Vijayawada, formerly known as Bezawada, is the second largest city in the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

and is a part of the state's Capital Region. It is the administrative headquarters of the

NTR district NTR district is a district in coastal Andhra Region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The administrative headquarters is located at Vijayawada. The district is named after former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N. T. Rama Rao. History ...

. Its metropolitan region comprises NTR and parts of Krishna and Guntur districts.Vijayawada lies on the banks of Krishna river surrounded by the hills of

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut ...

, known as Indrakeeladri Hills. It geographically lies on the center spot of Andhra Pradesh. The city has been described as the

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

, political, cultural and

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

al capital of Andhra Pradesh It is the second largest city in Andhra Pradesh with a population of 17,23,000 in 2021, estimated population of 19,91,189 in the Vijayawada Metropolitan Area. It is one of the fastest growing urban areas in India and among the top 10 fastest growing cities in the world according to Oxford Economics report. Vijayawada is considered to be a

sacred place Sacred space, sacred ground, sacred place, sacred temple, holy ground, or holy place refers to a location which is deemed to be sacred or hallowed. The sacredness of a natural feature may accrue through tradition or be granted through a bless ...

for residing one of the most visited and famous temples of Andhra Pradesh and India,

Kanaka Durga Temple Kanaka Durga Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Goddess Kanaka Durga. The deity in this temple is also popularly referred as ''Kanaka Durga''. The temple is located in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India on the Indrakeeladri Hills on the bank ...

Hindu Goddess Devī (; Sanskrit: देवी) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The conce ...

Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around co ...

residing on the hill named Indrakeeladri. It also serves as the ritual host of

Pushkaram Pushkaram is an Indian festival dedicated to worshiping of rivers. It is also known as ''Pushkaralu'' (in Telugu), ''Pushkara'' (in Kannada) or ''Pushkar''. It is celebrated at shrines along the banks of 12 major sacred rivers in India, in the for ...

(a river worshipping ritual in India) of River Krishna. There is a

legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...

which says that

Arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...

, one of the

heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

of the

Indian epic Indian epic poetry is the epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent, traditionally called ''Kavya'' (or ''Kāvya''; Sanskrit: काव्य, IAST: ''kāvyá''). The ''Ramayana'' and the ''Mahabharata'', which were originally composed in ...

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

, prayed on top of the Indrakeeladri Hill in the city and won the blessings of

Lord Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

to get the

Pashupatastra The ''Pashupatastra'' (IAST: Pāśupatāstra, Sanskrit: पाशुपतास्त्र; the weapon of Pashupati, an epithet of Shiva) is an astra, a celestial missile, affiliated to the Hindu deity Shiva, as well as Kali and Adi Parasha ...

to win the

Kurukshetra War The Kurukshetra War ( sa, कुरुक्षेत्र युद्ध ), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the ''Mahabharata ( sa, महाभारत )''. The conflict arose from a dynastic succession struggle be ...

. It was called Vijayavatika (meaning Land of Victory in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

) when

Goddess Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hinduism, Hindu Devi, goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend cen ...

killed the demon

Mahishasura Mahishasura is a bovine asura in Hinduism. He is depicted in literature to be a deceitful demon who pursued his evil ways by shape-shifting. Mahishasura was the son of Mahisi (Buffalo) and the great-grandson of Brahmarshi Kashyapa. He was ultim ...

and rested on the Indrakeeladri Hill by the River Krishna establishing the

victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal Duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitu ...

over

evil Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is general ...

hence the place got its name Vijayavatika, "Vijaya" meaning victory, and "Vatika" meaning place or land in

. Over the years Vijayavatika name changed to Rajendra Chola Pura during

Chola Dynasty The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated ...

and Bezawada during

British rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

and eventually to Vijayawada. The city is also the third most densely populated urban built-up areas in the world. and is classified as a ''Y-grade'' city by the

Sixth Central Pay Commission The Sixth Central Pay Commission was convened by the Union Cabinet of India on 5 October 2006. The Pay Commission was headed by B. N. Srikrishna. The other members of the Commission were Ravindra Dholakia, J. S. Mathur, and Member-Secretary Su ...

. The city is the second most populous in the state with a population of more than one million. It was recognised as a "Global City of the Future" by ''

McKinsey Quarterly The ''McKinsey Quarterly'' is a business magazine focused on management and organizational theory. It is written primarily by McKinsey McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor ...

'', which expected an increase to GDP of $17 billion by 2025. In October 2018, it was awarded with

ISO 37120 ISO 37120 ''Sustainable development of communities -- Indicators for city services and quality of life'' establishes and defines the methodologies for a set of indicators to measure and steer the performance of city services and quality of life. ...

platinum level certification and has been added to the "Global Cities Registry". Due to the presence of several well-known educational institutions, the city has emerged as a major educational hub in recent times, with many of the nation's students studying in the city. It is predicted to be the world's, and India's, tenth fastest growing city economy through 2035 by an Oxford Economics report. Due to its high ratings in entertainment, construction, food, education, health care, and transport, It is ranked as India's ninth most livable city as per Ease of Living Index 2018,

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is a ministry of the Government of India with executive authority over the formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to the housing and urban development in Ind ...

and the second most livable city in the state of

. The

Vijayawada Junction railway station Vijayawada Junction railway station (station code:- BZA) is an Indian Railways station in Vijayawada of Andhra Pradesh, categorized as a ''Non-Suburban Grade-2 (NSG-2)'' station in Vijayawada railway division. Situated at the junction of Howra ...

is one of the busiest in the country. It stands as the tenth busiest railway junctions in the country.

Toponymy

There are many legends behind the origin of the name Vijayawada. It is said that

killed

and relaxed at this place. As she was victorious, the place came to be known as Vijayawada (''vijaya'' translates to victory and ''wada'' as place, literally meaning ''The Place of Victory''). The hill was called as ''Indrekeeladri'' since it was frequently visited by

Indra Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> I ...

and his affiliates. The epic

refers to the Indrakiladri hills as the place where

secured

from

. One of the names of

is "Vijaya" (invincible). Thus city thereafter came to be known as ''Vijayavatika'' ('Vatika' translates to place in Telugu) and later as Vijayawada. In some legends, Vijayawada was referred to as ''Rajendracholapura'' as

Virarajendra Chola Virarajendra Chola (1002 CE – 1070 CE) was a Chola emperor, who spent a major part of his life as a subordinate to two of his elder brothers Rajadhiraja I and Rajendra II, he is the son of Rajendra I. During his early reign he granted the ...

won a battle against Chalukyas in 1068 and ruled over this place. A tale behind its acquiring the name Bezawada is that Goddess Krishnaveni ( River Krishna) requested Arjuna to make a passage for her to merge into the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...

. Hence, Arjuna made a ''bejjam'' (hole) through the mountains and the place came to be known as ''Bejjamwada'' which later changed to ''Bezawada''. Other names of Vijayawada were being Vijayavata, Beejapuram, Kanakaprabha, Kanakapuram, Kanakawada, Jayapuri, Vijayapuri, Phalguna Kshetram and Jananathpura in the twelfth century CE.

History

Bezawada (as Vijayawada was known then) was founded around 626 A.D. by Paricchedi Kings. Vijayawada history reveals that Bezawada (Vijayawada) was ruled by King Madhava Varma (one of the kings of

Vishnukundina dynasty The Vishnukundina dynasty ( IAST: Viṣṇukundina) was an Indian dynasty based in Deccan, which ruled modern Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha and parts of South India during the 5th and 6th centuries, carving land out from the Vakataka Empire ...

). Chinese Buddhist scholar

Xuanzang Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...

stayed a few years in Bezawada (Vijayawada) in around 640 A.D. to copy and study the Abhidhamma Pitaka, the last of the three pitakas (Pali for baskets) constituting the Pali canon, the scriptures of

Theravada ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

Mogalrajapuram Mogalrajapuram is a major residential and commercial area in Vijayawada. It is one of the shopping district of the city. It is located at centre of Vijayawada beside low range hills.The area consists of many shopping malls.The area is well conn ...

hills have five rock-cut temples, built during the fourth–ninth centuries. Some of the caves can be attributed to

Akkana Madanna Caves Akkanna Madanna caves are a group of rock-cut Hindu cave temples in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India. Dated to mid 7th-century and dedicated to Shiva, they were excavated by the Eastern Chalukya dynasty.K.R. Srinivasan (1972), ''Temples of So ...

, at the foot of Indrakeeladri Hill, is a monument of national importance. At the foot of Indrakeeladri hills is the temple of Malleswara. The temple has inscriptions dating back to ninth century AD to 16th century AD by various kings. There are ten pillars and a mutilated slab (recognised as monuments by

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexande ...

) with inscriptions in the Telugu language. Of them, the inscriptions issued by Yudhamalla I and II of

Eastern Chalukyas Eastern Chalukyas, also known as the Chalukyas of Vengi, were a dynasty that ruled parts of South India between the 7th and 12th centuries. They started out as governors of the Chalukyas of Badami in the Deccan region. Subsequently, they became ...

are important. In the early 16th century, during the reign of

Qutb Shahi dynasty The Qutb Shahi dynasty also called as Golconda Sultanate (Persian: ''Qutb Shāhiyān'' or ''Sultanat-e Golkonde'') was a Persianate Shia Islam dynasty of Turkoman origin that ruled the sultanate of Golkonda in southern India. After the coll ...

(also known as Golconda Sultanate),

diamond mines There are a limited number of commercially available diamond mines currently operating in the world, with the 50 largest mines accounting for approximately 90% of global supply. Diamonds are also mined alluvially over disperse areas, where dia ...

were found near Vijayawada on the banks of Krishna River.

Geography

Vijayawada lies on the banks of Krishna river, covered by hills and canals. and at an altitude of above sea level. Three

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

s originating from the north side of the

Prakasam Barrage The Prakasam Barrage stretches 1223.5 m across the Krishna River connecting Vijayawada, NTR and Mangalagiri Tadepalle Municipal Corporation, Guntur districts in Andhra Pradesh, India. The barrage serves also as a road bridge and spans over a l ...

reservoir — Eluru, Bandar, and Ryves — flow through the city.

Climate

Vijayawada has a

tropical wet and dry climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry winter) and ''As'' (for a dry summer). The driest month has less than of p ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Aw''). The annual mean temperatures range between ; with maximum temperatures often crossing in the month of May and the minimum in December and January. The highest maximum temperature ever recorded was in May 2002. May is the hottest and January is the coldest month of the year. It receives rainfall from the South-west and North-east

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

s and the average annual rainfall recorded is .

Demographics

The city is the second most populous in the state and the third most densely populated urban built-up areas in the world, with approximately 31,200 people per square km.

Census of India The decennial Census of India has been conducted 16 times, as of 2021. While it has been undertaken every 10 years, beginning in 1872 under British Viceroy Lord Mayo, the first complete census was taken in 1881. Post 1949, it has been conducted by ...

, it had a population of 1,021,806, of which males are 524,918 and females are 523,322 — for a

sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species devia ...

of 997 females per 1000 males — higher than the national average of 940 per 1000. 92,848 children were in the age group of 0–6 years, of which 47,582 were boys and 45,266 were girls: a ratio of 951 per 1000. The average literacy rate stood at 82.59% (male 86.25%; female 78.94%) with 789,038 literates, significantly higher than the national average of 73.00%.

Language and religion

The predominant language spoken by the city residents is

. In the 2011 census, the total number of language speakers in the city (including the outgrowths) were . Telugu is spoken by speakers, followed by

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

Odia Odia, also spelled Oriya or Odiya, may refer to: * Odia people in Odisha, India * Odia language, an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family * Odia alphabet, a writing system used for the Odia languag ...

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

and

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

. ''Select "Andhra Pradesh" from the download menu. Data for "Vijayawada (M+OG)" is at row 11723 of the excel file.'' In the same census, the total religious population in the city (including the outgrowths) was . It constituted

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

(85.16%),

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

(9.12%),

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

(3.64%),

Jains Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

(0.50%) and (1.59%) did not state any religion. ''Select "Andhra Pradesh" from the download menu. Data for "Vijayawada (M+OG)" is at row 2395 of the excel file.''

Governance

Civic administration

Vijayawada Municipal Corporation Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) is the civic body that governs the city of Vijayawada in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. History The Vijayawada Municipality was created on 1 April 1888. It was named as a selection grade municipality ...

is the civic governing body of the city and was the first

ISO 9001 The ISO 9000 family is a set of five quality management systems (QMS) standards that help organizations ensure they meet customer and other stakeholder needs within statutory and regulatory requirements related to a product or service. ISO 90 ...

certified

urban local body Municipal or local governance refers to the third tier of governance in India, at the level of the municipality or urban local body. History Municipal governance in India in its current form has existed since the year 1664. In 1664, Fort Ko ...

in the country. It was constituted on 1 April 1888 and was upgraded to selection grade municipality in 1960, and, to the corporation in 1981. The jurisdictional area of the corporation is spread over an area of with 64 wards. The present Municipal Commissioner of the city is Sri V. Prasanna Venkatesh,

IAS IAS may refer to: Science * Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton, New Jersey, United States * Image Analysis & Stereology, the official journal of the International Society for Stereology & Image Analysis. * Iowa Archeological Society, Uni ...

and the present

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

is Rayana Bhagya Lakshmi. Vijayawada is the headquarters of

Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority The Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (abbreviated as APCRDA), Amaravati, ACT No. 27 of 2020. It was notified on 31 July 2020 by the Government of Andhra Pradesh as per ''The Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority ...

. As per the G.O. 104 (dated:23-03-2017), the state government had declared Vijayawada Municipal Corporation and its contiguous areas as a

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

of Vijayawada. Its jurisdiction is spread over an area of and has an estimated population of . The metropolitan area covers Vijayawada municipal corporation and merged villages of Ambapuram, Buddavaram, Done Atkuru,

Enikepadu Enikepadu is a locality of Vijayawada in NTR district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of ...

Ganguru Ganguru is a neighbourhood of Vijayawada in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. As per the G.O. No. M.S.104 (dated:23-03-2017), Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department, it became a part of Vijayawada metrop ...

Gannavaram Gannavaram is a suburb of Vijayawada in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is also the mandal headquarters of Gannavaram mandal which is administered under Gudivada revenue division. It is a neighborhood of Vijayawada in ...

, Gollapudi, Gudavalli, Jakkampudi,

Kanuru Kanur or Kanuru is a residential area of Vijayawada in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Penamaluru mandal of Vuyyuru revenue division. As per the G.O. No. M.S.104 (dated:23-03-2017), Municipal Administra ...

Kesarapalle Kesarapalle is a Locality in Vijayawada in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Gannavaram mandal of Gudivada revenue division.It is major IT hub of vijayawada. Vijayawada IT park Medha located here.The major ...

, Nidamanuru,

Nunna Nunna is a part of Vijayawada in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Vijayawada (rural) mandal in Vijayawada revenue division. As per the G.O. No. M.S.104 (dated:23-03-2017), Municipal Administration ...

, Pathapadu,

Penamaluru Penamaluru is a Locality of Vijayawada in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the mandal headquarters of Penamaluru mandal . As per the G.O. No. M.S.104 (dated:23-03-2017), Municipal Administration and Urban Departmen ...

, Phiryadi Nainavaram,

Poranki Poranki is a Major Locality of Vijayawada in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Penamaluru mandal of Vijayawada revenue division. As per the G.O. No. M.S.104 (dated:23-03-2017), Municipal Administration an ...

Prasadampadu Prasadampadu is a part of Vijayawada in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Vijayawada (rural) mandal of Vijayawada revenue division. As per the G.O. No. M.S.104 (dated:23-03-2017), Municipal Administration a ...

Ramavarappadu Ramavarappadu is a residential hub located in the East-Central part of Vijayawada in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Vijayawada (rural) mandal of Vijayawada revenue division. As per the G.O. No. M.S.104 ( ...

, Tadigadapa,

Kankipadu Kankipadu is a suburb of Vijayawada and a in Krishna District of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is also the mandal headquarters of Kankipadu mandal in Vuyyuru revenue division. Geography It is located 55 km towards west from distric ...

Vuyyuru Vuyyuru is a town in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a Nagar panchayat and the headquarters of Vuyyuru Mandal. It is emerging as neighbourhood of Vijayawada, India situated 30 km away.List of Neighborhoods in Vijay ...

, Katuru, Bollapadu,

Mudunuru Mudunuru is a village in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Vuyyuru mandal of Nuzvid revenue division. Demographics census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculat ...

and Yanamalakuduru. The urban agglomeration spread in

Guntur district Guntur district is one of the twenty six districts in the Coastal Andhra region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The administrative seat of the district is located at Guntur, the largest city of the district in terms of area and with a po ...

covers

Tadepalle Municipality Mangalagiri Tadepalli Municipal Corporation is the civic body that governs Mangalagiri and Tadepalle city's and villages in the corresponding mandals of the Mangalagiri Assembly constituency in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. It is the secon ...

and its outgrowth of

Undavalli Undavalli is a southern neighbourhood of Vijayawada city of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It was a village in Tadepalle mandal of Guntur district, prior to its de-notification as gram panchayat. 5th century Buddhist and Hindu Undavalli ...

;

Mangalagiri Municipality Mangalagiri Tadepalli Municipal Corporation is the local self government in Mangalagiri, Tadepalle towns of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is classified as a ''Municipal Corporation''. Administration The municipality was establishm ...

and its outgrowths of Navuluru and Atmakur.

Utility services

Water supply from the 59 water reservoirs, maintenance of roads, sewerage, underground drainage, environment protection programs, recycling of solid waste and producing power are the services provided by the

. There has been an underground drainage system in the city since 1967–68. Many green parks are maintained by the corporation to protect the environment such as Raghavaiah park, Rajiv Gandhi Park, Dr. B.R Ambedkar Park, Mahatma Gandhi Park etc. The corporation won many awards and achievements such as National Urban Water Award (2009), Siti e-Governance Project,

certification for

Quality Management System A quality management system (QMS) is a collection of business processes focused on consistently meeting customer requirements and enhancing their satisfaction. It is aligned with an organization's purpose and strategic direction (ISO 9001:2015). I ...

. The

Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Response and Fire Services Department The Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Response and Fire Services Department is the agency responsible for fire protection and disaster management in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The department issues No Objection Certificates for buildings t ...

with its headquarters in the city is responsible for protecting from fire accidents that occur during summers on the hill slope areas of the city.

Pollution control

The report on solid waste generation in 46 metro cities for the year 2015–16 shows Vijayawada produces 550

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...

s of solid waste per day. Vijayawada is one of the cities to be covered under the Solar/Green Cities scheme launched by the

Ministry of New and Renewable Energy The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is a ministry of the Government of India, headed by current Union Cabinet Minister Raj Kumar Singh, that is mainly responsible for research and development, intellectual property protection, and ...

and is one of the 15 cities in the country listed in Pilot Solar Cities. In 2007, the

Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (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 Nehru bus station of ...

(APSRTC) that operates the city's public transport system introduced less-polluting

CNG Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in cyl ...

fueled public transport busses in a drive to reduce the operational cost and protect the environment. In 2019, with the cost of CNG and fleet maintenance on the rise, the APSRTC had begun replacing the CNG run busses with BS4 and BS6 standard diesel-fueled buses. However, APSRTC continues to be committed to alternative fuels for its fleet. It has since added more

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

, and

biodiesel Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with ...

fueled busses. Likewise, the city has a large number of CNG fueled

auto-rickshaws An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many terms in various countries including auto, auto rickshaw, baby taxi, mototaxi, pigeon, jonnybee, bajaj ...

that support public transportation needs. However, auto-rickshaw operators have frequently suffered disruption in CNG supply and usually endure long queues to refuel. In February 2020, Piaggio Vehicles Private Limited launched the sale of electric auto-rickshaws in the city.

Law and order

The

Vijayawada City Police The Vijayawada City Police'' ,is the local law enforcement agency for the city of Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh and is headed by the city police commissioner. Organizational structure The Vijayawada Police Commissionerate is headed by Commissioner ...

has its own Police Commissionerate, which is responsible for an area of , is headed by a Police Commissioner, who is an

IPS IPS, ips, or iPS may refer to: Science and technology Biology and medicine * ''Ips'' (genus), a genus of bark beetle * Induced pluripotent stem cell or iPS cells * Intermittent photic stimulation, a neuroimaging technique * Intraparietal sulcus, ...

officer of Additional Director General of Police rank along with one joint commissioner of police and four Deputy Commissioners of Police who are also IPS officers. The present Police commissioner is Bathini Sreenivasulu.

Economy

Vijayawada is one of the rapidly growing urban markets of the country. The sectors that contribute to the city economy are construction, education, entertainment, food processing, hospitality, registrations, transport, etc. Based on the recommendations of the

, it is classified as one of the Y-grade cities of India. According to one study, the GDP of the city in 2010 was $3 billion (Rs. 18,000 crore) and is expected to grow up to $17 billion (Rs. 1,02,000 crore) by 2025. According to another by Oxford the GDP of the city in 2018 was $5.8 billion and is expected to grow up to $21 billion by 2035. Andhra Cements (1937) was the first

cement factory A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mix ...

in Andhra Pradesh. Siris Pharmaceuticals was the first pharma company in Andhra Pradesh and was established in 1950. The city has trading and exporting markets for agriculture and industrial goods. The Nunna

Mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

Market is one of the largest mango markets in Asia, exporting to major cities in the country. It is also a hub for storage, bottling, and transportation of petroleum products of all major companies like

BPCL Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) is an Indian central public sector undertaking under the ownership of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India. It operates three refineries in Bina, Kochi and Mumbai. BPCL is In ...

, HPCL, and

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

. The city is also attracting many international IT companies.

HCL Technologies HCLTech (formerly Hindustan Computers Limited or HCL Technologies) is an Indian multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting company headquartered in Noida.It emerged as an independent company in 1991 when HCL entered into ...

Wipro Wipro Limited (formerly, Western India Palm Refined Oils Limited) is an Indian multinational corporation that provides information technology, consulting and business process services. Thierry Delaporte is serving as CEO and managing director ...

, the

Noida Noida, short for New Okhla Industrial Development Authority, is a planned city located in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Noida is a satellite city of Delhi and is a part of the National Capital Region (NCR) o ...

-based Indian multinational is constructing its Vijayawada campus in Kesarapalli village, near to Gannavaram. In the first phase, HCL will provide employment to 5,000 students. There are two major IT parks one at Gannavaram and other in Mangalagiri there are big companies like TechMahindra, HCL, PI Data Center, VSoft, Efftronics, KJ Systems, and EPSoft. The city is also most preferred tier-two city destination for IT/ITES services. There is an APIIC Mega Food Park in Mandavalli near Gannavaram. The growing population and economy have resulted in rising real estate prices. There is also a cyber security office that is operating by

Tech mahindra Tech Mahindra is an Indian multinational information technology services and consulting company. Part of the Mahindra Group, the company is headquartered in Pune and has its registered office in Mumbai. Tech Mahindra is a 6.0 billion company w ...

.And the

Wonderla Wonderla is the largest chain of amusement parks in India. It is owned and operated by Wonderla Holidays Limited which is headquartered near Bidadi, from Bengaluru, Karnataka. It operates 3 amusement parks in Kochi, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad. ...

an amusement park is trying to invest around 250 crores rupees to expand its branch in between guntur and vijayawada in 50 acres.

Culture

Kondapalli toys at a house in Vijayawada

The city is known in the state for its cultural history, whose residents are more often referred to as ''Vijayawadians''. There are many religions, languages, traditions, and festivals.

Durga Pooja Durga Puja ( bn, দুর্গা পূজা), also known as Durgotsava or Sharodotsava, is an annual Hindu festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga and is also celebrated ...

and a special

Theppotsavam Theppotsavam, or Theppothsava or float festival, is a Hindu religious festival carried out in Hindu temples in parts of South India, mainly Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh during the month of ''Chitthirai'' or ''Aries''. As a part of this festival, ...

in Krishna river are important events of the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

festival of

Dussera Vijayadashami ( sa, विजयदशमी, Vijayadaśamī, translit-std=IAST), also known as Dussehra, Dasara or Dashain, is a major Hindu festival celebrated at the end of Navaratri every year. It is observed on the tenth day in the Hindu ...

in the city, mainly due to the existence of self-manifested

. Hazarat Bal Mosque is a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

shrine housing the holy relic of the

Prophet Mohammed Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monoth ...

. The Gunadala Mary Matha Church is an important shrine for

and illuminates during

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

Eve. The city corporation organises "Happy Sunday," an event organised on the first Sunday of every month at

M.G. Road This is a list of roads across the world named after the Indian anti-colonial nationalist and lawyer, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi ( Mahatma Gandhi), known for his nonviolent resistance to lead a successful campaign for India's independence from ...

for promoting activities such as sports, games, cultural events, and yoga. The clothing of the locals includes traditional men wearing

dhoti The dhoti, also known as veshti, vetti, dhuti, mardani, chaadra, dhotar, jaiñboh, panchey, is a type of sarong, tied in a manner that outwardly resembles "loose trousers". It is a lower garment forming part of the ethnic costume for men in the I ...

and women wearing

saree A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various Languages of South Asia, regional languages include: * as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO * bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO * gu, સાડી ...

and

salwar kameez Shalwar kameez (also salwar kameez and less commonly shalwar qameez) is a traditional combination dress worn by women, and in some regions by men, in South Asia, and Central Asia. ''Shalwars'' are trousers which are atypically wide at the wa ...

western clothing Western wear is a category of men's and women's clothing which derives its unique style from the clothes worn in the 19th century Wild West. It ranges from accurate historical reproductions of American frontier clothing, to the stylized garmen ...

is also predominant.

Arts, crafts and artefacts

The Vijayawada Art Society promotes Telugu arts. The city hosted Poetic Prism 2015, a multilingual poet's meet on 19 September 2015. All these activities are organised in collaboration with the ''Cultural Centre of Vijayawada''.

Kondapalli Toys Kondapalli Toys are toys made of wood in Kondapalli of Krishna district, a nearby Vijayawada in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. ''Bommala Colony'' translates to ''Toys Colony'' in Kondapalli is the place where the art of crafting takes place ...

— which were granted

geographical indication A geographical indication (GI) is a name or sign used on products which corresponds to a specific geographical location or origin (e.g., a town, region, or country). The use of a geographical indication, as an indication of the product's source, ...

in 2007 — are handmade by the artisans of

Kondapalli Kondapalli is a industrial and residential hub located in western part of Vijayawada in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality in Ibrahimpatnam mandal in Vijayawada revenue division of NTR district. It is closest to Ibrahimp ...

, a suburb of Vijayawada.

Victoria Jubilee Museum The Bapu Museum (formerly: Victoria Jubilee Museum) is an archaeological museum, located at M. G. Road of Vijayawada. It was renamed in the memory of the renowned film director, illustrator, cartoonist and author Bapu. The museum is maintaine ...

is an

archaeological museum An archaeology museum is a museum that specializes in the display of archaeological Types Many archaeology museum are in the open air, such as the Ancient Agora of Athens and the Roman Forum. Others display artifacts inside buildings, such as Na ...

in the city, which houses sculptures, paintings, and artefacts of

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and Hindu

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

s, dating back to the second and third centuries.

Cityscape

Vijayawada was paired as a sister city of

Modesto, California Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...

in 1993. The city has old and new town areas. The One Town area of the city is known as old city area, comprising areas such as Islampet, Jendachettu Centre, Kamsalipet, Rajarajeswaripet, Kothapet, Ajith Singh Nagar, and Winchipet. The new city areas include areas such as Autonagar, Benz circle, Chuttugunta, Labbipet, Machavaram Down,

, NTR circle, Tikkle Road, Governorpeta, Pinnamaneni Polyclinic Road and Suryaraopet. Vijayawada from Gandhi Hill

Brindavan Colony, Commercial Taxes Colony, Gunadala, Veterinary Colony are some of the residential areas. Bank Colony, Bharati Nagar, Gayatri Nagar, Currency Nagar, Satyanarayana Puram, Gurunanak Colony, APIIC Colony, LIC Colony, Patamata and Mahatma Gandhi Road, Vijayawada, MG Road are the upscale residential areas. The major commercial areas include the stretch of MG Road and from Benz Circle to

Ring. Other commercial centers are Besant Road, Rajagopalachari street, One Town market area covering Kaleswara Rao Market (KR Market), and Vastralatha. The city has many landmarks which include,

across the Krishna river; ''Krishnaveni Mandapam'' (River Museum) depicting the history of Krishna river and a nearby idol of the river known as, Krishnaveni statue; Gandhi Hill, Vijayawada, Gandhi Hill, the first Gandhi Memorial in the country, located at an elevation of on a hill; Bhavani Island, one of the largest river island amidst Krishna river.

Transport

Public transport

The primary modes of intra-city public transport are city buses and auto rickshaws. Apart from these, other means of transport are motorcycles, cycle rickshaws, and bicycles. The Pandit Nehru bus station, Pandit Nehru Bus Station and the

are the major transport infrastructure for road and rail transport. The Pandit Nehru bus station is the administrative headquarters of Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation, APSRTC, which is ranked as the fourth largest and busiest bus terminals in the country. The City Division of APSRTC operates close to 450 buses for an average of 300,000 daily commuting passengers. Autonagar bus terminus and city bus port is used for city bus services. The city buses ply in major routes of Besant Road, Eluru Road, Vijayawada, Eluru Road, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Vijayawada, MG Road and to the city outskirts of Ibrahimpatnam,

, Mangalagiri,

, Vuyyuru, Uyyuru,

, Nidamanur, Vijayawada, Nidamanuru and

. In 2016, APSRTS has discontinued city services on the Vijayawada Bus Rapid Transit System, BRTS corridor due to poor response from the commuters. It was built at a reported cost of , exclusively to be used by city buses has been.

Road

The two major National highways of India, National Highways, National Highway 16 (India), NH-16 (Kolkata–Bhubaneshwar-Visakhapatnam-Vijayawada-Guntur-Nellore-Chennai) and National Highway 65 (India), NH-65 (Pune-Hyderabad-Suryapet-Vijayawada-Machilipatnam), provides road connectivity with other states and major cities. National Highway 30 (India), National Highway 30 from Jagdalpur of Chhattisgarh terminates near the city suburb of Ibrahimpatnam. The Inner Ring Road, Vijayawada, Inner Ring Road connects NH-16 and NH-65 to serve the main purpose of easing traffic congestion. The seamless commuting in the city is supported by the presence of 16 bridges across the three canals of Bandar, Eluru, and Ryves. Mahatma Gandhi Road, Vijayawada, M. G. Road (Bandar Road) and Eluru Road, Vijayawada, Eluru Road are the major arterial roads of the city, with as many as 90,000 vehicles plying M. G. Road itself. The city has a total road length of , used by 678,004 non-transport and 94,937 transport vehicles. The heavy vehicles like lorries are used for freight transport and hold a share of 18% in the country. Short distance commuting is served by 27,296 auto rickshaws plying the city roads every day, which include the women-driven 'She Autos' as well. The city has a total road length of , covering of municipal roads, of R&B (Roads & Buildings) department roads, of National Highways. Benz Circle is one of the busiest road junctions in the city with an average of 57,000 vehicles crossing daily, The junction has the intersection of two national highways of NH 16 and NH 65.

Rail

was established in the year 1888. It is one of the busiest stations of Indian Railways, the busiest railway station in South India, and is classified as a ''Non-Suburban Grade-2 (NSG-2)'' station in Vijayawada railway division. The station is a junction station for the trains from , , and . A train route connecting Vijayawada and Hyderabad was laid in 1889. Suburban rail services are operated from the railway station to the nearby cities of Guntur and Tenali. The city houses the headquarters of Vijayawada railway division, one of the three railway divisions of South Coast Railway zone. The station has also a diesel and Electric Loco Shed, Vijayawada, electric loco sheds which have a capacity of holding 220 locos by both the sheds. The city of Vijayawada has several satellite stations such as , , , , , , , and .

Suburban and high speed rail

A proposed circular train connectivity would connect Vijayawada with neighbouring cities of Eluru, Guntur, Tenali, Mangalagiri and the state capital, Amaravati.

Metro rail System

A 66km light transit system is proposed to connect the city with Amaravathi and its surrounding suburbs.The metro project is implemented by a special purpose vehicle named as, Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation. Amaravati Metro Rail Corporation has been renamed as Andhra Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Ltd after the Managing Director of AMRC suggested that it might be appropriate to change the name AMRC as APMRC so as to implement the Metro Projects in other parts of the State and the ruling government obliged.

Air

The Vijayawada Airport at

provides air connectivity to major metropolitan cities of the country. On 3 May 2017, the airport was upgraded from domestic airport, domestic to international airport, international. Currently, Air India, Jet Airways and Spice Jet are operating in the Vijayawada Airport. International flights started from 4 December 2018 by IndiGo, Indigo Airlines to Singapore. The international flights to Singapore stopped after 27 June 2019 because the State Government stopped Public–private partnership, Viability Gap Funding in June 2019. , it registered a domestic passenger movement growth rate of 70.0% with a total of 11 Lakh 92 Thousand Passengers in FY 19. Aircraft movement recorded a growth of 65.0%.

Education

The Primary and Secondary School Education is imparted by the Government, Aided and Private Schools, under the State School Education Department. As per the school information report for the academic year 2015–16, the city has 133,837 students enrolled in 529 Schools. The state and Central Board of Secondary Education, CBSE syllabus are followed by schools for the Secondary School Certificate. The languages of instruction are English, Urdu and Telugu. For 10+2 education, there are two government junior colleges, namely S.R.R. & C.V.R. Government College and Government Junior College (at Vinchipeta); a railway junior college; three co-operative, 12 private aided, including the oldest, S.R.R & C.V.R College (established in 1937), Andhra Loyola College (established in December 1953), Maria Stella College for Girls (established in 1962),K.B.N College (established in 1965), Velagapudi Ramakrishna Siddhartha Engineering College (established in 1977), the oldest engineering college in Andhra Pradesh, and many private unaided colleges. School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada (SPAV) was established in 2008, a higher education institute in Vijayawada. It is one of the three Schools of Planning and Architecture (SPAs) established by the Ministry of Human Resource Development in 2008 as an autonomous institute and a fully central funded institution. The Sarvotthama Grandhalaya is a city library established on 30 March 1987. It serves an average daily readership of 200, equipped with 22,000 books related to many fields. VMC & VBFS Research and Reference Library is a reader's room/library maintained by Vijayawada Book Festival Society.

Media

''Visalaandhra'' was the first newspaper in the state, started from Vijayawada. As per the 58th annual report of Press India 2013–14, the large and medium Telugu daily publications from Vijayawada include ''Andhra Jyothi, Andhra Jyothy'', ''Eenadu'', ''Sakshi (newspaper), Sakshi'', ''Suryaa (newspaper), Suryaa'', ''Andhra Prabha'', ''Vaartha'', ''Prajasakti'', and ''Udaya Bharatam''. The English publications are ''Deccan Chronicle'', ''The Hindu'', ''The Times of India'', ''The Hans India'', ''News Boom'', ''The Fourth Voice'', and ''Views Observer''. The All India Radio Vijayawada was commissioned on 1 December 1948. Its building was named after Pingali Venkayya, the designer of the Flag of India, Indian flag. The channels broadcast by All India Radio are Rainbow Krishnaveni FM, Vividh Bharati. Telugu Doordarshan Saptagiri is located here.

Sports

Indira Gandhi Stadium, Vijayawada, Indira Gandhi Stadium in the city is the headquarters of the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh. It hosted its only men's One Day International (ODI) on 24 November 2002, played between India national cricket team, India and West Indies cricket team, West Indies. The only women's ODI was hosted on 12 December 1997, played as a group match of 1997 Women's Cricket World Cup between England women's cricket team, England women's and Pakistan women's national cricket team, Pakistan women's teams. Makineni Basavapunnaiah Stadium at Ajit Singh Nagar is another stadium that caters the sporting needs of the northern part of the city. Indoor stadiums include Dandamudi Rajagopala Rao Indoor Stadium (DRRIS) at M. G.Road and Chennupati Ramakotaiah Indoor Stadium (CRIS) at Patamatalanka. The DRRIS was named after the former Olympic weightlifting, weightlifter, Dandamudi Rajagopal, Dandamudi Rajagopal Rao, who participated in the 1951 Asian Games and the 1956 Summer Olympics, 1956 Olympics. The DRRIS hosted several national and international sporting events, such as the 79th Senior Badminton Champions. Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) International Cricket Stadium is being built on a site at Navuluru village, Mangalagiri mandal, Mangalagiri Mandal of

, from the city. It serves as the Andhra Cricket Association stadium. Vijaya Madhavi Tennis Academy is in Loyola College. Loyola College Grounds hosted many national-level events which includes a Ranji match. The Railway Sports Stadium, near the railway station, hosted several national level railway competitions such as bodybuilding competitions, Under-19 Cricket championships and a few non-railway events. This stadium has a gallery facility of over 10,000 people. Makineni Basava Punnaiah stadium is another open stadium in the city. Dandamudi Rajagopal Rao Indoor Stadium is one of the noted Badminton stadiums in Andhra Pradesh. It has hosted several national level Badminton and Table tennis, Table Tennis championships.

Awards

The Swachh Survekashan 2021 has identified Vijayawada as the third cleanest city in the nation. In the category of cities with more than 10 lakh inhabitants, the city rose from sixth place in 2020 to third place this year. A five-star designation for "Garbage Free City" has also been given to Vijayawada. Such a good ranking can be accredited to policy measures such as the introduction of waste disposal vehicles in the city by N. Chandrababu Naidu

Notable people

Notable people born in, or associated with, the city include: *Nadeem Baig (actor), Nadeem Baig – Pakistanis, Pakistani actor, singer and producer *Saraswathi Gora – Indian social activist who served as leader of the Atheist Centre *Koneru Humpy - reigning women's world rapid Chess champion *Lavanam – social reformer and Gandhian *Prasad Murella, Indian film cinematographer *Ayyadevara Kaleswara Rao - Indian freedom fighter and the first Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh. *Goparaju Ramachandra Rao – founder of Atheist Centre *Kanuri Lakshmana Rao – Three time Member of parliament (India), MP from Vijayawada and Chief Engineer of Nagarjuna Sagar Dam *N. T. Rama Rao – founder of Telugu Desam Party and actor in Telugu cinema, Telugu films *Viswanatha Satyanarayana- awarded the Jnanpith Award in 1970, the first for a Telugu writer, and Padma Bhushan in 1971 *Puchalapalli Sundarayya – founding member of Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist party (Marxist) and former Member of the Legislative Assembly (India), MLA from Vijayawada *Pingali Venkayya – creator of Flag of India, National Flag. *Dandamudi Rajagopal Rao - Weightlifting, Olympics .

References

External links

Vijayawada Municipal Corporation website
* {{Authority control Vijayawada, Cities in Andhra Pradesh Cities and towns in NTR district Cities in Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Metropolitan cities in India Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India Archaeological sites in Andhra Pradesh Ancient Indian cities Hindu holy cities Former capital cities in India