Annamayya district

Annamayya district
District of Andhra Pradesh
108-feet Annamayya statue in Rajampet
Location of Annamayya district in Andhra Pradesh
Coordinates: 14°03′N78°45′E / 14.05°N 78.75°E / 14.05; 78.75
Country	India
State	Andhra Pradesh
Region	Rayalaseema
Formed	4 April 2022
Founded by	Government of Andhra Pradesh
Named for	Annamacharya
Headquarters	Rayachoti
Largest city	Madanapalle
Administrative Divisions	3 revenue divisions Madanapalle, Rayachoti, Rajampeta 30 Mandalas
Government
•  DFO	P.Vivek IFS
•  SP	B.Krishna Rao IPS
•  Lok Sabha constituencies	Rajampeta
•  MP	P. V. Midhun Reddy
•  Assembly constituencies	06
Area [1]
• Total	7,951 km2 (3,070 sq mi)
Population  (2011) [2] [3]
• Total	1,697,308
• Density	210/km2 (550/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Telugu
Literacy [4]
• Literates	10,03,000
Time zone	UTC+05:30 (IST)
Postal Index Number	516XXX, 517XXX
Website	annamayya.ap.gov.in

Annamayya district is one of the eight districts in the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, established in 2022. Rayachoti is the district administrative headquarters, and Madanapalle is the most populated city in the district.

Etymology

The district is named after the Annamacharya, ^[5] a 15th-century Hindu saint hailing from Tallapaka, Rajampeta, and the earliest known Indian musician to compose songs called sankirtanas in praise of the Lord Venkateswara. ^[6]

History

Rayachoti has many megalithic sites and stone circles. A noted megalithic site is at Devandlapalli ^[7] in Tsundupalle mandal of the district.

Nandalur ^[8] is an important Buddhist site in the district along with Tallapaka, Rajampeta, Konduru, Khazipeta in the district.

Annamayya district was formed on 4 April 2022 from parts of erstwhile Chittoor district and YSR districts as part of the reorganisation of Andhra Pradesh districts based on parliament constituency as unit. ^[9]

Geography

Annamayya district is the extreme southwestern district of Andhra Pradesh situated within the geographical co-ordinates of 13° 19’ 55” and 14° 42’ 32” of northern latitude and 78° 18’ 55” and 79° 20’26” eastern longitude. This district is part of Rayalaseema. The district is bounded on the north by Kadapa District, west by Sri Sathya Sai district and south by Chikballapur district and Kolar district of Karnataka and Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, east by Nellore and Tirupati districts of Andhra Pradesh. ^[10]

Natural resources

Palakonda Hills, also known as Seshachalam hills, Nallamalais and Lankamalais, are the major hill ranges in the district. Cheyyeru is the main river of the district. It joins Penneru at Gundlamada in Vontimitta mandal. Bonnet monkey (Macaca radiata) and Madras langur are commonly found. Tigers, leopards and other wild animals can still be seen in the hill ranges. Grey partridge (kamju in Telugu) and quail are commonly seen in the forests and countryside. Black soil occupies 23.7% area in the district. Barytes, lime stone and asbestos are the major minerals. The average annual rainfall is 743.7 mm. The rainfall generally increases from the north-west to the south-east in the district. ^[11]

Demographics

Religions in Annamayya district based on the 2011 census [12]
Religion			Percent
Hinduism			81.97%
Islam			17.25%
Other or not stated			0.78%

Based on the 2011 census, Annamayya district had a population of 16,97,308, of which 391,511 (23.07%) live in urban areas. Annamayya district has a sex ratio of 989 females per 1000 males. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 2,28,501 (13.46%) and 62,475 (3.68%) of the population respectively. ^{[2] : 80–84  [3] : 82–87}

Languages of Annamayya district based on the 2011 census ^[13]

   Telugu (81.91%)

   Urdu (16.40%)

   Lambadi (1.04%)

  Others (0.65%)

Based on the 2011 census, 81.91% of the population spoke Telugu, 16.40% Urdu and 1.04% Lambadi as their first language. ^[13]

Administrative divisions

Map of mandals of Annamayya district

Mandals

The list of 30 mandals in Annamayya district, divided into 3 revenue divisions, is given below.

1. Madanapalle revenue division
   1. Beerangi Kothakota
   2. Kalikiri
   3. Kurabalakota
   4. Madanapalle
   5. Mulakalacheruvu
   6. Nimmanapalle
   7. Peddamandyam
   8. Peddathippasamudram
   9. Ramasamudram
   10. Thamballapalle
   11. Valmikipuram
2. Rajampeta revenue division
   1. Chitvel
   2. Nandalur
   3. Obulavaripalle
   4. Penagalur
   5. Pullampeta
   6. Railway Koduru
   7. Rajampet
   8. T. Sundupalle
   9. Veeraballi
3. Rayachoti revenue division
   1. Chinnamandyam
   2. Galiveedu
   3. Gurramkonda
   4. Kalakada
   5. Kambhamvaripalle
   6. Lakkireddypalli
   7. Pileru
   8. Ramapuram
   9. Rayachoti
   10. Sambepalli

Politics

There is only one parliamentary constituency namely Rajampet and six assembly constituencies in the district. ^[14]

The assembly constituencies are given below.

Constituency number	Name	Reserved for (SC/ST/None)	Parliamentary constituency
125	Rajampet	None	Rajampet
127	Kodur	SC
128	Rayachoti	None
162	Thamballapalle	None
163	Pileru	None
164	Madanapalle	None

The district is divided into three revenue divisions, Madanapalle, Rajampeta and Rayachoti, which are further subdivided into a total of 30 mandals, each headed by a sub-collector. ^[15]

Cities and towns

There are three municipalities ^[16] and one nagar panchayat in the district.

Municipal Bodies in Annamayya District

Ciy/Town	Civil status	Revenue Division	Population(2011)
Madanapalle	Municipality	Madanapalle	1,80,180
Rayachoti	Municipality	Rayachoti	98,299
Pileru	Major Panchayath	Rayachoti	60,253
Rajampeta	Municipality	Rajampeta	57,277

Economy

Agriculture is the main economic activity. Paddy, groundnut, sunflower, cotton, and betel leaves are the major crops. Mango, papaya, banana, lemon and sweet orange are the major horticultural crops. As per the FY 2019–20, the gross cropped area is 1,71,617 hectares, while the gross irrigated area is 66,281 hectares. Pincha and Annamayya are the major irrigation projects. ^[17]

Transport

Roadways

301.59 km of National Highways, 330.46 km of State Highways 831.91 km of major district roads and 4,131.43 km of Panchayat Raj roads form the road network of the district. ^[18] NH 716,NH 40 and NH 71 pass through the district.The proposed NH 370 Nellore to Ananthapuram (Nellore–Rapur–Rajampet–Rayachoti–Kadiri–Ananthapuram) under planning passes through the district.

Railways

As of 2019–20, broad-gauge railway line of 195.13 km length with 24 railway stations part of Guntakal railway division of South Central Railway Zone serve the district. Madanapalle Road railway 12 km away from Madanapalle is on Guntakal-Pakala-Tirupati line that passes through the district. ^{[18] [19]} Kadapa railway station is the nearest major railway station at a distance of 51 km from Rayachoty.

Airways

The nearest small airport is Kadapa Airport, is 54 kilometres (34 mi) away from Rayachoty. The nearest airport is Tirupati International Airport is 130 kilometres (81 mi) away from Rayachoty.

Education

Rishi Valley School founded by Jiddu Krishnamurti which developed the popular multi-grade teaching methodology and Besant Theosophical College founded by Annie Besant are some of the famous educational institutions in Madanapalle.

Based on the 2011 census, the district has a 64.63% literacy rate, which is lower than the state literacy which stands at 67.35%. ^[1] As of 2019–20, the district has 1975 primary schools, 391 upper primary schools, 553 high schools, 128 junior colleges, 59 degree colleges and 82 professional and post graduate colleges. ^[18]

The district has several institutions for engineering, such as Annamacharya Institute of Technology & Sciences (AITS) ^[20] Narayanadri Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) ^[21] Madanapalle Institute of Technology & Science (MITS), Sri Sai Institute of Science (SSITS)

Tourism

Sri Parasurameshwara temple, Attirala

Sri Soumyanatha Swamy temple, Nandalur

Sri Parasurameshwara temple, Attirala and Sowmyanadha Swamy temple, Nandalur are the major religious places in the district. ^[22] Horsley Hills is a major hill station.

Volcanogenic bedded Barytes

Volcanogenic bedded Barytes located at Mangampet in Obulavaripalle mandal has been declared the National Geological Monuments of India by the Geological Survey of India (GSI), for their protection, maintenance, promotion and enhancement of geotourism. ^{[23] [24] [25]}

Notable people

1.Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy Former CM United Andhra Pradesh

2.Kiran Abbavaram Tollywood Actor

3.Harishankar Reddy CSK IPL player

4.Bindu Madhavi Tamil Actress

5.Jiddu Krishnamurthy Indian philosopher

6.Gadikota Srikanth Reddy Indian Politician

References

1. CPO 2022, p. IX.
2. "District Census Hand Book – YSR Kadapa" (PDF). Census of India . Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
3. "District Census Hand Book – Chittoor" (PDF). Census of India . Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
4. CPO 2022, p. iX.
5. Apparasu, Srinivasa Rao (5 April 2022). "Andhra adds 13 new districts with aim to boost governance". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
6. "Life and Times of Sri Tallapaka Annamacharya". Svasa.org. Archived from the original on 18 September 2009. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
7. "Megalithic burial site found in Kadapa". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 24 June 2012.
8. Mitra, Debala, ed. (1983). Indian Archaeology 1979–80—A Review (PDF). New Delhi: Archaeological Survey of India, Government of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 May 2012.
9. CPO 2022.
10. CPO 2022, p. III.
11. CPO 2022, p. IV-V.
12. "Population by Religion - Andhra Pradesh". censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
13. "Table C-16 Population by Mother Tongue: Andhra Pradesh". Census of India . Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
14. CPO 2022, p. XVI.
15. "Revenue Division". Annamayya district. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
16. CPO 2022, p. XV.
17. CPO 2022, p. V-VI.
18. CPO 2022, p. VI.
19. "Guntakal division map". South central railway. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
20. "Annamacharya Institute of Technology & Sciences - Rajampet". www.aitsrajampet.ac.in.
21. "NIST Home page". NIST, Rajampet. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
22. CPO 2022, p. VII.
23. "National Geological Monument, from Geological Survey of India website". Archived from the original on 12 July 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
24. "Geo-Heritage Sites". pib.nic.in. Press Information Bureau. 9 March 2016. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
25. National geo-heritage of India (PDF). INTACH. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 January 2017.

Books

CPO (2022). District Hand Book of Statistics – 2020 Annamayya district (PDF).

External links

• Mandals of Annamayya district - OSM interactive map