Iritty
Iritty is a Municipality and a Taluk in the district of Kannur in the state of Kerala, India. The town is the main market place for the farmer communities in the surrounding regions. Iritty is known as The Coorg Valley in God's Own Country. Iritty is one of the fastest upcoming towns in Kerala with the distance of 19.5 km from Kannur International Airport and one among five taluks in Kannur district. Iritty is one of the major towns lies between Coorg and Kannur international airport -Mattanur.
Iritty is located on the banks of Valapattanam River, which is originates from Kodagu hills and Kottiyoor mountains. Iritty is situated on the Thalassery-Coorg-Mysore highway between Mattanur and Virajpete. Nearby smaller towns are Padiyoor, Peravoor, Kakkayangadu, ARALAM, Keezhppally, Vallithode, Karikkottakary, Angadikadavu, Anappanthy, Edoor, Ulikkal, Vattiyamthode, Mattara, Manikkadavu, Kilyianthara, Punnad, Charal, Edapuzha, Uruppumkutti, Vilakkode and Chavassery.
Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary is situated 8 kilometres (5 mi) from Iritty.
Geography
Iritty is surrounded by hills. A river flowing through Iritty is more commonly known as Iritty Puzha (Iritty River). There is a steel girder bridge, built in 1933, over the river. There is a dam in the place Pazhassi for irrigation purpose named 'Pazhassi Dam' which is almost 10 km from the town. Wayanad tourist destinations are near from this place. The nearby areas are depending on Iritty for most of their shopping. Payam, ARALAM, Punnad, Vallithode, Kilyianthara, Kondambra, Kolikkadavu, Keezhur, Ulickal, Vattiyamthode, Mattara, Kalanki, Manikadave, Manippara Perumpally, Nuchiyad, Vayathoor, Edoor, Peratta, Karikottakari, Angadikadave, Puravayal, Kootupuzha, Charal, Alathupramba, Thermala, Urathoor, Vilakkode, Madathil etc. are the nearby small towns around.
The steel bridge in Iritty is a 10-ton bridge constructed in 1933 by the British authorities to connect the towns of Kodagu and Thalassery. It was designed by George Anderson of the Institution of Civil Engineers. A July 2015 death of a man after being accidentally wedged between the handrail and a private bus raised concerns about the bridge's age.
Iritty is one of the major towns of the Kannur district. With nearby villages which produce cash crops and plantation crops, Iritty is a major commercial town too. It is one of the growing towns in the district. Iritty is famous for cash crops such as pepper, rubber and cashew nuts, some of which are sold under regional brands in various auction houses and commodities markets.
Iritty is primarily a trading town. Iritty is headquarters to several State Government offices. Most of these offices have jurisdiction over nearby towns like Mattanur and Peravoor.
Source - Wikipedia [Mar 2021]
Iritty was initially part of Keezhur-Chavassery panchayat and upgraded to a Municipality on 1st November 2015. The Municipal town is divided into 33 wards. Iritty established as a Taluk headquarters since March 2013 when Kerala government declared new taluks for the state. Iritty taluk falls under Thalassery Revenue division.
Iritty Taluk has 19 villages. They are:
Aralam, Ayyankunnu, Chavasseri and Kalliad
Kanichar, Keezhur, Kelakam and Kolari
Kottiyoor, Manathana, Muzhakkunnu and Nuchiyad
Padiyoor, Payam, Pazhassi and Thillankeri
Vayathur, Vellarvalli and Vilamana
Iritty, one of the beautiful hill side towns in the north Malabar of Kerala. The beauty of Iritty lies together with the unique rivers, streams, green hills and valleys. The main Streams of Iritty river are by the three rivers such as Bavali river, Aralam river and Barapuzha (Veni river). Before the name 'Iritty,' made the first cry, this land was nourished by two main rivers, one Barapuzha and Bavalipuzha . People started calling both the rivers confluence as Iratta puzha (Double River & 'Puzha' means River ), and in course of time the land became Iritty.
Iritty lies at an equal distance from the nearby cities of Kannur, Thalassery, Mahe, Taliparamba and Virajpet (Karnataka State). An interstate highway passes through Iritty connecting Thalassery, Mattanur Airport and Kodagu. This was initially called the TC Road by the British. This highway is used by interstate bus services plying to Madikeri, Mysore and Bangalore.
Keezhur is the starting point of Iritty town. This place is well-connected by road from both Kannur and thalassery. There are frequent buses from Iritty and to both these places and to several places across Kerala including Kottayam, Cochin (Ernakulam), Mangalore, Kasaragod, Panathur, Kanhangad, Malom, Cherupuzha, Wayanad and Kozhikode.The Details Of Bus Service From Iritty Are Available at Bus Iritty Facebook Page, There is no railway line, with the nearest railway stations at Kannur and Thalassery. The nearest airport is Kannur International Airport, at Mattannur is located 19.5 km south-west of Iritty.
