Walayar

Walayar
Village
Walayar aerial view
Walayar Location in Kerala, India Walayar Walayar (India)
Coordinates: 10.8428°N 76.8388°E / 10.8428; 76.8388
Country	India
State	Kerala
District	Palakkad District
Languages
• Official	Malayalam
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	678624
Telephone code	04915
Vehicle registration	KL-09
Coastline	0 kilometres (0 mi)
Nearest city	Palakkad, Coimbatore
Lok Sabha constituency	Palakkad
Climate	Tropical monsoon (Köppen)
Avg. summer temperature	40 °C (104 °F)
Avg. winter temperature	20 °C (68 °F)

Walayar is a border town, located in the Palakkad district of Kerala, India. The border check post between Kerala and Tamil Nadu is here, marked by an arch. It is 25 km from Palakkad on the NH 544, 28 km from Coimbatore and 37 km from Coimbatore International Airport.

Location

Walayar is a small developing town in the Palakkad district of Kerala. It lies on the border between Kerala and Tamil Nadu on National Highway 47 (NH 47) where the commercial tax (previously sales tax) check post, motor vehicles check post, and excise check posts are located. Most of the goods imported into Kerala come by road and predominantly on this road. Due to its traffic volume, the route once had notorious traffic jams. But this changed with the improvement of NH 47 from Walayar to Vadakkanchery. It now has four lanes, with service roads and other facilities. There is an exclusive service road for goods vehicles from the entry point of the check post to the exit point so that passenger vehicles can easily pass through the check post area without any interruption. Widening of NH 47 completed in 2015. Most of the passenger vehicles from other states, such as buses, tourist cabs, and pilgrims, enter Kerala through this gateway. Walayar is considered the Gateway of Kerala from mainland India.

Walayar has a railway station, about 100 meters from NH 47. Walayar came to limelight due to the sales tax check post, previously called the most corrupt, and one of the 10 biggest check posts in India.

Checkposts

There are five check posts of different departments of Kerala Government in Walayar as detailed below:

1. Commercial Tax Check Post-Commercial Tax Department, Kerala
2. Motor Vehicle Check Post-Motor Vehicle Department, Kerala
3. Excise Check Post-State Excise Department, Kerala
4. Forest Check Post-Kerala Forest &Wild Life Department, Kerala
5. Rinder Pest Check Post -Animal Husbandry Department, Kerala

The commercial taxes check post has the most officials and brings the most revenue to the state. It has nearly 200 officials, whereas other checkposts have fewer than 40. Commercial taxes comprise 76% of the state exchequer.

Walayar is also famous for lottery shops which are in abundance here. Exporting timber also is a major occupation.

Deer park

There is also a deer park beside the NH 47, presently in poor condition due to lack of facilitation. The park, spread over 110 acres of forested area, mainly of teak plantation, started in 1997 and got recognition from the Zoo Authority recently with conditions to convert it as a Safari Park providing more amenities for the deer and other animals and also for visitors. The park is located 22 km from Palakkad and could be developed for tourist to see deer and other small animals in their natural habitat. The deer park is also refereed as Jayaprakash Narayan Smrithivanam.

As a gateway it is also the main entry point to the main tourist centres of the District, like Malampuzha, Kanjirapuzha, Nelliampathy, Silent Valley and the Mangalam Dam.

Industries

Malabar Cements Ltd, a public sector undertakings owned by the Kerala government, produces grey cement and is one of the landmarks of Walayar.

Transportation

This town connects to other parts of India through Palakkad. National Highway No.544 connects to Coimbatore and Bangalore. Other parts of Kerala are accessed through National Highway No.66 going through Thrissur. Coimbatore International Airport, the nearest airport, is about 43 km away. Palakkad Junction railway station is the nearest major railway station.

In Coimbatore the bus stand to Walayar is bus stop number 96.

References

• http://palakkad.nic.in/