Iritty is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

and

taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative ...

Kannur district Kannur () is one of the 14 Districts of Kerala, districts along the west coast in the state of Kerala, India. The city of Kannur is the district headquarters and gives the district its name. The old name, Cannanore, is the anglicized form of th ...

of Kerala state, India. The town is the main market place for the farmer communities in the surrounding regions. Iritty is at a distance of from Kannur International Airport and one among five taluks in Kannur district. Iritty is one of the major towns that lies between Coorg and Kannur International Airport near Mattanur.

Location

Iritty is located on the banks of Bavali river, which originates from the Wayanad passes. Iritty is situated on the

Thalassery Thalassery () (also called Tellicherry) is a city and municipality on the Malabar Coast in Kannur district in the state of Kerala, India, bordered by the districts of Mahe and Kozhikode. Thalassery municipality has a population of just under ...

- Coorg-

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

highway or State Highway 30 (Kerala) between

Mattanur Mattanur, also spelled as Mattannur, is a municipality and an aerotropolis in Kannur district, Kerala, India. Mattanur is about 27 km east of Kannur and Thalassery, two major towns of the district. Mattanur lies between Kannur, Th ...

and

Virajpet The town of Virajpet also spelled as Virajapete () is township of the district of Kodagu, in India's southern States and union territories of India, State of Karnataka. It is the main town of the ''Virajpet taluka'', south of the district, and b ...

. Nearby smaller towns are Padiyoor, Blathur, Peravoor, Kakkayangad, Aralam, Keezhppally, Vallithode, Karikkottakary, Angadikadavu, Anappanthy, Edoor, Ulikkal, Vattiyamthode, Mattara, Manikkadavu, Kilyianthara, Punnad, Charal, Edapuzha, Uruppumkutti, Vilakkode and Chavassery. Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary is situated from Iritty.

Geography

Iritty is surrounded by hills. A river flowing through Iritty is more commonly known as Iritty Puzha (Iritty River). There is a steel girder bridge, built in 1933, over the river. There is a dam in the place Pazhassi for irrigation purpose named 'Pazhassi Dam' which is almost 10 km from the town.

Wayanad Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of the Indian state of Kerala, with its administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, ...

tourist destinations are near from this place. The nearby areas are depending on Iritty for most of their shopping. Padiyoor, Payam, Aralam, Punnad, Vallithode, Kilyianthara, Kondambra, Kolikkadavu, Keezhur, Ulickal, Vattiyamthode, Mattara, Kalanki, Manikadave, Manippara Perumpally, Nuchiyad, Vayathoor, Edoor, Peratta, Karikottakari, Angadikadave, Puravayal, Kootupuzha, Charal, Alathupramba, Thermala, Urathoor, Vilakkode, Madathil etc. are the nearby small towns around.

Steel bridge

The steel bridge in Iritty is a 10-ton bridge constructed in 1933 by the British authorities to connect the towns of

Kodagu Kodagu district () (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative List of districts of Karnataka, district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State at which point it was merged ...

and

. It was designed by George Anderson of the Institution of Civil Engineers. A July 2015 death of a man after being accidentally wedged between the handrail and a private bus raised concerns about the bridge's age.

Administration

Iritty was initially part of Keezhur-Chavassery Panchayat and upgraded to a Municipality on 1 November 2015. The Municipal town is divided into 33 wards. K Sreekala is the present municipal chairperson of Iritty. The current ruling party of Iritty Municipality is LDF. Iritty Municipality is a part of Peravoor Assembly Constituency under Kannur Loksabha Constituency. Iritty established as a Taluk headquarters since March 2013 when Kerala government declared new taluks for the state. Iritty taluk falls under Thalassery Revenue division.

Villages in Iritty Taluk

Iritty Taluk has 20 villages * Aralam, Ayyankunnu, Chavasseri and Kalliad * Kanichar, Karikkottakari, Keezhur and Kelakam * Kolari, Kottiyoor, Manathana and Muzhakkunnu * Nuchiyad, Padiyoor, Payam and Pazhassi * Thillankeri, Vayathur, Vellarvalli and Vilamana

Etymology

Iritty, one of the beautiful hill side towns in the north Malabar of Kerala. The beauty of Iritty lies together with the unique rivers, streams, green hills and valleys. The main Streams of Iritty river are by the three rivers such as Bavali river, Aralam river and Barapuzha (Veni river). Before the name 'Iritty,' made the first cry, this land was nourished by two main rivers, one Barapuzha and Bavalipuzha. People started calling both the rivers confluence as Iratta puzha (Double River & 'Puzha' means River), and in course of time the land became Iritty.

Climate

Iritty has a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate subtype that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ' ...

(Am) with little to no rainfall from December to March and heavy to extremely heavy rainfall from April to November.

Transportation

Iritty lies at an equal distance from the nearby cities of

Kannur Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and Municipal corporation (India), municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the maj ...

, Mahe,

Taliparamba Taliparamba (also known as Perinchelloor and Lakshmipuram) is a Municipalities of Kerala, Municipality and List of taluks of Kerala, Taluk of Kannur district in Kerala state, India. The municipal town spreads over an area of and is inha ...

and

( Karnataka State). The proposed Kannur Mysore National Highway or

SH 30 The following highways are numbered 30: International * AH30, Asian Highway 30 * European route E30 Australia * Albany Highway (State Route 30, Western Australia) Brazil * BR-030 Canada * Alberta Highway 30 (defunct) * British Columbia High ...

passes through Iritty connecting

, Mattanur Airport and

. This was initially called the TC Road by the British. This highway is used by interstate bus services plying to Madikeri,

and

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

. SH 36 connects Iritty with

that gives access to other towns like Irikkur and Sreekandapuram. Keezhur is the starting point of Iritty town. This place is well-connected by road from both

and

. There are frequent buses from Iritty and to both these places and to several places across Kerala including

Kottayam Kottayam () is a city in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kottayam has a population of ...

Cochin Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernaku ...

( Ernakulam),

Mangalore Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the st ...

, Kasaragod, Panathur, Kanhangad, Cherupuzha,

and

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

. There is no railway line, with the nearest railway stations at

and Thalassery. The nearest airport is Kannur International Airport, at Mattannur is located 19.5 km south-west of Iritty.

Commerce

Iritty is one of the major towns of the

. With nearby villages which produce cash crops and plantation crops, Iritty is a major commercial town too. It is one of the growing towns in the district. Iritty is famous for cash crops such as pepper, rubber and cashew nuts, some of which are sold under regional brands in various auction houses and commodities markets. Iritty is primarily a trading town. Iritty is headquarters to several State Government offices. Most of these offices have jurisdiction over nearby towns like

and Peravoor. Iritty

Hospitals

* Amala Multi Speciality Hospital, Keezhur * Sky Super Speciality Hospital, Iritty. * Divine Eye Hospital, New Bus Stand , Iritty

Education

* Pragathi Vidhyanikethan Nerampoke Road Iritty * Higher Secondary School, Edathotty * Benhill English Senior Secondary School, Kunnoth

Pilgrim Centres & Religious Centres

* St. George Church Puravayal * St. Mary's Forane Church, Edoor * St. Joseph's Church Iritty * Assemblies of God in India,Veerpad *Sree Kavoottuparambu Ganapathi Mahadeva Temple (Keezhur Kunnu)

Tourism

Iritty and the surrounding areas have a choice of tourism attractions. * Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary *

Pazhassi Dam The Pazhassi Dam also called Kulur Barrage is a stone masonry diversion structure in Kannur district, Kerala, India. It is named after king Pazhassi Raja, a patriot who died a heroic death in the war. The dam is constructed across the west flowi ...

and garden * Pazhassi Reservoir, Padiyoor * Kanjirakkolly waterfalls

Notable People

* Tintu Luka, an Indian athlete * Nivetha Thomas, an Indian actress

References

External links

*
Website of Iritty
{{Kannur district Cities and towns in Kannur district