Kalamassery is a major industrial region in the city of Kochi in the state of Kerala, India. It houses companies like Apollo Tyres and HMT; IT/Electronics Parks like KINFRA Hi Tech Park, Startup Village, and Electronics City. Kalamassery is also home to educational institutions such as the National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Ernakulam Medical College, and the Cochin University of Science and Technology. The Thrikkakara temple, Unichira and Eloor industrial township, are in the vicinity of Kalamassery.

The Periyar river flows through Kalamassery. In local administration it is a municipality named Kalamassery Municipality. The Neighbouring localities of Kalamassery are Thrikkakara, Eloor, Edappally, Choornikkara, Edathala and Aluva.Cochin International Airport is 18 km away from Kalamassery.

The name Kalamassery is derived from Kalabhasery. In Malayalam, a word can have multiple meanings: in common usage "kalabham" means yellow sandalwood paste, and in literary Malayalam, it can mean Elephant. Kalabhasery, a location near HMT, was where elephants from Thrikkakara Temple was taken for rest after celebrations at the temple. During the course of time Kalabhasery became Kalamassery. Historically, the prominent area was called Njalakam, place with a prominent Juma Masjid, but during the time of creation of Kalamassery Panchayat which includes Njalakam, it was decided to name the area Kalamassery instead of Njalakam due to the growth of Kalamassery. This growth was brought about by new industries like HMT in that area. Later, the rapid growth of Kalamassery led to it being promoted to a Municipality.

Economy

FACT, India's 1st large scale unit was set up in 1943 for production of fertiliser. In 1947, FACT Udyogamandal started production of ammonium sulphate with an installed capacity of 10,000 MT nitrogen. FACT became a Kerala State Public Sector Enterprise on 15 August 1960 and on 21 November 1962; the Government of India became a major Shareholder. FACT engineering works was established on 13 April 1966. Aluminium oxide is also produced in Kalamassery. Apollo Tyres acquired the Premier Tyres plant in Kalamassery. The Hindustan Machine Tools also known as HMT is also located at the hearts of Kalamassery . Merchem and Carborundum Universal Electro-minerals division has its offices at South Kalamassery. Many Vehicle aftersales - service centres like Toyota, Renault, Nissan, Volkswagen, Fiat India Automobiles etc., are located at Kalamassery.The Kerala State Electricity Board or KSEB sub-division is at Kalamassery . The Kochi Metro Casting Yard and Metro Village is located at HMT Colony in Kalamassery . The Science City, Startup Village, KINFRA are at Kalamassery. The Water from Periyar is supplied to Kochi City by Various pipes placed which are managed by the PWD and the Kerala Water Authority.India's first telecom incubation center located in kalamassery.

There are also many small scale industries in Kalamassery like St Antony Industries, Micro Tools, Ambadan Industries, Vellappally Manufacturing Industry, Pottekattu Rubbers Pvt.Ltd, Logiwiz, Bajaj etc. A part of South Kalamassery is as an Industrial area, with small scale industries such as perfume making industries and plastic recycling industries. Many people are engaged in employment through these industries. There are also Kudumbasree associations, employing many women. The Main Headquarters of Vodafone India is at South Kalamassery. The largest shopping mall in India - LuLu International Shopping Mall started in 2013 is at Edapally toll, which is a part of Kalamasserry Municipality.

Kalamassery is home to 3 Kochi Metro stations:

The Kalamassery Town metro station is located at the Premier Junction in Kalamassery, in front of the Apollo Tyres factory.
The CUSAT metro station, which is located close to Cochin University of Science and Technology in South Kalamassery.
The Pathadipalam metro station, located near MILMA, ERCMPU LTD in Koonamthai.

Source - Wikipedia [Mar 2021]