Chinnakada Clock Tower is a landmark in

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 ...

City in the Indian state of

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 ...

. In

Chinnakada Chinnakada or Chinnakkada is considered as the heart of the city of Kollam in Kerala, India. Chinnakada is a busy junction where 5 city roads and one National highway interconnect at a traffic roundabout. The city's symbolic clock tower is loc ...

, the tower lies in the heart of the city, close to

Kollam Junction Railway Station Kollam Junction railway station (station code: QLN) is an NSG–2 category List of railway stations in India, Indian railway station in Thiruvananthapuram railway division of Southern Railway zone.) It is a junction station situated in the cit ...

. As the first clock tower in the erstwhile

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

state, it has become a non-official emblem of the city and the major landmark of Kollam.

History

The quadrangular clock tower was built in 1944 by the natives as a tribute to Unichakam Veedu K G Parameshwaran Pillai, the former chairman of Kollam Municipality (1932–48). Construction began in 1941 and was completed three years later in brick and white cement. The tower has four clocks facing the four directions of the city, which were brought from

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

Importance

Chinnakkada is considered the heart of the Kollam and one of the major junctions in the city where National Highway – NH 66 (earlier NH 47) meets NH 744 (earlier NH 208). Because of the presence of a huge traffic circle, it became one of the busiest junctions in the state. To reduce the traffic congestion in Chinnakada,

Kollam Municipal Corporation Kollam Municipal Corporation (KMC) is an ISO 9000#Contents of ISO 9001:2015, ISO 9001:2015 certified civic body that governs the city of Kollam in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the fourth-largest city corporation by population in the state, ...

is constructing an underpass near the clock tower. The complex junction is the meeting point of roads from

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

Alappuzha Alappuzha (, आलप्पुळ) or Alleppey is a municipality and town on the Laccadive Sea in the southern Indian state of Kerala. It is the district headquarters of the district, and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvana ...

Sengottai Sengottai (also known as Shencottah, Chenkotta or Shenkottai) is a town in the Tenkasi district, of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the gateway to southern Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Spread over an area of 2.68 km2 with a population of over 26,823, ...

, Ashramam,

Kollam Beach Kollam Beach, also known as Mahatma Gandhi Beach, is a beach at Kollam city in the Indian state of Kerala. Kollam Beach is the first 'Beach Wedding Destination' in Kerala. The beach also features a park of international standard, the Maha ...

and

Kollam Port Kollam Port or Port of Quilon is one of the oldest ports (established in AD 825) situated away from Downtown Kollam (formerly Quilon) It is the third largest port in Kerala by volume of cargo handled and facilities and one of the four Kerala po ...

Downtown Kollam Downtown Kollam is the primary central business district in the city of Kollam, Kerala, India. Located entirely within the former municipality of old Quilon, it is approximately bounded by Chinnakada to the east, Tangasseri, Thangassery to the W ...

and the City Bus Stand. The development of the

area including the clock tower is the most important junction development project by the municipal corporation. The works have been initiated by the shifting of city bus stand to Andamukkam. The former Left Democratic Front Government of Kerala decided to develop Kollam as an international city using

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

Chandni Chowk The Chandni Chowk (meaning Moonlight Square) is one of the oldest and busiest markets in Old Delhi, India. There is another location in Pune with the name Chandani Chowk. Located close to the Old Delhi railway station, the Mughal-era Red Fort ...

as a model. The proposed complex was designed as a trade centre for products of the traditional industries in the district.

Renovation

Kollam Municipal Corporation has allocated Rs. 2 million to renovate the clock tower. Work on the project has finished.

References

External links

* {{Kollam , state=expanded Clock towers in India Tourist attractions in Kollam Buildings and structures in Kollam Towers completed in 1944 1944 establishments in India 20th-century architecture in India

History

Importance

Renovation

See also

References

External links