Kochi, India

Categories: Port cities | Coastal cities | Cities and towns in Kerala | Ports and harbours of India

Kochi (formerly known as Cochin) is the largest (pop. 1,355,000 in 2001) city in the state of Kerala, India, and is its principal seaport. It is located in the district of Ernakulam. The city derives its name from the Malayalam word "Kochazhi" meaning small lagoon. This was shortened to Cochin by the westerners for easy pronunciation. The city reverted back to its original name Kochi in 1996. This change in name was challenged by the city municipal corporation and officially, the city is still called "Cochin".

Also known as "Queen of the Arabian Sea", Kochi is located in the district of Ernakulam, about 220 km north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. Old Kochi loosely refers to a group of islands which comprise Willingdon Island, Fort Kochi, Mattancherry, etc. Today Kochi includes Ernakulam city, old parts of Kochi, Kumbalangi, and outlying islands.

The city

Kochi was famous for its natural harbour and was the centre of the Indian spice trade for many centuries. It is home to a naval base and an airport, and is well connected to all the major Indian cities. Willingdon Island is a large artificial island, created by dredging the Vembanad Lake under Lord Willingdon's direction. A large shipyard makes ships, especially cruisers and carriers for the Indian Navy, and straddles Willingdon Island.

Fort Kochi, situated on the Fort Kochi/Mattancherry peninsula, is the historical part of the city and home to many tourist attractions, such as the cantilevered Chinese fishing nets, the Mattancherry Palace and the Santa Cruz Basilica. Most economic activity is now centred in Ernakulam, however.

Kochi is well connected to other parts of the world through roads, rail, water and air. There is an international airport called Cochin International Airport which is about 25 km from the city. The Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) is located in Kochi, as are many other educational institutions. The Maharaja's College, which has seen the best of literary figures within its faculty and its students, is one of them. Kochi has a lot of sight seeing places. Some of them are the Bolgatty palace, Chinese fishing nets, boating through the back waters, the Tripunithura Palace (also called Hill Palace; on the top of a hill). There are two railway stations which are very close to the city and have trains to all the places in the country.

Kochi also houses the Southern Naval Command ( INS Venduruthy) of the Indian Navy. Due to this, the surrounding places, Thevara, Thoppumpady, Fortcochi, Kadavanthra etc are home to people (mainly Navy Personnel) from all parts of India.

The population is a mix of people from all parts of Kerala and most of India. Malayalam is the language of communication, although English is used in business circles. English, Hindi and Tamil are widely understood, but rarely spoken.

Kochi is also home to the longest bridge in Kerala, spanning 4.2 km (2.6 mi) from Thevara to Kundannoor crossing Nettoor and Kumbalam. It also includes the amusement park, Veega Land.

Local Business and Economy

Kochi is the biggest city in Kerala by volume of trade. The economy of the city can be classified as a business economy with concentration on the service sector. Major business areas are Gold and Textile retail, Seafood and spices export, Information Technology, Tourism and allied services and Health Services, Banking, Ship builduing and allied activities and Fishing.

The economy of the city owes much to the trade and retail activities. As most of the state, inward remitances from abroad by Non Resident Indians (NRI) is a major source of income. Another major income generator is exports and allied activities. Tourism has of late, become a major contributor to the local income.

The state government has given priority to the establishment of Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing enterprises to exploit the oppertunities that have arisen in the field. Projects include Kochi Info Park, Smart City Project (not finalised), SEPZ (Special Export Processing Zone). IT and BPO are seen as fields where there is immense employment and revenue potential for the city.

Cochin Harbour, located at Thoppumpady is one of the major fishing ports in the State and supplies fish to the local and export markets.

The M.G road stretching from Thevara Junction to Madhava Pharmacy Junction is the business spine of the city with most of the retail and business outlets concentrated along it. Over crowding and congestion along the said road has led to newer business moving to the N.H 47 bypass running from Aroor to Kalamassery.Another shopping district is Broadway. Broadway, contrary to the name, is one of the narrowest streets in the city and had its heydey back in the 1970s and 1980s. A lot of other retail businesses are along 'Chitoor road' that runs parallel to M.G Road.

Major Employers in the City

• Kochi International Airport, situated 30 km north of the city at Nedumbassery is the first port of call for most of the people coming to the state of Kerala by air. The airport also acts as an air-cargo terminal for most of the state.

• The Southern Naval Command (INS Venduruthy) of the Indian Navy is situated at Venduruthy about 5 kilometers south of the city centre.

• The Cochin Shipyard is another major employer in the city and also one of the biggest ship builduing facilities in South India.

• Cochin Port Trust, located on Willington Island, controls the Cochin Port.

• Kochi Refineries Limited (KRL), a petroleum refinery situated in Ambalamedu, on the outskirts of the city.

• Fertilisers and Chemicals Travencore (FACT) located at Udyogamandal and Ambalamedu.

• The High Court Of Kerala is situated in the city. Consequentially, legal services are a major contributor to the economy.

• Tourism and allied industries employ a large number of people in the city.

• Situated 17 km north of the town of Cochin, Eloor(Udyogamandal) is an island of 11.21 square kilometers. On it, is the largest industrial belt in Kerala. There are more than 247 chemical industries (FACT,Travancore Cochin Chemicals,Indian Rare Earths), including the only DDT-producing facility in India (Hindustan Insecticides Limited) and many others manufacturing a range of things; chemical-petrochemical products , pesticides, rare earth elements, and rubber processing chemicals, fertilizers, zinc/chrome compounds and leather products. Most of these units have been here for the last fifty years and use extremely obsolete and polluting technologies. As a result, Eloor has become one of the most toxic parts of the country according to greenpeace.org.

Other than these big companies, there are several small units in the service sector that cater and contribute to the economy.

Education and Healthcare

There are several hospitals that are rated as the best in the state located in and around the city and health services is a vital element of the local economy. Main among these are AIMS (Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences), Medical Trust Hospital, EMC (Ernakulam Medical Centre)

Due to deregulation of the educational sector, there has been a boom in the professional colleges owned and operated by the private sector in the city. These range from medical and engineering colleges to teacher training institues. In addition, there are several third level institutions which are generally regarded to have high standards and located in the city.

One of the premier educational institutions CUSAT (Cochin University of Science and Technology) is situated in the city.

Future projects

The Indian Central Government has given permission for an international transhipment container terminal at Vallarpadom (Vallarpadom Container Terminal Project). This port will be operated by Dubai Ports International (DPI) for 30 years under a Build, Operate, Transfer (BOT) agreement.

Also on the cards is Petronet LNG terminal.The proposed LNG plant is expected to become operational in 2009 at Puthuvypu. This terminal would have a capacity of 2.5 million metric tonnes per annum initially and will be eventually increased to double its initial capacity. An agreement for the supply of 5 Mt/yr from Iran had been signed which would be sufficient to meet the additional capacity.

The Kerala State Government has concluded talks with Dubai Internet City to operate an Information Technology park called 'Smart City' in Kochi. The ruling and opposition parties are at a deadlock regarding the 'Smart City' particularly about the vast amount of land that the project requires.

A 'Sky Bus' project was mooted by the K.S.R.T.C (Kerala State Road Transport Corporation) to alleviate the traffic congestion in the city. A viability study was concluded by a Japanese Consultancy and the project is waiting for the go ahead from the central government.

Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) is currently in discussion with the central government and other bodies to raise it to an IIT (Indian Institute of Technology).

History and heritage

Cochin was once controlled by Portugal (from 1503 to 1663), followed by the Netherlands; the city and its territory were ceded to the United Kingdom in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 in exchange for the island of Banca.

The synagogue in Kochi is the oldest in India. Kochi was a major settlement for a large Jewish community, which figured prominently in the business and economic strata of Kochi society. They were known as Malabar Yehuden and now increasingly as Cochin Jews. The community has now almost entirely migrated to Israel and the United States. The copper tablets presented to them in ancient times were shipped to Kennedy Airport Sanctuary where they are on display. Kochi now has a multicultural and secular community comprising Hindus, Christians, Muslims, Jains, Sikhs and other denominations. Syrian Orthodoxy was the sole Christian tradition in Cochin for a long time. However, since the Portuguese invasion of the princely state of Cochin (then known as Perumpadapu Swaroopam) in the 1500s, Roman Catholicism has been a dominant force in the city. Kochi also harboured the grave of Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese explorer, who was buried at St. Francis Church until his remains were returned to Portugal in 1539.

External Links

[1] Kochi InfoPark

[2] Cochin International Airportde:Kochi (Indien) fr:Kochi (Inde) hi:कोचीन nl:Kochi pt:Cochim sv:Kochi (Indien) ta:கொச்சி