
Idukki turns 50, plans to play up its ‘treasures’
The Hindu
Year-long programme will highlight district’s unique features
When the country celebrated its 73 Republic Day on Wednesday, Idukki too reached a milestone, completing 50 years as a district. The second largest district of Kerala boasts an illustrious past, dating to the pre-historic period, as is evident from the remains such as dolemen, burial, urns and herostones strewn across a wide area close to the Western Ghats.
From the ancient times itself, the spices produced in the district, including cardamom and pepper, were exported through an old trade route from the district to the Muzaris port, as excavations at Pattanam point out. The region’s hill produce was much in demand among early foreign traders.

In , the grape capital of India and host of the Simhastha Kumbh Mela every 12 years, environmental concerns over a plan to cut 1,800 trees for the proposed Sadhugram project in the historic Tapovan area have sharpened political fault lines ahead of local body elections. The issue has pitted both Sena factions against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which leads the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra. While Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief, and Uddhav Thackeray, chief of the Shiv Sena (UBT), remain political rivals, their parties have found rare common ground in Tapovan, where authorities propose clearing trees across 34 acres to build Sadhugram and a MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) hub, as part of a ₹300-crore infrastructure push linked to the pilgrimage.












