neyyardam Neyyar dam which was established in the year 1958 is located in Thiruvananthapuram district. Neyyar dam got its name from the Neyyar river that flows through this and occupies the basin of this river. It lies near the Western Ghats and is an ideal park for family picnic. The Agasthyakoodam peak is located near to this dam. This dam is a part of the Neyyar wildlife sanctuary which houses a wide variety of flora and fauna. The flora includes various plants of which some have medicinal values. Animals such as elephants, tigers, wild board etc are also seen here.  It is considered to be a paradise for the nature lovers.

Some of the tourist attraction near this dam is Crocodile park, Lion Safari park, Deer park, Watch tower, Children’s park, dam basin etc. Boating facilities are also provided in the dam lake. 2 canals are there at the bottom of the dam and a small pool in front of it. The view of the whole area from the top of the dam is really breathtaking. The park has various facilities for the children to have a great time.

In order to go to the Lion Safari park boat trip is required. Separate tickets have to be taken for the Lion safari. If the rush is more, you may have to wait for some time to get the ticket. Special buses are provided for lion safari and it is possible for one to have a close view of the lions as they are not caged. The boat ride to the Lion Safari park and the bus charge are included in the Lion Safari ticket.

The best time to visit this dam is during the months between September and May.

Entry fee : Less than Rs 100

How To Reach

District Thiruvananthapuram
Near Bus Station Kattakkada bus station / Thiruvananthapuram bus station
Near Railway Station Thiruvananthapuram railway station at a distance of 32 kms
Near Airport Thiruvananthapuram International Airport at a distance of 38 kms

Finance department

The Finance Department of Kerala advises the Government on all financial matters. One of the main function of this department is the formulation of the Budget. The other functions include making rules regulating pay, emoluments and service conditions for all the employees. The administration if the departments of Local Fund Audit, Directorates of National Savings, State Lotteries, State Insurance and Treasuries are also controlled by this department. The head of this department is the Principal Secretary with two Secretaries taking care of the expenditure and Finance Resources.

Data processing Centre

It is the Computer Centre of Finance Department which is located in the Kerala University Office Campus in Thiruvananthapuram. The purpose of this centre is to perform all the data processing works of the finance department. They monitor the implementation of plan schemes. Some of the main functions of the centre are to provide technical advice to the government departments and other public sector undertaking, in order to improve their efficiency through e-governance, to train the government staffs about the different application software, to develop various software to use in the finance department, to coordinate the computerization projects of the government, prepare daily cash flow statements received from SBI and SBT braches and print pension schedules.

Department of State Lottery

This Department was established in 1967. The idea of forming such a department was made by late P.K.Kunju Sahab, who was the Finance Minister during that time. Initially this department was under the administration of the Finance Department and late it was brought under the Taxes department. This department was established in order to protect the poor people from being exploited by the illegal private lotteries. There was a huge increase in the number of private lotteries during that time. The introduction of the Kerala State Lotteries became a great source of non-tax revenue to the state.

Department of Insurance

The Kerala State Insurance Department comes under the administrative control of the Finance Department. Offices have been opened in all the districts and officers are appointed in each office.

Department of Local Fund Audit

The main function of this Department is the audit of accounts of various institutions under its audit control.  The corpus of the different Charitable Endowments has the Director of Local Fund Audit as the Treasurer is also done by this Department. They also attend any matter that is confined to the financial administration of local bodies. These are referred to this Department by the Government are they in turn provide the remarks.