Krishna district

Krishna district
కృష్ణా జిల్లా
District of Andhra Pradesh

Location of Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh
Country India
State Andhra Pradesh
Administrative division Krishna district
Headquarters Machilipatnam
Tehsils 50[1]
Government
 • Lok Sabha constituencies Vijayawada, Machilipatnam
 • Assembly seats 16
Area
 • Total 8,727 km2 (3,370 sq mi)
Population (2011)
 • Total 4,529,009[2]
 • Urban 41.01%
Demographics
 • Literacy 74.37%
 • Sex ratio 997
Major highways AH-45, NH-9,
NH-221, NH-214A
Coordinates 16°17′N 81°13′E / 16.283°N 81.217°ECoordinates: 16°17′N 81°13′E / 16.283°N 81.217°E
Website Official website

Krishna district is a district in the Coastal Andhra region of Andhra Pradesh, India. Machilipatnam is the administrative headquarters and Vijayawada is the biggest city in the district and falls under the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region. As of 2011 Census, the district had a population of 4,529,009, of which 41.00% is urban and a literacy rate of 74.37%.[2] Guntur district was separated from Krishna in 1904 to form Krishna district which was further divided in 1925, to Krishna and West Godavari districts.

Etymology

Krishna district, with its district headquarters at Machilipatnam was formerly called Machlipatnam District. Later it was renamed as Krishna district, by adding certain Taluks of the abolished Guntur District in 1859 with Machilipatnam with its head. It was named after the Krishna River, the third longest river in India. The river flows through the state of Andhra Pradesh before it empties itself into Bay of Bengal, near Hamsaladevi village of Krishna district.

History

Holy relic Buddhist sites map of Andhra Pradesh
Hindu Pilgrimage sites map of Andhra Pradesh

This history of this region dates back to the 2nd century BCE. The area was ruled by the Satavahanas (230 BC – 227 AD); Pallavas (340 AD – 500 AD), Chalukyas (615 AD – 1070 AD) and later by Cholas, Kakatiyas and Reddy dynasty.<ref name=history>"Krishna district history". Krishna district website. Retrieved 15 July 2014.</ref>

Satavahana period (230 BC – 227 AD): The Satavahanas ruled this region with headquarters at Srikaakulam. Prominent rulers during this period were Srimukha (founder), Gotamiputra Satakarni and Yajnasri Satakarni (last Satavahana king). The Satavahanas imparted more stability and security to the life of the people of the region for more than four centuries. Pallava Kingdom (340 AD – 500 AD), spread over from Krishna river to Tungabhadra, including Amaravati in the East, Bellary in the West and Kancheepuram in the South with capital cities at venginagar near Ellore and Pithapuram, both in Vengidesa. Bruhitpalayanas, the contemporaries of Pallavas who ruled the district with Koduru as their capital. Vishnukundinas (5th century AD), are rulers who excavated cave temples at Mogalrajapuram (now in Vijayawada) and Undavalli, etc. Eastern chalukyas (615 AD – 1070 AD), the entire Andhra country was under the control of a single ruler under their reign. The Eastern Chalukyas were credited with the excavations of the cave temple at Undavalli and rock cut shrines and Shiva temples.<ref name=history />

Cholas ruled this region with capital at Rajamahendri . It was during Rajarajanaredra's reign that Nannayya Bhattu translated the Mahabharata into Telugu. Kakatiyas, ruled this region up to the early 14th century with Orugallu as their capital. Reddy dynasty, on the downfall of Pratapa Rudra of Kakatiya, the eldest son of Pulaya Vema Reddi found himself independent and established himself in the hill fort of Kondavedu. He also possessed himself of the fortress of Bellamkonda, Vinukonda and Nagarjuna konda in the Palanad. The Kondavidu Reddi’s were great patrons of Telugu literature. The poet Srinadha and his brother-in –law Bammera Pothana flourished at his court. The ruins of fortresses at Kondavidu, Ballamkonda and Kondapalli are still to be seen.<ref name=history />

Gajapathis of Odisha: Kapileswara Gajapathi is preserved by the village Kapileswarapuram now in Pamidimukkala mandal. He was succeeded by Vidyadhara Gajapathi who built Vidyadharapuram (now in Vijayawada) and constructed a reservoir at Kondapalli. Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagara empire conquered this region in the early 16th century. Qutb Shahis, in 1512, the Kingdom of Golconda was founded by one Sultan Quli Qutub Shah. The Kingdom of Golconda included this district within its limits. Abu-l-Hussain Shah was the last of Qutab Shahi dynasty known as Tanisha. He had two ministers, both Brahmins, named Madanna and Akkanna. Popular tradition attributed this preference of Vijayawada to the devotion of the two ministers to the goddess Kanaka Durga.<ref name=history />

Medieval period

Nizams: The Emperor Aurangazeb included this district in the province of Golconda, which remained under Asaf jah who was appointed as Subedar or Viceroy of the Deccan in 1713 with the title of Nizam-ul-Mulk. The province of Golconda comprised five Nawabs’ charges viz. Arcot, Cuddapah, Kurnool, Rajahmundry and Chicacole (Srikakulam). The Nawab of Rajahmundry ruled the country induced in the Krishna district.<ref name=history />

The British: In the year 1611 the English founded their settlement at Masulipatnam which was their headquarters until they finally moved to Madras in 1641. The Dutch and French also had settlements at Masulipatnam. Upon the death of the old Nizam-ul-Mulk in June 1748 his heirs strove for the succession with the support of the English and the French. When Nizam Ali Khan was proclaimed ruler of Golconda in 1761 the British secured at first the divisions of Masulipatnam, Nizampatnam and part of Kondaveedu and later the entire Circars. At first the district was administered by a chief and council at Masulipatnam but in 1794 Collectors, directly responsible to the Board of Revenue, were appointed at Masulipatnam.<ref name=history />

Geography

Districts of Andhra Pradesh

The Krishna District is in the eastern coast of the state bordering West Godavari district in the East, Bay of Bengal in the South, Guntur and Nalgonda district of Telangana in the West and Khammam district of Telangana in the Northern direction. The Krishna district occupies an area of 8,727 square kilometres (3,370 sq mi),[3] comparatively equivalent to Corsica.[4] The district is divided into upland and delta area.

Climate

The climatic conditions of the district consist of extremely hot summers and moderately hot winters and may be classified as tropical. The period starting from April to June is the hottest. The annual rainfall in the region is about 1028 mm and is contributed to by the Southwest monsoon. Three types of soils viz., Black Cotton (57.6%), Sand clay loams (22.3%) and Red loams (19.4%).

Climate data for Vijayawada (1951-1980)[5]
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 30.0
(86)		 32.7
(90.9)		 35.4
(95.7)		 37.4
(99.3)		 39.8
(103.6)		 37.2
(99)		 33.2
(91.8)		 32.4
(90.3)		 32.6
(90.7)		 31.8
(89.2)		 30.7
(87.3)		 29.6
(85.3)		 33.6
(92.5)
Average low °C (°F) 18.7
(65.7)		 20.1
(68.2)		 22.4
(72.3)		 25.5
(77.9)		 27.5
(81.5)		 27.0
(80.6)		 25.4
(77.7)		 25.1
(77.2)		 25.1
(77.2)		 24.0
(75.2)		 21.3
(70.3)		 19.1
(66.4)		 23.4
(74.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 0.9
(0.035)		 5.3
(0.209)		 9.6
(0.378)		 14.3
(0.563)		 51.3
(2.02)		 131.9
(5.193)		 218.4
(8.598)		 185.6
(7.307)		 163.5
(6.437)		 142
(5.59)		 51.3
(2.02)		 6.7
(0.264)		 998.2
(39.299)
Avg. precipitation days 0.1 0.4 0.5 1.0 3.1 7.6 12.6 11.5 8.8 7.1 2.8 0.6 56.1
Source: India Meteorological Department.[6]

Topography

Prakasam Barrage at Vijayawada across Krishna River

The main hill range of the district known as Kondapalli runs between Nandigama and Vijayawada with a length of about 24 km. The other smaller hill ranges are Jammalavoidurgam, Mogalrajapuram and Indrakiladri hills. Kolleru, is the large freshwater lake in India. It spans into two districts - Krishna and West Godavari.

Flora and fauna

The forest occupies only 9% of the total district area. However, it contains Reserved Forest areas in Nandigama, Vijayawada, Tiruvuru, Nuzvid, Gannavaram, Bandar and Divi Taluks. A type of light wood known as ‘Ponuku’ (Gyrocapus Jacquini) is found in the Kondapalli hills. The wood is used for the manufacture of the well known Kondpalli toys. The most noticeable trees are pterocarpus, Terminalia, Anogeissus and Logustroeinai and Casuarina.[7]

Panthers, hyenas, jungle cats, foxes, bears and other carnivorous mammalian fauna are found here. Deer, spotted deer sambar, blackbuck and other herbivorous animals are found in the inland forests. The district has a large number of Murrah buffaloes and cows.[7]

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, the Krishna district has a population of 4,529,009,[8] roughly equal to the nation of Croatia[9] or the US state of Louisiana.[10] This gives it a ranking of 34th in India (out of a total of 640) and 4th in its state.[8] The district has a population density of 519 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,340/sq mi) .[8] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 8.15%.[8] Krishna has a sex ratio of 997 females for every 1000 males,[8] and a literacy rate of 74.37%.[8]

Household indicators In 2007–2008 the International Institute for Population Sciences interviewed 1229 households in 34 villages across the district.[11] They found that 94.7% had access to electricity, 93.4% had drinking water, 60.3% toilet facilities, and 45.5% lived in a pucca (permanent) home.[11] 20.6% of girls wed before the legal age of 18[12] and 76.9% of interviewees carried a BPL card.[11]

Economy

The majority of the people in urban areas of Krishna district are engaged in trade and commerce. Agriculture is the main occupation of the district. There are many large scale industries like sugar, cement and many small scale include musical instruments making, gold-plated ornaments and Kondapalli Toys.

Agriculture

The district has rich variety of soils and agriculture is the most important occupation with Paddy as the main food crop produced.

Natural resources

Natural Gas and Crude Oil is found extensively offshore and on the coast. Small deposits of Diamonds are available. Limestone is a major mineral extracted in the district. Sand quarrying for construction is extracted from Krishna and Munneru rivers. Different types of minerals found in the area are Chromite, Diamonds, Iron Ore, Lime Stone, Mica etc.[13]

Administrative divisions

The district has four revenue divisions, namely Vijayawada, Nuzvid, Machilipatnam and Gudivada, each headed by a sub collector. There are 50 mandals in the district, 49 mandal parishads, 973 panchayats, 1005 villages and 5 municipalities. Vijayawada city is the only municipal corporation and the 5 municipalities in the district are Gudivada, Jaggaiahpeta, Machilipatnam, Nuzivid and Pedana.[14] The 17 towns (or urban settlements) in the district include 5 municipalities, 11 census towns and 1 municipal corporation.[15] The 11 census towns are Kanuru, Poranki, Tadigadapa, Yanamalakuduru, Kankipadu, Ramavarappadu, Prasadampadu, Guntupalli, Ibrahimpatnam, Kondapalle, Tiruvuru.[16]

Mandals

Guntur District Mandal Map

The list of 50 mandals in Krishna district under 4 Revenue divisions are listed in the following table:

# Machilipatnam Division Gudivada Division Vijayawada Division Nuzvid Division
1 Avanigadda Gudivada Agali A.Konduru
2 Bantumilli Gudlavalleru G.Konduru Agiripalle
3 Challapalli Kaikaluru Ibrahimpatnam Bapulapadu
4 Ghantasala Kalidindi Jaggaiahpet Chatrai
5 Guduru Mandavalli Kanchikacherla Gampalagudem
6 Koduru Mudinepalli Kankipadu Gannavaram
7 Kruthivennu Nandivada Mylavaram Musunuru
8 Machilipatnam Pamarru Nandigama Nuzvid
9 Mopidevi Pedaparupudi Penamaluru Pamidimukkala
10 Movva Penuganchiprolu Reddigudem
11 Nagayalanka Thotlavalluru Tiruvuru
12 Peddavadugur Vatsavai Unguturu
13 Pedana Veerullapadu Vissannapeta
14 Vijayawada (rural) Vuyyuru
15 Vijayawada (urban)

Source:

Parliamentary constituencies

Krishna district has two parliamentary constituencies Vijayawada and Machilipatnam. In Andhra pradesh assembly Krishna district has 16 constituencies namely Tiruvuru (SC), Nandigama (SC), Mylavaram, Jaggayyapeta, Vijayawada (West), Vijayawada (Central), Vijayawada (East), Penamaluru, Nuzvid, Gannavaram, Pedana, Gudivada, Kaikaluru, Machilipatnam, Avanigadda, Pamarru (SC).[18] Telugu Desam, YSR Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party, Lok Satta, CPI and CPM are the main political parties in the district.

Culture

The culture of Krishna district is mostly traditional in rural places and moderately modern in Vijayawada. It is also famous as the birthplace for Indian classical dance named kuchipudi and the culture with the dialect of Telugu spoken in Krishna is widely considered to be the standard form of Telugu.[14]

Transport

Vijayawada, the major city in Krishna district has an important railway junction in the country. The largest bus terminus in the state is also located in Vijayawada, named as Pandit Nehru Bus station. Airport located at Gannavaram, 16 km north east of Vijayawada is one of the three domestic airport in the state. A new deep water port is under construction in Machilipatnam.

Four national highways pass through the district namely NH 5 from Chennai to Kolkata, NH 9 from Pune to Machilipatnam, NH 221 from Vijayawada to Jagdalpur, NH 214 Kathipudi to Pamarru, NH 214A Digamarru to Ongole.

Education

Vijayawada is one of the main education centers in Andhra Pradesh. NTR University of Health Sciences is located in Vijayawada. Krishna University is located in Machilipatnam. Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies popularly known as International Institute of Information Technology is situated in Nuzvid. School of Planning and Architecture, South Indian Chapter is present in Vijayawada.

District has numerous engineering colleges including Prasad V. Potluri Siddhartha Institute of Technology, Velagapudi Ramakrishna Siddhartha Engineering College, Lakireddy Balireddy Engineering College, Gudlavalleru Engineering College, DMS SVH College of Engineering, Govt Polytechnic Vijayawada (one of the oldest Polytechnic colleges in India), Andhra Loyola College, AANM & VVRSR (Gudlavalleru) Polytechnic College, Mary Stella college, Sidhartha Degree College are few of the many famous arts and science colleges in the district.

Sports

Kabbadi is the most popular sport followed by cricket, volleyball, badminton, basketball and tennis. Indira Gandhi Municipal Stadium in Vijayawada hosts One Day Internationals Cricket matches of India. Famous Hockey player Balram belongs to this District.

Notable people

Krishna district is reputed for its affiliation with many illuminate of various fields of work. Many well-known personalities are associated with this place. Some of them are:

Science and technology
Fine arts and literature
Social reformers
Sports
Cinema

See also

References

  1. ↑ "District - Krishna". Andhra Pradesh Online Portal. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Krishna district profile". Andhra Pradesh State Portal.
  3. ↑ Srivastava, Dayawanti et al. (ed.) (2010). "States and Union Territories: Andhra Pradesh: Government". India 2010: A Reference Annual (54th ed.). New Delhi, India: Additional Director General, Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Government of India. pp. 1111–1112. ISBN 978-81-230-1617-7.
  4. ↑ "Island Directory Tables: Islands by Land Area". United Nations Environment Program. 1998-02-18. Retrieved 2011-10-11. Corsica 8,741
  5. ↑ http://www.imd.gov.in/section/climate/vijayawada2.htm
  6. ↑ http://www.imd.gov.in/section/climate/vijaywada2.htm
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Flora and Fauna of Krishna district". AP forest department. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 "District Census 2011". Census2011.co.in. 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-30.
  9. ↑ US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Retrieved 2011-10-01. Croatia 4,483,804 July 2011 est.
  10. ↑ "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-09-30. Louisiana 4,533,372
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "District Level Household and Facility Survey (DLHS-3), 2007-08: India. Andhra Prades" (PDF). International Institute for Population Sciences and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 2010. Retrieved 2011-10-03.
  12. ↑ "How Do I? : Obtain Marriage Certificate". National Portal Content Management Team, National Informatics Centre. 2005. Retrieved 2011-10-03. To be eligible for marriage, the minimum age limit is 21 for males and 18 for females.
  13. ↑ "Geology and Mineral Resources of Krishna District". Department of Mines and Geology. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "Administrative Setup". Krishna District Official Website. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  15. ↑ "Part-I State Administrative Divisions 2001-2011" (PDF). Census of India. p. 6. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  16. ↑ "Krishna District Mandals" (PDF). Census of India. p. 471-532. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  17. ↑ "Mandals in Krishna district". AP State Portal. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  18. ↑ "Assembly Constituencies - Krishna district" (PDF). Geographic Information Systems. Retrieved 15 July 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Krishna district.
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Kistna (district).
 Nalgonda district, Telangana Khammam district, Telangana West Godavari district
Guntur district West Godavari district
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