An insight to Heritage Conservation and Tourism Development

at Valapattanam Town in Kerala

Kirandas | Reg:183710004 | MUDD-III | MSAP | MAHE
 Introduction
Every city and country has various types of attraction for the visitors. Urban tourism is an important factor of present
tourism trend. In recent times, many developed countries have been using urban tourism development policies as effective
measures in their drive to regenerate and rejuvenate their historical and modernising cities so that they are becoming
much sought after destinations in regional and international tourist circuits. The image of the city is very important for all
types of visitors that is, they have a lot of expectations like the behaviour and attitude of the community. In this way, the
tourism growth increases in that city. It increasingly generates images of heritage and identify that are consumed as much by
residents as by visitors.
• Valapattanam embellishes the memorable Malabar coastline, where legends return to
the season of the shrewd King Solomon himself, who is said to have imported timber
for his popular 'Sanctuary of the Lord' from these shores.
• Encouraged by the common repository of timberlands from the territory, it is the
accepted area for an assortment of wood
• The angling harbor is frequented by vacationers, who absorb the visuals alongside
the extraordinary custom of transporting timber that is still drilled here.
• It includes tying long bits of timber together and enabling them to skim down the
stream, an arresting knowledge for most urban guests.
• This study is done to analyse the heritage character of the Valapattanam town and its
potential for heritage tourism, which can give a economic boom to the area.
Need Analysis
• Valapattanam due to its historical importance and character of the town,
if restored, will increase the amount of both domestic and international
tourists visiting the place.
• Also developing a tourist circuit connecting places of tourist interest,
which would involve development of related infrastructure.
• Valapattanam's history is greatly influenced by the Mooshika
Vamsham, Portuguese, and the East India Company etc., were their
leftovers of their existence is still found in its architectural character of
Valapattanam, within the within the streets, buildings, historical
structures, mosques, temples etc.
• If restored, will increase the amount of both domestic and international
tourists visiting the place. Also developing a tourist circuit connecting
places of tourist interest, which would involve development of related
infrastructure.
Aim
To study the city’s heritage value as a standout amongst the best water urban communities, by finding out
tourism development potential in Valapattanam town using citizen sensing.
Objective
• To appraise and synthesise Cultural Values of Heritage Buildings
• Understand the existing condition of heritage structures in Valapattanam and its potential for tourism.
• To identify how the occupants current perspective in Valapattanam influences the conservation process in
order to conserve Cultural values of Heritage Buildings.
Research Gap
Tourism potential has not been studied in terms of Heritage aspects of Valapattanam Town.
Research Question
How heritage conservation can give a boost to heritage tourism development in Valapattanam town ?

Scope/Limitations
The study focuses on conservation of Cultural Values of Heritage Buildings based on the occupant’s perspective in
order to sustain the physical condition of heritage buildings in Valapattanam. Hence, the rationale for conducting this
research arises from the shortfall in Cultural Heritage Management practice, which results from clashes of values;
incompatible goals; vested interests among the heritage stakeholders; the domination of power; political systems; ethnic
and community disputes.
Literature Study
Case Study- Varanasi
• Varanasi is a city in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh dating
to the 11th century B.C. Regarded as the spiritual capital of India,
the city draws Hindu pilgrims who bathe in the Ganges River’s
sacred waters and perform funeral rites.
• Traditional etymology links "Varanasi" to the names of two Ganges
tributaries forming the city's borders: Varuna, still flowing in
northern Varanasi, and Assi, today a small stream in the southern
part of the city, near Assi Ghat. The old city is located on the north
shores of the Ganges, bounded by Varuna and Assi. The name was
also used by pilgrims dating from Buddha's days.
Aims and Objectives
• Basis for regulation of its heritage zones
• Basis for conserving the built cultural heritage of Varanasi
• Seeks to provide an interface of heritage management with spatial
planning to come up with a regulatory framework for development
that is heritage sensitive
Literature Study
Case Study- Varanasi
Heritage Issues
• Lack of protection to heritage for its
conservation
• Potential danger to religious
atmosphere
• Poor and/or no maintenance of
heritage Destroyed visual potential
esply ghats

Source: INTACH VARANASI

Literature Study
Case Study- Varanasi
•Located in one of the three cultural
quarters (Visweswara Khanda)
•Central to old city of Varanasi.
•Covers significant river front (ghats) and
main public area of the city

Source: INTACH VARANASI

Methodology
Data Collection and Analysis

Area of study: Valapattanam

Data Collection and Analysis

• Valapattanam embellishes the memorable Malabar coastline,

where legends return to the season of the shrewd King Solomon
himself, who is said to have imported timber for his popular
'Sanctuary of the Lord' from these shores.
• Encouraged by the common repository of timberlands from the

territory, it is the accepted area for an assortment of wood

• One can likewise discover money crops like tea, espresso, elastic,
cashew nuts and tobacco. Strangely, this is the main spot in God's
Own Country where Pukayila (tobacco) development happens.
• The angling harbor is frequented by vacationers, who absorb the
visuals alongside the extraordinary custom of transporting timber
that is still drilled here.
• It includes tying long bits of timber together and enabling them to
skim down the stream, an arresting knowledge for most urban
guests.
Data Collection and Analysis
Demographics
• The Valapattanam Town has populace of 7,955 of which 3,677 are
males while 4,278 are females according to report discharged by
Census India 2011.
• Populace of Children with age of 0-6 is 1077
• Female Sex Ratio is of 1163 against state normal of 1084.
• Proficiency rate of Valapattanam city is 95.43 % higher than state
normal of 94.00 %.
• Male proficiency is around 97.15 % while female education rate is
94.00 %.
• Valapattanam Census Town has all out organization more than
1,329 houses to which it supplies essential enhancements like
water and sewerage.
• It is additionally approve to construct streets inside Census Town
constrains and force imposes on properties going under its locale.
Data Collection and Analysis
Roadways: Valapattanam is a connected from the Panvel- Kochi National
Highway 46, with service roads connecting to the site. Valapattanam have bus
routes from Kannur and Azhikode, where buses are available after every 10
minutes.
Railways: Valapattanam Railway station is the nearest local railway
station, about 150mts and Kannur Railway station which is 7kms from the
town is the nearest main Railway station.
Airways: The nearest airport is Kannur International Airport, which was
open in December 2018. The airport is set to a boon for the tourism industry
in North Kerala.
Data Collection and Analysis
• This town is otherwise called Balyapattanam. This town is on the
banks of Valapattanam waterway
• Centuries back Valapattanam River was the fundamental ship
course for exchanging and Valapattanam was the principle town,
as a result of this the town got this alluded as "Valya pattanam"
which signifies "enormous town" in Malayalam language.
• This town is named after its chronicled originator Vallabha II of
the Mooshika line (Kolathiri family) and was
• initially known as Vallabha-Pattanam and filled in as the capital of
the Mooshika administration amid the medieval ages.
• The fourteenth-century story of Ibn Battuta alludes to the leader of
Ezhimala as dwelling at Baliapatanam and offers a sign that at this
point, the focal point of the political expert had moved from
Ezhimala to Baliapatanam.
• In the sixteenth century AD, a Portuguese authority Duarte
Barbosa additionally makes reference to Baliapatanam as the
habitation of the 'lord of Cannanore'.
Data Collection and Analysis
• The Kaliyattam (Teyyam) festival of the Muchilot Bhagavathi
Kavu at Valapattanam is one the iconic festival, which is believed
to be Dravidian.
• From Payangadi river to north it is known as Kaliyattam and from
Payangadi to Valapattanam,it is known as theyyam for very little
variety.
Kakkulangara Mosque
• This mosque has one of the most seasoned existing minarets in
Kerala and has the graves of Abubakr ibn Muhammad, grandson
of the primary Caliph Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (573–634 CE) and his
allies who settled in Valapattanam to proliferate Islam
• The old mosque Kakkulangara Palli was worked with laterite
that was uncovered from adjacent, making the pleasant green
lake alongside it.
Data Collection and Analysis
Kalarivathukal Temple
• Kalarivathukkal Bhagavathy Temple, Bhadrakali Shrine situated
close Valapattanam waterway, is the family place of worship of
Chirakkal Royal Family.
• Kalarivathukkal Bhagavathy is considered as the mother of the old
military craftsmanship Kalarippayattu and subsequently the name.
• The primary icon is made of KaduSarkaraYogam so for
performing customs and ceremonies an Archana bimbam of Devi
is utilized for rituals and ablutions.
Data Collection and Analysis
• Valapattanam River begins in the Western Ghats of Kodagu, the
Brahmagiri Reserve Forest in Karnataka
• Elevation of 900-1350m above mean ocean level and depletes into Kannur
area is one of the lengthiest one in the Malabar locale.
• Significant tributaries of this waterway are the Sreekantapuram River,
Bavali River, Veni River, and the Aralam River.
• Parassinikkadavu Temple, 18 km north of Kannur on the banks of the
Valapattanam River and is committed to a seeker type of Lord Vishnu.
• Rich variety of mangrove species.
• An investigation on the status of the stream found an extraordinary
spotlight on its biology and socio-social angles, gives a stock of these
islands
• Due to the developmental activities around the region the water is getting
polluted, due to the discharge of chemical effluents from the industries
and all.
Data Collection and Analysis • The site has an old film theatre,
Study Area: The proposed area comes under Valapattanam Grama Panchayath, Vanaja Theatre around and
where most of the area comes under agriculture land. proposed area for bus Stand
and Mini Stadium. The theatre
has been given for lease to a
film producer and the lease
period has been renewed every
year.

Source: On site survey

Data Collection and Analysis
Main Bazaar Area: The main street have less open spaces, since most of the
building are shared wall buildings. Then street have a road width of 4.5 metres with
drainage on both sides.

Fig: Building use and Figure Ground Map of Main Bazaar Street
From the above map.it is clearly visible that the street is densely populated and
most of the buildings are used for commercial purposes followed by the public and
Semi-public buildings like mosques, madrasa etc. Fig: Main Bazaar street with shared
walled buildings
Data Collection and Analysis
Street Character:
• The street have old Kerala vernacular style of architecture with Mangalore tile
roofing, and most building have access to upper floors from outside
• Laterite stones were used for the construction of buildings, where still some of
the buildings shows its exposed laterite stone facade.
• The street includes mosques, religious educational centres, and commercial
shops and wares houses for woods and furnitures.
• The main bazaar street has a 4.5 m wide road with drainages on both the sides.
• On street parking were also found on the street, mostly 2 wheelers and trucks.

Table: Traffic volume count 10 am -

11am and 12 am -1pm and 4pm-
5pm
(onsite Survey)
It is observed the main doesn’t have much traffic flow since there are
less commercial activities . Mainly two wheelers were found.
Fig: Existing drainage conditions
Source: On site survey
Data Collection and Analysis
• Current development strategy has not been
satisfactory
• Valapattanam faced an enormous decrease in the
commercial sector, due to the introduction of
national Highway.
• This greatly affected the commercial shops and
other trade aspects in the town, which leads to the Fig: Buildings which undergone modification with using latest material,
shutdown of the shops, leaving all the building shifting from the heritage character of town
unattended.

Fig: Building which are left unused and less maintained Fig: Buildings are left unattended which has made them to go oblivion in the
wild growth vegetation

Fig: Buildings undergoing renovation.

Fig: Buildings which are not used for any purposes, and not properly maintained and in
the verge of destruction.

Source: On site survey

 Data Collection and Analysis

Based on the survey, it is observed that majority stands for that there is a need for tourism development, with proper conservation of the heritage
structures. Also they are favouring the proposal for Mangrove Park. Since there is a 40% inflow in migrant population, in search of job
opportunities in Valapattanam , tourism can give a boom in the employment sector also.
Source: On site survey
Issues Identified
• The modern lifestyle contributes to a breakdown of the Heritage characteristics of town.
• The town is gripped by the forces of development and many new sectors of activities have
started to come up around the the area.
• Many of the commercial buildings are constructed by just altering the front portion of the
earlier building and facade alterations are coming up.
• These developments are not only altering the historic features but also a well-defined urban
form is changing for the worse.
• The current trend is to tear down older buildings to replace them with new buildings.
• The beauty and architectural distinctiveness have come under pressure of development,.
• Long term lease period of the buildings from the earlier times is still being followed for a very
less payment, and the buildings is left for no new future activities.
• The introduction of the National highway lead to a tremendous decrease in the footfall of the
region, leading the commercial sector to move out from the area.
• Valapattanam river getting polluted due to recent industrial activities.
• Dredging sand from the river for the commercial uses affects the current flow of river, further
leads to off shore flooding.

Source: On site survey

Swot analysis
Strength:
• Valapattanam also have lots of historical background from where it got developed so far. Valapattanam’s history is greatly influenced by the
Mooshika Vamsham, Portuguese, and the East India Company etc., were their leftovers of their existence is still found in its architectural character of
Valapattanam.
• The site also have easy access to the services including electricity supply, water supply, access to the main road
Weakness:
• Valapattanam is outlined with dense mangrove forest, which is badly affected by the dumping of wastes (both toxic and non-toxic).
• Currently the site is used for lorry parking, which further destroys the mangrove system, due to the oil spill from the vehicles. Also, the vehicle’s
tarpaulin sheets were dumped on the site.
Opportunities:
Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned the project “Development of Rural Circuit: Malanad Malabar Cruise Tourism Project’ in Kerala under Swadesh
Darshan Scheme for Rs. 80.37 Crores, which includes:
• Malabari Cuisine and Culinary Cruise in Valapattanam River (Muthappan Cruise) - Cruise starts from Valapattanam to Munambu Kadavu in
Valapattanam River with an effective Cruise Length of 40km.
• Iyyam Cruise in Valapattanam River - Cruise starts from Valapattanam to Pazhayangadi in Valapattanam River with an effective length of 16
km.
• Valapattanam River is enriched with rare and variety of Mangrove species, if properly maintained, it can be developed as a mangrove educational
hub for any study programmes.
Threats:
• Development in this area will affect the Mangrove in the proposed site area.
• Traditional houses risk demolition by their owners due to high maintenance/repair required for these buildings.
• Increasing levels of water and air pollution due to inefficient drainage/sanitation

Source: On site survey

Conclusion
• With the development of the tourism, there will be
a rise in the value of properties in and around the
region, acting as a catalyst for redevelopment and
renewal of nearby places. Valapattanam due to its
historical importance and character of the town, if
restored, will increase the amount of both domestic
and international tourists visiting the place. Also
developing a tourist circuit connecting places of
tourist interest, which would involve development
of related infrastructure.
• Valapattanam River is enriched with rare and
variety of Mangrove species, if properly
maintained, it can be developed as a mangrove
educational hub for any study programmes.
• A Heritage Wawlk proposal integrating with the
Mangrove park can be potentiel project for the
tourism development

Source: On site survey

Bibliography
• District Survey Report of Minor Minerals, Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006 issued under
Environment (Protection) Act 1986 by
• Portuguese Trade in Cannonore
• Lakshrni, K., Unni, P. N., Neelakantan, N & Harikumar, P. S., 2000. Environmental status of the mangrove ecosystem in
Valapattanam river basin, Kerala. Ecol. Environ. & Conserv. 6: 363 – 371
• Lakshmi, K & Unni, P. N., 2000. Biodiversity of mangroves and avifauna in wetlands of Kerala. ldh Swadeshi Science
Congress, 7-9 November 2000, Cochin, Kerala. pp 7 1( Abstr.)
• DEVOLOPMENT OF WATERWAY BETWEEN MAHE AND VALAPATTANAM, National Transportation Planning and
Research Centre www.natpac.kerala.gov.in
• District Disaster Management Plan Kannur,(2015), District Disaster Management Authority, Kannur
• District Urbanisation Report, Kannur, Department Of Town and Country Planning - Government of Kerala
• Kerala Toursim statistics,2017
• Saranya and Dhanalakshmi,(2017) Assessment of Seasonal Changes in the Water chemistry of Valapattanam and
Munderikadavu River in Kerala, Tamilnadu, India, IOSR Journal of Environmental Science, Toxicology and Food
Technology (IOSR-JESTFT) e-ISSN: 2319-2402,p- ISSN: 2319-2399.Volume 11, Issue 7 Ver. I www.iosrjournals.org
• Arun Raj N,(2015), Salinity Intrusion in Valapattanam River, Kerala, International Journal of Engineering Research &
Technology (IJERT) ISSN: 2278-0181 Vol. 4 Issue 11,