Panamaram is a town, village in

Wayanad district Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of the Indian state of Kerala, with its administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, ...

in the 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 ...

, India.

Demographics

India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Panamaram had a population of 11651 with 5891 males and 5760 females.

Panamaram River

The Panamaram River is a tributary of the Kabani River, along with the Mananthavady, Bavali, Noolpuzha and Nugu Rivers. It originates from Banasura in Padinjarathara. Kabani and its tributaries play a key role in the enhancement of the landscapes of Wayanad District. About 6 km north of Panamaram, the Kabini takes birth. It is the confluence of the Panamaram river, originating in the Western Ghats and Banasura Hill in Padinjarathara . The Kabini is, perhaps, the most feminine of Kerala rivers. The flow of life on its banks is incredibly peaceful and dream-like. The confluence of these rivers is Kabani River and it after entering the state of Karnataka merges with the

Kaveri The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery) is a Rivers of India, major river flowing across Southern India. It is the third largest river in the region after Godavari River, Godavari and Krishna River, Krishna. The catchment area of the Kaveri basin i ...

River.

Panamaram Fort

Panamaram has great significance in the history of Indian freedom struggle as it witnessed one of the first freedom struggle in

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

.
On 11 October 1802

Pazhassi Raja Kerala Varma Pazhassi Raja () (3 January 1753 – 30 November 1805), also known as Cotiote Rajah and Pychy Rajah, was the '' de facto'' head of the Kottayam Kingdom in the Malabar region of Kerala between 1774 and 1805. His struggles with the ...

's followers like

Thalakkal Chanthu Thalakkal Chanthu, also spelled Thalakkal Chandu, was an archer and commander-in-chief of the Kurichya soldiers of the Pazhassi Raja who fought British forces in the Wayanad jungles during first decade of the 19th century. Career Chanthu began hi ...

and Edachena Kunkan Nair captured the Panamaram Fort which was manned by the infantry units of Bombay. Commanding officer Capt. Dickinson and Lt. Maxwell were killed in action along with 25 soldiers. And this victory brought a new vigor to the resistance movement.

Panamaram Heronry

According to the annual heronry count of the Malabar Natural History Society (MNHS), the Panamaram Heronry is the largest heronry in Malabar in terms of number and diversity of birds breeding there. It is a small (1 acre) island in the river Kabani, an elevated sand bank. The government has issued orders to take apt measures to conserve the Panamaram Heronry. The massive destruction of bamboo groves on the heronry and unbridled sand mining are the two vital issues the heronry is facing. It has been observed that many birds of foreign origin also migrate to Panamaram during the nestling season. The

cattle egret The cattle egret (formerly genus ''Bubulcus'') is a cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan clade of heron (family (biology), family Ardeidae) in the genus ''Ardea (genus), Ardea'' found in the tropics, subtropics, and warm-temperate zones. Ac ...

(''Bubulcus ibis'') was also observed breeding here in 2010; the breeding of the bird is reported in the state after 62 years. Other main species are

little egret The little egret (''Egretta garzetta'') is a species of small heron in the family Ardeidae. It is a white bird with a slender black beak, long black legs and, in the western race, yellow feet. As an aquatic bird, it feeds in shallow water and on ...

, '' Ardeola'' (pond heron), night heron, intermediate egret, purple heron, and black-headed ibis.

Transportation

Panamaram town comes in the exact middle of Wayanad district. It can be accessed from Mananthavady, Sulthan Bathery or Kalpetta. The Periya ghat road connects Mananthavady to Kannur and Thalassery. The Thamarassery mountain road connects Calicut with Kalpetta. The Bangalore-Mysore Road connects through Gundlupet, Sulthan Bathery through Nadavayal Road to Panamaram from one side and Mysore- Handpost D Kotte Bavali, Mananthavady to Panamaram from the other side. The Kuttiady mountain road connects Vatakara with Kalpetta and Mananthavady. The Palchuram mountain road connects Kannur and Iritty with Mananthavady. The road from Nilambur to Ooty is also connected to Wayanad through the village of Meppadi. The nearby railway stations are: Kozhikode (90 km); Kannur (105 km); Mysore (120 km); The nearby airports are:

Kannur International Airport Kannur International Airport is an international airport serving the city of Kannur, the Mahé district, Mahé district of Puducherry and the rest of northern Kerala in India. It is located in Mattanur, east of Kannur and east of Thalassery. ...

80 km;

Kozhikode 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 ...

- 105 km; Mysore Airport-120 km; Coimbatore International Airport- 210 km; and

Bengaluru International Airport Kempegowda International Airport is an international airport serving Bengaluru, the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Spread over , it is located about north of the city near the suburb of Devanahalli. It is owned and operated by ...

-330 km.

References