# Chalakudy

Chalakudy (Malayalam:) is a municipal town situated on the banks of Chalakudy River in Thrissur district of the Kerala state in India. It is the headquarters of Chalakudy taluk. It is the base camp for travellers to Athirappilly Falls and Vazhachal Falls. Chalakudy lies on National Highway 544 and located about 47 km (23 mi) north of the city of Kochi, and 30 km (19 mi) south of Thrissur.

## Etymology

History says during the second Chera dynasty, people outside Kerala visited Chalakudy to learn vedas and Kalaripayattu from Chukkikulam Shala. These people lived in the banks of Chalakudy River and this accommodation is called Kudi. The combination of these two words Shalakudi is later modified into Chalakudy.

## Administration

Chalakudy Municipality came into existence in the year 1970. The municipality covering an area of 25.23 km$^2$ is divided into 36 electoral wards. Chalakudy is a Grade-II municipality. Chalakudy is an assembly constituency & Lok Sabha constituency. Benny Behanan (INC) is the current MP of the Parliamentary constituency and T J Saneesh Kumar Joseph (INC) is the current M.L.A. of Legislative Assembly Constituency.

## Transport
### Railways

The main rail transport system in Chalakudy is operated by the Southern Railway zone of Indian Railways, and comes under Trivandrum railway division.

### Airport

The nearest airport is Cochin International Airport in Nedumbassery which is 19 km from Chalakudy. All the major domestic and international flights are available here. Direct flights are available to New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, Goa, Mangaluru, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, London, Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Bahrain, Kuwait, Muscat, Malé, Colombo, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Salalah, Jeddah and Riyadh.

## Education

Chalakudy hosts major educational institutions consisting of higher secondary schools, English and Malayalam medium high schools, a Aeronautical College , a government industrial training institute, a medical college, and many other professional institutions.

### Schools

* Carmel Higher Secondary School, Chalakudy
* Carmel Academy CMI ICSE School, Chalakudy
* CKM NSS Senior Secondary School
* CMI Public School Chalakudy
* Crescent Public School, Chalakudy
* Vyasa Vidyanikethan Central School Chalakudy
* Government Boys' Higher Secondary School, Chalakudy
* Government Higher Secondary School, V R Puram
* Sacred Heart Convent Girls' Higher Secondary School, Chalakudy
* Government Girls High School, Chalakudy

### Colleges

* Panampilly Memorial Government College
* Sacred Heart College Chalakudy
* Southern College of Engineering & Technology
* St. James College of Pharmaceutical Sciences
* St. James College of Nursing
* Nirmala College of Arts and Science
* Nirmala College of Management
* Nirmala College of Engineering
* Nirmala College of Health Science

## Tourism

Chalakudy is sub urban town blessed with the abundance of lushness mainly due to the Chalakudy river and many green agricultural paddy fields. The Town is the major corridor for tourists travelling to Athirapally & Vazhachal Waterfalls and the hill stations of Malakappara & Valparai. The multiple access points to the Chalakudy River serves as a evening getaway location like Koodapuzha Checkdam, Arangali Kadavu and Urumbunkunnu.

## Notable persons

* A K Lohithadas
* Kalabhavan Mani
* Jose Pellissery
* Lijo Jose Pellissery
* R. L. V. Ramakrishnan
* Antony Thachuparambil
* Raghavan Thirumulpad
* Porinju Veliyath
* C. S. Venkiteswaran
* Vishnu Sarma
* B. D. Devassy
* Anshitha Akbarsha