Anchal

For other uses, see Anchal (disambiguation).

Anchal^[1] is an urban town^[2] located in the centre of Kollam district in Kerala, India.

Anchal
Panchayath Bus Stand in Anchal Market Junction
Anchal Location in Kerala, India Show map of Kerala Anchal Anchal (India) Show map of India
Coordinates: 08°55′45″N 76°55′05″E
Country	India
State	Kerala
District	Kollam
Government
• Body	Block panchayat
Area
• Total	24.45 km2 (9.44 sq mi)
Elevation	45 m (148 ft)
Population
• Total	33,088
Languages
• Official	Malayalam
• Minority	Tamil
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	691306
Telephone code	0475
Vehicle registration	KL-25
District	Kollam
Civic agency	Panchayat
Climate	Monsoon (Köppen)
Literacy Rate	95%

Etymology

There are several legends about the origin of the name Anchal. One legend is that there used to be an "Anchalappis" at the site of the present range office junction, from which the name "Anchal" originates. Another legend is how five disputes evolved in the region, leading to the name of the land of five disputes, proverbs or puzzles.^[3] Another myth is that the five Banyan trees, or "Aal", in the region are the origin of the name Anchal, a portmanteau of Anch, meaning five, and Aal, meaning Banyan tree.^[3]

Transport

The nearest railway stations are the Punalur Railway Station and the Kollam Junction Railway Station, located respectively 14 km and 38 km away. Kollam Junction is the second largest railway station in Kerala by area and is also one of the oldest.^[4] Punalur Railway Station is about 11 km from Anchal and currently connects to Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Nagarcoil, Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli and Madurai. The nearest International Airport is Trivandrum International Airport, located 55 km from Anchal in the city of Thiruvananthapuram.^{[citation needed]} It is the main international airport in the state of Kerala and offers both national and international flights.^[5] Anchal is located between the National Highway 744 and the Main Central Road and Hilly highway is also passing through Anchal. The new bypass, a long-standing demand of the local people was thrown open for traffic from May 17, 2024. Multiple bus services also run between Anchal and other places in Kerala.

Demographics

In the 2011 Census of India, Anchal had a population of 33,098 of which 15,732 are male and 17,356 are female. The literacy rate is 95%, with 96.7% of males literate and 93.49% of females literate.^[2] The total employed population is 11,960. 71% of the population that are employed are male and 29% are female. Scheduled Caste members make up 9.04% of the population, while Scheduled Tribe members make up 0.25%.^{[6][needs update]}

Notable people

• Rajiv Anchal - a film director, screenwriter, and sculptor who works in Malayalam language cinema
• B. Kemal Pasha - a retired judge of the high court of Kerala^[7]
• Resul Pookutty - Academy Award winning Sound Engineer