Kazhakoottam

Kazhakoottam is a town in Trivandrum district of Kerala state, India,17 km north of Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) City. Kazhakoottam is located on the National Highway 47 on the way to Kollam from Thiruvananthapuram, and has gained in significance because of proximity to "Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre", and more recently, "Technopark",the IT center which was the first among its kind in the country. The Sainik School is also situated in this area.

Administration

Kazhakoottam is a Panchayat, just outside Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. It also comes under TRIDA (Trivandrum Development Authority) and Capital Region Development Authority.

All major northbound long distance buses from Thiruvananthapuram, and those to Thiruvananthapuram stop at Kazhakoottam. State owned "KSRTC" operates city bus services (route 581, 585, 893, etc) to Kazhakoottam from other major centres in the city. Only a few passenger trains halt at railway station at Kazhakoottam. The new railway terminal coming up at Kochuveli is around 8 km south of Kazhakoottam, and can be accessed through the Bypass to the National Highway. Trivandrum International Airport is also around 8 km south of the town. Kazhakuttom is a hub for educational institutions in Kerala, with its proximity to institutions like Sainik School, Kerala University Campus, Laksmibai National College of Physical Education and College of Engineering, Trivandrum.

History

The Mahadeva Temple in Kazhakoottam is believed to be around 1000 years old.

Kazhakoottam was the centre of power for Kazhakoottathu Ugran Pillai, the prominent one among the Ettuveetil Pillamar (Pillais from Eight Houses) who rebelled against the Travancore king Marthandavarma in the late 18th century. After defeating Pillai, Marthanda Varma destroyed Kazhakoottam Pillai's palace. He also dug a pond in place of the palace. To redeem himself, he built a temple to Krishna nearby. Both the pond and the temple exist, even now.

Current Events

Post Independence, Kazhakoottam got its first boost with ISRO setting up its space center, VSSC nearby, that set up its residential area barely 3 km from here. A Sainik School, which is a military residential school, was set up in Kazhakoottam in early 60s by the Government of India. In early 1980s, Kazhakoottam was selected as one of the ends of the bypass to be constructed to the NH47. By the end of 1980s, the construction on the Technopark began here. By late 1990s, Kazhakoottam was growing and merging with the nearby Trivandrum city. In 2000, the expanding Trivandrum Municipal Corporation expanded to the border of Kazhakoottam Panchayat. The northern section of Trivandrum - Neyyattinkara combined bypass was opened to the public. In 2005, there was further acquisition of agricultural land for expansion of Technopark and also for the new venture Technocity, that is planned to come up around 4 km north of Kazhakoottam.