Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram also known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland. Referred to by Mahatma Gandhi as the “Evergreen city of India”, the city is characterized by its undulating terrain of low coastal hills and busy commercial alleys. With almost 745,000 inhabitants per the 2001 census, it is the largest and most populous city in Kerala; the wider urban agglomeration having a population of about one million.

The city is the state capital and houses many central and state government offices, organizations and companies. Apart from being the political nerve centre of Kerala, it is also a major academic hub and is home to several educational institutions including the University of Kerala, and to many science and technology institutions, the most prominent being the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Technopark and IIST.

Central Tuber Crops Research Institute – Describes mandate, projects, training programmes, library, and consultancy offered. Sreekariyam.
Centre for Earth Science Studies – Information on facilities, areas of research and expertise, publications. Located at Akkulam Lake.
College of Engineering Trivandrum – Includes details of courses, facilities, and an alumni website.
Family Plastics – Makers of moulded plastic household products. Manvila.
Ideal Ayurvedic Resort – Offers accommodation, ayurveda treatments, yoga and meditation, health care programmes, tours and shows. Balaramapuram.
indian holidays – Indian tour operator who offers wide variety of holidays to all budgets,houseboat cruises,ayurveda and study tours.
Indian School of Martial Arts – Describes kalaripayattu and kalarichikilsa. Details of an ashram at Vazhuthakkad where teaching is carried out.
Kerala Technopark – Details of the facilities, location and infrastructure of this business facility.
Kerala University – Contains information on student activities, library and e-journals, chat, alumni, board of studies, admissions, application forms, exam results.
Lagoona Davina – Holiday guest house near Pachallur village and the beach. Details of facilities and contact information.
Paradise Gardens Beach Resort – Details of a collection of garden villas and coastal chalets. Local information.
SisoBooks – Publishers of books related to religious, epics, computer, tales, dictionaries, grammar, classics; both in English and Malalyalam languages.
Thulsi Beach Garden – Offer serviced Kerala style houses with modern comforts, close to the beach. Chowara.
Trivandrum – District administration website; information on local government, facilities, tourist attractions.
tvmonNET – Guide to Thiruvananthapuram. Information on accommodation, business, education, entertainment, health and medicine, places of worship, shopping, travel and tourism.

Centre for Development Studies – Details of this social science research and teaching institution.
Christnagar Group Of Schools – Contains information about the school goals, faculty, admission procedures and campus facilities.
Jocian Digital – Conduct multimedia and web design courses.
Nathan’s Academy – Institute dedicated towards providing value based education and training for BSRB, CAIIB and B.Com examinations.
Saraswathi Vidyalaya – Senior residential school affiliated to CBSE. Information on admission, facilities, staff, track record and hostel. Provides login for parents and students.

Transport

Trivandrum Central Railway StationWithin the city, city buses, taxis and autorickshaws provide means of transportation. Scooters, motorcycles and regular bicycles are the favored means of personal transportation.

The intra-city public transport is dominated by the state-owned KSRTC (Kerala State Road Transport Corporation). There are also private bus services, but are limited in number. The city services of KSRTC operate from six depots namely, the City depot, Vikas Bhavan, Peroorkada, Pappanamcode, Kaniyapuram and Vellanad. These services were revamped in 2005 with the introduction of modern buses and electronic ticketing mechanisms. The central city bus terminal is located at East Fort(Kizhakkekotta), near the Padmanabha Swamy temple. The Central and Inter State bus station is located 1 km away at Thampanoor. Buses from it go to all major towns and villages in the State as well as big cities in India such as Bangalore and Chennai.

The Central railway station is also located at Thampanoor in the heart of the city, 8 km from the airport. It is a very important terminus which handles over 50 trains daily. The city is well connected by rail to almost all major cities in India. Thiruvananthapuram is the first major city from south along the second longest train route in the world, Kanyakumari to Jammu. A second satellite station was opened in 2005 at Kochuveli, near the International Airport.

Trivandrum International AirportThiruvananthapuram’s International Airport, with direct flights from the Middle East, Singapore, Maldives and Sri Lanka is the gateway to the tourism-rich state of Kerala. There are also two military airports one near the civilian airport and the other at the Southern Air Command of the Indian Air Force at Akkulam. Apart from regular scheduled flights, many chartered flights from Europe like First Choice Airways from London Gatwick and Monarch, operating with big jets, land here during the peak tourist season (around December); with Kerala fast becoming a prime tourist destination in India. Thiruvanthapuram airport’s importance is also due to the fact that it is the southernmost airport in India and also the closest (and thus cheapest option) for neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and Maldives.

Double Decker Buses, which were a major attraction of the cityThe construction of the mega Deep Water Container Trans-shipment Port at Vizhinjam is expected to begin in 2007. It is to be built in three phases, and expected to be a key competitor in the ports business (especially for container transshipments), with the international shipping lanes between Europe and the Far East very close to the port, and also with major ports like Colombo, Kochi and Tuticorin in close proximity.[25]

The exponential growth of the services and IT based sectors coupled with its prominence as the state capital and tourist centre has caused considerable strain on the transport infrastructure of the city. To tackle this crisis, several multi-million dollar construction projects are now underway including the construction of several new underpasses and flyovers, scheduled to be completed by early 2007. In the first phase, 42 km of six-lane and four-lane dual carriage ways are being built.