Punnavely

Punnavely
പുന്നവേലി
Village

Anikkattilamma Shiva Parvathy temple
Coordinates: 9°29′28″N 76°41′30″E / 9.4911°N 76.69178°E / 9.4911; 76.69178Coordinates: 9°29′28″N 76°41′30″E / 9.4911°N 76.69178°E / 9.4911; 76.69178
Country  India
State Kerala
District pathanamthitta
Elevation 81 m (266 ft)
Languages
 • Official Malayalam, English
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 689589
Vehicle registration KL
Sex ratio 1058 ♂/♀

Punnavely is a village situated on the border between Pathanamthitta district and Kottayam district in Kerala State, India. Punnavely is a typical Central Tranvancore village with rubber tree plantations, paddy fields and pepper and other spices.

Etymology

'Punna' is the Malayalam term for the Ball Nut tree (Calophyllum inophyllum), and 'Vely' means 'fence'. Punnavely must have been famous for its local fences made of logs and branches from punna trees in the past.

Location

Most areas of the wider Punnavely fall under Anicadu Grama Panchayat, but because of its location at the boundary between two districts, some of the wards are in Nedumkunnam, Kangazha, and Vellavoor panchayats. Manimala River forms the boundary of Punnavely on the East.

Kottayam, Changanacherry, and Thiruvalla are the three major towns (and railway stations) near the village, approximately 25 km away from the village in three different directions. Other small towns nearer to the village are Mallappally, Nedumkunnam and Karukachal (in a radius of 7 km). Nedumkunnam and Mallappaly are famous for the weekly markets where most of the elders from the village go every week for buying and selling things.

The nearest airport is Cochin International Airport at Nedumbassery, approximately 105 km away, however Trivandrum International Airport is also widely used.

Educational institutions

Prominent educational institutions at Punnavely are CMS LP School and CMS High School managed by the local parish, St James CSI Church, which falls under the Church of South India's Madhya Kerala Diocese. MRSLBV School Higher Secondary School at Thelappuzhakadav is very famous, as it is an old school started by Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi of Travancore Princely state. Kumbiluvely Government LP School is located in Kurishunkal.

A Kindernothilfe[1] (KNH) Boarding Home for needy children was functioning in Punnavely for decades but has since moved elsewhere, and the C.S.I. English Medium School now occupies the same building.

Political Inclinations

The village is largely a stronghold of Indian National Congress, although CPI(M) as well as Muslim League have their strong presence. BJP has sympathisers among the Nair and other 'Hindu' communities.There are a few RSS sakhas also active. The politics in the village is strongly influenced by caste and religious concerns.

Religion / Religious institutions

Majority of the Population are Syrian Christians and Hindus. A few Muslims are also present in the area.

Most of the common Kerala Christian denominations (Malankara Marthoma/CSI/Orthodox/Malankara Catholic/Roman Catholic/Protestants etc.) are present here. St.Thomas Marthoma Church (Kallammakkal - St.Thomas Marthoma Yuvajanasakhyam , Punnavely), St James CSI Church at High School Jn. and 4 small churches affiliated to this church, St John's Orthodox Church (alias: Thengumpallil Pally), Little Flower Catholic Church (Syro-Malabar) Punnavely, St. Joseph Catholic Church, Chakkalakunnu (Syro-Malabar) and 2 more Catholic Churches at Mulayamveli & Nooromavu(Syro-Malankara) St. Stephen's CMS Anglican Church, Pattapurayidom, CMS Anglican Church, Ambalathinamkuzhy is also ancient Churches in Punnaveli and all other Christian denominations like Pentecostal Church, India Pentecostal, Church of God, Seventh Day Adventist, Evangilist etc. are in Punnavely. There are two Catholic Convents (Little Flower Convent - Kulathunkal Kavala and SH Convent - Chakkalakkunnu), associated to the Catholic Church.

Two Mosques are situated at Pidannaplavu and Kurunnamveli. Punnavely Muaslim Puthoor Pally and Puthukkudi Puthoor Pally

There is one Hindu temple near Mulayamveli. Other proximal temples are Anikadu Devi Temple (Kavanalkadvu) anikkattilammakshethram and Vaipur Temple( Thelapuzha). Shree Krishna Temple situated at the centre of Noorommavu, Anicadu, managed by Kerala Vishwakarma Mahasabha.

Hospitals and medical institutions

St. Martin's Hospital situated at chakkalakkunnu is the hospital most residents depend upon. A government dispensary at Thelappuzhakkadavu as well as a couple of ayurvedic, homeopathic and dental clinics function in the village. The nearest medical college is at Kottayam. There is a Primary Health Centre at Panakuzhipadi and pullukuthy. There is a vetenerary clinic at Kulatungal kavala.

Facilities

The main post office is near the CMS High School junction and also there is a sub post office functional at Noorommavu. The telephone exchange in the village serves 80% of the area of the Anicadu Panchayat. All major mobile providers like BSNL, Idea, etc. have their network towers in this village. There is a Krishi Bhavan (under the agriculture department) in the village. Two Major Banks, The Catholic Syrian Bank and The Thiruvalla East Cooperative Bank, and four village cooperative banks function in the village.

Culture and population

The village is inhabited by different religious and caste communities. The farmers and the labourers have woven good brotherhood all through the past right. There is a strong outward migration from the village, and the villagers have migrated to the entire world.

Arts, sports and entertainment

Football and volleyball are still alive in the village although the young generation is more inclined to cricket.

Television and radio are very common in the village. Popular magazines also have wide readership. Since there is no Cinema theaters in Punnavely, those who are fond of films go to theaters in nearby towns. Cable TV also is a common form of entertainment. There are two arts/sports clubs.One is Malarvadi Arts and Sports Club (CMS Highschool junction) and the other one is Yuvadeepti arts and sports club (Kulathunkal kavala).

Some important concerns

The village still lacks modern public transport facilities. There are only a very few buses to connect Punnavely with neighbouring towns. The sand mining from the river bed of Manimalayar(river) has been going on despite the ban on it. One can see trucks and JCBs on the road leaving the village with full loads of sand. It is quite sad to see the water level is depleting in the wells in the village due to this anti-environmental activity.

Nowadays the farmers of Punnavely find it difficult to get hands to help them in the various agricultural activities. Cost of production in the agricultural field has also been increased considerably during the years. Consequently, you will find most of the paddy fields being uncultivated and many of them being used for vegetable or tapioca cultivation. A lot of paddy fields have been converted to build houses, too.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.kindernothilfe.de/lang/eng/

Edited By Ajmal Shajahan Punnavely

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