Anantapur, officially Anantapuramu, is a city in
Anantapur district
Anantapur district, officially Ananthapuramu district, is one of the eight districts in the Rayalaseema region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The district headquarters is located in Anantapur city. It is one of the driest places in South ...
of the
Indian state
India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...
of
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
. It is the mandal headquarters of Anantapuru
mandal
A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative c ...
and also the divisional headquarters of
Anantapur revenue division
Anantapuramu revenue division is an administrative division in the Ananthapuram district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the 3 revenue divisions in the district with 12 mandals under its administration. The divisional headqu ...
.
The city is located on
National Highway 44
The following highways are numbered 44.
Australia
* Great Western Highway, Parramatta Road (Sydney)
* Captain Cook Highway – Queensland State Route 44 (Regional)
* Greensborough Highway
Canada
* Alberta Highway 44
* Manitoba Highway 44
* O ...
. Anantapur was the headquarters of the ''Datta Mandalam'' (
Rayalaseema
Rayalaseema (IAST: ''Rāyalasīma'') is a geographic region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It comprises four southern districts of the State, from prior to the districts reorganisation in 2022, namely Kurnool, Anantapur, Kadapa, and ...
districts of Andhra Pradesh and
Bellary
Ballari (formerly Bellary) is a city in the Ballari district in state of Karnataka, India.
Ballari houses many steel plants such as JSW Vijayanagar, one of the largest in Asia. Ballari district is also known as the ‘Steel city of South Ind ...
district of
Karnataka
Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
) in 1799, and was also a location of strategic importance for the
British Indian Army
The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...
during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The GDP of Anantapur City is $ 1.728 Billion.
Geography
Anantapur is located at . It has an average elevation of . It is located at a distance of 484 km from
Vijayawada
Vijayawada ( ), formerly known by its colonial name Bezawada, is the second largest city and a major commercial hub in the Andhra Pradesh state of India. The city forms an integral part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is situated on th ...
, 148 km from
Kurnool
Kurnool is a city in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It formerly served as the capital of Andhra State (1953–1956). The city is often referred to as "The Gateway of Rayalaseema". Kurnool is also famous for Diamond hunting as diamonds ca ...
and 210 km from
Bengaluru
Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
which is the closest international airport.
Climate
Anantapur has a
semi-arid
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a aridity, dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below Evapotranspiration#Potential evapotranspiration, potential evapotranspiration, but not as l ...
climate, with hot and dry conditions for most of the year. Summer start in late February and peak in May with average high temperatures around the range. Anantapur gets pre-
monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...
showers starting as early as March, mainly through north-easterly winds blowing in from
Kerala
Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
. Monsoon arrives in September and lasts until early November with about of precipitation. A dry and mild winter starts in late November and lasts until early February; with little humidity and average temperatures in the range. Total annual rainfall is about .
Anantapur has been ranked 31st best “National Clean Air City” under (Category 2 3-10L Population cities) in India.
Demographics
census, Anantapur city has a population of 340,613. The sex ratio was 995 females per 1000 males and 9% of the population was under 6 years old.
Effective literacy is 82%, male literacy is 89% and female literacy is 75%.
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India
** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language.
* Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...
is the official and widely spoken language, in addition to it Urdu, Hindi, Kannada and Tamil languages are also spoken by significant minorities in the city.
Governance
Civic administration
Anantapuru Municipal Corporation is the civic body of
Anantapuru.
Public utilities
''Anantapuru Drinking Water Supply Project'' and ''Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust'' have also step forward in supplying clean water and concentrated mainly on eradicating fluorosis. The corporation supplies chlorinated water to the city from the summer storage tank located in the town.
Transport

Anantapur is well connected to the nearby major cities with
National Highway 44
The following highways are numbered 44.
Australia
* Great Western Highway, Parramatta Road (Sydney)
* Captain Cook Highway – Queensland State Route 44 (Regional)
* Greensborough Highway
Canada
* Alberta Highway 44
* Manitoba Highway 44
* O ...
and
National Highway 205 of
National Highway network of India. The NH–44 connects it to Bangalore, which is towards south and Hyderabad, towards north, and
NH 205
National Highway 205 commonly referred to as NH 205, is a highway in India. The highway passes through the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.
Route
The highway starts at Kharar near Chandigarh. It passes through Ropar and Kiratpur ...
connects it to
Chennai
Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
via
Renigunta
Renigunta is a suburb and outgrowth of Tirupati located in Tirupati district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a part of Tirupati urban agglomeration. Tirupati Airport is located in Renigunta. It is also one of the mandals in Tirupa ...
. The
Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation
The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (abbreviated as APSRTC) is the state-owned road transport corporation in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Its headquarters is located at NTR Administrative Block of RTC House in Pandit Ne ...
operates bus services from Anantapur bus station. The city has a total road length of 298.12 km.
provides rail connectivity for the city and is classified as an ''A–category'' station in
Guntakal railway division
Guntakal railway division is one of the six Zones and divisions of Indian Railways, divisions of South Central Railway zone (SCR) of the Indian Railways. The headquarters of the division is at Guntakal. This division is second in terms of route ...
of
South Central Railway zone
South Central Railway (abbreviated SCR) is one of the 19 zones of Indian Railways. The jurisdiction of the zone is spread over the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka. It has three divisions under its administration, wh ...
.
The nearest International airport is
Kempegowda International Airport
Kempegowda International Airport is an international airport serving Bengaluru, the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Spread over , it is located about north of the city near the suburb of Devanahalli. It is owned and operated by ...
, Bengaluru which is 190 kilometers away.
Culture
There are a few notable people from the town with their contributions to various fields such as
politics
Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
,
film industry
The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production company, production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre- ...
and other areas.
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (19 May 1913 – 1 June 1996) was an Indian politician who served as the president of India, serving from 1977 to 1982. Beginning a long political career with the Indian National Congress Party in the independence movem ...
was the former
President of India
The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...
and the first
Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh
The chief minister of Andhra Pradesh is the chief executive of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but '' de facto'' executive authority rests with the ch ...
, and
Paidi Lakshmayya
Paidi Lakshmayya BA, B.L. ( Telugu: పైడి లక్ష్మయ్య) (26 April 1904 – 28 April 1987) was an Indian parliamentarian, actor, writer and administrator. He was born to Shri Musalappa in Achampalle village in Kambadur ma ...
was the first
member of Parliament from
Anantapur's Lok Sabha Constituency.
Kallur Subba Rao
Kallur Subba Rao was an Indian freedom activist and politician. He was a scholar in Kannada and Telugu and a teacher by profession.
He was born in Kallur near Hindupur Taluk, Anantapur District. His Father's name was Sri Surappa and his moth ...
was an Indian freedom activist and was the first speaker of Andhra Assembly, as well as
Kadiri Venkata Reddy
Kadiri Venkata Reddy (1 July 1912 – 15 September 1972), commonly known as K. V. Reddy, was an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer, primarily known for his work in Telugu cinema. Renowned as one of the most influential filmma ...
, who was an Indian film director, writer and also a producer.
Sathya Sai Baba
Sathya Sai Baba (born Ratnakaram Sathyanarayana Raju; 23 November 192624 April 2011) was an Indian godman, guru and philanthropist. At the age of 14, he claimed to be the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba and left his home saying "my devote ...
, was a
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
spiritual leader
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
;
Bellary Raghava
Bellary Raghava (born ''Tadipatri Raghavacharyulu''; 2 August 1880 – 16 April 1946) was an Indian playwright and actor, known for his works predominantly in Telugu theatre and cinema.M.L. Narasimharao (2002) ''Nooruguru Telugu Pramukhulu''. V ...
was an Indian playwright, thespian and film actor.
Cuisine
Millets
Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae.
Millets are important crops in the semiarid tropics ...
such as,
Jowar
''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the grass genus ''Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain is used as food by humans, ...
,
Bajra,
Ragi are the food grains which are mostly used in food items. Peanuts are also popular and used in everyday food like chutney, Chikki and enjoyed as snack with boiled or spicy roasted peanuts.
Cityscape

Neighbourhoods and landmarks in and around the city are - Clock tower, Sapthagiri circle,
ISKCON
The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement, is a religious organization that follows the Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. It was founded on 13 July 1966 ...
temple, the railway station area, bus station, Srikantam circle,
Government Hospital, Court Road etc.
Major landmark of city is railway overbridge near Clock tower connecting Newtown constructed in late 1960. As part of connecting heart of city with NH44 this landmark is in demolition and closed till new four-lane flyover is functional.
Education
The primary and
secondary education
Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education.
Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...
is imparted by government, aided and private schools of the ''School Education Department'' of the state. The mediums of instruction that are followed by different CBSE schools like Kendriya Vidyalaya and Montessori Elite EM School, State board
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Culture, language and peoples
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
* ''English'', an Amish ter ...
mediums and
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India
** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language.
* Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...
mediums.
Anantapur is an important education centre of the
district
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
which has many schools, colleges and universities. Prominent institutions and universities include,
Sri Krishnadevaraya University
Sri Krishnadevaraya University is a public university in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, India, founded on 25 July 1981. The university is named after a patron of learning and the arts, Sri Krishnadevaraya, of the Vijayanagara empire
The ...
,
JNTU Anantapur,
Sri Sathya Sai University
Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning is a ''deemed-to-be-University'' located in Sri Sathya Sai District, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is a non-profit educational institution founded by Sri Sathya Sai Baba on 22 November 1981. Founded in 1 ...
,
central University of Andhra Pradesh,
Government Medical College,
Arts College
An Arts College, in the United Kingdom, is a type of specialist school that specialises in the subject fields of the performing, visual, digital and/or media arts. They were announced in 1996 and introduced alongside Sports Colleges to En ...
, PVKK Institute of Technology, Central university of Andhra Pradesh
UAP
UAP may refer to:
* Unidentified flying object, a.k.a. Unidentified Aerial (or Anomalous) Phenomenon
People
* Unlicensed assistive personnel
Places
* Yap Island
Facilities and structures
* Tour UAP, an office skyscraper in La Défense, Paris
...
etc.
Sports
Anantapur has many sports facilities and hosted the
Irani Cup
The Irani Cup, also known as the IDFC First Bank Irani Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual one-off First-Class cricket match organised by the BCCI and contested each season by the reigning Ranji Trophy champions and a multi-state RoI ...
in 1963–64 when Rest of India scored their lowest total of 83 against the then
Ranji trophy
The Ranji Trophy is a premier domestic first-class cricket championship played in India and organized annually by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The teams representing regional and state cricket associations participate. BCCI ...
winners Bombay, played at the Sanjeeva Reddy stadium. Several Ranji trophy matches and other regional tournaments for
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
, badminton, etc. have been hosted in Anantapur.
The Anantapur Sports Village (ASV), located alongside the
National Highway 7
The following highways are numbered 7. For roads numbered A7, see list of A7 roads.
Route 7, or Highway 7, may refer to:
International
* AH7, Asian Highway 7
* European route E07
* European route E007
Afghanistan
*Kunduz-Khomri Highway (A7)
...
. The
Anantapur Cricket Ground sits within a complex which is managed by the Rural Development Trust (RDT). In October 2010,
Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal Parera (born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for ...
opened the Rafael Nadal Tennis School, which hosts district, state and national-level tournaments, as well as laying equal emphasis on the children's education and
tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
training.
There are several Indoor Stadiums for Basketball and Badminton under local bodies which conducts District, State and National Competitions. There are many coaching class for taekwondo and Karate. There are also coaching centres for swimming which conduct district competitions.
Temples
There are four temples under the management of Endowments Department.
* Sri Kasivisweswara & Kodanda Rama Swamy Temples
* Sri Virupakeshwara & Obuleswara Swamy Temple
* Sri Peta Basaveswara Swamy Temple
* Sri Rama Swamy temple
* Sri Lakshmi Chennakesava Swamy Temple, Old Town
And there are several important Temples which became good landmarks such as
* ISKCON temple
* Sri Mounagiri Kshetram (39ft height Monolithic Hanuman statue)
* Shivakoti temple
* Harihara Temple
* Sri Anjanayaswamy Temple
* Musalamma Katta
Hospitals
* MGB Clinics
* KIMS- Saveera hospital
* Anantapur Government hospital
* Super Specialty hospital
* Divya Sri Nursing Home
See also
*
Havaligi
Havaligi is a little village in Andhra Pradesh. It lies on the border between Andhara Pradesh and Karnataka
Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnat ...
*
List of Urban Agglomerations in Andhra Pradesh
In the 2011 Census of India, an urban agglomeration was defined as "An urban agglomeration is a continuous urban spread constituting a town and its adjoining outgrowths, or two or more physically contiguous towns together with or without outgro ...
*
List of municipal corporations in Andhra Pradesh
This article lists all the urban local bodies in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, including municipal corporations, municipalities and Nagar panchayats. According to the Directorate of Town and Country Planning under the Government of Andhra ...
*
List of tourist attractions in Anantapur district
References
External links
*
Anatapur district
{{Authority control
Cities in Andhra Pradesh
District headquarters of Andhra Pradesh
Cities and towns in Anantapur district