Keralapuram is an suburban area in Kollam District of Kerala, India and a part of Kollam City. Keralapuram is famous for numerous cashew factories in the region. It is split into Kottamkara Panchayath and Perinad Panchayath by the National Highway. In Kerala state legislative assembly elections, Keralapuram votes for Kundara Assembly constituency.

History

Keralapuram lies in between Kollam City, and the historic trade hub Kundara. The Kundara Proclamation by Velu Thampi Dalawa in the year 1809, which is considered to be one of the first events of freedom fight against the British Raj in Kerala, happened at a distance of 3 kilometers from the present day Keralapuram. First industries in Keralapuram are from the cashew industry boom of Kollam. Keralapuram has a Government High School that established in the year 1946 and a Public Library established in the year 1948. Another piece of history is the famous restaurant Ezhuthanikada Hotel, started by Meeran Saheb in 1948, which is now a local landmark. The vettu cake of this restaurant is very popular across the state of Kerala and among the Malayali diaspora in Middle East.

Location

Keralapuram is located on Kollam Tirumangalam National Highway at a distance of 10.5 km away from Kollam city and 3 km away from Kundara. A sizeable portion of the town falls on Kottamkara Panchayath on the East side of the highway, and remaining portion on Perinad Panchayath on the west side. It is also the junction where Ayoor Road, Mampuzha Road and Edavattom Road meets NH 744. Thangal Kunju Musaliar College of Engineering (TKMCE), one of the premiere engineering institutes in Kerala, is located 4.3 kilometres from here at Karicode.

Education

Hospitals

Banks / financial institutions

Places of worship

Keralapuram has numerous places of worship, some of them are listed.

Major industries

Keralapuram had several major cashew factories during the cashew boom of Kollam. Some of them are still in operation.

Prominent persons

Some of the prominent persons hailing from the area include