Punalur (Malayalam: പുനലൂര് Punalūr) is a city situated near the Tamil Nadu-Keralaborder in the Kollam district, in the southern State of Kerala, India. It is situated in the banks of the Kallada River, receiving its name from two Tamil words; punal, meaning "water" and ooru, meaning "town", therefore "town of water". It is about 45 km north-east of Kollam and 75 km north of Thiruvananthapuram. Punalur is the headquarters ofPathanapuram Taluk, the gateway to Western Ghats. It is also known as the "Lap of the western ghats".
It is the second-largest city in Kollam and the 5th largest city in south Kerala, and it is also a famous paper industry in India. The Punalur Paper Mills, established in the 1850s, was the first industry in Kerala and a pioneer in the industrial revolution of Kerala. Punalur become an important trading / transport centre between Kollam andShenkottai (Tamilnadu) during the administration of Travancore Kingdom. Steady progress of Punalur Panchayat administration upgraded to Municipality status in 1972. Although enjoying the status of Municipality since 1972, Punalur is waiting to develop basic infrastructure to the ever growing population, tourists and pilgrims.
Punalur is a city on mountain path, since ancient times, which had good relations withTamil Nadu to the East. Most parts of Pathanapuram taluk were inhabited since before the Indus Valley Civilization, and civilization may have existed in and around Punalur during the 1st Century AD, but most parts of it were thick forests. Punalur is described in inscriptions of Mithranandpuram and Vellayani. Until 1734, Punalur was under the direct rule of the Ilaydathu swaroopam. Later it was occupied by Marthanda Varma and came under the rule of Travancore. Britishers had a good hold in this part due to its rich agricultural background.
Portuguese Captain Road Drigs tried to establish his supremacy over the black pepper trade in 1552, but the local traders were not interested and so they transported the pepper to Tamil Nadu in about 500 bullock carts. This act of the local traders evoked the anger of the Captain and he sent his troops and killed many people.
The Taluk headquarter was shifted from Pathnapuram to Punalur, after an attack at Pathnapuram, in 1880. This helped in the growth of Punalur. Later flow of goods to and from Tamil Nadu started flowing through Punalur. Punalur is the first settlement after the majestic Western ghats. The opening of Punalur Suspension Bridge increased the importance of Punalur as the centre of trade, after the Palakad, between Tamilnadu and Kerala.
Punalur also served as pivot point in the rise of independence movement and also against the rule of Diwan. Many meetings where centered around Punalur due to the close proximity to Tamil Nadu. Many important decisions on planning and attacking Tirunelvelicollector was taken in Punalur.
Cultural history of Punalur reflects in the work of traditional and modern artists and performing groups of music, drama, cinema, etc., especially acclaimed contributions of Punalur N. Rajagopalan Nair, Punalur Balan and Lalithambika Antharjanam in Theatre andMalayalam literature.
Punalur Paper Mills, the first of its kind in Kerala, served both as an economic centre as well as a source of jobs. Later Travancoreplywood industry added to Punalur's importance in the industrial field. Punalur Market (formerly Sri Ramapuram market) is one of the largest vegetable / agro-products markets in Kerala.
The Hanging Bridge of Punalur,Kerala, the only vehicular hanging bridge of Kerala and the second one in India built by the British. This old hanging bridge is now under the authority of archeology department, and is under maintainance.
The construction and engineering of this hangingbridge marvel dates back to 1877, by a British engineer named Albert Henry. The bridge is situated across river Kallada and joins the Kollam -Chengotta state highway which is now NH 208, starting from Kollam and ending at Thirumangalaom in Tamilnadu. This snap is taken from one of the entrance of the hanging bridge.
A suspension bridge usually has the suspension pillars, the weight or load bearing portion called deck, suspension cables[chains, multi stranded cable, linked bars etc]
This ancient hanging bridge of Kerala is built of linked bar chains which are bolted with huge nuts and steel rod hangers which joins the chains with the deck.
Two pillars supports the chains which inturn supports the deck. The chains runs through the top part of the pillars and the deck is laid through the pillars and supported at both ends of the bridge .
This ancient hanging bridge of Kerala is built of linked bar chains which are bolted with huge nuts and steel rod hangers which joins the chains with the deck.
Two pillars supports the chains which inturn supports the deck. The chains runs through the top part of the pillars and the deck is laid through the pillars and supported at both ends of the bridge .
The bridge is said to be a non-cement construction. I cant give you the exact mixture which replaced cement in this hanging bridge Grandpa. May be the ancient cosnstruction mixture of eggyolk, jaggery, lime etc which is used in the construction of River-dams like Mullaperiyar and ancient Palaces of Kerala. However the bridge still stands tall without any major fitness issues.
When this bridge is finished people were afraid to use it seeing its hanging nature. The engineer Albert Henry passed in a country boat through the river under with his family while sixelephants were made to walk through the bridge. May be the first and last bridge engineer who proved his bridge's strength like that huh!
When this bridge is finished people were afraid to use it seeing its hanging nature. The engineer Albert Henry passed in a country boat through the river under with his family while sixelephants were made to walk through the bridge. May be the first and last bridge engineer who proved his bridge's strength like that huh!
Inside view of one of the Four wells seen on both sides of the hanging bridge. The two ends of the twin steel bar chains which supports the bridge are anchored into these wells. The chains are made to pass through the pillar tops, basements on bridge entrances and finally fixed deep inside these wells. It seems like the Wells are interconnected too but am not sure about it.
In olden times the wooden planks used in the bridge deck is from some peculiar tree in theforest named Kambakom. It is known to last for much time and is strong. But later in the renovation process of this hanging bridge much corruption was done by the lovely officials and replaced the old worn platform planks with some cheap type of timber and it doesn't lasted much time after the luxurious renovation CORRUPTION. The works are started again to beautify the bridge and surroundings and hope this time things will be done right.
In olden times the wooden planks used in the bridge deck is from some peculiar tree in theforest named Kambakom. It is known to last for much time and is strong. But later in the renovation process of this hanging bridge much corruption was done by the lovely officials and replaced the old worn platform planks with some cheap type of timber and it doesn't lasted much time after the luxurious renovation CORRUPTION. The works are started again to beautify the bridge and surroundings and hope this time things will be done right.
The steel bars are being painted and wooden planks are to be fitted onto the steel deck structure of the bridge as before. Anyway there is no more vehicles to be allowed through for another parallel bridge is already built for transportation long before while the road was expanded.
Now the authorities are trying to keep the bridge as a monument with archaeological importance. A small garden and resting place is going to be built around the bridge and in mean time it could be a resting and refreshing spot for the public and tourists around.
The present state of the hanging bridge is just the steel skeleton, seems got just painted. The bridge pillars are getting cleaned as part of beautification, a small grass lawn and some flowering plants around, cast iron gates are guarding the entrances and some night lamps are fixed around. As you can see the sand, cement and timber like debris are all around as part of the works going on. About the finishing time! Hmmmm.. sooner i think
Now the authorities are trying to keep the bridge as a monument with archaeological importance. A small garden and resting place is going to be built around the bridge and in mean time it could be a resting and refreshing spot for the public and tourists around.
The present state of the hanging bridge is just the steel skeleton, seems got just painted. The bridge pillars are getting cleaned as part of beautification, a small grass lawn and some flowering plants around, cast iron gates are guarding the entrances and some night lamps are fixed around. As you can see the sand, cement and timber like debris are all around as part of the works going on. About the finishing time! Hmmmm.. sooner i think
Punalur Suspension Bridge was built by Albert Henry across the Kallada River in the year 1877. This bridge was made for vehicle movements and was made by suspending huge spans. The Punalur Suspension Bridge took more than six years to complete. Story goes that people were hesitant to walk on the bridge and hence the engineer and his family passed under the bridge in a country boat while six elephants walked on the bridge to gain the trust of the people.
The bridge was constructed with the aim of preventing wild animals intruding the human settlements of Punalur which was then covered with dense thick forest on one side. A concrete bridge would allow the animals to pass, but a suspension bridge would not. This is because of the fact that the bridge would start shaking if someone passed on it and this will scare the wild animals away. The bridge is supported by four deep wells, and the iron rods of the bridge are connected to the clips in the well. Each of these wells is about 100 feet deep.
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