Chelari also known as Mele Chelari (upper side) and Thazhe Chelari (lower side) is a census town in Tenhipalam panchayat,

Tirurangadi Tirurangadi is a municipal town in Malappuram district of the Indian state Kerala. It is a historic town famed for its active participation in the freedom struggle, especially those dating back to the 1920s. It serves as a local taluk and i ...

taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative ...

Malappuram district Malappuram (), is one of the List of districts of Kerala, 14 districts in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala, with a coastline of . The most populous district of Kerala, Malappuram is home to around 13% of the tot ...

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 ...

, India. It has a population of 19,483 as per 2001 census, consisting of 9,586 males and 9,897 females. It formed a portion of the

Malappuram metropolitan area The Malappuram Metropolitan Area or Malappuram Urban Agglomeration is an urban agglomeration centred around the city of Malappuram, Manjeri in Malappuram district, Kerala, India. It is the 25th largest urban agglomeration in India and the 4th ...

as of 2011 Census. Chelari Airport is the first

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

in the Malabar region. It is the main commercial place in Tenhipalam panchayat.

Geography

Chelari Town is situated in the north-west region of

, about 35 km away from district headquarters

Malappuram Malappuram (also Malapuram) () is a municipality and town in Kerala and the headquarters of the Malappuram district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Kerala, 4th largest urban agglomeration in Kerala and ...

and 11 km north of Taluk headquarters

. It shares its borders with Chelembra panchayat in north, Pallikkal and Peruvalloor panchayats in east, Kadalundi River separates Vallikkunnu panchayat in west. In Southern side, it shares border with Mooniyoor panchayat. It is located 24 km south of

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

on the

Mangalore Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the st ...

–

Edapally Edappally or Idappalli is a region in the city of Kochi, Kerala, India. It is a major commercial centre as well as a prominent residential region. Edappally junction is one of the busiest junctions in the city. History Edappally in English l ...

national highway 66.

Mele Chelari and Thazhe Chelari

Locally, Chelari is divided into two parts is Thazhe Chelari Thrissur side is Mele Chelari (upper side) and Thazhe Chelari (lower side) also known as the (Weast Chelari and East Chelari), the part where the national highway begins and the part where it ends. Mele Chelari. The road from Mele Chelari goes through Alungal, Chenakkalangadi, Pallippuraya, Nechinathil, Kolathode and terminates at Irumbothingal Kadavu.

Transport

Chelari is well connected with all parts of Kerala by road. National Highway 66 passes through Tenhipalam. All rural localities in the panchayat are well connected to the arterial national highway by good quality roads. Minibuses operate from rural areas to nearest small towns such as Chemmad,

Kondotty Kondotty () is a developing town, municipality, and aerotropolis in the Malappuram district state of Kerala, India which is located near Calicut International Airport, 24 km from Malappuram. It is the headquarters of Kondotty Taluk, which ...

. Private buses operate between

Thrissur Thrissur (, ), Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the List of most populous urban agglomerations in Ke ...

and

Kerala State Road Transport Corporation Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is a state-owned road transport corporation in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one of the country's oldest state-run public bus transport services. The corporation is divided into three zones ( ...

buses, which operate between

and various southern towns and cities in Kerala also have stop at the university on route to Tenhipalam. There are seven towns and one corporation in the 35 km circle around Thenhipalam. The nearest railway stations are Vallikkunnu (station code VLI),

Parappanangadi Parappanangadi () is a major town and a municipality in Tirurangadi taluk of Malappuram district, Kerala, India. It is a coastal town located close to the Arabian Sea. Parappanangadi railway station is one of the oldest railway stations in Ke ...

and

Feroke Feroke () is a Municipality and a part of Kozhikode metropolitan area under Kozhikode Development Authority (K.D.A) in the Kozhikode district of the Indian state of Kerala. Feroke municipality shares its borders with Kozhikode corporation, Ra ...

, which are located west, southwest and northwest respectively from the centre of Chelari. The major railway station of

is located away.

Calicut International Airport Kozhikode International Airport , also known as Calicut International Airport (locally referred to as Karipur Airport), is an international airport serving the cities of Kozhikode and Malappuram in the state of Kerala, India. It also serves ot ...

at Karipur is located east of Chelari.

Chelari Airport

Chelari Airport was an airstrip built in 1962 in Chelari, it was owned by Birla group, they used this airport for traveling to their factory in Calicut, it was located in Chelari.

Education

Chelari is also known for head office of the Samastha Kerala Islam matha Vidyabhysaa Board, which is sometimes called as Chelari Samastha. It has more than 10,000 madrassas throughout the world. St Paul’s English medium Higher Secondary School-Kohinoor also located in Thenhipalam. The main campus of the

University of Calicut The University of Calicut, also known as Calicut University, is a State ownership, state-run public university headquartered at Tenhipalam in Malappuram district of the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1968, it is the first university to ...

is located in near Chelari. Government Model Higher Secondary School is functioning inside Calicut University Campus. A Government Vocational Higher Secondary School is also functioning at Chelari which imparts vocational education in addition to Higher Secondary Education.

Notable people

* Anees Nadodi Actor.

Notable events

* On 17 January 1969, Plane crash Douglas C-47A VT-DTH (cargo plane) in Chelari Airport.

References

{{reflist Cities and towns in Malappuram district Parappanangadi area