Chinnakada Clock Tower (Malayalam: ചിന്നക്കട ക്ലോക്ക്ടവര്) lies in the heart of Chinnakada city, close to Kollam Junction Railway Station. As the first clock tower in the erstwhile Travancore state, it has become a non-official emblem of the city and the major landmark of Kollam.
The quadrangular clock tower was built in 1944 by the natives as a tribute to Unichakam Veedu K G Parameshwaran Pillai, the former chairman of Kollam Municipality (1932–48). Construction began in 1941 and was completed three years later in brick and white cement. The tower has four clocks facing the four directions of the city, which were brought from Kolkata.
Chinnakkada is considered the heart of the Kollam and one of the major junctions in the city where National Highway – NH 66 (earlier NH 47) meets NH 744 (earlier NH 208). Because of the presence of a huge traffic circle, it became one of the busiest junctions in the state.
To reduce the traffic congestion in Chinnakada, Kollam Municipal Corporation is constructing an underpass near the clock tower. The complex junction is the meeting point of roads from Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha, Sengottai, Ashramam, Kollam Beach and Kollam Port, Downtown Kollam and the City Bus Stand.
The development of the Chinnakada area including the clock tower is the most important junction development project by the municipal corporation. The works have been initiated by the shifting of city bus stand to Andamukkam.
