BHARATHAPPUZHA

The Bharathappuzha, also known as Nila, is

a river in India in the state of Kerala. With a length
of 209km, it is the second-longest river in Kerala,
after the Periyar River. The word "Nila" indicates
the culture more than just a river. Nila has groomed
the culture and life of south Malabar part of Kerala.
We see the name "Peraar" indicating the same river
in ancient scripts and documents

Course
The headwaters of main tributary of Bharathappuzha originates in the Anaimalai Hills in the
Western Ghats, and flows westward through Palakkad Gap, across Palakkad, Thrissur and
Malappuram districts of Kerala, with many tributaries joining it, including the Tirur River. For the
first 40 km or so, the Bharathappuzha follows an almost northerly course till Pollachi. At Parli both
Kannadippuzha and Kalpathippuza
merge and flow as Bharathappuzha and
follows a westerly course until it empties
into the Arabian Sea at Ponnani. Thootha
River merges with Nila at Pallippuram.
As Thootha river is rich in water,
after its merger, Nila becomes thicker in
flow.The river is not navigable along
most of its course except the small
stretch where it joins the sea. With a
watershed of 6,186 km², Bharathapuzha
basin is the largest among all the river
basins in Kerala. A little more than
two-thirds of this area (4400 km²) is
within Kerala and the remaining area
(1786 km²) is in Tamil Nadu. Though Bharathapuzha has a large basin, the water flow is relatively
less compared to other long rivers in Kerala because a large portion of the basin is located in the
comparatively drier regions (Tamil Nadu and Palakkad Gap). The construction of a number of dams
after independence has also reduced the river flow. In fact in the summer months, there is almost no
flow in most parts of the river. The river is the Nile of Kerala and has the name Nila also.
The Bharathappuzha is the lifeline of many cities and villages; (in Chittur, Bharathappuzha
is known as "Sokanasini", this name was given by Thunjathu Ramanujan Ezhuthachan), (Chittur-
Thathamangalam,) (Kodumbu-Thiruvalathur) Palakkad, (Parli-Kottayi), (Mankara-
Perigottukurissi ), (Lakkidi-ThiruvilwamalaKillikkurussimangalam, Ottappalam, Shoranur,
Cheruthuruthy Pattambi, Thrithala, Thiruvegappura, Kudallur, Pallipuram and Kumbidi. The village
of Parudur, including the town of Pallipuram, stand near the confluence of this river and the River
Thootha or, simply, Thuthapuzha.

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