Ambalamedu is a small township located in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a 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 regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Ambalamedu is located near the border of the former states of

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

and

Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

and lies on a lake.

History

Ambalamedu is now associated with the Cochin Division of the Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd. (FACT), a public enterprise. FACT, then under its illustrious chairman and managing director, M.K.K. Nair, acquired about 1500 acres (6 km²) of land in the mid-1960s for the construction of an

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . A stable binary hydride, and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinct pungent smell. Biologically, it is a common nitrogenous wa ...

and

urea Urea, also known as carbamide, is an organic compound with chemical formula . This amide has two amino groups (–) joined by a carbonyl functional group (–C(=O)–). It is thus the simplest amide of carbamic acid. Urea serves an important ...

manufacturing plants. Construction of the factory and the township commenced in 1966 under the able supervision of Chief Engineer Ranganathan. The native population that held agricultural land in the area were rehabilitated outside the township. To meet the high demand of water in manufacturing fertilizer, over 250 acres (1 km²) of paddy fields were converted into a lake by constructing an earthen dam and water brought in through a canal from Bhoothathankettu dam, near

Kothamangalam Kothamangalam, , is a municipality in Ernakulam district of Kerala, India. The town is in the foothills of the Western Ghats, and is a part of the Idukki Lok Sabha constituency. The town serves as the headquarters of a taluk and a municipality ...

. At the centre of the lake is an island on which the Ambalamedu House is situated. An exquisite building complex that blends modern architecture with the traditional Kerala style, it served as the division's main guest house. Along the shores of the lake are houses built incorporating many elements of Kerala's unique architecture. Most of the houses overlook the lake with no buildings to obstruct the view. The township is thus a very rare example of a planned industrial township that is designed in the most aesthetic manner accentuating the beauty and ambience of nature surrounding it. With conserving many trees and rare plants, the township is built beautifully in a lush greenery with all major facilities including, schools, parks, stores and hospital, which makes it one of its kind. Ambalamedu flourished from the 1960s through the 1990s. It was truly a tranquil paradise that so marvellously masked the grime and smoke of the industrial complex surrounding it. Unfortunately, with the public sector company in financial trouble due to the liberalization of the markets and consequent loss of government subsidies for fertilizer manufacture while under a regulated price regime, Ambalamedu township fell into bad times. Wanton pollution from the nearby factories such as Carbon Black near Karimugal turned it into an undesirable place to live. FACT employees slowly abandoned the township and today many of the houses remain empty and in a very poor state of repair.

Landmarks

* Ambalamedu High School

Temples

Harimattom temple is the famous in ambalamedu. "Shankara Narayana" sangamam is the speciality of this temple. "Harimattom Pooram" is the famous celebration in here. Various cultural and traditional activities can arranged in here. "Ambalamedu kalakshettra" is the one of the part of this temple. It should have a traditional background.various famous persons presented various traditional programs. "Ambalamedu Kalakshettra" is the heart beat of ambalamedu.

Location

Ambalamedu is around 8 kilometers from

Tripunithura Thrippunithura or Tripunithura (), is a prominent historical and residential region in the City of Kochi in Kerala, India. Located about 7 km (4 mi) from the city centre, Tripunithura was the capital of the erstwhile Kingdom of Cochin ...

on the way from Thripunithura to Aluva via Karimugal. The distance from Aluva to Ambalamedu is 20 kilometers.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite book , last1 = Communications , first1 = I. , last2 = Mathew , first2 = B. , title = Pilgrimage to Temple Heritage 2017 , year = 2017 , isbn = 978-81-934567-0-5 , url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_II5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA199 , access-date = June 18, 2018 , page = 199 , quote = Pratishta Vardhanti or Anniversary, which falls in February, is also celebrated as a special festival day in the Mandir Complex. The Temple complex Location: Ambalamedu is situated at about 15 km from Ernakulam town and is about 5 km from ... Cities and towns in Ernakulam district