Editing Alappuzha district (section)

== Etymology ==
[[File:Alappuzha Bypass Aerial View 2.jpg|thumb|Alappuzha beach road view]]
Carved out of the erstwhile [[Kollam]] and [[Kottayam]]  districts, most of the modern-day [[Alappuzha]] district was part of the [[Kollam|Quilon]] district of the [[Travancore|Travancore Kingdom]], with a small portion in the northern Alappuzha were part of the [[Kottayam]] district of the [[Travancore|Travancore Kingdom]] until 1957.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shungoonny Menon |first=P. |url=http://archive.org/details/ahistorytravanc00menogoog |title=A history of Travancore from the earliest times |date=1878 |publisher=Madras, Higginbotham |others=University of California}}</ref> when the modern Alappuzha district was formed. Alappuzha district was formed on 17 August 1957 and consisted initially of seven [[taluk]]s, namely [[Cherthala]], [[Ambalappuzha]], [[Kuttanad]], [[Chengannur]], [[Karthikappally]] and [[Mavelikkara]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alleppeyonline.com|title=taluks in Alappuzha 1957|publisher=Alleppeyonline.com|access-date=2021-02-14}}</ref>

The name Ᾱlappuzha is a toponym. ‘Ᾱlayam’ means ‘home’ and ‘puzha’, according to Dr. Herman Gundert's dictionary, means ‘watercourse’ or ‘river’. The name refers to the network of waterways and backwaters in Alappuzha and its surrounding areas. The district is bounded on the north by [[Kochi]] and Kanayannur taluks of [[Ernakulam]] district, on the east by [[Vaikom]], Kottayam and [[Changanassery]] taluks of Kottayam district and Thiruvalla, [[Kozhencherry]] and [[Adoor]] taluks of [[Pathanamthitta]] district, on the South by [[Kunnathur (Kerala)|Kunnathur]] and [[Karunagappally]] taluks of [[Kollam district]] and on the west by Laccadive Sea.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alleppeyonline.com|title=boundaries |publisher=Alleppeyonline.com|access-date=2021-02-14}}</ref>

Present-day Alappuzha district comprises six taluks, namely Cherthala, Ambalappuzha, Kuttanad, Karthikappally, Chengannur and Mavelikkara.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alleppeyonline.com/|title=taluks in Alappuzha|publisher=Alleppeyonline.com|access-date=2021-02-14}}</ref> The area of the district is {{cvt|1414|km2}}. Its headquarters is located at Alappuzha.