Thiruvananthapuram slow in urbanisation

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Thiruvananthapuram district might have the second largest population and may boast one of Kerala’s three ‘cities’, but by and large, the district has staved off urbanisation during the past decade compared to other districts, Census 2011 figures show.Thiruvananthapuram district ranks sixth in the percentage of urban population, even below districts such as Alappuzha and Thrissur. Statistics regarding the Rural and Urban Distribution of Population released by the Directorate of Census Operations, Kerala, say that 53.80 per cent of the people in the southernmost district live in urban areas. Ernakulam tops the list with 68.07 per cent living in urban areas followed by Thrissur (67.19), Kozhikode (67.15), Kannur (65.05) and Alappuzha (54.06). Big Thiruvananthapuram is second in the matter of total population after Malappuram and has more Corporation wards - 100 - than any of the other four Corporations. It also has four municipalities. There has been a jump in urban population - by as much as 62.99 per cent - in Thiruvananthapuram over the past decade, but still, the rate has not been rapid as it has been in the other districts. Meanwhile, there has been a dip of 28.69 per cent in the rural population, according to figures released by Dr V M Gopala Menon, director, Census Operations, Kerala. The district has a total population of 33,07,284, of which 17,79,254 live in urban areas and 15,28,030 live in rural areas. The total population has gone up by 2.25 per cent. Of the total urban population, 8.48 per cent are children up to the age of six years. The literacy in Thiruvananthapuram district is 92.66 per cent. In the urban areas, the literacy rate is 93.24 and in the rural regions, 91.98. In the census, urban areas are classified into two. Statutory towns, which are places with a municipality, Corporation or notified town committee; and Census Towns, places with a minimum population of 5,000, at least 75 per cent of male working population engaged in pursuits other than farming and population density of 400 per sq km.