Sricity

Sri City
town
Sri City
Coordinates: 13°33′28″N 80°01′46″E / 13.557673°N 80.029489°E / 13.557673; 80.029489Coordinates: 13°33′28″N 80°01′46″E / 13.557673°N 80.029489°E / 13.557673; 80.029489
Country	India
State	Andhra Pradesh
Region	Rayalaseema
District	Chittoor
Area[1]
• Total	100 km2 (40 sq mi)
Area rank	24
Languages
• Official	Telugu
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Website	SriCity

Sri City is a planned integrated business city (township) located 55 km north of Chennai on NH 5 in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India abutting Tamil Nadu border. Much of the Sri City area is in Chittoor District and a smaller area along the NH5^[2] is in Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh, India

The Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR), India's satellite/rocket launching centre is located at Sriharikota, on the eastern side of the Pulicat Lake which separates Sri City and the satellite launching station.^[3][4]

Etymology

Symbol-Sri

The name Sri City is inspired by the title sri derived from Sanskrit. Sri is the sacred sound of cosmic auspiciousness and abundance in the Hindu religion. Written as sri, shree, sree or shri, it stands for abundance, auspiciousness, affluence, grace, wealth, light, luster, splendor, beauty, loveliness and authority.^[5] The symbol has been used since Vedic times. Holiness is attached to the word when written or spoken. It is also added before a name to show respect. Sri is the beginning of the name of renowned temple towns in the region such as Srirangam, Srikalahasti, Sriperumbudur and Sriharikota. The world-famous temple city of Tirumala - Tirupati the abode of Lord Sri Venkateshwara (aka Srinivasa, Balaji) is also located near Sri City. After the symbol aum (ॐ) and the swastika, sri is the most popular symbol used in Hinduism. Sri is also the sacred of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity.

History

Chandragiri Fort

The district has hundreds of monuments, memorial rocks and memorials. The historical memorials date back to over 1000 years.

The history of the district, which was carved out in 1905 from then Cuddapah, Nellore and North Arcot districts, has been shaped by the ups and downs of several Dravidian kingdoms. It was a British military post until 1884. Back to 1000 years when the region was dominated by Vijayanagara Empire^[6] and is linked with the Aravidu dynasty.^[7]

Geography

It is situated between north latitudes of 13°29’50" & 13°34’40" and east longitudes of 79°57’30" & 80°02’50",^[8] at an average elevation of about 20 metres above MSL (66 ft) covering parts of Chittoor district and Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. It is alongside NH 5 which forms part of the Golden Quadrilateral.^[4] A creek (Karipeti Kalava) flows through Sri City passing through a number of lakes on the way to joining Pulicat Lake north of Tada. There is a state forest on the western boundary. The Telugu Ganga project carrying Krishna River water to Chennai passes along the western boundary of Sri City.

Soils

The soils of the area can be broadly classified as:

• Latosolic developed on the coastal laterite
• Yellow podzolic soils formed on the sandy sheet of alluvium
• The transition located at the contact of laterite and alluvium is podozolic–latosolic soil

Red sanders or red sandalwood

Climate

Satyavedu Mandal rainfall (mm)

The area experiences both the southwest monsoon and the northeast monsoon. In between there are lull periods. The average rainfall per annum as recorded in Satyavedu is 1305 mm.

• mid-May to mid-August – southwest monsoon
• mid-August to mid-October – transition / calm period
• mid-October to mid-January – northeast monsoon
• mid-January to mid-May – transition / calm period

Flora

Trees – Red sanders wood is the speciality of this area. It is the heartwood of Pterocarpus santalinus, a small tree indigenous to Southern India^[9] and the Philippines. During the Middle Ages it was classed as a spice and used for culinary purposes, and at one time it was supposed to possess medicinal properties. It is also called raktachandan. The literal meaning of raktachandan is blood coloured sandalwood. This kind of wood has a special and rust red colour and it is used to carve a number of products including panels, framework and traditional dolls.

Mesophytic flora like Syzygium cumini (locally called neredu), Pongamia ghaira (kanuga) and large trees like Terminalia arjuna (erramaddi and tellamaddi), mangos and Phoenix sylvestris.

Fauna

Great grey shrike

Among the birds, the large grey babbler, great grey shrike, king crow, myna, bee-eater, hoopoe, swift, vulture, eagle, kite, owl, sand grouse, quail, partridge, green pigeon and peacock are found in the district. Herbivores in the district include sambar, blackbuck, chital, wild sheep, mouse deer, hare and rabbit.

Languages

Telugu is the official language and being a border town, both Telugu and Tamil are spoken.^[10] Most of the educated populace speak English and are bi or tri-lingual.

Demographics

Sri City forms part of Satyavedu and Varadaiahpalem mandals of Chittoor District. It is part of the Satyavedu constituency and Tirupati MP constituency. As per 2011 census the total population of the satyavedu constituency is 2,77,010,^[11] with a literacy rate of 78.98, well over national rate of Literacy in India which stand at 61%.^[12]

Economy

Moving with times, Sri City is on its way to becoming a hub^[13] for large and medium scale industries, such as Engineering, Electronics, Automotive, Aerospace, Apparel, Renewable Energy, Biotech/Pharma, Sporting Equipment & Toys, Logistics and Warehousing, IT/ITES/BPO, Education & Training Institutes, other Eco-Friendly Industries.

Social organizations

• Sankara Nethralaya (India)
• Chennai Business School – CBS (India)^[14]
• Institute of Financial Management and Research – IFMR (India)
• Indian Institute of Information Technology, Sri City ^[15]
• Chinmaya Vidyalaya School (India) ^[16]

SEZ

The integrated township includes various zones: Industrial, Residential, Educational, Commercial and Recreational.

SriCity Business Centre

The Industrial Zone includes a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) for Export Oriented Industry and Domestic Tariff Zone (DTZ) for Domestic Industry. It is a business destination for global companies to establish Manufacturing, Services and Trading operations in India.^[17]

The SEZ is administered by Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC)^[18] & Industrial Area Local Authority (IALA). The Government appointed officer controls the planning and building approval processes. A Commissioner appointed by the Government of India, Ministry of Commerce, administers the (SEZ) area.

The SEZ was designed by Jurong Consultants, Singapore,^[19] taking into account future dimensions of expansion.^[20]

Transport

Sri City Map with distances

Sricity is located in close proximity to Asian Highway 45. The Tirupati Airport is the nearest domestic airport and Chennai International Airport is the nearest international airport.^[21] Tada and Arambakkam railways stations are nearest railway stations to Sricity.^[22][23] Chennai Port and Ennore Ports are the nearest port to the town.^[24] While, Krishnapatnam Port is located 100 km (62 mi) to the north of Sri City.^[24]

Places of interest

View of Pulicat Lake from SriCity

The district boasts few of the finest ancient/modern temples of the country. The archaeological treasures unearthed from the town and its adjoining areas occupy the pride of place at different museums. The Chandragiri Fort is known for its architectural marvels including the Srikalahasti temple.

Tirumala Venkateswara Temple at Tirupati, Goddess Padmavathi temple at Thiruchanoor, Srikalahasti temple, Chengalamma temple in Sullurpeta,^[25] Parshwanatha Jain Temple at Chandragiri^[26] etc., are the nearby religious tourist destinations to Sricity.

Pulicat Lake, Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary,^[27] Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary^[28] Tada Falls or Ubbalamadugu Falls,^[29] Nagalapuram Falls,^[30] Satish Dhawan Space Center^[4] are the nearby tourist destinations.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sricity.

• Sricity website
• Special Economic Zones in India

References