Kanhangad
Kanhangad or Kanjangad is a major and commercial town which falls under "Class1" UAs/Towns category and a Municipality in the Kasaragod District, state of Kerala, India. The largest and most populous city in the Kasaragod district, Kanhangad is 26 km from the district headquarters of Kasaragod town, 68 km from Kannur and 79 km from Mangalore city.
Geography
Kanhangad lies at 12°18′0″N 75°5.4′0″E in the geographic map of Kasaragod. It is a coastal town which has a varied topography with plain areas in the centre of the city. The landscape is dominated by the characteristic coconut palms accompanying rolling hills and streams flowing into the sea. In the East, there are hilly areas of Madikai . The western region has powdered sand and a mix of laterite and alluvial soil in the areas between. The hilly areas typically consists of red sand.
The Arabian Sea lies in the west and Western Ghats in the east. The Neeleshwaram River originates from the Kinanoor hills , passes south through Arangadi and drains into the Nileshwar.
EtymologyAs cited in the Vadakkan Paattu or the North Malabar folklore songs, there was a temple in the name of Kanjiram Kaattappan and through this the name Kanjangad was derived. Another popular belief is that it was derived out of Kanjiramkadu which means a forest of Strychnine tree. As per historic records, the place was ruled by Kanjan, a tribal representative of Kolathiri which later came to be known as Kanjante naadu which means 'land of Kanjan' in Malayalam; later constricted as Kanhangad. There is also another legend that the name was derived from a Sanskrit word Kanchanaghatta.
Source - Wikipedia [Mar 2021]
Members of Kerala Legislative Assembly from Kanhangad Assembly Constituency
| As Hosdurg | ||||
| Year | Member | Party | ||
| 1957 | K. Chandrasekharan | PSP | ||
| 1960 | K. Chandrasekharan | PSP | ||
| 1967 | N. K. Balakrishnan | SSP | ||
| 1970 | N. K. Balakrishnan | SSP | ||
| 1977 | K. T. Kumaran | CPI | ||
| 1980 | K. T. Kumaran | CPI | ||
| 1982 | K. T. Kumaran | CPI | ||
| 1987 | N. Manoharan Master | INC | ||
| 1991 | M. Narayanan | CPI | ||
| 1996 | M. Narayanan | CPI | ||
| 2001 | M. Kumaran | CPI | ||
| 2006 | Pallipram Balan | CPI | ||
| As Kanhangad | ||||
| Year | Member | Party | ||
| 2011 | E. Chandrasekharan | CPI | ||
| 2016 | E. Chandrasekharan | CPI | ||
| 2021 | E. Chandrasekharan | CPI |
Local self governed segments in Kanhangad Assembly Constituency
| Sl.No. | Name | Status | Taluk |
| 1 | Kanhangad | Municipality | Hosdurg |
| 2 | Ajanur | Grama panchayat | Hosdurg |
| 3 | Madikai | Grama panchayat | Hosdurg |
| 4 | Balal | Grama panchayat | Vellarikundu |
| 5 | Kallar | Grama panchayat | Vellarikundu |
| 6 | Kinanoor - Karindalam | Grama panchayat | Vellarikundu |
| 7 | Kodom-Bellur | Grama panchayat | Vellarikundu |
| 8 | Panathady | Grama panchayat | Vellarikundu |
The area contains villages around Kanhangad city with Kasaragod as the northern border, Nileshwar, popularly known as the 'cultural town' of Kasaragod district with its rich rivers and lakes; as the southern boundary. The eastern part of Kanhangad is categorized as Panathur area with the difference in terrain mainly because of the hilly terrain and hill stations and to the West lies the Arabian Sea. The importance of Kanhangad is that it lies in the exact centre between the two major cities Mangalore and Kannur, equidistant from their respective district headquarters.
