Vazhakulam is a village in Muvattupuzha Talukis in Ernakulam district in the Indian state of Kerala. This town is known as Pineapple City[1] due to its large-scale pineapple farms.

Vazhakulam Pineapple City
town
Pineapple and Rubber cultivations in Vazhakulam
Coordinates: 9.95°N 76.64°E / 9.95; 76.64
Country	India
State	Kerala
District	Ernakulam
Government
• Body	Manjalloor Panchayath
Elevation	22 m (72 ft)
Languages
• Official	Malayalam, English
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	686670
Telephone code	0485
Vehicle registration	KL-17
Nearest city	Muvattupuzha, Thodupuzha, Kothamangalam
Lok Sabha constituency	Idukki
Civic agency	Manjalloor Panchayath

Another village named Vazhakulam, is located in Aluva.

Economy

The town is the largest Asian pineapple market. Kerala Agricultural University established a Pineapple Research Station at Vazhakulam in 1995. The pineapples cultivated there have achieved a geographic indication. Vazhakulam pineapples are marketed as GI tagged products. Rice used to be the main crop of this area in the 1960s and 1970s, but the advent of rubber cultivation turned many rice fields and estates into rubber plantations.

Demographics

The population of this area largely consists of Syrian Catholic Christians.

Many Hindu families have made this place their home.(?)

Educational institutions

• Viswajyothi College of Engineering and Technology, Vazhakulam
• St. George College, Vazhakulam
• Chavara International Academy, Vazhakulam[2]
• Carmel CMI Public School, Vazhakulam[3]
• Infant Jesus High School, Vazhakulam
• St. Little Theresas High School, Vazhakulam
• St. George's TTI, Vazhakulam
• St. Reetha's L.P. School, Theakkumala
• St. Thomas School, Vengachuvadu
• The Bethlehem International Vazhakulam
• Vimalamatha High School Kadalikkad
• St. Sebastian's HS, Memadangu
• Govt. L P School, Neerampuzha
• Govt. L P School, Maniyantharam

Hospitals

• St. George's Hospital Vazhakulam
• Govt. Hospital Vazhakulam

Churches

• St. George Syro-Malabar Catholic Forane Church
• Carmel Monastery
• Holy Family Church Bethleham
• Zion Gospel Church & Ministries
• St Sebastians church,Arikuzha

Temple

Among the famous Hindu temples in this area are the Lord Subramanya temple, Vallikkada Bhagavathi temple and Pudussery Kalari Bhagavathi temple.[4] Other nearby temples include Sree Dharma Sastha Temple in Mangalloor and Bhagavathi Temple in Kalloorkad.

Banks

• Canara Bank
• Federal Bank
• State Bank Of India
• South Indian Bank
• Kerala Gramin Bank
• Service Co-operative bank No:751

Sports

• Volleyball - Vazhakulam has a great volleyball culture. This town contributed many good players to the Indian volleyball. All the volleyball interests in this town is related to St. George's Volley Ball Club.

• Basketball - Carmel cmi public school indoor stadium provides basketball facilities and nourishing the young talents.

Geography

Vazhakulam lies east of the town of Muvattupuzha on the Muvattupuzha - Thodupuzha road. Nearby towns include:

• Kavana
• Memadangu
• Kadalikkad
• Madakkathanam
• Manjalloor
• Kalloorkad
• Nadukkara
• Avoly
• Anikkad -Anicadu
• Vadakode
• Thekkummala
• Bethlehem
• Mullappuzhachal

Notables

• K. M. George, the founder of the Kerala Congress

See also

• Muvattupuzha
• Arakuzha
• Thodupuzha
• Ernakulam

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vazhakulam.