Seethathodu is a village in the Pathanamthitta district, state of Kerala, India, near Chittar Town. Predominantly it is a rural region where agriculture being the most important sector. Both state-run and privately operated buses connect Seethathodu to various parts of Pathanamthitta district.
Geography
Seethathodu is a scenic hilly rural region in the eastern side of Pathanamthitta district. Many mountains, valleys and steep slopes beautifies its geographical background. 90% of the area is dense reserve forest, a part of Goodrical Range, Periyar Tiger Reserve. The rest is populated, where the main cultivation is rubber. The main attraction of Seethathodu is Sabarimala, a Hindu hill pilgrim centre.
Sabarigiri - The second largest hydroelectric project in Kerala, Sabarigiri, is located in this village.
It is one of the biggest panchayaths in Kerala with an area of about 651.94 km2.But almost 602.7 km2 area is covered by dense forests. The habitable area is only about 4924 acres.
History
The Koikkal rajas of Pandalam divided their kingdom into two parts as Valiyakoyikkal and Kochukoikkal for administrative convenience. Kochukoikkal is today a part of Seethathodu panchayath. In A.D 52, St.Thomas reached Nilakkal, a village in this panchayath and established a cross. Advocate Kochukoikkal Thalachira Barayanan founded the first school in this region. Seethathodu panchayath was formed on 20 November 1968 and T.K Raghavan became the first president.
Administration
Lekha suresh is the current president of Seethathodu panchayath and G.Nandhakumar is the vice president. Communist, Congress & BJP parties have strong base here. The panchayath itself is self-sufficient in the case of basic infrastructures and the members of each wards are so concerned about the developmental activities.
Wards in Seethathodu panchayath
Seethathodu
Gavi
Angamoozhy
Kottamonpara
Palathadiyar
Valupara
Kambiline
Kochukoikkal
Kottakuzhi
Gurunathanmannu
Seethakuzhi
Moonukallu
Allungal
mundanpara
Demographics
India census, Seethathodu panchayath has a population of about 18222 in which 9268 are males and 8954 are females. The village has literacy of 92.4%. More than 95% of the population speaks Malayalam and 4% speak Tamil. There are also some English and Hindi speakers. Hindi speakers are relatively new immigrant workers from North India.
Airports :Thiruvananthapuram International Airport and kochi's Cochin International Airport s are at almost the same distance from Seethathodu. And the nearest airport is the upcoming Airport Project @ ERUMELI- SABARIGIRI International Airport.
Roads :the main roads are Vadasserikara - Chittar - Angamoozhy - Plappally Road, Pathanamthitta - Angamoozhy - kumily.
Buses : All major long-route buses stop at Seethathodu Junction.
Local Transport : Taxi's are available at every road and at all major junctions they have their slots. Smaller buses ply on regular intervals to the internal locations, as there are narrow roads.
