Kollam district (formerly Quilon) is one of 14 districts of the state of Kerala, India. The district has a cross-section of Kerala's natural attributes; it is endowed with a long coastline, a major Laccadive Sea seaport and an inland lake (Ashtamudi Lake). The district has many waterbodies. Kallada river is one among them, and the east side land of river is EastKallada and the west side land is WestKallada. Kallada Boat race is one among the famous festival events of district. Even though it is a competition between two land sides of the river, many boat clubs from various place,s even beyond the district participate in the event. Kollam is the capital of Kerala's cashew industry. Plains, mountains, lakes, lagoons and backwaters, forests, farmland and rivers make up the topography of the district. The area had trading relationships with Phoenicia and Ancient Rome.

Kollam's temperature is almost steady throughout the year. The average temperature ranges from 25 to 32 degrees Celsius. Summer usually runs from March until May; the monsoon begins by June and ends by September. Kollam receives an annual average rainfall of around 2,700 millimetres (110 in). Kollam receives both southwest and northeast monsoons. Winter is from November to February; the temperature is moderately cool, ranging from 18 to 25 degrees Celsius.^[2]

According to the 2011 census Kollam district has a population of 2,629,703,^[5] roughly equal to the nation of Kuwait^[6] or the US state of Nevada.^[7] This gives it a ranking of 155th in India (out of a total of 640 districts).^[5] The district has a population density of 1,056 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,740/sq mi) .^[5] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 1.72 percent.^[5] Kollam has a sex ratio of 1113 females for every 1000 males,^[5] and a literacy rate of 93.77 percent.^[5]

The Kollam Urban Agglomeration (UA) is the 6th most populous UA in the state. Kollam is placed 49th in the list of most populous urban agglomerations in India. The total urban population of the entire district is 1,187,158.^[1] The metropolitan area of Kollam includes Adichanalloor, Adinad, Ayanivelikulangara, Chavara, Elampalloor, Eravipuram (part), Karunagappally, Kollam, Kottamkara, Kulasekharapuram, Mayyanad, Meenad, Nedumpana, Neendakara, Oachira, Panayam, Panmana, Paravur, Perinad, Poothakkulam, Thazhuthala, Thodiyoor, Thrikkadavoor, Thrikkaruva, Thrikkovilvattom, and Vadakkumthala.^[9]

*In 2015, the area of Kollam City Corporation increased by merging Thrikkadavoor panchayath.

Hinduism(64.42%) is practised by majority of the people in Kollam district.Islam(19.3%) is the second largest religion.Kollam has a significant Christian(16%) population.^[11]

The history of the district's administration can be traced back to 1835, when the Travancore state consisted of two revenue divisions with headquarters at Kollam and Kottayam. When Travancore and Cochin were combined into Travancore-Cochin, Kollam was one of the three revenue divisions. When the state of Kerala was formed in 1957, half portion of Chenkotta taluk was merged with the state of Madras. Later in 1957, the Cherthala, Ambalapuzha, Mavelikara, Karthikapalli, Chengannur and Thiruvalla taluks (formerly in Kollam district) were united to form the new district of Alappuzha. In 1983, Pathanamthitta taluk and Adoor taluk and seven villages of Kunnathur taluk were removed from Kollam district to form the new Pathanamthitta district.^[12]

Police administration in Kollam is divided into two districts: urban and rural. The City Police is headed by a City Police Commissioner, an IPS (Indian Police Service) officer with the rank of SP; its headquarters is at Kollam. The rural police is headed by the Rural Superintendent of Police (SP), with its headquarters at Kottarakkara. Both heads report to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Thiruvananthapuram Range (Kerala).

The Kollam City Police is divided into three subdivisions, each under an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP): Karunagappally, Kollam and Chathannoor. Each subdivision is divided into circles, headed by the Circle Inspector of Police. Each circle is divided into a number of police stations, headed by a Sub-Inspector of Police. The Kollam Rural Police District is divided into two subdivisions, each under an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP)/ Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP): Kottarakkara and Punalur. There are a total of 29 police stations, in 13 circles. Kollam city traffic is controlled by the City Traffic Police, with a Traffic Police Station located near the Asramam Ground. Kerala's first coastal police station was established in Neendakara, Kollam.^[13]

The first police museum in India (the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Police Museum) has a large collection of police artefacts and rare photographs. The museum has a room dedicated to officers killed in the line of duty.^[13] The forensic section has a large collection of photographs. The museum is located at the Kollam East Police Station.

Kollam District now divided into two Revenue Divisions.

1. Kollam

2. Punalur

Kollam is administratively divided into 6 taluks. They are Kollam, Karunagappally, Kunnathur, Kottarakkara, Punalur and Pathanapuram, which are subdivided into 104 villages. The tahsildar is the revenue official in charge of each taluk.

There are four municipalities in Kollam District. Punalur, Paravur, Karunagappally and Kottarakkara are the municipalities. There is a long-standing demand for upgrading Pathanapuram & Anchal panchayaths into municipal status.

Kollam district has three Lok Sabha (lower house) constituencies. They include the Chavara, Kundara, Eravipuram, Kollam, Chathannoor, Chadayamangalam and Punalur assembly constituencies. While the Kunnathur, Kottarakkara and Pathanapuram constituencies are in the Mavelikkara Lok Sabha constituency, the Karunagapally assembly constituency is in the Alappuzha Lok Sabha constituency.

Kollam is connected by bus and train service.^[14][15] It is also connected to neighbouring states by bus service operated by the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Indian Railways.^[14][15] These are the KSRTC Depots & Sub Depots & Operating Centres (OC) in the district:

The district is connected to other parts of Kerala and India through the National Highways – NH 66 (earlier NH 47), NH 183 (earlier NH 220), NH 744 (earlier NH 208). The state highway - Main Central Road (MC Road) and Punalur-Pathanamthitta-Muvattupuzha Main Eastern Highway — connects Kollam with other districts. Intrastate road transportation is served by the KSRTC, Tamil Nadu State Transport and Karnataka State Transport Companies. KSRTC Interstate bus service operates from the Kollam and Kottarakkara KSRTC bus stations. Kollam zone of KSRTC is now the second most revenue generating zone in Kerala.^[16]

Kollam Junction railway station (QLN) is the one and only rail head in the district. A total of 128 short & long distant services (including weekly) and 10 services of MEMU are running through Kollam Junction railway station. A most modern MEMU maintenance shed is working in the railway station premises of Kollam city. In addition to that, there are some other major railway stations in the district namely Punalur (PUU), Karunagappally (KPY), Paravur (PVU), Sasthamkotta (STKT), Kottarakkara (KKZ) and Kundara (KUV). The district has a good railway network, with 25 stations and about 132 kilometres (82 mi) of track. Kollam district boasts the record of having most numbers of railway stations in the state.^[17]

Trains from here connect the city of Kollam to major cities of India, including New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Indore, Bhopal, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai, Madurai, Vizag, Jammu, Howrah, Guwahati, Madgaon, Itarsi, Hubli, Ahmedabad, Kanyakumari, Gwalior, Nagpur, Pune, Kota, Bhubaneshwar, Gorakhpur, Kochi, Kozhikode, Amritsar, Vijayawada, Coimbatore, Chandigarh and Mangalore. There are also passenger services running in Kollam-Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam-Ernakulam and Kollam-Punalur routes.^[20]

The district is having a fairly good network of waterways. The State Water Transport Department operates boat services to West Kallada, Munroe Island and Alappuzha. Double decker luxury boats run between Kollam and Allepey daily. Luxury boats, operated by Government and private owners, operate from the main boat jetty during the tourist season. The west coast canal system, which starts from Thiruvananthapuram in the south and ends at Kanhangad in the north, passes through Paravur, the city of Kollam and Karunagappally taluk. The Thiruvananthapuram-Shornur canal, which forms a part of the Thiruvananthapuram-Hosdurg system, runs a distance of about 62 km. The other canal systems include the Paravur Kayal, Kollam Canal and Chavara canal.^[21][22] The waterways are popular attractions and scenic tourist destinations in the area. The Kerala State Water Transport Department (KSWTD) has an operating centre near the KSRTC bus stand.^[23][24] Tourists may hire motorised country boats and houseboats with amenities (Kettavulam in Malayalam) to cruise along the waterways.^[25]

Kollam district is moderately industrialised. Two government enterprises (the Indian Rare Earths Limited in Chavara and Parvathi Mills) are among the industries in Kollam. Kerala Ceramics Ltd. (Kundara),^[26] Kerala Electrical and Allied Engineering Company (Kundara), Kerala Premo Pipe Factory (Chavara), Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited (Chavara), United Electrical Industries-Kollam and Kerala Agro-Fruit Products in Punalur are state-government-owned companies. Private-sector industries include Thomas Stephen & Co. (Kollam), Floorco (Pozhikkara, Paravur), Cooperative Spinning Mill (Chathannur) and Punalur Paper Mills (Punalur). Nearly 2,000 SSI enterprises have been registered in the district.

Kerala Minerals and Metals (KMML), a Government of Kerala undertaking located on the beaches of Shankaramangalam (Chavara), produces high-grade chemical compounds of titanium such as titanium dioxide pigment, hafnium ore, sillimanite and monazite. These chemicals are used in paints, welding electrodes, ceramics and foundries.^[27]

Indian Rare Earths Limited, a Government of India undertaking under the Department of Atomic Energy which incorporated on 18 August 1950, has four production plants: Minerals Divisions at Chavara and Manavalakurichi and an OSCOM and Rare Earths Division at Aluva. IREL is a pioneer in the mining and separation of heavy minerals (such as ilmenite, rutile, zircon, sillimanite, garnet and monazite) from sand.^[28] IREL also conducts research and development in mining and minerals.

United Electrical Industries Ltd. (UNILEC) is a public-sector company under the government of Kerala. This ISO 9001:2000-certified company produces electromechanical meters for domestic and industrial use. This company, unique in Kerala, can produce one hundred thousand meters per month.^[29]

The cashew industry is centralised in this district. Kollam is approved by the central government as a "centre of cashew industry". Most workers in this industry are women; among them, a majority comes from the poorer sections of the society. There are several cashew-processing units in the district. The Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation Ltd., a Government of Kerala undertaking, has its headquarters in Kollam and serves as a model agency for the cashew-processing industry. The corporation has 30 cashew factories and employs more than 20,000 workers. Another government organisation in this field is CAPEX, which is part of the cooperative sector and has 10 cashew factories.^[30]Template:Not ins ource Coir production, handloom industry, clay and wood-based industries contribute to the industrial health of the region.^[31]

According to Government of Kerala estimates 81,438 hectares (314.43 sq mi) of land are under forest cover, mainly in the eastern portion of the district (including the Thenmala, Punalur and a portion of the Achencoil forest divisions). The Thenmala Range, Aryankavu Range and Shendurney Sanctuary comprise the Thenmala division and the Achencoil, Kallar and Kanayar Ranges make up the Achencoil division. The Pathanapuram and Anchal Ranges constitute the Punalur division.

The Shenduruny wildlife sanctuary, 66 kilometres (41 mi) from Kollam, is situated on the southern part of the Western Ghats (8°50' and 8°55'N; 77°5'and 77°15'E) in the Pathanapuram taluk of the district.^[32] The name "Shenduruny" is derived from the name of a tree species locally called "Shenkuruny" or "Chenkuruny" (Gluta travancorica), a tree mainly found in this area. An artificial lake of about 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi) has developed following construction of a dam across the Kallada River. Remnants of Stone Age culture from a large cave situated at the northwestern part of the Shenduruny River were excavated from this sanctuary.^[32] These remains belong to the Mesolithic period.

This tropical rain forest has a wide variety of wildlife, and some endangered species are found here. Species found in the sanctuary include tiger, bonnet and lion-tailed macaques, Nilgiri langur, gaur (or Indian bison), sambar deer, muntjac (or barking deer), Indian spotted chevrotain (or mouse deer), wild boar, Indian elephant and different species of squirrels, such as the Indian giant and Indian palm squirrels.^[32]

The western portion of Kollam is bordered by the Laccadive Sea. Kollam's coastline is 37.3 kilometres (23.2 mi), 6.3 percent of Kerala's total coastline. Neendakara and Sakthikulangara are important fishing villages. There are an estimated 26 villages whose livelihood depends entirely on fishing. Cheriazheekkal, Alappad, Pandarathuruthu, Puthenthura, Neendakara, Thangasseri, Eravipuram and Paravoor are among the prominent fishing villages.^[33] One-third of Kerala's fish production (including 60 percent of its prawn catch) is contributed by Kollam, whose average fish production is estimated at 5,275 tonnes. Nearly 3,000 mechanised boats operate out of its fishing harbour.^[33]

Palaruvi Falls, Thenmala (forests and reservoir), the Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve, Ashtamudi (backwater) and beaches at Kollam, Thirumullavaram and Thangassery are scenic areas.

Ashramam Tourist Village is a well-known tourist destination in Kollam city; the tourist village is located on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake. Ashramam is a hub of tourism activities in Kollam, and the District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) office is located within the village.

The Asramam Maidan (Ashramam ground), adjacent to the tourist village, is the largest open space within a Kerala municipal corporation. It is used for events, sports, as a helipad, for Kollam Pooram and by driving schools. It covers over 60 acres (24 ha) in an oval.

The first community tourism program in the state is being established on the Munroethuruth islands. Backwater tourism is an activity enjoyed in Kollam; Ashtamudi Lake, Paravur, Munroe Island, and Alumkadavu are the main backwater destinations. Accommodation is in resorts and on houseboats.

Thenmala, located 66 kilometres (41 mi) east of Kollam, is the first ecotourism project in India and run by the Thenmala Ecotourism Promotion Society.^[34][35][36]

Kollam was the seat of the Desinganad kings. Kottarakara is well known as the place where a new version of the classical dance form of Kathakali was conceived. It was also the capital of the Elayidath Swaroopam. Kundara is known for the 1812 proclamation against the British by Velu Thampi Dalawa.^[31]

Alappad village, located on the seashore, was impacted by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. Varkala Beach (also known as Papanasham) is 26 kilometres (16 mi) south of Kollam. The Duriyodana Temple is in Kunnathur Taluk. The Sakthikulangara Dharma Sastha Temple-Sree Ayyappa Swamy Temple is known for its Utsavam in the month of Makaram (between mid-January and mid-February).

Polachira, in Chirakkara Gramapanchayat, is a sightseeing destination. The Anathavalam is near here where one can see domestic elephants, touch and ride them. Mannathippara is at Polachira, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south of Chathannoor. Sasthamcotta Lake, about 19 kilometres (12 mi) from Kollam, is the largest freshwater lake in Kerala and a domestic tourist destination.^[37] Jetayu Para, a large boulder, is located in Chadayamangalam; it is named for a mythical character in the Ramayana. It is believed that Jatayu fell here, after his failed attempt to stop Ravana.^[37][38]