Kottayam
Kottayam is a city in the State of Kerala covering an area of 55.40 square kilometers. It is the administrative capital of Kottayam district and is located in south-central Kerala with a population of 138283 according to the 2011. Kottayam Municipality situates in the Kottayam taluk of Kottayam District. The city is an important trading centre for spices and commercial crops, especially rubber. Also a pioneering centre of modern education in Kerala, Kottayam became India's first city to achieve 100% literacy in 1989 while the district became the first tobacco free district in India on September 28, 2008. The city is also widely known as AksharaNagari (അക്ഷര നഗരി) (City of Alphabets) in honour of its contributions to print media and literature. It is known as the "Land of Letters, Lakes and Latex" on account of the upsurge in literacy, the presence of a vast network of rivers and canals, which empty into the great expanse of the Vembanad lake, and the sizable volume of natural rubber produced here.