Kovvur

For other uses, see Kovvur (disambiguation).

Kovvur Govur
Town
View of paddy fields near Kovvur from train
Kovvur Location in Andhra Pradesh, India
Coordinates: 17°01′01″N81°43′52″E / 17.017°N 81.731°E / 17.017; 81.731
Country	India
State	Andhra Pradesh
District	West Godavari district
Mandal	Kovvur
Government [1]
• Type	Municipal council
• Body	Kovvur Municipality
•  MLA	Muppidi Venkateswara Rao (TDP)
•  MP	Daggubati Purandeswari
Area [1]
• Total	24.56 km2 (9.48 sq mi)
Elevation [2]	9 m (30 ft)
Population  (2011) [3]
• Total	39,667
• Density	1,600/km2 (4,200/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Telugu
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	534 350
Telephone code	+91–8813

Kovvur Toll Plaza

Kovvur is a town in the East Godavari district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the mandal headquarters of Kovvur mandal in Kovvur revenue division. ^{[4] [5]}

Etymology

This Town was earlier referred as Govur. ^[6] According to Brahma Puranam, Kovvur(Govuru) is considered as the place of Gautama Maharishi's Ashramam. He did farming in the surrounding regions to maintain his Ashramam. Gautama Maharishi once he accidentally kills a cow, grazing in his paddy field, by throwing a darbha (sharp, pointed grass). Gautama becomes upset with this incident and offers a great tapas for Lord Shiva in Brahmagiri mountains. The god, pleased by his tapas, wipes away his sin and allows Ganga to flow in his farm to purify the place (Kovvur). The river thus originated is called "Godavari" which means "originated due to killing a cow". It is also called as "Gautami" in appreciation to the effort of the Maharishi in bringing Godavari to earth. Gautama Maharishi accidentally kills a cow in his farm and to clear out his sin, he offers a great tapas near Bhrahmagiri parvatas near Triambakam in Maharashtra. Lord Shiva pleased with his tapas allows Ganga to sanctify the region.

Kovvuru is a transformed name of Govuru which originated from the above story. The names of various places around Kovvuru highlight this fact. It is believed that Gautama established a Vijneswara temple in the South and a Kumaraswami temple in the North of his Ashrama. These are currently known as Vijjeswaram and Kumaradevam. The place where Gautama ploughed the farm was Arikirevula which is transformed to Arikirevu. Vadapalli, Munikoodali and Brahmanagudem were the places of rishis. The place where Ahalya lived was called Tougimi which is currently called Togummi. The place where the cow died was Chavugallu which is currently called Chagallu.

Kovvuru Goshpada Kshetram is a very sacred place and a must visit place during pushkaras.

Geography

Kovvuru is situated on the west bank of the Godavari River, at a distance of 92 km (57 mi) from the district headquarters, Eluru. It is located at 17°01′00″N81°44′00″E / 17.0167°N 81.7333°E / 17.0167; 81.7333 and has an average elevation of 10 m (33 ft). ^[7] Kovvur is the most peaceful town in the district and a devotional town. Goshpada Kshetram is a very well known tourist place, where Godavari Pushkaralu takes place. ^[8]

Demographics

As of 2001 ^[update] India census, ^[9] Kovvur had a population of 39,193. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Kovvur has an average literacy rate of 70%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 74%, and female literacy is 66%. In Kovvur, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age. ^[10]

Governance

Civic administration

Kovvur municipality was formed in the year 1965. ^[11] It is a III–Grade Municipality, which is spread over an area of 24.56 km² (9.48 sq mi) and has 23 election wards. ^[1]

Transport

It is supported by bridges across Godavari River:

• Godavari Bridge ^[12] which is the second longest railroad bridge in Asia; ^[13]
• Godavari Arch Bridge was commissioned on 14 March 1997 for Howrah–Chennai main line. ^[14]
• Old Godavari Bridge (Havelock Bridge) was the earliest of all, built in 1897 and decommissioned in 1997. ^{[13] [15]}

Roadways

The town has a total road length of 70.45 km (43.78 mi). ^[16] The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) operates bus services from Kovvuru bus station. ^[17] The depot was reopened in 2015. ^[18]

Railways

Kovvur is one of the fourteen D–category stations in the Vijayawada railway division of South Central Railway zone. ^[19] Kovvur will become a Potential Railway junction Between both Telugu States after the Completion of Kovvur-Bhadrachalam road Railway line. ^[20]

Airways

Rajahmundry Airport is the nearest airport, located 15 km away.

Education

The primary and secondary school education is imparted by government, aided, and private schools, under the School Education Department of the state. ^{[21] [22]} The medium of instruction followed by different schools are English, Telugu. There are many famous institutions like ABN&PRR College Of Sciences, Sanskrit colleges ^[11] and many other private institutions.

References

1. "Municipalities, Municipal Corporations & UDAs" (PDF). Directorate of Town and Country Planning. Government of Andhra Pradesh. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
2. "Elevation for Kovvur". Veloroutes. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
3. "Census 2011". The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
4. "East Godavari District Mandals" (PDF). Census of India. p. 431,466. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
5. "District Census Handbook - East Godavari" (PDF). Census of India. pp. 22–23, 54. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
6. "The stream of eternity". The Hans India. 12 July 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
7. Kovvuru is the "Main Gate" of East Godavari Distt. and is very close to Rajahmundry City from the north coast of Andhra Pradesh Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Kovvuru
8. "Where the Ganga flows as Godavari". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 20 January 2004. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
9. "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
10. "Kovvur Census 2011" . Retrieved 15 May 2017.
11. "A Serene Town on the Banks" . Retrieved 15 May 2017.
12. INDIA, THE HANS (17 February 2016). "Road-cum-rail bridge to be illuminated". www.thehansindia.com.
13. R.R.Bhandari. "Bridges: The Spectacular Feat of Indian Engineering" (PDF). Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
14. Dayaratnam, P. (2000). International Conference on Suspension, Cable Supported, and Cable Stayed Bridges: November 19-21, 1999, Hyderabad. Universities Press. p. 219. ISBN   9788173712715.
15. Khan, Mukram. "The Havelock Bridge Memorial Stone". Flickr. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
16. "Details of Roads in each ULB of Andhra Pradesh". Commissioner and Directorate of Municipal Administration. Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department - Government of Andhra Pradesh. Archived from the original on 1 August 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
17. "Bus Stations in Districts". Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
18. "RTC depot restores link to Agency". The Hindu . Retrieved 15 May 2017.
19. "Vijayawada Division and stations" (PDF). South Central Railway. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
20. "Centre Urged to Sanction Kovvur-Bhadrachalam Rail Line" . Retrieved 15 May 2017.
21. "School Education Department" (PDF). School Education Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
22. "The Department of School Education - Official AP State Government Portal | AP State Portal". www.ap.gov.in. Archived from the original on 7 November 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.