Chaliyar River

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Chaliyar (Beypore)
Labelled map of Chaliyar
Origin	Ilambalaari
Mouth	Arabian Sea
Basin countries	India
Length	169 km (106 mi)
Source elevation	2,066 m
Avg. discharge	187 m³/s
Basin area	2,923 km² (1,142 mi²)

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Chaliyar River is the fourth longest river in Kerala at 169 km in length. The Chaliyar river is also known as Beypore River as it nears the sea. Nilambur, Edavanna, Cheruvadi, Mavoor, Peruvayal, Feroke and Beypore are some of the towns/villages situated along the Chaliyar River.

1 Course
2 Economy
3 Ecology
4 Tributaries
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Course

The Chaliyar originates in the Western Ghats range at Ilambari Hills located in the Nilgiri district of Tamil Nadu and flows through Malappuram District for most of its length and then for around 17 km it forms the boundary between Malappuram District and Kozhikode District before entering the city of Kozhikode for its final 10 Km journey and finally empties into the Arabian Sea. Some of the Chaliyar's tributaries originate from Wayanad District and joins the main river in Malappuram.

[edit] Economy

During late 19th century and early 20th century, the Chaliyar was extensively used as a waterway for carrying timber from the forest areas in and around Nilambur to the various mills in Kallayi near Calicut. Rafts made of logs were taken downstream during the monsoon season to Kallayi, where these were sawn to size in the timber mills dotting the banks of the river. Kallayi was during this period one of the most important centers in the world for timber business. The place was famous for wood of superlative strength and durability like teak, rosewood etc. Towards the second half of the 20th century, the activity came down drastically as tree felling was banned or strictly controlled with a view to stop deforestation. Many mills still operate in Kallayi, though with far less output. Many have closed down.

[edit] Ecology

Chaliyar River was in the news a few years ago because of the ecological damage caused by a pulp factory that released effluents into the river and affected the marine life. This factory has since closed down.