Kottayam, the district the new Vembanad bridge joins to Alappuzha, is the land of letters, legends, latex and lakes

Background

The Makkekadavu–Nerekadavu bridge across the Vembanad Lake, inaugurated on 18 October, carries traffic from Thycattusserry panchayat in Alappuzha to Nerekadavu in Kottayam's Udayanapuram panchayat — so it is worth knowing the district on the eastern bank.
Kottayam is bordered by the Western Ghats on the east and by the Vembanad Lake and the paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west, which is why the district administration calls it the land of letters, legends, latex and lakes.
Kottayam Town is the first town in India to have achieved 100% literacy, a feat recorded in 1989.
Most of the natural rubber produced in India originates from the plantations of Kottayam, which is also home to the Rubber Board.
The town is called Akshara Nagari, the city of letters, for its contribution to print media and literature.
English education in South India began at the Old Seminary at Kottayam in 1813; the first printing press in Kerala, the CMS Press, was established here in 1821 by Benjamin Baily; and the first college in the State, CMS College, was started here in 1840.
The first printed Malayalam-English and English-Malayalam dictionaries were published from Kottayam in 1846 and 1847 respectively, and the first cooperative society of writers, authors and publishers was set up here in 1945.
Kottayam is the first town in India selected by the Ministry of Environment and Forests to be transformed as an Eco City, and the former President K R Narayanan hails from the district.