Vellarada is a border village situated in Thiruvananthapuram district in the state of Kerala, India. It is 42 km from Thiruvananthapuram. It is the southernmost part of Kerala state, sharing its border with Tamil Nadu. Vellarada is said to be the threshold to the high-range areas of the eastern part of Thiruvananthapuram district. The southernmost point of Western Ghats in Kerala is near Vellarada. Vellarada is also known for its hilltop shrine "Kurisumala Pilgim Centre" which is located at a height of 3,000 feet. Thousands of devotees from various parts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka visit the shrine during the Lent every year.
Demographics
Indiacensus, A total of 8285 families resides in Vellarada. Vellarada village had a population of 31839 with 15702 males and 16137 females. There is a positive sex ratio of 1027 existing in Vellarada. Literacy is at 87.78 %. The dominant religions in Vellarada are Hinduism and Christianity. The Scheduled Caste constitutes 5.82 % while Schedule Tribe was 0.78 % of the total population in Vellarada village. Majority of the population practice agriculture, chiefly cash crops like rubber.
Administration
From local self-government perspective, in the three-tier Panchayati Raj local self-government model, Vellarada Grama Panchayat falls in the PerumkadavilaBlock Panchayat of Thiruvananthapuram Jilla PanchayatPanchayath. The Vellarada Grama Panchayat, in turn, has 23 wards which are the smallest administrative unit.
In Law and Order perspective, Vellarada falls under Kerala Police's Thiruvananthapuram Rural police district. The station serves neighbouring villages of Kunnathukal and Amboori also.
In terms of registration, Vellarada has a Sub Registrar Office, that is under Department of Registration, Government of Kerala. However Vellarada SRO doesn't have an independent vehicle registration code like nearby Kattakada SRO or Parassala.
Transportation
In the case of transportation Vellarada doesn't have direct rail connectivity or waterways connectivity. Roadways are the main and only mode of transportation.
Roadways
The major roads passing through Vellarada are,
The Hill Highway from Parassala to Nandarapadavu in Kasaragod,
The State Highway 3 i.e. The Nedumangad- Aralvaimozhi road made by Travancore kings that pass through Anappara in Vellarada and,
TNSTC has only a very few services through Vellarada.TNSTC connects Vellarada directly with Kanyakumari, Thakkala, Nagercovil most of them connect to either Parassala or Marthandam. TNSTC is available in abundance from a nearby place called Panachamoodu which is a town that's partially in Kerala and partially in Tamil Nadu.
