of Vadakkumkoor Kingdom, indicating they were lands with fertile soil deposited by the Thodupuzha and Muvattupuzha rivers from flooding. Muvattupuzha and nearby areas are less hilly and fertile. The altitude is lower and the hilly region is the Kadalikkad-Meenkunnam-Pampakkuda curved region. The town is above mean sea level. The term sub-high ranges or "low ranges" is a term used to describe the towns of Thodupuzha and Palai. The low-range towns lying in the foothills of western ghats along the SH 8 (Punaloor-Muvattupuzha road) meet the main interjunction at Muvattupuzha. Nine major roads converge here and connect to all directions. Muvattupuzha river The Muvattupuzha river () starts in the Idukki highranges and flows through Muvattupuzha, running before entering the Kottayam district. The major source of water is the Thodupuzha river which starts in the Idukki district and provides water throughout the year, enabled by the supply of water from Idukki arch dam, which is the largest arch dam in India, and is used for hydro-electric power generation. Muvattupuzha Bridge In 1914, the first concrete bridge in Asia was built in Muvattupuzha under the supervision of the British engineer W.H. Emrald. It is said that on its inauguration, to convince others of the strength and stability of the bridge, Emrald and his wife sat beneath the bridge in a boat while 15 elephants walked over it. This bridge connects Nehru Park and Kacherithazham. There was a wooden bridge across the river through which the steam bus went from Muvattupuzha to Ernakulam. The border to Kochi state was at Chungam, Mamala, near Thiruvankulam. Until the late 1970s, traffic went over the old concrete bridge. There was a traffic police outpost on either side of the bridge to control one-way traffic. Later in the 1970s, a new bridge was constructed and in the late 1970s the traffic diverted through a wider two-way bridge. Politics Muvattupuzha is one of the 140 legislative assembly constituencies of Kerala state. Its assembly constituency is part of Idukki (Lok Sabha constituency) and the current MP is Dean Kuriakose of Indian National Congress. The major political parties of Muvattupuzha are Indian National Congress, Kerala Congress (M), CPI (M), CPI, Muslim League, and BJP. Mathew Kuzhalnadan of Indian National Congress is the current MLA of Muvattupuzha. Administratively, Muvattupuzha is a municipality and the current municipal council is ruled by Indian National Congress, led by P P Eldose who was elected in