to the idol and dragged by the elephant that Lord Mahalingeshwara became angry with the elephant for dragging him hard and he cursed the elephant that no elephant shall enter the premises of his temple, if entered would fall dead.
Juma Masjid Kallega: It is said that about 300 years ago Tippu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore who was fighting against the British took possession of part of Puttur. A mosque was built in Puttur at Kalle near Puttur. Later the Kalle was called as Kallega by the local people. This is the oldest mosque of town.
Bendru Theertha (Hot Spring): About 15 km from Puttur there is a natural hot water spring (in Tulu language known as Bendru Theertha). It is believed by the local people that the water is said to be more auspicious and a dip in the lake drives away all skin diseases like eczema, allergic rashes and many more ailments. It is situated in a scenic spot by the side of river Seerehole which flows west ward and merges with Arabian Sea. It is the only hot water spring in South India.
Beeramale Hill: Beeramale Hill is an attractive tourism spot of Puttur. The height of the Hill is around 1000 feet from the Sea Level. The Dooradarshan TV Relay Center is recently established on this Hill. An open auditorium, a library are open to public. Sri Vishwakarma Temple is situated on one side of this hill.
Sri Mahalingeshwara Temple: This is an ancient temple of said to be built in 11-12th Century, Lord Shiva (popularly known as Puttur Mahalingeshwara) is main deity of this temple. You will find the photo/idle of this deity in most of the houses/shops in the entire puttur taluk as the deity is believed to be the protector of Puttur Taluk. In the premises of this temple we find unique pond on the western side. It is said that in olden days pearls were found to be growing in the pond. In the local dialect muttu means pearls, which brought the name Mutthur to this place later called as Puttur. During the month of April the car festival is celebrated for 10 days with much gaiety and fervor. The town is at its colorful best with the dazzling, light and marvelous display of fire crackers. More than a lakh people visit Puttur during the festival.
Dr. Shivarama Karanth Balavana: K. Shivaram Karanth, Jnanpith Award recipient stayed here for about 40 years. Dr. Karanth made most of his literary contributions and cultural endeavors at Balavana. He was a literary giant and most of this literary contributions were published here. Those books earned great name and fame for himself and Puttur. Now Balavana is taken over by the Government of Karnataka and a government appointed committee manages this property.
A library of his literary works and an attractive museum is established and is open to the public. A swimming pool was built to teach the children swimming. Summer camps are held here for the children of town and surrounding villages to bring out the hidden talents of children in the field of arts and cultural activities.
Mai De Deus Church: It is one of the ancient church built in 1830 by the Roman Catholic missionaries from Goa in Gothic style. This holy church is renovated with elegant architectural beauty.
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