Pramadom
Grama Panchayat

History of the Grama Panchayat

History

Surrounded by hills and forts, the area known as Malankottayam (which may have been transformed into Vallikkadu) is now included in the Pramadam Panchayat as Vallikkode-Kottayam village. The Kolappara, where executions were carried out during the time of the upper caste landlords who had the power to kill and kill, still exists today. This place, which was the haunt of snakes, is still a nightmare for the locals. Until the first quarter of the last century, there was no scientific approach to agriculture. Dung and ashes were used as fertilizer. Water was available in abundance from the ponds at the mouth of the Cardamom River. It is said that Maharaja Marthanda Varma came and stayed here. There are records that during the time when Veluthampi was traveling without being captured by the British after the Dalava Kundara proclamation, he came and stayed at the house in Nentrapalli here. A sword believed to belong to him is still kept here. Famous Ayurvedic scholars have also blessed this land with their birth. Narayan, who is known as Muruppel Vaidyan, was one of them. The new land reform law paved the way for the majority of the tenants here to get land. The change in land relations also brought changes to the common people. Even from faraway places, people sold their houses and came here to own agricultural land. The land that was given to the weaker sections through the land reform law became an important factor in the progress of life. With the establishment of educational institutions in close proximity, the villagers sent their children to school and the habits of the parents changed according to the regular routine of the children. The first person to establish a church building in the Lakkur area was Ramankuzhi Melethil Kochukunjukaimal. Until the early 1950s, all food crops were cultivated here along with cash crops like pepper, ginger, kamuk, etc., as well as flour, plantain, coconut, tubers, etc. Rubber cultivation started here in the 1950s. This panchayat was formed in 1953. The elected Panchayat Administrative Committee came into existence in 1953. The first committee meeting of the panchayat was held on Independence Day 1953. M.Raveendranath was the first president. Pramadam Grama Panchayat is a purely agricultural area. 80% of the population is engaged in agriculture and related occupations. Large-scale farmers are few. Until the 1930s, most of the higher areas of this panchayat were fallow by the government. Later, people who came from different places acquired land and bought land titles and started farming. When the income from their agricultural land decreased, the marginal farmers moved to other attractive areas. In this situation, agricultural crops also changed. Along with agriculture, animal husbandry was an important occupation and means of livelihood until the mid-1960s. At that time, when paddy was the main crop, every family that owned agricultural land had plow bullocks. Similarly, every household that included agricultural laborers kept cows, goats, and chickens. At that time, when transportation facilities were limited, there were people who kept cart bullocks in large numbers and earned their living from them. In the early days, farmers in this area used to sell their cattle in far-flung markets such as Pathanapuram, Parakkadu, Charummoodu, Omallur, etc. Till about 1935, landlords and others lived in large houses in the plain areas of this area (Pramadam, Vettoor, Ilakollaur Mannumbhagam, Kottayam, Vakayar, etc.), which constituted less than twenty percent of the area, while agricultural laborers and the weaker sections lived in huts made of forest branches, stones, mud, bamboo, etc. Until the 1960s, the people of this area mainly received the services of local doctors in the field of medicine. The nearest primary health center was in Konni. The locals called it Dharma Hospital. The CSI community started the educational institution by building the Mallassery CMSLP School, which is more than 100 years old, in Pramadam Panchayat. After that, the primary school started in Vallikode, Kottayam area. During the CP's time, this school was given to the government for a fee of just one rupee. N.J. Samuel, a member of the Nediyamannil family who helped provide land and other things for this school, was called Pallikkudam Achayan by the people. In the early days, for high school education, one had to go to the Catholicate High School in Pathanamthitta or Chuttippara High School after crossing the Pramadam Velankadavu. Most of the current residents of this panchayat are people who migrated from various parts of the country even before liberation from colonial rule. At that time, there were not many big landlords. The majority of the people were small farmers and agricultural laborers.