Palakkad and the gap in the Western Ghats that opens Kerala to the rest of the country

Background

The district is in the news as the Kerala government has invited tenders for infrastructure development at the Palakkad Smart City, the Integrated Manufacturing Cluster being developed in the Puthussery Central and Kannambra areas as part of the Kochi-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor; the first-phase package is estimated at Rs. 1,100 crore and is targeted for completion within four years, and implementation is coordinated by the Kerala Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Ltd (KICDC), a special purpose vehicle formed jointly by the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust and the Government of Kerala with equal equity participation. Palakkad is one of the fourteen districts of Kerala and has no coastal line. The district opens the state to the rest of the country through the Palakkad Gap with a width of 32 to 40 Kms. The present Palakkad district, as an administrative unit, was formed on the first of January 1957. The district is one of the main granaries of Kerala and its economy is primarily agricultural, and it is also the land of Palmyrahs. It consists of 2 revenue divisions, 6 taluks and 157 revenue Villages, with 13 block panchayats and 88 village panchayats, and the District headquarters is at Palakkad Town.