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Nellore district
Sri Amarajeevi Potti Sri Ramulu Nellore District
district
Map
Population
 (2011)
 • Total
2,966,082
Websitewww.nellore.nic.in
For the city, see Nellore.

Sri Amarajeevi Potti Sri Ramulu Nellore District (Template:Lang-te) is one of the 23 districts of Andhra Pradesh. Nellore is famous for high paddy field, and so it got its name from "Nelli". The population of the district was 2,966,082 of which 22.45% were urban as of 2011.

Nellore city is its administrative headquarters. The major cities in the district are Nellore, Kavali and Gudur. It is bordered by the Bay of Bengal to the east, Chittoor and state of Tamilnadu to the South, Kadapa to the west, and Prakasam to the north.

It was earlier known as Nellore district. In 2008 June, the government of Andhra Pradesh officially renamed the district as Amarajeevi Potti Sri Ramulu Nellore District after the name of freedom fighter from this district.

History

Nellore District had an important role in Telugu history during the emergence of the language and also during the formation of the state.

Mauryas, Early Cholas and Pallavas

With the rise of the Mauryan Empire, many parts of the Andhra Pardesh including Nellore came under its influence and was part of the Ashoka empire in the third century B.C. The caves near Nellore have inscriptions in the brahmi script used by Ashoka. The Cholas were an important dynasty in the south peninsula. The early Cholas ruled between the 1st and the 4th centuries A.D. The earliest chola inscription from 1096 A.D. was found at Jummaluru. The district was part of the first and the most famous Chola, Karikalan. He was well known for his great engineering marvel.

Chola power declined with frequent attacks by the Pallavas, Cheras and Pandyas, until they rose to power again around the 9th century. Chola rule was broken when the Cholas were overthrown by Simha Vishnu Pallava and the region came under the Pallava rule between the fourth and sixth centuries A.D. With the dawn of the seventh century, the political centre of Gravity of the Pallavas shifted to the south and weakened their power towards the north. Several ancient Pallava and Chola temple are in Udayagiri village. Several inscriptions about Pallava rule were found in the Guntur-Nellore tract of the Andhra Pradesh. The big four storeyed cave at Vundavalli and 8 cave temple at Bhairavkonda resembles the Pallava architecture during Mahendravarma's period.

Nellore Chola kings

This was the period when the political power of Nellore was at its peak and also reached its ebb. Tikkana Somayajulu, a minister and famous Telugu poet who translated Mahabharatham into Telugu, gave the account of the history of this family in his other book called Nirvachanottara Ramayanamu. A branch of Telugu Cholas, feudatory of the Western Chalukyas of Kalyani appointed them as rulers of Pakanadu for helping in the war between Cholas and Chalukyas. They ruled over the region consisting of the Nellore, Kadapa, Chittur and Chengalput districts with Vikramasimhapuri (modern Nellore) as their head capital.

Tikka (1223–1248) defeated both the Hoyasala and the Pandyas and got the Tondaimandalam region and assumed the title Cholasthapanacharya. During the reign of Tikka's son and successor Manumasiddhi II (1248–1263), Nellore faced lot of attacks from other Chalukyas and Pandyas. Tikkana visited Ganapatideva of Kakatiyas and gained military support for his king. About the year 1260, a dangerous feud broke out between Manumasiddhi and Katamaraju, the chief of Erragaddapadu in Kanigiri region. The feud was on the issue of the rights of the two princes to use certain wide meadows as grazing grounds for their flocks of cattle. It led to the bloody battle fought at Panchalingala near Muttukuru on the coast of river Penna. Manumasiddhi's forces led by Khadga Tikkana, the cousin of poet Tikkana won the battle, but the leader perished. This feud and the consequent battle formed the theme of the popular ballad entitled "Katamaraju Katha". Shortly after or during this battle, Manumasiddhi died and Nellore lost its significance.[1]

Kakatiyas, Pandyas, Vijanagaras etc.

The Kakatiyas, the feudatories of the Western Chalukyas of Kalyani, under influence of Prola declared his independence. Ganapati Deva, the first great king of Kakatiyas brought most of the Telugu area under his rule. Nellore was part of kakatiya kingdom in the 13th century. It changed hands between them and Pandyas few times until Prataprudra II defeated Pandyas. After the fall of Kakatiya Empire, the region was under Tuglaq and then was later under Kondavidi Reddis.

The most parts of the district were annexed by the Sangama dynasty of the Vijayanagara empire in 14th century. The remaining portions of the district like Udayagiri were conquered in 1512 by Krishnadeva Rayalu, the greatest king of the kingdom. The ruins of fortress built by the Vijayanagar kings in the 14th century are at Udayagiri.

The Nawabs and the British period

After the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire, the area was ruled by the Nawabs. It was under rule of Najeebullah, the brother of Arcot Nawab in 1753. The district witnessed wars between Najeebullah and Nawab with support from French at Machilipatnam and British at Madras. Army under colonel Cailluad took over Nellore fort in 1762 and handed it over to Nawab. On the assignment of revenues, Nawab Ajim Ud Duaula gave Nellore town back in 1781 and gave the rest of the district to East India company in 1801. East India Company had taken control appointed Mr. Dyton as the 1st Collector. Nellore was declared the revenue unit for the district.[2]

During the British period, the district was at peace, the only event of any political importance being the sequestration in 1838, of the Jagir of Udayagiri, owing to its title holder's participation in a conspiracy, engineered by the Nawab of Kurnool, against the ruling power. After the district came under the British administration, the jurisdiction of the district did not undergo any major changes, but for the transfer of Ongole taluk in 1904 to Guntur district when it was newly constituted.

Post Indian Independence

It was part of the composite Madras State until 1 October 1953. On 1 November 1956, when the states were reorganised on a linguistic basis, this district came under Andhra Pradesh. Nellore played a major role in the formation of Andhra Pradesh state. Potti Sriramulu, a Telugu patriot and activist, fasted to death for the formation of Andhra Pradhesh state. His sacrifice resulted in the creation of linguistic based states in Indian Union.

Nellore people participated in Indian Independence movement and also in fight for formation of separate state for Telugu people. Notable freedom fighters are Muttharaju Gopalarao and Potti Sriramulu. People of Nellore district have vivid interest in politics. It produced two former chief ministers of state, Dr Bezawada Gopala Reddy and Nedurumalli Janardhana Reddy. The main political parties of the district are Congress and Telugu Desam party. Communist parties of India also have more followers compared to the neighboring districts like Cuddappah and Ongole. Puchalapalli Sundaraiah, the great communist who sacrificed his life and properties for poor practiced communism here.

There are many patrons for the causes of district. Notable among them is Rebala Laxminarasa Reddy, who donated the town hall and pediatric hospital and Venkata Giri Raja, who constructed first college in the Nellore.

Geography

The district lies between 13 30’ and 15 6’ of Northern latitude and 70 5’ and 80 15’ of Eastern latitude. Nellore's total land area is 13,076 square kilometers (8,761) sq. miles. It is bordered by the Bay of Bengal to the east, the state of Tamil Nadu to the South, the district of Cuddapah, and the district of Prakasam to the north. The eastern side consists of area of low lying land extending from the base of the Eastern Ghats to the sea. The west side of the district is separated from Cuddapah district by Veligonda hills. The district is split by the River Pennar and is located on both south and north banks of it.

Nellore's total land area is 13,076 square kilometers (8,761) sq. miles. It has an average elevation of 19 metres (62 feet).

About the half of the total area is cultivated and the rest is wasteland[3] because of it is rocky land, sandy coastline or covered with scrub jungles. Pennar, Swarnamukhi and Gundlakamma are the main rivers that flow through the most of the district. They are not navigable, and are mainly used for irrigation purposes. Tributaries to Penna like Kandaleru and Boggeru serve the remaining area.

This area is rich in particular kind of flint called quartzite, out of which the prehistoric man made his weapons and implements.

Climate

  • Winter: January and February
  • Summer: March to May
  • South West Monsoons - June to September
  • North East Monsoons - October to December

The maximum temperature is 36-46c during summer and the minimum temperature is 23-25c during winter. The rainfall ranges from 700–1000 mm through South West and North East Monsoons. Nellore is subject both to droughts and to floods based on the seasons.

Economy

Proximity to the sea as well as to agricultural heartland has helped Nellore district to grow. The seaborne trade from Mipadu, Krishnapatnam and other port cities in district is on rise, but insignificant compared to trade via the road and rail.

Agriculture

Nellore is also famous for quality rice production and aqua (prawn and fish) culture. Nellore district is called the "Shrimp capital of India" due to its high production of cultured shrimp. About 70 percent of the total work force is dependent upon agriculture either as farmers or as agricultural labour. The main crops are rice paddy and sugar cane. It is particularly famous for a rice breed called "Molagolukulu". Other crops are cotton, lemon and oil seeds (like peanuts) and horticultural seeds.

A dam is located at Somasila across the Pennar River as it flows through the narrow Velikonda Hills. Another dam is located at Gandipalem across a tributary of Pennar. They support irrigation for many villages.

Industry

The handloom sector is a small scale industry and next to agriculture by the number of people depend on it. Venkatagiri and Patur are important handloom centres in the district noted for their traditional handcrafted fine cotton and silk sarees embrodied with pure zari.

The following are major industries located in Sri Amarajeevi Potti Sri Ramulu Nellore District

  • SHAR(Sri Harikota High Altitude Range) located in Sriharikota, Nellore Dt.
  • Kovur Thermal Power Plant (defunct)
  • Nellore Nippo Batteries factory.
  • Balaji Steel in Nellore.
  • Mica Mines in Gudur and Sydapuram mandals.
  • Adidas Apache in Tada, Nellore dt.
  • Krishnapatnam Thermal Station.
  • Krishnapatnam Port trust.

Krishnapatnam is a major port and market center situated at a distance of 20 km. The port is expected to become a world-class deep-water port. Iron ore and granite are being exported from Krishna Patnam to other countries like China. One railway line links it with Vekatachalam on main railway line. Tada is at a distance of 80 km from Nellore with new industrial ventures like the Adidas factory and Tata's Leather park.

Projects in progress

An International Leather park is being developed at Krishnapatnam. A railway line is being constructed from Krishnapattanam to Obulavari palle to link up this port with Mumbai Railway line. Rail Line is completed up to Venkatachalam junction connecting Nellore, Chennai cities. Construction of two Ultra Mega Power Projects with the capacity of 4000 MW each at Krishnapatnam is going on along with Simhapuri Power(Madhucon Group) 900MW, KPCL 1000MW, MeenakshiPower & Others 1000MW. Recently Central government gave clearance to IFFCO fertilizer factory at Regadi Chelika near Nellore. Central government is also planning to set up a 'Petro Chemical Terminal' at Krishnapatnam. Construction work of two textile parks at Menakur near Venkatagiri/Nayudupeta is expected to start soon. IFFCO will soon set up an agriculture based food processing special economic zone (SEZ) in Nellore. Lord Swaraj Paul-led Caparo Group will invest Rs 3,500 crore to set up an auto Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and a car-cum-aerospace components manufacturing facility in the Nellore.

RKKR Steels Limited, which has been involved in manufacturing and trading flat and long steel products, is expcted to invest Rs 6200 crores more to expand its SBQ steel plant at Ankulapatur(NH5-Chinthavaram - Port Road) in Nellore district.

Hindusthan National Glass & Industries Ltd has come up with a proposal to establish a Rs 1,000-crore container glass and float glass manufacturing base in Naidupet of Nellore district in Andhra Pradesh. The construction of the float glass plant with a capacity of 600 tonnes a day will commence in early 2012 and is likely to be completed by 2014.

New Biotech laboratory is in proposal,it is a small scale biology lab, manufactures some biological products and helps farmers to implement new technologies in agriculture & poultry. Lab is yet to be constructed in Kota town, by M.Yoganand Kumar and it is likely to commence by 2015.

Divisions

Sri Amarajeevi Potti Sri Ramulu Nellore District has 10 state assembly constituencies, namely Allur, Atmakur, Gudur, Kavali, Kovur, Nellore, Sarvepalli, Sullurpeta, Udayagiri and Venkatagiri.[4] Nellore district also contributes to three seats in the Parliament of India, namely Nellore, Tirupati and Ongole.

It comprises 46 Revenue Mandals, 12 Agriculture Sub Divisions and 3 Revenue Divisions (Nellore, Kavali and Gudur) and 1204 Revenue Villages in which 1135 are inhabited. There are 968 Gram Panchayats and four Municipalities namely Nellore(city corporation), Kavali, Gudur and Venkatagiri.

Sri Amarajeevi Potti Sri Ramulu Nellore District is divided into the following 46 mandals.

  1. Allur, 15 villages.
  2. Ananthasagaram, 23 villages.
  3. Anumasamudrampeta, 19 villages.
  4. Atmakur, 23 villages.
  5. Balayapalle, 24 villages.
  6. Bhogolu, 14 villages.
  7. Buchireddipalem, 12 villages.
  8. Chejerla, 22 villages.
  9. Chillakur, 31 villages.
  10. Chittamur, 23 villages.
  11. Dagadarthi, 11 villages.
  12. Dakkili, 26 villages.
  13. Doravarisatram, 22 villages.
  14. Duttalur, 17 villages.
  15. Gudur, 22 villages.
  16. Indukurpet, 18 villages.
  17. Jaladanki, 16 villages.
  18. Kaligiri, 23 villages.
  19. Kaluvoya, 19 villages.
  20. Kavali, 21 villages.
  21. Kodavalur, 17 villages.
  22. Kondapuram, 19 villages.
  23. Kota, 20 villages.
  24. Kovur, 5 villages.
  25. Manubolu, 18 villages.
  26. Marripadu, 24 villages.
  27. Muthukur, 19 villages.
  28. Naidupeta, 18 villages
  29. Nellore, 29 villages.
  30. Ozili, 26 villages.
  31. Pellakur, 24 villages.
  32. Podlakur, 29 villages.
  33. Rapur, 46 villages (34 Panchayats)
  34. Seetharamapuram, 14 villages
  35. Sangam, 19 villages.
  36. Sullurpeta, 19 villages
  37. Sydapuram, 30 villages.
  38. Tada with 17 villages.
  39. Thotapalligudur, 21 villages.
  40. Udayagiri, 16 villages
  41. Vakadu, 18 villages.
  42. Varikuntapadu, 24 villages
  43. Venkatachalam, 25 villages.
  44. Vinjamur, 15 villages.
  45. Venkatagiri with 24 villages. (Manulalape)
  46. Vidavalur, 11 villages.

Transport

  • The National Highway 5 (India) serves the major towns, Sullurpeta, Naidupeta, Gudur, Nellore and Kavali in the district.
  • The nearest international airport is 170 km south at Chennai.
  • The national railway runs throughout the length of the district. Nellore is situated between Gudur Junction and Vijayawada Junction on the Chennai - Vijayawada main line.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Nellore district has a population of 2,966,082 ,[5] roughly equal to the nation of Armenia[6] or the US state of Mississippi.[7] This gives it a ranking of 126th in India (out of a total of 640).[5] The district has a population density of 227 inhabitants per square kilometre (590/sq mi) .[5] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 11.15 %.[5] Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore has a sex ratio of 986 females for every 1000 males,[5] and a literacy rate of 69.15 %.[5]


The population of the district was 2,966,082 of which 22.45% were urban as of 2011.[8] Total population has reached up to 7 lakhs according to recent assembly elections census. Telugu is spoken by a majority of the people in the district, while Tamil is spoken by a few in the southern parts and southern coastal region of the district.[9]

Telugu is the language of 92.5% of the people and there are significant Tamil population too. There are some Telugu communities whose pronunciation is closer to Tamil.[10]

Culture

Food and entertainment

Nellore is very famous for food and movie theatres with State of Art facilities on par with Big Cities. Nellore Chepala Pulusu and Nellore Swarna Masoori Rice got World Class recognition. 'Nellore Mess’ can be commonly seen in almost every town of A.P and even in other states of India. Hotels of Nellore are famous for providing quality food.

Mythology

In addition to Tamil account, there are various beliefs behind the origin of city.

Lord Siva appeared as stone Lingam under a Nelli Tree in this place. The legend was that a local cow-herd named Mukkanti Reddi who noticed that one of his cows was losing its milk every day. He came to know that the cow was pouring its milk on the stone, and got vision to see it as God. He constructed a temple and titled the stone Lingam as Mulasantha Iswara. The town got its name from the Nelli Tree, where the temple is located. The temple is said to be the one in present Mulapeta colony in Nellore.

Most people live in villages (as opposed to cities or towns). While men can be seen in pants and suits, as well as in more traditional attire such as dhotis and lungis, women mostly limit themselves to sarees.

Art and Literature

Nellore region produced famous Telugu artists ranging from ancient poets like Tikkana and to modern artists like Atreya. Ancient Telugu poets Tikkana, Molla, Marana, Ketana laid foundations for Telugu literature here. Tikkana, the second in Kavitrayam translated Sanskrit epic Mahabharat. Molla, the second Telugu poetess had translated Ramayan into Telugu. Ketana, a disciple of Tikkana, dedicated his work called "Dasakumara Charitram" to Tikkana. Ketana also wrote Andhrabashabushanam, a grammar book for Telugu. Marana, another poet and disciple of Tikkana wrote "Markandeya Puranam". Ramarajabhushanudu from this region was patronized by Krishnadevaraya.

During British period, 'Nellore' was the only education center in the regions that constituted the current day Andhra Pradesh.

The main entertainment in the region is movies and related activities. S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, one of the India's top singers hailed from Nellore. Famous Telugu lyrics writer Acharya Atreya is from this region. Pattabi Rami Reddy, a poet and director from Nellore wrote Ragala Dozen (A Dozen Melodies), a collection that recorded his observations in Madras and Nellore. He also produced a Telugu film, Pellinaati Pramanalu, the National award winner, and directed films Samskara, Chandamarutha, Sringaramasa, and Devara Kaadu.[11] Nellore also is place of many yesteryear Telugu actors like Rajanala and Ramana Reddy and Telugu Actress Vanisree , Playback singers Like S.P.Balasubramanyam, S.P.Sailaja V.T.Venkataram, Famous Consumer activist hails from Nellore

Architecture

  • Venkatagiri fort, Venkatagiri—70 km from Nellore
  • Udayagiri Fort, 96 km from Nellore
  • Ranganayaka Temple, more than 500 years old temple with huge 29 m tall Galigopuram.
  • Bhairavakonda Caves
  • Sri venugopala swamy temple at Moolapet,Nellore.
  • Sri Mahavishnu&MahaLakshmi Temple,
  • Sadguru Sri Tattayya Swamy Asramam at Sri VaikuntaPuram Shektram 64km from Nellore.

Notable personalities

Bezawada Gopala Reddy

Puchalapalli Sundaraiah

Singeetam Srinivasa Rao

Ramana Reddy

Bollineni Krishnaiah Naidu

S. P. Balasubrahmanyam

Vanisri

T. Subbarami Reddy

A. Kodandarami Reddy

Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu Ex BJP President

Gangavarapu Tirupati Naidu Ex Samiti President In Atmakut Taluka
Nellore Kantha Rao

Ramanarayana Reddy State Finance Minister


Flora and fauna

Nellore is rich in flora and fauna. It had a lush coastal belt, moist Eastern Ghats, dry forests and short bushes.

The fauna is equally wonderful. Pulicat Lake near Sullurpeta, 75–80 km from Nellore, is a habitat for a variety of aquatic & terrestrial birds like flamingoes, painted storks, grey pelicans and seagulls and much more. There is a sanctuary called Nelapattu Bird Sancturay, on the banks of Pulicat lake, is spread over 486 km2. It boasts the famous Siberian Cranes and nearly 160 species of birds. The annual Flamingo Festival is celebrated at this bird sanctuary at Nelapattu.

Nellore district is also famous for good lakes and beach parks. Kotha Koduru, located 22 km from Nellore has a picturesque beach. Maipadu beach, located 14 km from Nellore, is famous for sand dunes and giant sea waves. Nellore Lake park (Nellore cheruvu, near Podalakur road) provides boating and a restaurant. Shridi sai Baba temple at kothur village Indukurpet Mandal towrds mypadu beach. Distance from nellore 9 K.M.

Education

Nellore has scores of schools, engineering and other degree colleges. On the other hand, providing educational facilities to rural areas is largely confined to the shelves of the Andhra Pradesh Government. Presently all colleges areaffiliated with Vikrama Simhapuri University. Vikrama Simhapuri University was established two years back for Nellore District. All colleges were affiliated to the new University from 29 April 2010. The medical, dental and nursing institutions are affiliated to Dr. N.T.R. University of Health Sciences,[12] A.P. at Vijayawada.

The headquarters of famous Narayana Educational Society is in Nellore. The Society include Narayana Medical college (Offering UG and PG Studies), Narayana Dental College (Offering UG and PG in all Nine specialties of Dentistry), Narayana Nursing Institutions, Narayana Yoga & Naturopathy College, Narayana Pharmacy College, Narayana College of Physiotherapy, Narayana Engineering Colleges, Junior colleges and schools all over the country. The Medical, Dental and Nursing institutions are situated in a single (Chintharedy Palem) Campus at Nellore is an ideal place for all kind of medical education with Narayana General, Dental, Yoga and Naturopathy and Super speciality hospitals. Muppavarapu venkaiah Naidu

Media

The district has long list of local newspapers such as Nellore express, Lawyer, Zaminryot, Nellore News, Gudur News, Nagarabheri and much more. Though most of them were swept away by district editions of the main state newspapers like Sakshi, Eenadu, Vaartha and Andhrajyothy,Nellore express, Lawyer and Zaminryot are still popular news items.

Sports

Cricket is the most played and well watched sport. Kabaddi, Badminton and Volleyball are other popular sports. Indoor sports like Chess and Carrom are also played in urban areas. T N Parameswaran, national chess champion in 1982 and 1996 and who also represented India in Chess Olympiads of 1982 and 1996 at Lausanne and Armenia is from Nellore. Small villages host cockfight and bullfight events for special occasions.

References

  1. ^ Telugu cholas
  2. ^ Nellore became revenue unit
  3. ^ Nellore lands
  4. ^ District-wise Assembly Constituencies in Andhra Pradesh
  5. ^ a b c d e f "District Census 2011". Census2011.co.in. 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-30.
  6. ^ US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Retrieved 2011-10-01. Armenia 2,967,975 July 2011 est. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 8 (help)
  7. ^ "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-09-30. Mississippi 2,967,297 {{cite web}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 12 (help)
  8. ^ Indian Census data.2011
  9. ^ [1]
  10. ^ Gazetteer of the Nellore District: brought up to 1938
  11. ^ Artcile about Pattabi Ram
  12. ^ http://203.199.178.93/index.asp

Further reading

  • History of Andhras up to 1565, Durga Prasad, P. G. Publishers, Guntur.
  • Samagra Andhrula Charitram
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