RingRoad Pathanamthitta City Main Eastern Highway

The Main Eastern Highway is the lifeline of the high range townships of the Travancore region of

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 C ...

state,

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 ...

. It is also known as Punalur- Muvattupuzha Highway. Main Eastern Highway is categorized as State Highway - 08 ( SH-08 ) of Kerala. It is the second longest State Highway of Kerala covering a distance of 153.6 km. The districts it passes through are

Kollam Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The ci ...

Pathanamthitta Pathanamthitta (), is a municipality situated in the Central Travancore region in the state of Kerala, India, spread over an area of 23.50 km2. It is the administrative capital of Pathanamthitta district. The town has a population of 3 ...

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south ...

, Idukki and

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation ...

. It interconnects the townships of Punalur, Pathanapuram, Koodal, Konni, Pathanamthitta, Ranni, Manimala, Ponkunnam, Pala, Thodupuzha to the main intersection at Muvattupuzha merging to MC Road which extends northwards till

Angamaly Angamaly (''Aṅkamāli''), , Malayalam : അങ്കമാലി Situated about north of the city centre, the town lies at the intersection of Main Central Road (MC Road) and National Highway 544. MC Road, which starts from Thiruvanantha ...

at NH 66.

Route description

Pallimikku Junction (Punalur) (starts from km 44/900 of NH 208) - Pathanapuram - Kallumkadavu Junction (joins SH 05) - Kalanjoor - Koodal - Konni - Kumbazha (Pathanamthitta, meets T.K.Road / SH - 07) - Mylapra - Mannarakulanji - Uthimmoodu - Mandiram - Ranni - Makkapuzha - Ponthanpuzha - Karikkattoor - Manimala - Cheruvally - Ponkunnam - Elamgulam -Paika- Pala - Thodupuzha - Vazhakulam - Nirmala College junction - Muvattupuzha(joins MC Road -SH 01) The economy of the High-Ranges of South and Central Kerala largely depends on the Main Eastern Highway. The main trunk road to Sabarimala, Kerala's Largest Pilgrim Centre starts from Main Eastern Highway near

. Though it is the shortest route to

and Northern Kerala townships from Punalur, (The Second Largest City of Kollam District) and in turn from the Tamil Nadu townships Tenkasi,

Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tam ...

and

Thoothukudi Thoothukudi (formerly Tuticorin) is a port city, a municipal corporation and an industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The city lies in the Coromandel Coast of Bay of Bengal. Thoothukudi is the capital an ...

. It is not developed to its capacity. It acts as a parallel road to the Main Central Road. (M.C.Road/SH-01). It is also the Shortest route to the Kerala State Capital Thiruvananthapuram from Kumali and other major townships of Idukki district Like Munnar, Kattappana, Thodupuzha, Moolamattam, Nedumkandam etc.

Townships on the Main Eastern Highway

The townships Punalur,

Alimukku Alimukku is a small town situated on the Punalur-Muvattupuzha State Highway (SH-08) in Kollam district, about 5 kilometres northwest of Punalur and 8 km from Pathanapuram Pathanapuram is a Town in Pathanapuram Taluk Kollam district, Keral ...

, , Pathanapuram, Koodal, Konni, Kumbazha, Ranni, Manimala,

Ponkunnam Ponkunnam (പൊൻകുന്നം) is a census town in Kerala, India, part of Kottayam district under Kanjirappally taluk. Ponkunnam literally means ''golden mountain'' (''ponn'' = gold, ''kunn'' = mountain). Nearby towns are Kanjirappalli ...

, Pala,

Thodupuzha Thodupuzha (തൊടുപുഴ) is a municipal town located in Idukki district, Kerala, India, that covers an area of . It lies on the banks of Thodupuzha river, which merges with the Kaliyar and Kothamangalam rivers at Muvattupuzha to ...

, Muvattupuzha comes under the Main eastern highway road

Future

KSTP Project

The upgrading work of Punalur -

stretch is currently under progress as part of the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

funded Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP).KSTP Phase II work on the slow lane
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Route description

Townships on the Main Eastern Highway

Future

KSTP Project

References

See also