Chunkappara is a small town in the

Pathanamthitta district Pathanamthitta District (), is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. The district headquarters is in the town of Pathanamthitta. There are four municipalities in Pathanamthitta: Adoor, Pandalam, Pathanamthitta and Thiruval ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

state,

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

. Chunkappara is situated east of the town of

Thiruvalla Thiruvalla, alternately spelled Tiruvalla, is a town in Kerala and the Headquarters of the Taluk of the same name located in Pathanamthitta district in the State of Kerala, India. The town is spread over an area of . It lies on the banks of ...

, where the nearest railway station is located. Other neighbouring towns include

Kanjirappally Kanjirappally is a taluk and a town in Kottayam district situated about away from the district capital, in the state of Kerala, India. Climate Kanjirappally has the highest number of rainy days in Kerala. It receives the highest amount of sum ...

Ranny Ranni or Ranny is a town in the Pathanamthitta district of Kerala, India, and the 16th largest ''taluk'' (administrative division) in Kerala, located on both sides of the Pamba River.It Is Located 30 km From Thiruvalla Railway Station & NH 183 i ...

, and

Erumely Erumely, also spelt "Erumeli" is a panchayat in the southeast part of Kottayam district in Kerala state, India. Erumely is situated 49 km east of Kottayam town and 133 km North of capital city Trivandrum. It is situated on the way to Sa ...

. Chunkappara is in the middle of a hilly region, with springs flowing throughout. The place is believed to have been located in the midst of Ponthanpuzha forest centuries ago.

Etymology

It is believed Chunkappara had a forest path and there was a check post erected here to collect taxes. The tax collectors used to sit beneath a huge rock, which is how the name Chunkappara developed ("Chunkam" means "tax" and "Para" means "rock"). This tax collecting spot is near to St. George High School. Chunkapara town is centered in previous ozhapukuzhi kavala, the place 3 roads joins.

Economy

Chunkappara is a developing town of the Kottangal Panchayat in Mallapally Thaluk. This is a business centre for people who live in nearby Perumpetty, Chalappally, Kulathoor, Alapara and Kottangal.

Schools

One of the oldest schools is St. George High School, Kottangal. It keeps academic standards up to 10. C.M.S. L.P. School is another old educational institution in Kottangal Panchayat. There is also an English middle school called Christu Raja English Medium School, and public school (CBSE High School) which are run by the Malankara Catholic Church. Kottangal L>P school is another old educational institution in Kottangal Panchayathu, close by Kottangal Kurishu Kavala.

Nearby villages

Nearby villages include Kottangal, Perumpetty, Alapra, Manimala, Ponthanpuzha, Ranni, Erumeli, Vaipur, Ezhumatoor, and Chalapally.

Demographics

It is an independent place where people have access without discrimination regarding caste, creed, colour, religion, age or sex.

Transport

The main roads passing through Distance between Chunkappara and nearby towns: *Manimala - 8 km *Mallapally - 14 km *Ranni - 14 km *Erumely - 15 km * Kozhenchery - 18 km *

- 21 km * Ponkunnam - 22 km *Chengannur - 24 km *Thiruvalla - 26 km *Pathanamthitta - 29 km *

Changanassery Changanassery or Changanacherry is a municipal town in Kottayam district in the state of Kerala, India. History The first recorded history on the origin of Changanacherry is obtained from Sangam period literature. According to Sangam era d ...

- 30 km *

Kottayam Kottayam () is a municipal town in the Indian state of Kerala. Flanked by the Western Ghats on the east and the Vembanad Lake and paddy fields of Kuttanad on the west. It is the district headquarters of Kottayam district, located in south-we ...

- 35 km *

Palai Pallai ( ta, பளை, si, පල්ලෙයි), also spelt Palai, is a small town in the Kilinochchi District, Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is located near the coast on the northern peninsula, approximately south-east of Jaffna. ...

- 45 km *

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

- 110 km. Chunkappara is well connected by private and

KSRTC KSRTC may refer to: * Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation * Kerala State Road Transport Corporation Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is a state-owned road transport corporation in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one o ...

buses. Thiruvalla, Mallapally, Ponkunnam, Pathanamthitta, and Chengannur KSRTC depots operates services from Chunkappara. Chunkappara bus stand is in the centre of Chunkappara town. It is the largest bus stand in Mallappally Taluk. KSRTC operates Chunkappara-Mallapally-Thiruvalla chain service from Chunkappara.

Hospitals

1. Shareena Medical Centre, Ponthanpuzha road, Chunkappara 2. V care hospital highschool Road, Chunkkapara 3. Government Hospital, Thundiapara Junction, Kadikavu Road, Chunkappara 3. Government Homeo Hospital, Thiruvalla Road, Chunkappara

Places for worship

The famous Kottangal Devi Temple is 2.5 km from Chunkappara town. The temple is famous for Padayani Maholsavam, where people from many parts of the state gather. It is a festival which involves many art forms and traditional beliefs. There are lot of churches in Chunkappara. Little Flower church, St. George Malankara church, Marthoma church, India Pentecostal Church of God, The Pentecostal Mission, Alaprakadu church and Kottangal church. Chunkappara Juma Masjid lies opposite to Chunkappara bus stand. Kottangal Jumah Masjid, also known as Vettukallummuri Jumah Masjid is 2 km from Chunkappara town, Perumpetty Mahadeva temple is 2 km from Chunkappara. Alapra Jumah Masjid, also known as Urumbath Palli is also 2 km from Chunkappara.

Education institutions

# St. George HS # CMS LPS # Alaprakkad govt Lps # Kottangal govt Lps # Al Hind public school # St. Joseph Hs, Kulathoor # Assisi Center, For mentally retarded Children. # Christu Raja English Medium School # Christhuraja public school

Communication

BSNL set up a telephone exchange at Chunkappara in 1995. All major mobile operators including BSNL, Idea,

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...

, Airtel, Tata docomo, Virgin, and Reliance have sufficient coverage in Chunkapara. BSNL started their internet service at Chunkapara in 2000. Now broadband is available in town.

Business Enterprises

Amity Rocks Pvt Ltd is a quarry company 1.5 km from Chunkappara which deals with quarry products in Kerala and it is one of South India's largest Quarry Company (established in 2006).

Places to visit

Orakkanpara is a beautiful waterfall in Chunkappara. Nagappara is historical place in Chunkappara inside a dense forest. There is a beautiful waterfall in nearby Nagappara. Oottupara is another important tourist spot in Chunkappara.

References

{{Pathanamthitta district Villages in Pathanamthitta district