Kadapa district

Kadapa (previously Cuddapah) is one of the districts of Rayalaseema in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is named after its headquarters, the city of Kadapa. It had a population of 2,601,797 of which 22.59% were urban as of 2001. [http://www.censusindiamaps.net/page/India_WhizMap/IndiaMap.htm]

The famous devotional singer Annamacharya hails from this district. Kadapa is also famous for its Barytes mines and Kadapa Slabs.

History

Kadapa had historical importance since BC era. It was connected with Mouryans in BC era and Sathavahanas in the third century AD. It was part of the area ceded to the British by Nizam. The District was formed by splitting the Ceded Districts into two in 1808 during the British rule, the other district being Bellarycite book
last =
first =
authorlink =
title =The Imperial Gazetteer of India, Volume 7
publisher = Clarendon Press
date = 1908-1931 [vol. 1, 1909]
location = Oxford
pages =158-176
url = http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/toc.html?volume=7
doi =
id = ] . The British spelt the district as "Cuddapah".

The district is part of Rayalaseema, commemorating the name of "Rayulu" (Kings) of the Vijayanagar Empire, who ruled the area in 16th century. Gandikota fort located on the bank of Penna river was the citadel of Pemmasani Nayaks, commanders of Vijayanagar army and who won the battles of Raichur and Gulbarga for the Vijayanagar kings.

The old records of the district reveal that Kadapa previously called "Gadapa" which means in Telugu language "threshold". The ancient village of Kadapa with its large tank and temple of Lord Venkateswara at Devuni Kadapa was convenient camping place for the pilgrims traveling to the holy shrine of Tirupathi. There was a belief that the pilgrims have to first visit Devuni Kadapa, before going to Tirupathi to pray of Saint Annamacharya and Saint Potuluri Veera Brahmam who foretold about the future and advocated a classless society. The ancient temple at Vontimitta which inspired Pothana to compose Andhra Maha Bhagavatham is also in the district.

Recent historical records reveal that in Jyothi village located in Sidhout mandal has 108 Shiva lingas on the bank of Penna river is considered as Dakshina Dwaram(South Gate) for the SriSailam Mallikarguna Temple(One of twelve Dwadasa lingas) also gained lot popularity in recent days.

The main rivers in this district are Penna, Chitravathi, Kunderu, Papaghni, Sagileru and Cheyeru.

Economy

Besides its historical importance, the district has occupied an important place in the industrial map of Andhra Pradesh with its highly valued rich mineral resources.

Black corson soil lands are 24%, black soil 19%, sandy soil lands 4%, red soil lands 25%. The first variety lands are very fertile. Sand soil lands are not so fertile. ‘Korra’, orange, lime and betel leaf are the special crops. They are cultivated near river beds. Starting at Sunkesula Dam on Tungabadra river Cuddapah-Kurnool (K.C) Canal flows through Cuddapah and Kurnool districts providing water to 40 km² of cultivable land. The main source of drinking water to this district is Galer-Nagari-Sujalasravanthi Canal.

This district is the repository of mineral wealth. As per the 1983 survey of geological survey of India 30 lakh tons of lead, 74,000,000 tons of barytes, 27000tons asbestos deposits are there. It is estimated that 700lakh tons of barytes deposits might be there in Mangampet. There are clay deposits in Rajampet. This is used to make stone implements. Limestone is available in Yerraguntla, M/s. Coramandal Fertilizers established a cement factory with an annual yield of 10lakh tons. Bharat cement corporation increases its capacity to 10lakh tons. National mineral development corporation is extracting asbestos in Brahman palli and barieties in Mangampet. Kadapa is also famous for its stone called as "cuddapah stone" used in building construction and for slabs especially in the south India.

The forest area is 5,050 km². It is 32.87% of the district area. It is learnt that elephants required for Golconda army were supplied from here. In the northeast part of the district rainfall is high. Red Sanders Pterocarpus santalinus (Fabaceae), an endemic and endangered tree species of medicinal value is available in plenty in this area. This is the only area in India where Red Sanders, Often referred to as 'Rakta-chandanam' or 'Yerra-chandanam' (red sandalwood) is available. A National park is set up in Seshachalam hills for prospecting wild animals. Zuari Cements, India Cement Ltd, Corus India Ltd are the other industries.

Constituencies

Kadapa district has two Parliamentary Constituencies, Cuddapah and Rajampeta and 11 Assembly Constituencies, Badvel, Cuddapah, Jammalamadugu, Kamalapuram, Lakkireddipalle, Mydukur, Proddatur, Pulivendula, Railway Koduru, Rajampet and Rayachoti.

Mandals

There are 3 Revenue Divisions and 51 Mandals in Kadapa district.
*Atlur,
*Badvel,
*B.Kodur,
*Brahmamgarimattam,
*Chapadu,
*Chennur,
*Chinnamandem,
*Chitvel,
*Duvvuru,
*Galiveedu,
*Gopavaram,
*Jammalmadugu,
*Kadapa,
*Kalasapadu,
*Kamalapuram,
*Kondapuram,
*Lakkireddipalle,
*Lingala,
*Muddanur,
*Mydukur,
*Nandalur,
*Obulavaripalle,
*Peddamudium,
*Pendlimarri,
*Porumamilla,
*Proddatur,
*Pulivendula,
*Pullampeta,
*Rajampeta,
*Railway Koduru,
*Rajupalem,
*Ramapuram,
*Rayachoti,
*Sambepalle,
*Simhadripuram,
*Sidhout,
*Sri Avudata Kasinayana,
*T.Sundupalle,
*Vallur
*Vempalle,
*Veerapunayunipalle,
*Veeraballe,
*Vemula,
*Yerraguntla

External links

*http://www.kadapa.info