Mogral Puthur
Encyclopedia
Mogral Puthur is a gram panchayat
in Kasaragod District
in the southern Indian state of Kerala
. Located to the north of the town of Kasaragod, it consists of two villages, Puthur and Kudlu. The village of Puthur (also called Mogral Puthur) encompasses the northern half of the roughly circular panchayat, and Kudlu the lower southern half. On its west is the Arabian Sea
and east the Madhur panchayat. In the north, the Mogral River
separates Mogral Puthur from the Kumbla and Puthiga panchayats. The total area of this "second-grade" panchayat is roughly 15 square kilometers. Major business centers are Puthur, Chowki and Eriyal.
Malayalam, Kannada and Tulu are the major languages spoken in the area.
, a port city and major regional economic and education hub 43 kilometers to the north. It has a road density of 2 kilometers per square kilometer of land, the second highest in the Kasaragod district. The total length of roads in the panchayat is 28.5 kilometers.
The coastal National Highway 17
, which links Mumbai
and Kochi
, runs through Mogral Puthur.
Bus transport in the area started in 1952, when Poyakkara Bus Service began operating a shuttle from the south side of the Mogral River in Puthur to Thalangara, on the northern bank of Chandragri
.
There was no road link to Mogral Puthur from the northern side until the mid-1960s. Those travelling to Mangalore and other towns and cities in the north for employment and commerce had to go by train, or cross the Mogral River by ferry and then board a bus. When the construction of a bridge over the Mogral River was completed in 1964, connecting Kasaragod to Mangalore by road, it also opened new economic opportunities for people on both sides of the river.
Broad gauge Indian Railways
tracks run almost parallel to the National Highway from north to south.
Passenger and goods trains has crossed the region for more than a century, since the then-Madras Railways opened a railway line between Kasaragod and Kumbla on November 17, 1906. In the early decades of the 20th century, there was a railway station in Kudlu, which was later moved a kilometer south to CPCRI. Few trains stop there today.
The village used to house a police outpost before Independence. The first post office was established in Kudlu in 1940.
Mogral Puthur was designated as a panchayat in the early 1970s. The first meeting of the newly formed body was held on February 8, 1971. C.M. Abdulla was the first president.
countries form a major source of income for families in the area. Labour migration to the Persian Gulf started in the 1950s and increased rapidly in the 1970s and 1980s. Today, more than a thousand from the Puthur village alone, nearly all of them men, are employed in the Gulf countries.
, Mumbai
and Bangalore
, as well as the neighbouring regions in Dakshina Kannada
and Kodagu
, as traders and labourers.
Like most other parts of Kerala, coconut is the most widely cultivated plantation crop in Mogral Puthur. The panchayat is also home to one of the largest coconut and plantation crops research centres in the world. Rice
, peas
, water melon, cucumber
and banana
are traditional produce of the area. Peas (known as Mogral peas), water melon and cucumber from here were popular till the 1970s. Apart from these seasonal harvests, Arecanut, mango
and jackfruit
are also cultivated.
In the past few decades, the dependence on agriculture has shrunk drastically. A population explosion, a growth in nuclear families and increased remittance flow have resulted in a housing boom, leading to mansions being erected in cultivable lands. The 2001 census figures show that the number of main cultivators in the panchayat has dwindled to 228 and main agricultural laborers to 137.
Several people were also employed in sand-mining and transportation. However, in 2005, sand mining was banned following complaints that it was weakening the foundations of the rail bridge nearby and endangering the lives of people in the locality.
There are a few small-scale and cottage industries in the area. Beedi
rolling was a major economic activity in the area in the 1970s and 1980s, providing employment to many women. Though some still practice the craft, as elsewhere in Kerala, the cottage industry has declined considerably in recent years.
The region's laterite quarries supply much of the bricks for the local construction industry.
There was a fledgling timber industry on the south bank of the Mogral River in the 1980s.
The panchayat has two high schools, Mogral Puthur GHSS and Government Technical High School Mogral Puthur, and several primary and upper primary schools.
The first educational institution in the area was a lower-primary school started in the early part of the 20th century. For many years, it was manned by a lone teacher named Muddan. (Hence, that school was known as "Muddan's School".) Later, an upper primary school was established. It operated out of a rented property in Puthur till 1969, when the school moved to its own building. In the late 1970s, it was upgraded to a high school and to a higher secondary in the late 1990s.
There is one primary health care centre, one family welfare center, four private health dispensaries, and one government ayurveda dispensary.
, the founder of the Dvaita
philosophy, famously debated Trivikrama Panditacharya
, who was then a proponent of Advaita, is in the panchayat. The eight-day debate (circa early 14th century/late 13th century) was held in the presence of King Jayasimba of Kumbla, and after the debate, the latter embraced Dvaita philosophy and became a disciple of Madhvacharya.
There are several mosques and temples across the panchayat. Kinnimani Poomani Daivastana (temple) in Bedradka and the Chowki, Eriyal, Kottakkunnu and Mogral Puthur jamma masjids are prominent among them.
Gram panchayat
Gram panchayats are local self-governments at the village or small town level in India. As of 2002 there were about 265,000 gram panchayats in India. The gram panchayat is the foundation of the Panchayat System. A gram panchayat can be set up in villages with minimum population of 300...
in Kasaragod District
Kasaragod district
Kasaragod District is one of the districts of the Indian state of Kerala. Kasaragod District was organised as a separate district on 24 May 1984...
in the southern Indian state of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
. Located to the north of the town of Kasaragod, it consists of two villages, Puthur and Kudlu. The village of Puthur (also called Mogral Puthur) encompasses the northern half of the roughly circular panchayat, and Kudlu the lower southern half. On its west is the Arabian Sea
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...
and east the Madhur panchayat. In the north, the Mogral River
Mogral River
The Mogral River is a west-flowing river in the Kasaragod district in the Indian state of Kerala. It gets its name from Mogral, a coastal village on its northern banks. The river empties into the Arabian Sea in Mogral Puthur. It has a length of 34 kilometers and a drainage area of 132 square...
separates Mogral Puthur from the Kumbla and Puthiga panchayats. The total area of this "second-grade" panchayat is roughly 15 square kilometers. Major business centers are Puthur, Chowki and Eriyal.
Demographics
According to the 2001 census, the total population of Mogral Puthur was 22,109, up from 14,123 in 1981. Females outnumber males, 51.5 percent to 48.5 percent, as per the 2001 census. It has a scheduled caste population of 1,283. Of the total population, 3,373 were under the age of 6. The panchayat's population density of 1,553 per square kilometer is nearly twice that of Kerala and 4.8 times the national average. In 2001, there were 3,806 households.Malayalam, Kannada and Tulu are the major languages spoken in the area.
Topography
Mogral Puthur has a diverse and uneven topography that ranges from small hills and slopes to flat plains. The Mogral River, which forms its northern and a large part of the eastern border, supports much of its agriculture. There are several small monsoon-fed rivulets throughout the panchayat. Low-lying areas close to the U-shaped river and its tributary streams are very fertile. The land gains elevation in the central part of the panchayat. In the central and eastern parts, there are rich laterite deposits.Transportation
Mogral Puthur is well-connected by road to Kasaragod, the district headquarters, and to MangaloreMangalore
Mangalore is the chief port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about west of the state capital, Bangalore. Mangalore lies between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghat mountain ranges, and is the administrative headquarters of the Dakshina Kannada district in south western...
, a port city and major regional economic and education hub 43 kilometers to the north. It has a road density of 2 kilometers per square kilometer of land, the second highest in the Kasaragod district. The total length of roads in the panchayat is 28.5 kilometers.
The coastal National Highway 17
National Highway 17 (India)
National Highway 17, commonly referred to as NH 17, now renamed as NH 66, is a busy National Highway in India that runs roughly north-south along the western coast of India, parallel to western ghats. It connects Panvel, near Mumbai to Kochi, passing through the states of Maharashtra, Goa,...
, which links Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
and Kochi
Kochi
-Places:* Kochi, a city in the state of Kerala, India, formerly known as Cochin* Kingdom of Cochin, a former feudal city-state on Malabar Coast, India** Fort Kochi, one of the three main urban components which constitute the present day city of Kochi, Kerala, India...
, runs through Mogral Puthur.
Bus transport in the area started in 1952, when Poyakkara Bus Service began operating a shuttle from the south side of the Mogral River in Puthur to Thalangara, on the northern bank of Chandragri
Payaswini
Payaswini also known by the name Chandragiri is a river in Kasaragod district of Kerala state, south India. On the banks of this river is 17th century Chandragiri fort...
.
There was no road link to Mogral Puthur from the northern side until the mid-1960s. Those travelling to Mangalore and other towns and cities in the north for employment and commerce had to go by train, or cross the Mogral River by ferry and then board a bus. When the construction of a bridge over the Mogral River was completed in 1964, connecting Kasaragod to Mangalore by road, it also opened new economic opportunities for people on both sides of the river.
Broad gauge Indian Railways
Indian Railways
Indian Railways , abbreviated as IR , is a departmental undertaking of Government of India, which owns and operates most of India's rail transport. It is overseen by the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India....
tracks run almost parallel to the National Highway from north to south.
Passenger and goods trains has crossed the region for more than a century, since the then-Madras Railways opened a railway line between Kasaragod and Kumbla on November 17, 1906. In the early decades of the 20th century, there was a railway station in Kudlu, which was later moved a kilometer south to CPCRI. Few trains stop there today.
History
The Mogral Puthur area was earlier known as just Puthur. The name of Mogral, the adjoining village to the north, was added to its name during the British era following complaints that mail was being re-directed to the town of Puttur, now in Karnataka, located roughly 50 kilometers to the east.The village used to house a police outpost before Independence. The first post office was established in Kudlu in 1940.
Mogral Puthur was designated as a panchayat in the early 1970s. The first meeting of the newly formed body was held on February 8, 1971. C.M. Abdulla was the first president.
Gulf Migration
Like much of the Malabar region, remittances from Persian GulfPersian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
countries form a major source of income for families in the area. Labour migration to the Persian Gulf started in the 1950s and increased rapidly in the 1970s and 1980s. Today, more than a thousand from the Puthur village alone, nearly all of them men, are employed in the Gulf countries.
Commerce and Agriculture
Until the 1970s, agriculture and petty trading were the primary economic activities in the area. There were also several fishing families. Men moved to places as far away as Ceylon, Calcutta, VisakhapatnamVisakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam is a major sea port on the south east coast of India. With a population of approximately 1.7 million, it is the second largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh and the third largest city on the east coast of India after Kolkata and Chennai. According to the history, the city was...
, Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
and Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, as well as the neighbouring regions in Dakshina Kannada
Dakshina Kannada
- Geography :The district geography consists of sea shore in the west and Western Ghats in the east. The major rivers are Netravathi, Kumaradhara, Phalguni, Shambhavi, Nandini or Pavanje and Payaswini which all join Arabian sea. Vast areas of evergreen forests which once covered this district, have...
and Kodagu
Kodagu
Kodagu , also known by its anglicised former name of Coorg, is an administrative district in Karnataka, India. It occupies an area of in the Western Ghats of southwestern Karnataka. As of 2001, the population was 548,561, 13.74% of which resided in the district's urban centres, making it the least...
, as traders and labourers.
Like most other parts of Kerala, coconut is the most widely cultivated plantation crop in Mogral Puthur. The panchayat is also home to one of the largest coconut and plantation crops research centres in the world. Rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, peas
PEAS
P.E.A.S. is an acronym in artificial intelligence that stands for Performance, Environment, Actuators, Sensors.-Performance:Performance is a function that measures the quality of the actions the agent did....
, water melon, cucumber
Cucumber
The cucumber is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, which includes squash, and in the same genus as the muskmelon. The plant is a creeping vine which bears cylindrical edible fruit when ripe. There are three main varieties of cucumber: "slicing", "pickling", and...
and banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
are traditional produce of the area. Peas (known as Mogral peas), water melon and cucumber from here were popular till the 1970s. Apart from these seasonal harvests, Arecanut, mango
Mango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
and jackfruit
Jackfruit
The jackfruit is a species of tree in the Artocarpus genus of the mulberry family . It is native to parts of Southern and Southeast Asia. It is the national fruit of Bangladesh, . The jackfruit tree is believed to be indigenous to the southwestern rain forests of India...
are also cultivated.
In the past few decades, the dependence on agriculture has shrunk drastically. A population explosion, a growth in nuclear families and increased remittance flow have resulted in a housing boom, leading to mansions being erected in cultivable lands. The 2001 census figures show that the number of main cultivators in the panchayat has dwindled to 228 and main agricultural laborers to 137.
Several people were also employed in sand-mining and transportation. However, in 2005, sand mining was banned following complaints that it was weakening the foundations of the rail bridge nearby and endangering the lives of people in the locality.
Industry
Kerala Electrical and Allied Engineering Co.Ltd. (KEL), a state government-owned company, has a manufacturing unit in Bedradka, in the eastern part of Mogral Puthur. The unit, which began operations in 1990 with technical know-how from the French Moteurs Leroy Somer, manufactures, among other products, diesel generator sets and general purpose brushless AC generators. Indian Railways is one of its major clients.There are a few small-scale and cottage industries in the area. Beedi
Beedi
A beedi is a thin, South Asian cigarette filled with tobacco flake and wrapped in a tendu leaf tied with a string at one end.The word comes from beeda, Marwari for a leaf wrapped in betel nuts, herbs, and condiments....
rolling was a major economic activity in the area in the 1970s and 1980s, providing employment to many women. Though some still practice the craft, as elsewhere in Kerala, the cottage industry has declined considerably in recent years.
The region's laterite quarries supply much of the bricks for the local construction industry.
There was a fledgling timber industry on the south bank of the Mogral River in the 1980s.
Education and Health
The literacy rate in Mogral Puthur is 86.31 percent, well above the national average, but below the state average of 94.59.The panchayat has two high schools, Mogral Puthur GHSS and Government Technical High School Mogral Puthur, and several primary and upper primary schools.
The first educational institution in the area was a lower-primary school started in the early part of the 20th century. For many years, it was manned by a lone teacher named Muddan. (Hence, that school was known as "Muddan's School".) Later, an upper primary school was established. It operated out of a rented property in Puthur till 1969, when the school moved to its own building. In the late 1970s, it was upgraded to a high school and to a higher secondary in the late 1990s.
There is one primary health care centre, one family welfare center, four private health dispensaries, and one government ayurveda dispensary.
Research Institutions
The Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, a pioneering establishment, is the largest educational and research organisation in Mogral Puthur. Its predecessor, the Coconut Research Station, was set up in 1916 by the Government of Madras. In 1948, after the Indian independence, the station came under the Indian Central Coconut Committee. CPCRI was founded in 1970 by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Today, the institute conducts research in various agricultural fields such as gardening, soil chemistry, plant production, microbiology, plant diseases, cattle rearing and fish culture.Flora and Fauna
Lush green coconut palms cover much of Mogral Puthur. There is a significant patch of mangroves in the three-kilometer stretch of estuary where Mogral River merges with the Arabian Sea. The total area of the estuary is estimated to be 6.12 square kilometer, of which 0.1 kilometer is mangrove area. Two researchers reported sighting six individual Bar-Headed Geese (Anser indicus) on fresh water near the mangroves on January 26, 2009. Bar-Headed Geese, one of the world's highest flying birds, are rarely seen in Kerala.Places of Interest
The historic Kavu Matha, where MadhvacharyaMadhvacharya
Madhvācārya was the chief proponent of Tattvavāda "Philosophy of Reality", popularly known as the Dvaita school of Hindu philosophy. It is one of the three most influential Vedānta philosophies. Madhvācārya was one of the important philosophers during the Bhakti movement. He was a pioneer in...
, the founder of the Dvaita
Dvaita
Dvaita is a school of Vedanta founded by Shri Madhvacharya....
philosophy, famously debated Trivikrama Panditacharya
Trivikrama Panditacharya
Sri Trivikrama Panditacharya was one of the disciples of Sri Madhvacharya, the great Dvaita philosopher. He composed the Vayu Stuti, one of the most famous Stotras in the Madhva tradition....
, who was then a proponent of Advaita, is in the panchayat. The eight-day debate (circa early 14th century/late 13th century) was held in the presence of King Jayasimba of Kumbla, and after the debate, the latter embraced Dvaita philosophy and became a disciple of Madhvacharya.
There are several mosques and temples across the panchayat. Kinnimani Poomani Daivastana (temple) in Bedradka and the Chowki, Eriyal, Kottakkunnu and Mogral Puthur jamma masjids are prominent among them.