Kurnool is a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
in the 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 and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
, 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 known as The City of Gem Stones. It also serves as the district headquarters of its
Kurnool district.
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...
, it is the
fifth most populous city in the
state with a population of 484,327.
It is located on the banks of the
Tungabhadra river. Although the area has been inhabited for thousands of years, modern Kurnool was founded in the 16th century CE with the construction of the
Konda Reddy Fort.
Etymology
The original name of Kurnool is found in historical records as ''Kandanavōlu'' or ''Kandanōlu''. It used to be a crossing on the
Tungabhadra River, where the bullock cart caravans are believed to have greased their wheels ("''kandana''" being a reference to grease).
The city is often referred to as "The Gateway of
Rayalaseema".
History
Palaeolithic era
The Ketavaram
rock paintings from the Paleolithic era and are (18 kilometres from Kurnool).
Also the Jurreru Valley, Katavani Kunta and
Yaganti in
Kurnool District have some important
rock art and paintings in the vicinity, may be dated from 35,000 to 40,000 years ago.
Belum Caves
The Belum Caves, located in Nandyala district of Andhra Pradesh's Rayalaseema region, is the second largest cave system on the Indian subcontinent, known for its speleothems, such as stalactite and stalagmite formations. The Belum Caves h ...
are geologically and historically important caves in the district. There are indications that Jain and Buddhist monks were occupying these caves centuries ago. Many Buddhists relics were found inside the caves. These relics are now housed in Museum at
Ananthapur.
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 Alexand ...
(ASI) found remnants of vessels and other artifacts of pre-Buddhist era and has dated the remnants of vessels found in the caves to 4500 BC.
Show Caves of India: Belum Caves
Vijayanagara era
Little was known about Kurnool town before the 11th century. The earliest knowledge of this settlement dates from the 11th century. It has developed as transit place on the southern banks of the river
Tungabhadra.
Ruled by the
Cholas in 12th Century and later taken over by the
Kakatiya dynasty in 13th century. Kurnool developed into a transit point on the southern banks of the
Tungabhadra River. It eventually fell under the rule of a
jaghirdar before becoming a part of the
Vijayanagar dynasty
The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana and Maharash ...
.
King Achyuta Raya, successor of Sri Krishnadeva Raya constructed the
Kurnool Fort during the 16th century.
Mughals Rule
The Abyssinian, Abdul Wahab Khan, defeated King Gopal Raja of the
Vijayanagar Kingdom in the 17th century and went on to rule the land for 16 years until his death.
In 1686, Kurnool fell under the influence of the Mughals who were ruled by Emperor Aurangzeb. Later on in Kurnool's history, it was
ruled by the Nawabs until the British Government took over in 1839.
Nawabs
Ghulam Rasul Khan Bahadur (died on 12 July 1840) was the last
Nawab
Nawab ( Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب;
bn, নবাব/নওয়াব;
hi, नवाब;
Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ;
Persian,
Punjabi ,
Sindhi,
Urdu: ), also spelled Nawaab, Navaab, Navab, Nowab, Nabob, Nawaabshah, Nawabshah or Nobab, ...
of Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. He ruled from 1823 to 1839 until the kingdom was defeated by the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sou ...
. On 12 October 1839, a war broke out between
British Indian Army and the kingdom and continued for six days until the king was detained on 18 October. He was subsequently sent to
Tiruchirappalli Central Prison
Tiruchirapalli Central Prison is located in Tiruchirapalli, India. The prison was built during 1865. The prison complex occupies an area comprising . It is authorised to accommodate 2517 prisoners.
Notable prisoners
* Subhash Kapoor
S ...
where he died on 12 July 1840.
Post independence
Kurnool was the capital of erstwhile
Andhra State between 1 October 1953 and 31 October 1956.
The state was later merged with
Telugu speaking districts of Hyderabad State to form
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 ...
with
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...
as the state's capital on 1 November 1956. Presently Kurnool is in the divided Andhra Pradesh state.
Geography
Kurnool is located at . It has an average elevation of 273 metres (898 feet). Kurnool lies on the banks of the
Tungabhadra River. The Hundri and Neeva rivers also flow through the city. The
K.C.Canal (Kurnool–Cuddapah) was built by the Dutch for transportation, but later used for irrigation.
Cityscape
Landmarks in and around the city include ''Konda Reddy Fort'' Formerly called ''Kondareddy Burj'' is the Historical Monuement and Major Tourist Attraction of Kurnool located at the north east part of the city.
Orvakal rock Garderns is the Sculpture Garden with Ancient cave lies on the South East of the city.
Climate
Kurnool has a
hot savanna climate (
Köppen ''BSh'') with temperatures ranging from to in the summer and to in the winter. The average annual rainfall is about .
Demographics
As per final data of 2011 census, Kurnool urban agglomeration had a population of 484,327, making it the fifth largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
The literacy rate of Kurnool was 77.37 per cent at the time of the 2011 census.
Religion
As per final data of 2011 census, Hindus formed the majority in the Kurnool urban agglomeration. Other religious groups found in Kurnool are
Muslims,
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'' (Χρ� ...
, and Jains.
Language
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
...
(67.91%) is the official and most spoken language.
(28.17%) and
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 ...
(1.02%) are also spoken.
Government and politics
Kurnool serves as the district headquarters of its
Kurnool district.
The city is administered by Kurnool Municipal Corporation.
Education
The primary and secondary school education is imparted by Government, aided and private schools of the ''School Education Department'' of the state.
Notable institutions located in the city include:
*
Kurnool Medical College
Kurnool Medical College, established in 1956, is one of the oldest medical schools in India, located in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh.
History
When Andhra State was formed in October 1953, the Government of Andhra decided to start a medical colleg ...
*
Osmania College
Osmania College is a provincial school in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. It was once a prominent educational institution for the city's Muslim community.
History
Osmania College, located in Jaffna's Moor Town suburb, conducted classes ranging from kindergart ...
*
Rayalaseema University
*
Indian Institute of Information Technology Design and Manufacturing Kurnool
*
Silver Jubilee Government College
Transport
Roadways
National Highway 44 (India)
National Highway 44 (NH 44) is a major north–south National Highway in India and is the longest in the country.
It passes through the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, in addition to the states of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, ...
which runs from Srinagar to Kanyakumari and also highway of
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
to
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...
. passes through Kurnool.
National highway 340C Kurnool-Dornala which connects to
Srisailam,
Vinukonda
Vinukonda is a town in Palnadu district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the headquarters of Vinukonda mandal and administered under Narasaraopet revenue division.
Etymology
The town was formerly known as ''Vish ...
,
Guntur,
Vijayawada.
National Highway 40,
Rayalaseema Expressway which runs from Kurnool to
Chittoor, are the major highways passing through the city.
The city has a total road length of 519.22 km State owned bus transport system,
APSRTC, operates buses from Kurnool bus station to other parts of the state.
Railways
Kurnool City railway station
Kurnool City railway station, formerly Kurnool Town railway station (station code: KRNT), is located in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It serves Kurnool in the Kurnool district. It is under the administrative control of the Hyderabad Di ...
lies on the Bengaluru – Hyderabad railway line. It is classified as an ''A–category station'' in the
Hyderabad railway division
Hyderabad railway division is one of the three divisions of South Central Railway zone of the Indian Railways. The headquarters of the Division is at Secunderabad and its zonal headquarters is at Secunderabad. Even though Hyderabad has its own ...
of
South Central Railway zone. Another railway station name Kotla lies in the middle of the city.
Airport
Kurnool Airport
Kurnool Airport, officially known as Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy Airport, is a greenfield airport at Orvakal, Kurnool district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is situated on National Highway 40, about from Kurnool and from Nandyal ...
, officially known as Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy Airport, is located at
Orvakal
Orvakal is a village and a Mandal Head quarter of Orvakal Mandal in Kurnool district in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. It also part of Kurnool Urban Development Authority.
Geography
The village is home to the Orvakal Rock Garden, whi ...
and is situated on the
National Highway 40, about from Kurnool and from
Nandyal. Commercial operations of the
greenfield
Greenfield or Greenfields may refer to:
Engineering and Business
* Greenfield agreement, an employment agreement for a new organisation
* Greenfield investment, the investment in a structure in an area where no previous facilities exist
* Greenf ...
airport were started in March 2021.
Economy
Kurnool is endowed with good mineral resources. The important minerals are Iron ore, dolomite, limestone, ochre, quartz and silica.
Notable people
*
K. E. Krishnamurthy, former Deputy Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh
*
Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar - Founder of Justice party, Diwan of Mysore and the First President of UNESCO
*
Kotla Jayasurya Prakasha Reddy
Kotla Jayasurya Prakasha Reddy (born 18 September 1951) was a member of the 15th Lok Sabha of India. He represented the Kurnool constituency of Andhra Pradesh and is a member of Indian National Congress.
Early life
He was born in Hyderabad to ...
, former member of parliament and Union minister, Railways
*
Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy
Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy (16 August 1920 – 27 September 2001) served as the chief minister of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh in 1983 and then from 1992 to 1994. Reddy was a member of the Indian National Congress and was elected to ...
, former Chief Minister, United Andhra Pradesh
*
Damodaram Sanjivayya, former Chief Minister, United Andhra Pradesh
*
Machani Somappa, industrialist and recipient of Padma sri honour
*
T. G. Venkatesh, Indian businessman and politician
See also
*
List of cities in Andhra Pradesh by population
*
List of Urban Agglomerations in Andhra Pradesh
*
List of municipal corporations in Andhra Pradesh
The article lists all the urban local bodies, covering municipal corporations, municipalities and nagar panchayats in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The statistical data is based on Directorate of Town and Country Planning, Government of And ...
References
External links
*
Kurnool district Mandal Information
{{Authority control
Cities in Andhra Pradesh
Muslim princely states of India
Princely states of Andhra Pradesh
Former capital cities in India
District headquarters of Andhra Pradesh