Town in Kerala, India
Balussery
is a town located about 25 km northeast of
Kozhikode city
and lies on
State Highway 34
. It is one of the 12 block Panchayats in
Kozhikode district
. Balussery is the Northeast side entry of Calicut city.
Geography and Climate
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Balussery is located at a distance of about 25 km away from Kozhikode, the district headquarters, and is well connected by road to the nearby towns. There are three main roads that span out from the Balussery city centre. Kozhikode is accessible by two routes, via the Balussery-Kozhikode main Road and the Balussery-Ulliyeri-Kozhikode Road. The major city
Thamarassery
is about 15 km away and can be reached by the Koyilandi Edavanna Road, and Koyilandi Town is about 16 km away. The town has a bus stand-cum-shopping complex and acts as the origin of the bus services to all the main surrounding places.
Overview
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Balussery block has an area of 278.54 km
2
. There are eight Grama Panchayats in the block:
Atholi
, Balussery,
Koorachundu
,
Kottur
,
Naduvannur
,
Panangad
,
Ulliyeri
and
Unnikulam
. The total population is 212,592: 105,962 males and 106,631 females.
Government offices are situated in the heart of the town.
Kerala State Electricity Board
has a 33 kV substation (at Manjappalam), a division office/subdivision, and a section office here. There is also an employment exchange at Balussery Mukku, a
Kerala Police
Circle office, a PWD office, a Sub Registrar Office, an Educational Department Office, six
co-operative banks
,
State Bank of India
,
Canara Bank
,
Syndicate Bank
,
Punjab National Bank
,
Federal Bank
,
Bank of Baroda
,
HDFC bank
and
ICICI bank
.
Regular bus services operate throughout Kozhikode, Thamarassery, Koyilandy, Koorachundu, Koottalida and Perambra. Mini-buses connect the hinterland to Balussery Town. KSRTC operates services to the hilly regions of Balussery, like Mankayam, Koorachundu, Kakkayam, Kallanode, Cheekkilode, and Vayalada.
Education
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There are three government higher secondary schools located in Balussery. Govt. Vocational Higher Secondary School and GHSS girls high school are near the town, and Kokkallur HSS is 3 km away from town. There are also primary and upper primary schools, like Balussery GLP school, A.L.P School Thuruthyad.
There is a central government institute named Adarsha Sanskrit Vidya Peetham, located in Vaikundam. It is one of several Sanskrit Colleges in Kerala.
PT Usha
School of Athletics is at Vattoli Bazaar. Saraswathy Vidya Mandir is situated 2 km away from Balussery.
Politics
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Balussery has always been the most influential constituency of the
LDF
. Most of the workers are from
CPIM
. The Left Front has been winning with a huge lead in successive assembly and panchayat elections. As of the 2021 assembly elections, the current MLA is
Adv K.M Sachindev
of
CPI(M)
and he got a massive lead of
20372
votes The opposite candidates are
Dharmajan Bolgaty
for
UDF
and Libin Balussery for
NDA
. Other political parties in the area are
Muslim League
,
Indian National Congress
,
BJP
,
NCP
,
Janata Dal
,
welfareparty
, and
SDPI
.
Notable people
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Places of interest
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Vayalada Hill Station
Vayalada Hill Station is a hill station in Balussery in the proximity of
Vettakkorumakan Temple
.And its popularly knowns as Gavi of Malabar.
Thonikadavu Tourist Place
Thonikadavu is a tourist place located in Balussery,its called as Switzerland of Kerala.
Pokkunnu Hills View Point
Pokkunnu Hills View Point, Commonly known as Pokkunnu Mala, is a hill station in Balussery
Balussery-Kotta and Manjapuzha River
Balussery is home to the Central Fort of
Kurumbranad Rajas
, the
Balussery Kota
. It is flanked by a temple dedicated to
Vettakkorumakan
, known as the largest
Vettakkorumakan Temple
anywhere. It is 2 km from the bus stand. The Manjapuzha River flows by the side of the temple. There are several small temples nearby, such as Kunnatheru Maha Ganapathy Temple, Ponnaram Theru Maha Ganapathy Temple, Chamundeshwari Temple, Vaikuntam Vishnu Temple, Chinthramangalam SreeKrishna Temple, Ellath Mookambika Temple, and Narasimha Kshetram Nirmaloor. Thekkedathu Nagathan Kavu are also here.
Kinaloor Estate (Cochin Malabar Estates)
Kinaloor Estate (Cochin Malabar Estates) is a valley with a mountain on one side and a rubber plantation on the other. There is a plane in the middle of the plantation and the mountain, a proposed site for the KSIDC (SEZ) industrial area.
The Usha sports school is located at Kinaloor estate,
Vattoli Bazaar
. The school is located here at Kinaloor estate, Vattoli Bazaar, around 5 km from Balussery.
Kakkayam Dam Site
Kakkayam power station and dam is the sole dam in this region. The powerhouse is around 19 km from Balussery, and the dam is around 35 m
Transportation
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Balussery connects to other parts of India through
Koyilandy
. The national highway no.66 passes through
Koyilandy
, and the northern stretch connects to
Mangalore
,
Goa
, and
Mumbai
.
Suburbs of Balussery
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References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Balussery
.