River is generally considered to be the boundary between the North Malabar and South Malabar in the erstwhile district of Malabar.

At the 2001 census, Elathur panchayat has a population of 41,326 with a nearly equal proportion of Hindus and Muslims. The panchayat covers an area of 13.58 km², but a major portion of the area has been taken up by National Highway 66, the State highway,