Wikipedia:Today's featured article/November 1, 2006

Kochi is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, and one of the principal seaports of the country. Kochi is located in the district of Ernakulam, about 220 km north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city has an estimated population of 650,000, with an extended metropolitan population of over 1.6 million, making it the largest urban agglomeration and the second largest city in Kerala. Since 1102, the city of Kochi was the seat of an eponymous princely state which traces its lineages to the Kulasekhara empire. Occupied by the Portuguese since 1503, Kochi was the site of the first European colonial settlement in India. It remained the capital of Portuguese India till 1530, before Goa became the capital. A growing centre of information technology, tourism and international trade, Kochi is the commercial hub of Kerala, and one of the fastest growing second-tier metros in India. Like other large cities in the developing world, Kochi continues to struggle with urbanisation problems like poor sanitation and traffic congestion. (more...)