Angamaly

Angamaly is a municipality in the Ernakulam district of Kerala, India. It is located 20 km north of the district collectorate in Thrikkakara and about 203 km north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. Angamaly is part of the Kochi metropolitan area and is located 24 km northeast of the Kochi city centre. As per the 2011 Indian census, Angamaly has a population of 33,465 people, and a population density of 1640 /sqkm.

Overview
It is situated about 30 km north of the city centre, the town lies at the intersection of Main Central Road (MC Road) and National Highway 544. Cochin International Airport is 7 km from the town of Angamaly.

Angamaly railway station is the fifth busiest in Greater Kochi in terms of passenger footfalls and revenue generated, after Ernakulam Junction railway station, Ernakulam Town railway station, Aluva railway station and Tripunithura railway station. There is a proposed railway line from Angamaly to Sabarimala, which will connect the high-ranges with the low land. Progress toward completing the new line is slow as a result of various regional and political issues. The project has, however, obtained a new lease of life after the Government of Kerala agreeing to bear half the cost for the project in January 2021. National Highway 544 connecting Kanyakumari to Salem passes through Angamaly. The NH 17 which connects Kochi and Mumbai is 20 kilometers from Angamaly. Main Central Road (M.C. Road) connecting Central Kerala to Kerala capital serves as an important road connecting many towns in the eastern side of the state.

A proposed New Kochi Bypass project (from Karayamparambu to Nettoor), and Kochi Metro phase 3 being proposed to Angamaly as well as Cochin International Airport. The proposed Kochi Global Industrial Finance and Trade (GIFT) city under the Kochi-Bengaluru National Industrial Corridor is proposed at Ayyampuzha, which is close to Angamaly.

History
Several old coins and other artefacts found from the region tells this area was predominant with Buddhists and Jains. Malayatoor, which is Christian devotional centre, is very near to Angamaly. St. Thomas, the Apostle who was deputed to the region by Jesus Christ came via Angadikadavu in Angamaly using Manjali Thodu to come from Kodungaloor port at AD 58. There is evidence for the churches in the locality built as early as AD 409 and AD 822. It was the headquarters of Mar Abraham, Assyrian-Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Angamaly and All India (Hendo) in the, sixteenth century.

Originally established as a panchayat in May 1952, Angamaly became a municipality in April 1978 and is also a Legislative Assembly constituency from 1965 in the Ernakulam district. The area is known for the Angamaly police firing in 1959, when police opened fire on protesters who had been demonstrating against Kerala's communist government.

Angamaly Police firing
The Angamaly Firing was an incident that took place in Angamaly, Kerala, on 13 June 1959, when police opened fire on protesters who had been demonstrating against Kerala's communist government. Seven people were killed resulting in the intensification of Vimochana Samaram, a protest against the then communist led government. Incidentally, it happened on the 50th birthday of E. M. S. Namboothiripad, the then Chief Minister of Kerala.

Places of interest

 * Mar Hormiz Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Angamaly – Established in 1570 by Mar Abraham, the last Assyrian-Chaldean Metropolitan to reach Malabar Coast and the First Metropolitan Archbishop of Syrothe -Malabar Catholic ArchDiocese of Angamaly, it was dedicated to Hormizd, a seventh century East Syrian saint.
 * St. George Syro-Malabar Catholic Basilica, Angamaly - the biggest of its kind in the South India.
 * St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Malayattoor
 * St. Mary's Jacobite Syrian Church, an ancient church and one of the most prominent Jacobite churches in Kerala.
 * Kalady
 * Thiru Nayathode Siva Narayana Temple – Built by Cheraman Perumal Nayanar in the 800 CE.
 * Kallil Temple is a Jain shrine established in the 9th century.
 * Transformers And Electricals Kerala Ltd.(TELK)