during the regime of "his highness maharaja balaramavarma", from 1798 to 1810, handloom weaving was first introduced at balaramapuram. the maharaja and his delava (chief minister), ummini thampi jointly decided to convert balaramapuram and its surrounding places into an agro-based industrial belt with various traditional industries by the development of paddy and coconut cultivation, fishing, weaving, and oil extraction. separate streets with a clustered at identified places, providing a comparatively better infrastructure for development.