Edamalakkudy

Edamalakkudy, or Idamalakkudy, is a remote tribal village and gram panchayat between the Idamalayar Reserve Forest and Mankulam Forest Division of the Anaimalai Hills in the Idukki district of the Indian state of Kerala.

Edamalakudy is located at an elevation of 1100–1700 metres, 22 km north-west of Pettimudi, a village about 4 km west of the Anamudi, the tallest mountain peak in South India on the border of Ernakulam district and Idukki district.

Pettimudi is not very remote, but is still not easy to reach as the path is hilly and fog is common and often intense, passing through the Eravikulam National Park, 16 km from Munnar by road and 18 km from Aanakkulam by walking through thick forests.

The Idamalayar Reserve Forest covers various other tribal villages, spread over parts of eastern Ernakulam district, including Kappayam and Kaserapara.

To the south-west is the Idamalayar-Pooyamkutty Valley, and various settlements including Pooyamkutty and Kuttampuzha, as well as Aanakkulam.

Edamalakkudy was initially not very remote, but the Great flood of 99 which occurred in July 1924 destroyed the old Aluva-Munnar road making it hard to reach.

Edamalakkudy is a cluster of 26 hamlets scattered in an area of 106 km (66 mi) forest.

From Cochin International Airport, Aluva railway station and Ernakulam Junction, buses are available to Munnar.

[3] In 2010, a separate panchayath was created for administering Edamalakkudy-it was earlier part of Kuttampuzha panchayat.

Edamalakudy is panchayath included in Kothamangalam Taluk in Ernakulam District of Kerala in India.

Edamalakudy is surrounded by the Idamalayar Dam-Pooyamkutty area and Malakkappara to the north-west and west, Aanakkulam to the south-West, Devikulam to the south, Marayoor to the east, and Valparai to the North.

Recent interventions by the Kerala government looked into issues like food security, education, medical facilities and drinking water supply.

During the trip to the polling station deep inside the forest, there were many hitches like the presence of wild animals.

Because of the inaccessibility, only tribal Councillors attend the village council meeting at Societykudy.

[9] Edamalakkudy is not a single village but a cluster of about 26 hamlets scattered in 35,000 acres of deep forest.

Blackbucks are known to occasionally stray from the drier deciduous forests of the neighbouring Tamil Nadu state.

Various endemic butterfly species are found, including Mycalesis igilia, Colias nilagiriensis, and Heteropsis oculus among others.

They are also found in other Kerala villages like Kanthalloor, Marayoor, Vattavada, Chinnakkal, Mankulam, Munnar, Shanthanppara, Adimali and Rajakumari.

However, they are more common in parts of eastern Ernakulam district, including Edamalakkudy Panchayat and around Malakkappara.

The language of the Muthuvan tribals is not Malayalam but a dialect closely related to Tamil.

The provincial government of Kerala has sought the help of the National Biodiversity Authority of India to intervene for the preserving and conservation of the traditional way of life of the Edamalakkudy people.

Two more BSNL sites have come up recently in the road towards Edamalakudy from Rajamala, a kilometre south of Pettimudi and Rajamala Factory which are mainly tea plantation settlements and major contact points for people from Edamalakudy.

Still some of kudies (name for small settlement of tribals in Edamalakudy village), scattered along this vast forest areas have no mobile coverage.

People at Edamalakkudi