KANNUR - AN OVERVIEWKannur district derived its name from the location of its headquarters at Kannur town. The old name 'Cannanore' is the anglicized form of the Malayalam word Kannur. According to one opinion, 'Kannur' is a derivation from Kanathur, an ancient village, the name of which survives even today in one of the wards of Kannur Municipality. Another version is that Kannur might have assumed its name from one of the , deity of the Hindu pantheon, a compound of two words, Kannan (Lord Krishna) and Ur (place) making it the place of Lord Krishna. Kannur is a town of great historical importance and was the capital of the North Kolathiri Rajas kingdom for many centuries. It was once a premier port of ancient Kerala. Marco Polo, the celebrated European traveler of the 13th century, has referred to Kannur as a great Emporia of spice trade. Kannur came into fall in a political lime light in the 16th century with the arrival of Portuguese. The Kannur district was formed in 1st January 1957, when the erstwhile Malabar District and Kasaragode taluk of Madras state were reconstituted into three districts viz.- Kannur, Kozhikode and Palakkad. At that time, this district consists of 6 Taluks including Mananthawady, (Now in Waynadu District) Kasaragode and Hosdurg (Now in Kasaragod District). Waynadu District was formed in 1980 and Kasaragode District in 1984. District at a glanceAdministrative set-up Kannur

1. Number of Revenue Divisions1

2. Number of Taluks 3

3. Number of Revenue Villages 129

4. Number of Municipalities 6

5. Number of Municipality Wards 244

6. Number of Block Panchayat 11

7. Number of Block Panchayat Wards 155

8. Number of District Panchayath Wards 26

9. Number of Grama Panchayat 81

10. Number of Grama Panchayat Wards 1345

11. Number of Assembly Constituencies 11

12. Number of Parliament constituencies1

Location Kannur district lies between lattitudes 11 40' to 12 48' North and longitudes 74 52' to 76 56' East. The district is bound by the Western Ghats in the East (Koorg district of Karnataka State), Kozhikkode and Wayanad districts, in the South, Lakshadeep Sea in the West and Kasaragod district in the North. The district can be divided into three geographical regions - highlands, midlands and lowlands. The highland region comprises mainly of mountains. The midland region, lying between the mountains and the low lands, is made up of undulating hills and valleys. The lowland is comparatively narrow and comprises of rivers, deltas and seashore.Administrative Divisions The District Headquarter is Kannur. The whole district is treated as one Revenue Division and further divided into 3 taluks viz. Thalasseri, Kannur and Taliparamba and has 129 revenue villages. Kannur district has 81 Grama Panchayats, in 9 Blocks Besides Kannur Corporation, there are five municipalities viz. Payyannur, Taliparamba, Thalasseri, Mattannur, Koothuparamba.