Maradu, Kochi: Living Where Three Highways Meet the Backwaters

Maradu is a municipality about 6 km south of the centre of Kochi, spread over roughly 12.35 sq km of low-lying land at the mouth of Vembanad Lake. It became a municipality in November 2010, had 44,704 residents at the 2011 census, and is best known for two things: Kundannoor junction, where three national highways meet, and the four waterfront apartment towers that were blown up on 11 and 12 January 2020.

• Where is Maradu in Kochi?
• Why were the Maradu flats demolished?
• Is Maradu a good place to live?
• What to check before buying a flat in Maradu

Where is Maradu in Kochi?

Maradu sits just south of Vyttila, along the NH 66 bypass heading out of the city. It is built on a cluster of river islands and backwater edges, which is why so much of it faces water. Nettoor and Kundannoor both fall under Maradu Municipality.

Kundannoor is the part everyone knows, whether they live here or not. It sits about 3.5 km from Vyttila junction and about 7 km from Ernakulam Junction railway station, and it is the point where NH 66, NH 85 and NH 966B come together. A six-lane flyover, about 730 m long, opened over the junction on 9 January 2021, the same day as the Vyttila flyover up the road.

Quick facts
Distance from city centre	About 6 km south
Area	About 12.35 sq km
Municipality since	November 2010 (panchayat from 1953)
Population (2011 census)	44,704
Highways	NH 66, NH 85, NH 966B, meeting at Kundannoor
Malls	Forum Mall Kochi (opened 19 August 2023) and Abad Nucleus Mall
PIN code	682304

Why were the Maradu flats demolished?

Because they should never have been built where they were. On 8 May 2019, the Supreme Court ordered the demolition of apartment projects in Maradu that had been built in violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules, which restrict construction close to the waterline. Four complexes stood by then: H2O Holy Faith and Alfa Serene came down by controlled implosion on 11 January 2020, and Jain Coral Cove and Golden Kayaloram followed on 12 January.

More than 300 families lost their homes. The Kerala government paid Rs 25 lakh in interim compensation to owners with valid documents, but some residents were still chasing fuller compensation from builders years later. The people hurt most were buyers who had done nothing wrong except trust the approvals in front of them.

Is Maradu a good place to live?

For a lot of people, yes, mainly because of where it sits. You are a short run from Vyttila and its transport links, on the highway south towards Alappuzha, and a reasonable drive from the Kakkanad IT belt via the bypass. The water views are real, and since the Vyttila and Kundannoor flyovers opened, the stretch has become one of the areas builders talk up most, alongside neighbouring Nettoor.

The honest downsides:

• Traffic. The flyover moved through-traffic over Kundannoor, but the service roads and the approaches still clog at peak hours, and the mall has added weekend crowds.
• Low-lying land. This is built on islands and backwater margins. Ask any seller how a particular street behaves in a heavy monsoon before you sign.
• Metro only at the northern edge. The nearest Kochi Metro station is Petta, on Maradu's northern fringe; from Kundannoor or Nettoor most residents still rely on a car, a two-wheeler or a bus to Vyttila.

Day to day, Forum Mall Kochi and Abad Nucleus Mall cover shopping and cinema without a trip into town, and the Maradu Kottaram Bhagavathy Temple's Thalappoli festival is the neighbourhood's big annual occasion.

What to check before buying a flat in Maradu

The 2020 demolitions are the reason this question matters more here than almost anywhere else in Kochi. Before you pay a token advance on a waterfront flat:

• Ask for the CRZ clearance, not just the building permit, and read what it actually covers.
• Check the project's RERA registration and whether any court case is pending against it or the land.
• Get a lawyer to verify the title and the approvals independently, not the builder's legal team.
• Walk the site after heavy rain.

Our guides to property registration and stamp duty in Kochi and apartment vs independent house cover the paperwork and the bigger decision. More neighbourhood guides live under Guides.