Pallithura

Pallithura is a village in the district of Trivandrum, the capital city of Kerala state in India. Literally translated from Malayalam, it means 'the beach (Thura) besides the church (Palli). Although most churches in this region where beside the Arabian Sea, the etymology is significant because Pallitura is one of the places where St. Francis Xavier established a church. This church has now been transformed to the space museum of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. The villagers of Pallithura are now famous for their sacrifice in 1962 of most of their village for creating the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS), which was the basis for the formation of Indian Space Research Organization. The revival of interest in the history of Pallithura resulted as a result of President Abdul Kalam's mentioning of it in his books and speeches.

Location

The location of Pallithura can be specified based on the time in question: before and after the formation of TERLS. Till the formation of TERLS, Pallithura bordered Veli in the south, Kulathoor in the east, and Kochuthura in the north. The Parvathy Puthannaar canal formed the border with Kulathoor. Due to this vast expanse making the then Pallithura one of the biggest parishes in the diocese. After the formation of TERLS, Parvathy Puthanar Canal become the east and VSSC Housing Colony on South same way Arabian Sea on west and KINFRA Industrial Area on North.