Alappad is a coastal village in the

Kollam district Kollam district (), (formerly Quilon district) is one of 14 List of districts in Kerala, districts of the state of Kerala, India. The district has a cross-section of Kerala's natural attributes; it is endowed with a long coastline, a major La ...

of the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n state

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

. It is situated on a narrow strip of land sandwiched between the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

and the TS Canal – the village is approximately 16 km long and its narrowest point is as thin as 33 meters. Connect to the mainland is by bridge as well as by country boat ferries, operated by the Panchayat and private parties. Until recently there was only one bridge at the southern point of the land strip, but after the 2004 tsunami, two other bridges have been constructed. The protests are taking place in the village against Unscientific sand mining by IREL.

Administration

Alappad village is a ward of the panchayat of the same name. Often, the whole panchayat is referred as Alappad; however, the panchayat actually consists of various wards/places such as Srayikkadu, Azheekal, Kuzhithura, Parayakadavu, Cheriazheekkal, Pandarathuruthu.Vellanathuruth

2004 tsunami

Portions of the village were damaged during the 2004 tsunami. Alappad was the worst-affected village in Kerala – several people lost their lives. After the tragedy, the state government realised need for more bridges, and constructed one bridge at northern Azheekal, and another one at Cheriyazhekkal

Mineral sand mining

The

public sector undertaking Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) in India are State-owned enterprise, government-owned entities in which at least 51% of stake is under the ownership of the Government of India or State governments of India, state governments. These types of f ...

Kollam Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the List of cities and towns in Kerala, fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake ...

, Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited (KMML) and

Indian Rare Earths IREL (India) Limited is an Indian Public Sector Undertaking based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It specializes in mining and refining rare earth metals. It has installed capacity to process about 10,000 MT of rare earth bearing mineral. As regards p ...

(IRE) started mineral sand mining in the Alappad. The local residents of Alappad started the strike against black sand mining by raising the slogan 'Save Alappad, Stop Mining'.

Demographics – 2011 census data

The residents of Alappad are mostly

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

s. The village is home to many temples. Temples act as places of worship, and temple committees play a crucial role in temple administration and festivals which play important role in social life.

Notable residents

Mata Amritanandamayi Sri Mātā Amritānandamayī Devi (born Sudhamani Idamannel; 27 September 1953), often known as Amma ("Mother"), is an Indian Hindu spiritual leader, guru and humanitarian, who is revered as 'the hugging Hindu saint, saint' by her followers ...

, renowned Hindu Sanyasin, spiritual leader and philanthropist was born in Parayakadavu.

Mata Amritanandamayi Math The Mata Amritanandamayi Math (MAM) is an international charitable organization aimed at the spiritual and material upliftment of humankind. It was founded by Indian people, Indian spiritual leader and humanitarian Mata Amritanandamayi in 1981 ...

is located in Parayakadavu.

References

External links

Kollam District official websiteQuilon.comAlappadpanchayat
{{Kollam district Villages in Kollam district Black sand beaches