Guntur district

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This article is about the district. For its eponymous headquarters, see Guntur.
Guntur district
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District of Andhra Pradesh
Location of Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh
Location of Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh
Country India
State Andhra Pradesh
Administrative division Guntur district
Headquarters
Guntur City
Tehsils 57[1]
Government
Lok Sabha constituencies
Guntur, Narasaraopet, Bapatla
Assembly seats
17
Area
Total
11,391 km2 (4,398 sq mi)
Population (2011)
Total
4,889,230[2]
Urban
33.89%
Demographics
Literacy
67.99%
Sex ratio
1003
Vehicle registration
AP-05
Major highways NH-5
Coordinates
1618'N 8027'ECoordinates: 1618'N 8027'E
Website Official website
Guntur district is an administrative district in the Coastal Andhra region of th
e Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The administrative seat of the district is loc
ated at Guntur, the largest city of the district in terms of area and population
.[1] It has a coastline of approximately 100 km and is situated on the right ban
k of Krishna River, that separates it from Krishna district and extends till it
empties into the Bay of Bengal. It is bounded on the south by Prakasam district
and on the west by the state of Telangana.[3] It has an area of 11,391 km2 (4,39
8 sq mi) and is the 2nd most populous district in the state a population of 4,88
9,230 as per 2011 census of India.[4]
The district is a major centre for agriculture, education and learning. It expor
ts large quantities of chillies and tobacco.[5] Amaravati, the proposed capital
of Andhra Pradesh is situated in Guntur district, on the banks of River Krishna.
Contents [hide]
1
Etymology
2
History
2.1
Post Independence
3
Geography
4
Demographics
5
Administrative divisions
5.1
Mandals
6
Culture
7
Economy
8
Transport
9
Education and research
10
See also
11
References
12
External links
Etymology[edit]
There are several opinions on the meaning and origin of the word Guntur. In Sans
krit, Guntur was called Garthapuri.[6]

History[edit]
Brahmi Script inscribed on a Railing Pillar at Velpuru
The original Sanskrit name (ancient Vedic culture) for Guntur was Garthapuri. Th
e 'Agasthyeswara Sivalayam' in the old city of Guntur is an ancient temple for S
iva. {citation needed}
It has inscriptions on two stones in 'Naga Lipi' (ancient script). It is said th
at Agastya built the temple in the last Treta-Yuga around the Swayambhu Linga an
d hence the name. The 'Nagas' were said to have ruled the region. The place of S
itanagaram and the Guthikonda Caves can be traced (through Vedic Puranas) back t
o the last Treta-Yuga and Dwapara-Yuga (Traditional Time scale: 1.7 to 0.5 milli
on years ago).{citation needed}
Guntur District is home to the second oldest evidence of human habitation in Ind
ia, in the form of Palaeolithic (old stone age) implements. Ancient history can
be traced from the time of Sala kings who ruled during the 5th century BCE. The
earliest reference to Guntur, a variant of Guntur, comes from the Idern plates o
f Ammaraja I (922 929 CE), the Vengi Chalukyan King. Guntur also appears in two in
scriptions dated 1147 and 1158 CE. {citation needed}
Since the beginning of Buddhist time, Guntur stood in the forefront in matters o
f culture, education and civilisation. Gautama Buddha preached at Dharanikota/Dh
anyakatakam near Guntur and conducted Kalachakra ceremony, which takes its antiq
uity to 500 BCE.[7] Taranatha, a Buddhist monk writes: "On the full moon of the
month Caitra in the year following his enlightenment, at the great stupa of Dhan
yakataka, the Buddha emanated the mandala of "The Glorious Lunar Mansions" (Kala
chakra).[8] Buddhists established universities in ancient times at Dhanyakataka
and Amaravathi. Scores of Buddhist stupas were excavated in the villages of Gunt
ur district. Acharya Nagarjuna, an influential Buddhist philosopher taught at Na
garjunakonda and is said to have discovered Mica in 200 BCE. Chinese traveller a
nd Buddhist monk Hiuen Tsang (Xuanzang) visited Amaravati in 640 C.E., stayed fo
r sometime and studied 'Abhidhammapitakam'. He observed that there were many Vih
aras and some of them were deserted, which points out that Hinduism was gaining
ground at that time. Xuanzang wrote a glorious account of the place, Viharas and
monasteries that existed.[9]
Guntur was successively ruled by famous dynasties such as the Satavahanas, Andhr
a Ikshvakus, Pallavas, Ananda Gotrikas, Vishnukundina, Kota Vamsa, Chalukyas, Ch
olas, Kakatiyas, Reddis, Vijayanagara and Qutb Shahis during ancient and medieva
l times. The famous battle of Palnadu which is enshrined in legend and literatur
e as Palnati Yuddham was fought in Guntur district in 1180 CE.
Guntur became part of the Mughal empire in 1687 CE when the emperor Aurangzeb co
nquered the Qutb Shahi sultanate of Golconda, of which Guntur was then a part. I
n 1724 CE, Asaf Jah, viceroy of the empire's southern provinces, declared his in
dependence as the Nizam of Hyderabad. The coastal districts of Hyderabad, known
as the Northern Circars, were occupied by the French in 1750. Raja Vasireddy Ven
katadri Nayudu (1783 1816) shifted his capital from Chintapalli in Krishna distric
t to Amaravati across the river Krishna. He ruled with munificence and built man
y temples in Guntur region. Guntur was brought under the control of the British
East India Company in 1788, and became a district of Madras Presidency.
Post Independence[edit]
The Guntur region played a significant role in the struggle for independence and
the formation of Andhra Pradesh. The northern, Telugu- speaking districts of Ma
dras state, including Guntur, advocated to become a separate state after indepen
dence. The new state of Andhra Pradesh was created in 1953 from the eleven north
ern districts of Madras. In 1970, part of Guntur district was split off to becom

e part of the Prakasam district.[10]

The district suffers from Naxalite insurgency and is a part of the Red Corridor.
[11]
Geography[edit]
Districts of Andhra Pradesh
Guntur district occupies an area of approximately 11,391 square kilometres (4,39
8 sq mi),[12] comparatively equivalent to Indonesia's Bangka Island.[13] The Kri
shna River forms the northeastern and eastern boundary of the district, separati
ng Guntur District from Krishna District. The district is bounded on the southea
st by the Bay of Bengal, on the south by Prakasam District, on the west by Mahbu
bnagar District, and on the northwest by Nalgonda District.
Guntur Coast by NASA
Guntur Coast is located on the south east coast of India (also known as the Coro
mandel Coast) (quotes from NASA site). River Krishna merges into Bay of Bengal a
t the coastal area of Guntur district. The braided stream channels, broad floodp
lain, and extensive sandbars suggest that this part of the Krishna River flows t
hrough relatively flat terrain and carries substantial amounts of sediment, espe
cially during the monsoon season. Surya Lanka near Bapatla Bobbara Lanka in Repa
lle are tourist beaches in Guntur coastline.
Demographics[edit]
According to the 2011 census Guntur district has a population of 4,889,230,[14]
roughly equal to the Central African Republic[15] or the US state of Alabama. Th
is gives it a ranking of 22nd in India (out of a total of 640).[14] The district
has a population density of 429 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,110/sq mi)
.[14] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001 2011 was 9.5%.[14] Guntur ha
s a sex ratio of 1003 females for every 1000 males,[14] and a literacy rate of 6
7.99%.[14]
Guntur district covers an area of 11,391 km2 and has a population of 4,889,230,
of which 2,441,128 are males and 2,448,102 are females as of 2011.[16]
Languages
Telugu is the main language spoken in this district.
Household indicators
In 2007 2008 the International Institute for Population Sciences interviewed 1230
households in 36 villages across the district.[17] They found that 90.8% had acc
ess to electricity, 93.2% had drinking water, 52.2% toilet facilities, and 46% l
ived in a pucca (permanent) home.[17] 30.3% of girls wed before the legal age of
18 and 74% of interviewees carried a BPL card.[17]
Administrative divisions[edit]
See also: List of villages in Guntur district and List of revenue divisions in A
ndhra Pradesh
The district is divided into four Revenue divisions, namely, Guntur, Tenali, Nar
asaraopet and Gurazala. These are sub-divided into 57 Mandals, which are in turn
divided as 57 Panchayat Samiti (Block)s, 712 villages and 14 towns. These 14 to
wns includes, 1 municipal corporation, 12 municipalities and 1 census town. Gura
zala revenue division was formed in the year 2013.[18][19] Guntur city is the on
ly municipal corporation and Vaddeswaram is categorised as a census town.[20] Th
e 12 municipalities in the district are Mangalagiri, Sattenapalli, Tadepalle, Te
nali, Ponnur, Bapatla, Repalle, Narasaraopet, Chilakaluripet, Vinukonda, Macherl

a, Piduguralla.[21]