Kattippara
Grama Panchayat

History of Grama Panchayat

        The Kattippara Grama Panchayat was formed on October 1, 2005. Kattippara is a Grama Panchayat situated in Koduvally Block in Thamarassery Taluk of Kozhikode district. The northeastern regions of the Panchayat, filled with hills and mountains, were vast forests where wild animals roamed freely half a century ago. Even before the formation of Kerala, migrants who came from the erstwhile Travancore cleared the forests and transformed them into settlements. The migrants who had arrived in Kattippara, one of the northern regions, half a century ago used a vast rock as a bed to sleep on in the forest. It is said that this Kattalppara gradually became Kattippara over time. This rock can still be seen here. In 1879, Ferguson Sahib planted rubber saplings and began a rubber plantation. This first rubber estate in Kerala later became Kalpetta Estates, owned by A.V. Thomas and Company. A portion of this vast estate from which the rubber trees were cut and cleared came to be known as Vetti Ozhinja Thottam. Most of the landholdings in this Panchayat belonged to the Kottayam royal family of Pazhassi Raja, who led the struggle against the British and died a heroic death. When the food shortage became severe in 1945, rationing of rice and cloth was introduced in Malabar. During the Malabar Rebellion, this region was an excellent example of religious harmony. Although the rebellion did not affect this area, when many frightened Hindus left their homes, they entrusted their houses and properties to their Muslim brothers for safekeeping. When they returned, all their property was safely returned to them. The traditional cottage industries of old Thamarassery included the manufacture of mats, headgear, baskets, winnowing trays and similar items. Activities such as cutting coconuts and making copra, cutting areca nuts and processing them into edible areca nut, as well as a unit that extracted coconut oil by crushing copra in a wooden oil press, were also carried out here. Even before formal educational systems came into existence, writing schools, Asan Kalari institutions and the Gurukula system of education helped the ancestors of this Grama Panchayat acquire knowledge. People carried agricultural products as headloads in groups and transported them in rows of bullock carts to Kozhikode Valiyangadi, nineteen miles away. In those days, timber cut from the forests was tied together into rafts and transported through the Poonoor River and Koodathayi River to Kallayi, which was famous for the timber industry. Although there is no railway line in this Panchayat, people depend on the Kozhikode-Koyilandy railway stations, located 30 km away, for long-distance travel. In those days, it was customary to issue bus tickets in advance. The bus fare to Kozhikode was five annas. Marakkar Haji's lorry was the first vehicle used for goods transportation. Kattippara is a region that includes the hilly areas of old Malabar that found a place in the verses of the Vadakkan Pattukal. This Panchayat, with an area of 28 sq. km, is bounded by Puthuppady, Omassery and Kodanchery Panchayats to the east, Panangad Grama Panchayat to the west, Thamarassery Grama Panchayat to the south, and Amarad to the north. Geographically belonging to the highland region, the main crops cultivated in Kattippara Panchayat are rubber, coconut, areca nut and ginger. The Irunnulla River flows along the eastern boundary of the Panchayat, while the Poonoor River flows through the western side. More than 25 hilly areas are found in Kattippara, a highland rural region, including Amarad Hill, Menonpara and Kakkancheri Hill along the northern boundary of the Panchayat. Forests account for 23 percent of the total area. Thavakkoli, Kakkanamcheri, Kolamala and Amarad Hill are among the places that attract tourists to the Panchayat. National Highway 212 passes through this Panchayat. The Thalayad-Malappuram Road and Poonoor-Kattippara Road are the main roads in the Panchayat. Road transportation in the Panchayat is centered around the Thamarassery bus stand. Commercial and trading activities in the Panchayat are concentrated in Ambayathode, Kattippara, Chamal, Kallullathode and Kolikkal. Hindu temples such as Kadavathukavu Temple, Venakkavu Temple, Muthottikkal Mahadeva Temple, Karappatta Temple and Sree Krishna Temple, Christian places of worship such as St. George Christian Church and Holy Family Church, and more than 7 Muslim places of worship, including Vetti Ozhinja Thottam Juma Masjid, Kallullathode Muslim Mosque and Kolikkal Sunni Mosque, are located in various parts of the Panchayat. The thira performances, festivals and Perunnal celebrations associated with these places of worship reflect the cultural heritage of the Panchayat. “Shakthi” Arts and Sports Club and sports clubs such as “Chetana, Challenge, Nehru” also provide encouragement and support. The health care institution in the Panchayat is the Government Homoeo Dispensary at Kallullathode. A Government Veterinary Hospital and an I.C.D.P. are functioning at Kattippara for animal husbandry. To brighten the educational future of students in the Panchayat, the government sector has a Government L.P. School at Vetti Ozhinja Thottam, a Government L.P. School at Chamal and an A.L.P. School at Ambayathode, while in the private sector there are Holy Family School at Kattippara, Nusrat U.P. School, Nirmala U.P. School at Chamal and Seethi Sahib Memorial U.P. School. In addition, there are many madrasas in the Panchayat conducting religious education classes. Payona “Balabhavan”, Chembra Kunda “Al-Ihsan”, Sneha Bhavan and Yeshu Bhavan are destitute homes, while “Sneha Nilayam” at Ambayathode is an old-age home, all of which are active in the field of social service in the Panchayat. Kattippara Nehru Memorial Library, Kattippara Nehru Yuvakendra, Vetti Ozhinja Thottam Reading Room, Chetana Kolikkal and Yuva Shakthi Kallullathode reading rooms enrich the cultural sphere of the Panchayat. A telephone exchange, 2 post offices and a Krishi Bhavan are functioning at Kattippara. In the welfare sector of the Panchayat, 23 Anganwadis, a Kudumbashree unit in each family, and an Akshaya Centre are functioning.