Location:
In Andhra Pradesh, India.
Significance:
Guntur is a district in Andhra Pradesh, India covering an area of 11,391 sq. km on the Deccan, the first home of man in India. Paleolithic (old stone age) implements have been found, suggesting that man then roamed the region.
Guntur , city (as per 1991 census population. 4,71,051) it might have doubled now, as the city is fastly developing in all aspects.
Ancient City Founded by French.
Guntur district was under the rule of the Mauryas, Ikshvakus, Anandagotrins, Vishnukandins, Eastern Chalukyas, Velananti Cholas, Kakatiyas, Reddys, Gajapatis, Vijayanagaras Qutub Shalin and the British Sathavahana. World famous Nagarjuna Hill is in this district. Historically Famous Palnadu War and first and foremost Tax non co-operation Movement in 1921 were the happenings in this district.
Climate:
Temperate climate with hot summers and cool winters.
Tobacco and Red chilies are the main agricultural crops in these regions.
Located in the northeastern part of the Andhra Pradesh State, in the Krishna River delta, Guntur lies on the Vijayawada-Madras trunk road, about 9-km to the east of the picturesque Kondaveedu range of hills. It is the headquarters of the district of its name, Revenue division and Taluk. It is one of the oldest municipalities having been constituted in AD 1866. The French founded the city in the mid-eighth century, but in 1788 it was ceded permanently to the British.
The village of 'Ramachandrapuram Agraharam', which is now part of Guntur city, is considered much older than Guntur as it is testified by an inscription dated AD 1296 on a pillar of Mantapam in three temple of Lakshminarayana Swami. It is an important railway junction and is connected by rail with Macherla, Vijayawada, Machilipatnam, Hubli, Tenali and Repalle. This city is an important commercial centre, with tobacco curing barns, rice mills, cotton and oil mills. There are many places of tourist importance around this city.
Guntur is the administrative headquarters of Guntur district. The town was founded in the mid-18th century by the French, but in 1788 it was ceded
permanently to the British. It became a municipality in 1866. A railroad junction and trade centre, Guntur's economy is dominated by the growing of jute, tobacco, chilies and rice.
Guntur is the headquarters of Guntur district. Various explanations are given for the name, Guntur. Some believe that the original village derived its name from a pond (Kunta) and that it lay in a Kunta of land after which it came to be called "Kunta Vuru" or Guntur. Yet another version associates the name of the place with the practice of the local kings or chiefs firing a gunt to mark the midday after which it came to be known as "Gunduru" or "Gunturu".
Guntur is also the historical place where helium was discovered. In 1869, Guntur witnessed a complete solar eclipse for about ten minutes. The eclipse attracted many British scientists to the place, and so helium was discovered on Sun's surface.
There was only one family in the famous Titanic from India and that was from Guntur.
Renowned Buddhist monk, Acharya Nagarjuna, is said to have discovered Mica in this area around 200 BC.
Jinnah tower, a commemorative tower for Pakistan's father of Nation Muhammed Ali Jinnah is unique to Guntur in the whole of South Asia.
ANCIENT CITY FOUNDED BY FRENCH.
THE SPICY CITY
Guntur City has its own nice/modest downtown, midtown/city centers and uptown/residential areas. To name a few, 1. Center of Brodipet and ArundelPet, 2. Jinnah Tower Center, 3. Naaz Center, 4. Inner and Outer Ringroads, 5. Old Guntur, 6. Brindavan Gardens 7. Manasa Sarovar located on the Eastern part of the city, it is one of the man made parks located in Guntur.8.centers of kothapet and Railpet.
Kothapet is the biggest ward in Guntur corporation.Its significance is that it is the main business centre of the city, mainly for its cloth business. There are hundreds of cloth business shops in these areas among which CHANDANA BROTHERS AND PUTCHALA SILKS are popular.It has a well maintained green park of the name of "Gandhi".There are huge number of cinema theatres in the city, near about 30 in number, thus causing heavy trafic, and on realese of new movies and in particularly "chiranjeevi" the mega star of telugu cinema, the roads become conjusted due to heavy traffic.
Guntur city is well equipped with concrete roads and drainage system.It is covered with cotton mills and tobocco mills in and around the city.The state government has a plan to establish a"TEXTILE PARK" in Guntur
Guntur City and its region is a major commercial centre in India. Cotton, tobacco and chilli are some of the major commodities that are exported from here to different parts of the world. The city hosts the largest Asian market] for red chillies. The Tobacco Board, India, a part of the Government of India, is headquartered in Guntur. The chillies that are grown in this region are some of the hottest in the world, and are in constant competition] with chillies from Mexico for first place. A 'Spice Park' is currently being setup in the area . The cotton that grows in the region is used in making some of the finest sarees in India
The industrial development in the Guntur Region is of medium scale. On a positive note the region has minimal industrial and related pollution as compared to major cities in the country. Some of the industries in the area are: textile mills/handloom, silk, Sangam Dairy, cement factories, Andhra Fertilizers, jute mills, granite industries, diamond and other ore processing (Hindustan Zinc Limited), Auto-Nagar and software/IT Companies. A Textile Hub is being developed on the southwestern side of the city , and the government is also encouraging the setting up of new industries. Possible future plans include the Biotechnology Park, Knowledge Park etc.
HEART OF THE CITY, NAAZ CENTER
MANASA SAROVARAM, WATER WORLD
BUDDHA STATUE IN AMARAVATHI
HOW TO REACH GUNTUR
Reaching Guntur by TrainGuntur is a city that still boasts of cultural heritage and historical monuments in Andhra Pradesh. In the present times, it has been acknowledged for exporting chilies, tobacco and cotton from India. Besides its commercial success, Guntur offers booming reasons for traveling too. If you have planned to visit this city and pondering over the question 'How to reach', then keep your worries aside because Guntur is well-connected with all parts of the country. Reaching Guntur is easy since the city boasts of a wide network of roads and railways. You can travel to this city
By Air
Hyderabad airport is the major airport that is connected with all the prominent cities of the country. The airport also has quite a few international connections. Guntur is about 300 kms from Hyderabad airport. Chennai Airport is the major international airport serving numerous airlines. It takes 8 hours to reach Guntur from Chennai by rail. Gannavaram is the local airport, having daily flights to Hyderabad and Chennai.
By Train
New Guntur Station is the major station, which is connected with almost all the state capitals along with the four metropolitan cities of India. Apart from this, railway stations at Macherla, Vijayawada, Machilipatnam, Hubli, Tenali and Repalk, serve the needs of travelling to and from Guntur.
By Road
Guntur has a commendable network of roads. It is linked with all the major cities across the country by various national and state highways. Different state and private bus services connect the city to and from all the major places within and outside the district.
AJMER DARGAH IN GUNTUR
The famed Hazrat Kale Mastan Shah Walia Dargah of Guntur, which is patronised by both Hindus and Muslims alike, will be modelled after the Ajmer Dargah.
The remodelling works of the Dargah, was done with the help of artisans drawn from Delhi, Rajastan and Agra. Like the Ajmer Dargah, the Mastan Shah Wali Dargah will have one tall dome surrounded by four smaller ones.
The dargah, which stands as a symbol of syncretism, was constructed by a Hindu - Ravi Bawaji Naidu 115 years ago for Mastan Shaw Wali, a Muslim saint. The dargah is being managed by the descendants of Naidu. a large number of devotees were Hindus, the main dome would have a golden ‘kalasam’ on the lines of a Hindu temple gopuram.
More interestingly, the gold required for the ‘kalasam’ would be donated by Hindu seer Viswayogi Viswamji, whose ashramam is located in Chinarondrupadu village on the National Highway., Viswamji would be gifting 3 kg of gold for the ‘kalasam’.
The chandini of the Dargah was being adorned with silver. “As much as 115 kg of silver is being used for the purpose and the intricate designs would be very much like those in Ajmer Dargah,”
EMPLOYEES PROVIDENT FUND ORGANISATION
A MODEL TRAIN AT WEST RAILWAY STATION
GUNTUR GENERAL HOSPITAL
THE FAMOUS ANDHRA CHRISTIAN COLLEGE
SANKARA EYE HOSPITAL
MARVELOUS SARASVATHI THEATRE.
THE FAMOUS CLOTH BAZAR, KOTHAPET
A VIEW OF B R REDDY STADIUM
DURGA MALLESWARA SWAMY TEMPLE
PEDAKAKANI
BOUNDARIES:
The district is bounded on the North by Krishna and Nalgonda districts, on the West by Prakasam and Mahaboobnagar districts, on the South by Prakasam district, on the East by Krishna district and Bay of Bengal . It is situated between 15 - 18 and 16 - 50 of the Northern Latitude and 70-10 and 80 - 55 of the Eastern Longitude.
DEMOGRAPHIC PARTICULARS:
The population of the district is 44,06,999 with a density of 387 per Sq.Km. The percentage of literacy is 62.80 and the percentage of Urban population to total population is 28.89.
REVENUE DIVISIONS: 3
MANDALS 57
REVENUE VILLAGES 729
GRAMPANCHAYATS 1025
MUNICIPALITIES 9
MUNICIPAL CORPORATION 1
LAND UTILISATION:
The total geographical area of the district is 1132823 Hectares. During the year 1999-2k the area covered by forest is hectares which forms to the total geographical area. The net area sown is hectares forming to the total geographical area . The total cropped area in the district is hectares. The area sown more than once during the year is hectares.
MINERAL RESOURCES:
The district is rich in mineral resources. The principal minerals available are limestone, lime kankar, Napa slabs ,Copper and Lead. Lime stone is being utilised by the cement factories of Macherla and Tadepalli. There are copper mines at Agnigundala of Ipur Mandal.
CILMATE
The normal rainfall of the district is 889.1 M.M. The climate is generally warm in Summer and the heat is very severe in Rentachintala , where the maximum temparature in the State is recorded.
RIVERS
The important Rivers and reverlets in the district are the Krishna, the Naguleru, the Chandravanka and Gundlakamma. The river Krishna travels about 250 Kms, through the district along the northern boundary of the district.
IRRIGATION
The two Major irrigation projects in the district are 1) Old Krishna Ayacut, now renamed as Prakasam Barrage with an ayacut of 202032 hectares and 2) Nagarjuna Sagar Project with an ayacutt of 254583 hectares. Both the projects are constructed on the river Krishna. A medium Irrigation channel by name Guntur Branch Canal (GBC) having an ayacutt of 10823 hectares and the Minor Irrigation sources like tanks, Bore Wells, tube wells etc., are providing irrigation.
SOILS
The soils in general are very fertile and they are broadly classified as Black cotton, Red loamy and sandy loamy. Black cotton area is in 70%, Red loamy in 24% and sandy loamy in about 6% of the area in the district.
CROPS
The predominant crops grown in the district are paddy, jowar and bajra among cereals, blackgram , greengram and redgram among pulses, cotton , chillies, turmeric and tobacco among non-food and commercial crops. .
CULTURE AND DIVERSITY
With the foundation of Ancient Vedic Civilization/Sanatana Dharma(known as Hinduism) and its principles (Sarve Jana Sukhino Bhavantu),the Guntur Region has a place for all religions, castes, sects and creeds.One of the lost tribes of Israel called Bene Ephraim, can be traced in Guntur, having a Jewish temple (synagogue). Religious faiths such as
Islam and Christianity have nice presence in harmony.Telugu is the main language of communication in the city. One of the
earliest/purest forms of Telugu language can be noticed in this region. Other languages such as Hindi and English are also used with in the city to some extent. Indian Culture is vibrant with many festivals (that are being celebrated for thousands of years), here are some of the festivals that are observed in Guntur to a great detail: Deepavali, Krishna-
Ashtami, Rama Navami, Sankranti, Sivaratri, Ugadi, Vijaya Dasami, Vinayaka-Chaviti. Also notice festivals that are introduced in last few centuries include Christmas, Eid ul-Fitr, Muharram, Ramadan. The 30th International Kalachakra festival was held at Amaravati near Guntur
HISTORICAL BACK GROUND
Guntur district was formed on the 1st october 1904 with Head Quarters at Guntur after bifurcating Krishna and Nellore districts. Prior to 1859 there was Guntur District' with head Quarters at Guntur but with a different jurisdiction. In 1859, the district was abolished and was divided up between up between Masulipatnam and Rajahmundry districts, which were renamed as Krishna and Godavari. In 1904, Guntur district was constituted into a separate independent district with the areas of the Talukas of Tenali, Bapatla, Guntur, Sattenapalli, Narasaraopet, Vinukonda and Palnadu of old Krishna district and Ongole taluk from Nellore district.
Tenali taluk was split on 1-7-1909 into two taluks namely Tenali and Repalle. This district thus formed in 1904 was retained intact till february,1970.In February 1970, while forming a new district with Ongole as its head quarters parts of Bapatla and Narasaraopet taluks and the whole of Ongole taluk were taken to Prakasam district leaving Guntur district with only eight taluks namely 1.guntur2.Sattenapalli 3.Tenali 4.Repalle 5.Bapatla 6.Narasaraopet 7.Vinukonda and Palnadu.With effect from 1st November 1977 again, these eight taluks were reorganized into eleven taluks by upgrading the sub-taluks of 1.Mangalagiri, Ponnuru, Macherla as taluks bifurcates the old taluks of Guntur, Bapatla and Palnadu respectively.Later, 1980, Chilakaluripet taluk was formed as 12th taluk taking parts from narasaraopet and Guntur taluks.During 1981-82, Repalle taluk was sub divided into Pallapatla and Repalle, Tenali into Tenali and Emani, guntur taluk into guntur and Prathipadu, Sattenapalli taluk into Sattenapalli, Tyalluru and Rajupalem. Vinukonda Taluk into Vinukonda, Ipuru and Gurazala into gurazala and Piduguralla thus bringing 19 taluks into existence by the end of 1981-82. Though it was contemplated in 1981-82 to constitute Amrathaluru and Tadikonda also as taluks to coincide with the 21 Panchayat Samithis yet they did not come into existence.
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