Srikakulam

This article is about the municipality in India. For its namesake district, see Srikakulam district.
For a village in Ghantasala (town) Mandal, Krishna district, see Srikakulam, Krishna.
Srikakulam
శ్రీకాకుళం
Chicacole[1]
City

Arasavilli Temple in Srikakulam
Srikakulam
Coordinates: 18°18′N 83°54′E / 18.3°N 83.9°ECoordinates: 18°18′N 83°54′E / 18.3°N 83.9°E
Country India
State Andhra Pradesh
Region Coastal Andhra
District Srikakulam
Founded by Balarama[1]
Area[2]
 • City 20.89 km2 (8.07 sq mi)
Elevation 10 m (30 ft)
Population (2011)[3]
 • City 126,003
 • Density 6,000/km2 (16,000/sq mi)
 • Metro[4] 146,988
Languages
 • Official Telugu
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 532 001
Vehicle registration AP 30
Website Srikakulam Municipality

Srikakulam is a city and district headquarters of Srikakulam district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is also the mandal headquarters of Srikakulam mandal and one of the 11 municipalities in the state.[5] It was formed by bifurcating it from Visakhapatnam district in the year 1950.[6] The city was known as Chicacole before Indian Independence.[1]

History

Stone carved ceiling at Srikurmam Temple

This region of Andhra Pradesh was part of Kalinga region at first, and later a part of Gajapati kingdom of Odisha up to the medieval period. It was in the 'Bendi Shilpa' ruling in 1687 Srikakulam (Gulshanabad) was a village and formed as fauzdhari-center for their money transactions for the areas of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Vishakhapatnam, and some parts of Odisha. The word Gulshanabad derives from Persian words Gulshan that means Rose garden and -abad (cultivated place, or city). It was developed as a town in the Muslim ruling; today you can find more than 10,000 Muslims living in this town following their culture, tradition and values. Srikakulam has been a headquarters for revenue collection under Nizam state of Hyderabad since 1707. Nizams of Hyderabad assigned Gulshanabad (Srikakulam), Rajahmundry, Eluru and Mustafanagar (Kondapalli) districts to French India in 1753. French imperialists were driven out from these districts by British imperialists in 1756 during Anglo-French wars.

Buddha statue in Nagavali river, Srikakulam

In 1759 the Fauzdhari ruling was ended and British ruling started, and Srikakulam town has been made part of Ganjam district and Palakonda and Rajam areas were included in Vizag district in the undivided Madras province. In 1936 the combined Madras-Odisha state was divided to Madras and Odisha and Parlakimidi Taluk was separated from combined Madras state. Srikakulam was renamed as Srikaklam taluk, Srikakulam town as Srikakulam municipality since 1857 under British rule. In 1947 after Indian independence, many including Potti Sriramulu fought for separate Andhra State. In 1948 many demanded for Srikakulam district as it was in combined vizag district. First 'chintada' village was proposed as district headquarters by some central leaders. On 17 July 1950, a representation was given by Challa Narasimhu naidu, an eminent leader, Pullela Vemkataramanayya (P.V. Ramanayya), who was an eminent advocate, public prosecutor, and freedom fighter, to the then revenue minister H. Sitaramareddy on his visit to this area and requested to select Srikakulam as district headquarters at his camp office in Vizianagaram. Sitaramareddy personally saw some places in Srikakulam for selection.

Demographics

As of 2011 Census of India, the city had a population of 126,003. The total population constitute, 62,583 males and 63,420 females —a sex ratio of 1013 females per 1000 males, higher than the national average of 940 per 1000.[3][7] 11,001 children are in the age group of 0–6 years, of which 5,686 are boys and 5,315 are girls—a ratio of 935 per 1000. The average literacy rate stands at 85.13% (male 91.44%; female 78.95%) with 11,001 literates, significantly higher than the national average of 73.00%.[3][8]

The Urban agglomeration had a population of 146,988, of which males constitute 73,077, females constitute 73,911 —a sex ratio of 931 females per 1000 males and 12,741 children are in the age group of 0–6 years. There are a total of 115,061 literates with an average literacy rate of 85.71%.[4]

Administration and politics

Of 19 courts in the District, only two are present in the town: a District court and a Municipal Bench court. About 75 lawyers and one law college are present in the municipal area. There are three police stations in the town: 1-Town, 2-Town, and Mahila. There is one rural police-station at Peddapadu, which serves rural mandalam. All the district police officers reside in the town.

Civic administration

Srikakulam municipality has an extent of 20.89 km2 (8.07 sq mi). In 2012-13, the total income generated per annum by the municipality was INR50.55 crore (US$8.0 million) and the total expenditure spent during the same year was INR49.86 crore (US$7.9 million).[2]

Transport

Srikakulam Road- Railway Station

NH 16 (formerly NH 5) gives a very good connectivity to Srikakulam on either sides of the town.

Bus

APSRTC bus station has two depots which provide service to almost all villages around the town. It has a very good connectivity to Visakhapatnam by non-stop services at every 10 minutes with a travel time of around 1 hour 50 minutes.

The nearest airport at Visakhapatnam is just 2 hours away by cab. Srikakulam Road railway station is just 15 minutes from the town by road.

Tourism

Sculptures at Srikurmam Temple
Arasavalli Sun God idols inside Temple

The Temple of Sun God is located at Arasavalli, 2 kilometers away from the town is the only Sun God temple in Southern India and was constructed by a Kalinga dynasty king. Mukhalingam: Sri Mukhalingam is another temple in Srikakulam which is believed to have been built in the 9th century. This holy place is on the left bank of Vamsadhara. This is a group of three temples built by the Eastern Ganga dynasty kings in the 10th century AD. The deities are Mukhalingeswara, Bhimeswara and Someswara. Salihundam on the right bank of the river Vamsadhara, about 16 km from Srikakulam town, there are a number of Buddhist stupas and a huge monastic complex on a hillock. The shrine of a famous Sufi saint lies in Kalingapatnam is 35 km away from Srikakulam. Kalingapatnam also has an old lighthouse. From its top one can see the confluence of beautiful Vamsadhara River into the sea which is a nature beauty and popular tourist spot. Kurmanatha temple dedicated to Kurma Avatar (Tortoise) of Vishnu, in village Sri Kurmam. It is approximately 13 kilometers east of Srikakulam.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Srikakulam Municipality". Commissioner & Director of Municipal Administration. Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Basic Information of Municipality". Commissioner & Director of Municipal Administration. Municipal Administration & Urban Development Department, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Cities having population 1 lakh and above" (PDF). The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Urban Agglomerations/Cities having population 1 lakh and above" (PDF). The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  5. ↑ "Srikakulam District Mandals" (PDF). Census of India. pp. 202,219. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  6. ↑ "District Profile". Official Website of Srikakulam district. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  7. ↑ "Sex Ratio". The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  8. ↑ "Chapter–3 (Literates and Literacy rate)" (PDF). Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. Retrieved 3 September 2014.

External links

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