Prakasam district is one of the thirteen districts in the

coastal Andhra Coastal Andhra (South costal Andhra) also known as Kostha Andhra is a region in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. Vijayawada is the largest city in this region. It was part of Madras State before 1953 and Andhra State from 1953 to 1956. ...

region of 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 ...

. It was formed in 1970 and reorganised in 2022 on April 4. The headquarters of the district is

Ongole Ongole is a city in Prakasam district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Prakasam district and also the mandal headquarters of Ongole mandal in Ongole revenue division. Ongole cattle, an indigenous breed of oxen, ...

. It is located on the western shore of

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 ...

and is bounded by

Bapatla district Bapatla district is a district in coastal Andhra in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh established on 4 April 2022. The administrative headquarter is Bapatla. The district is formed from part of erstwhile Prakasam district and part of erstwhile ...

and Palnadu districts on the north,

Nandyal district Nandyal district is a district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Nandyal as its administrative headquarters, it was formed on 4 April 2022 to become one of the resultant twenty-six districts and one of the district in Rayalaseema regio ...

on the west,

Kadapa Kadapa (colonial spelled Cuddapah) is a city in the southern part of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located in the Rayalaseema region, and is the district headquarters of YSR Kadapa district. As of the 2022 Census of India, the city had a popul ...

and Nellore districts on the south. A part of north west region also borders with

Nagarkurnool district Nagarkurnool district is a district in the southern region of the Indian state of Telangana. The town of Nagarkurnool is the district headquarters. It was part of the Mahbubnagar district prior to re-organisation of districts in the state. The ...

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...

. It is the

largest Large means of great size. Large may also refer to: Mathematics * Arbitrarily large, a phrase in mathematics * Large cardinal, a property of certain transfinite numbers * Large category, a category with a proper class of objects and morphisms (o ...

district in the state with an

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an obje ...

of and had a population of 2,288,026 as per

2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

Etymology

The district was named after the patriot and first

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Andhra State Andhra State (IAST: ; ) was a state in India created in 1953 from the Telugu-speaking northern districts of Madras State. The state was made up of this two distinct cultural regions – Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra. Andhra State did not incl ...

Tanguturi Prakasam Tanguturi Prakasam Panthulu (23 August 1872 – 20 May 1957) was an Indian jurist, political leader, social reformer, and anti-colonial nationalist who served as the chief minister of the Madras Presidency. Tanguturi subsequently became the fi ...

, also known as Andhra Kesari, who was born in the village of Vinodarayunipalem. It was accordingly renamed as Prakasam District in the year 1972.

History

Prakasam district was originally constituted on 2 February 1970, carved out of

Guntur Guntur () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Guntur district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Guntur is spread across 168.49 km square and is the third-largest city in the state. It is situated to the west of the Ba ...

Nellore Nellore is a city located on the banks of Penna River, in Nellore district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of the district, as well as Nellore mandal and Nellore revenue division. It is the List of cities in ...

and

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 known as The City of Gem Stones. It also se ...

districts of

. It was carved out of three taluks of Guntur district, i.e.

Addanki Addanki is a Municipal city in Bapatla district of the Indian State, Andhra Pradesh. Addanki North is the mandal headquarters of Addanki mandal in chirala revenue division. Geography Addanki located at . It has an average elevation of 24&nbs ...

Chirala Chirala (), (, Telugu) a city in Bapatla district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the headquarters of Chirala mandal in Chirala revenue division. , it had a population of above 170,000. Chirala is the most popu ...

, and

, four taluks of Nellore district, i.e. Kandukur,

Kanigiri Kanigiri is a Town in Prakasam district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the headquarters of kanigiri mandal in kanigiri revenue division. Etymology The name is a vernacular transformation of Kanakagiri (Kana ...

Darsi Darsi is a Municipality Town Prakasam district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Before the British rule, it was also called Darshanapuri, named by an ancient Andhra king. It is the mandal headquarters of Darsi mandal in Kanigiri revenue ...

and

Podili Podili is a Municipality Town in Prakasam district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the mandal headquarters of Podili mandal. Podili is also known as Prudulapuri. Before British rule its name was "Prudulapuri" meaning "Head quarter ...

and three taluks of Kurnool district i.e.

Markapur Markapur is a town in Prakasam district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a Municipality and the headquarters of Markapur mandal in Markapur revenue division. Markapur is known for the Chennakesava Swamy Temple built by King Sri K ...

, Yarragondapalem and Giddaluru. It is one of the nine districts in the

Coastal Andhra Coastal Andhra (South costal Andhra) also known as Kostha Andhra is a region in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. Vijayawada is the largest city in this region. It was part of Madras State before 1953 and Andhra State from 1953 to 1956. ...

region of

. Prakasam district used to be a part of the

Red Corridor The red corridor, also called the red zone, is the region in the eastern, central and the southern parts of India where the Naxalite–Maoist insurgency has the strongest presence. It has been steadily diminishing in terms of geographical cove ...

Geography

Prakasam district occupies an area of , comparatively equivalent to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Seram Island Seram (formerly spelled Ceram; also Seran or Serang) is the largest and main island of Maluku province of Indonesia, despite Ambon Island's historical importance. It is located just north of the smaller Ambon Island and a few other adjacent is ...

. This district is bounded by

state at North.And surrounded by South of SPSR Nellore district , West of

,East of

Palnadu district Palnadu district is a district in coastal Andhra Region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. With Narasaraopet as its administrative headquarters, it was formed on 04 April 2022 to become one of the resultant List of districts of Andhra Pradesh ...

and

.And The

held on Southeast of this district. The only Municipal Corporation in Prakasam is

. Some of the main towns in Prakasam district are

Singarayakonda Singarayakonda is a town in Prakasam district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the mandal headquarters of Singarayakonda mandal. Singarayakonda is located at sea level. It is spread across 10 Grama panchayats. It is under Kanduku ...

, Inkollu,

, Yerragondapalem,

, Donakonda,

, Kandukur,

Pamuru Pamuru is a mandal in the Prakasam district in the Coastal Andhra region of Andhra Pradesh, India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh ...

Parchur Parchur or Parchuru is a town and an Assembly constituency in Bapatla district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is also the mandal headquarters of Parchur mandal in chirala revenue division. Geography Parchur is located at . According to the ...

, Giddaluru, Dornala, Cumbum,

, Chimakurthy and

Martur Martur is a mandal panchayat in Bapatla district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the mandal headquarters of Martur mandal in chirala revenue division. As of 2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Ce ...

is India's main slate-manufacturing town and the home of the historic temple of Lord Chennakesava. Chimakurthi is known for its

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

reserves. Dornala is also known as Diguva Srisailam, since it is very near the historic pilgrimage centre of

Srisailam Srisailam is a census town in Nandyal district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the mandal headquarters of Srisailam mandal in Atmakur revenue division. It is located about from the district headquarters Nandyal, from Kurnool, an ...

. Cumbum lake also known as Gundalakamma lake built on Gundalakamma rivulet upon Nallamala hills is one of the oldest man made lakes of Asia. The anicut was built by the Vijayanagar princess Varadharaj Amma. The lake in its present form is about long and on average, about wide. As per the Imperial gazette of India at the turn of the 20th century, the height of the dam was and the drainage area was . The direct irrigation land was about in all. Cumbum lake is accessible both by the rail

Nandyal Nandyal is a city and District headquarters of Nandyal district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the headquarters of Nandyal mandal in Nandyal revenue division. Demographics In the 2011 census of India, Nandya ...

railway line and is situated about from Ongole. Although classified under the

region, the district's western half has Rayalaseema like geography and climate, being somewhat arid.

Demographics

As of the 2011 census of India, the district had a population of 3,397,448 with a density of 193 persons per sq.km. The total population constitute, 17,14,764 males and 16,82,684 females –a ratio of 981 females per 1000 males. The total urban population is 664,582 (19.56%). There are 19,04,435 literates with a literacy rate of 63.08%. After bifurcation the district had a population of 22,88,026, of which 444,865 (19.44%) lived in urban areas. Prakasam district had a sex ratio of 971 females per 1000 males. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 537,159 (23.48%) and 88,209 (3.86%) of the population respectively. At the time of the 2011 census, 93.88% of the population spoke

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 ...

and 5.05%

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Economy

The Gross District Domestic Product (GDDP) of the district is and it contributes 6.9% to the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). For the FY 2013–14, the

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

at current prices was . The primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of the district contribute , and , respectively. The major products contributing to the GVA of the district from agriculture and allied services are,

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

, paddy,

chillies Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

, batavia,

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...

meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...

and

fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...

. The GVA to the industrial and service sector is contributed from

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...

, minor minerals, unorganised trade and ownership of dwellings.

Industries

The district has many service industries such as industrial testing, electrical appliance repair, clinical laboratories, servicing of computer hardware, tourism, and hospitality. Major exports from the district include seafood, processed tobacco, granite blocks, granite monuments and yarn. There are many industries of food and agriculture, mineral, chemical, leather, plastic and rubber, engineering, cotton and textiles, electronic products. All these industries deal with prawn and fish processing and canning, dairy products, the granite industry, pharmaceuticals, tanning, fishing nets, surgical cotton, etc. Forest-based industries produce Ayurvedic medicines, essential oil (Palm Rose Oil), wooden furniture, wooden toys, bamboo products, etc.

Mining

The district leads in granite mining in the state with discovery of ''Galaxy Granite'' in the Chimakurthy area of the district. Good deposits of coloured granites are located occur around Uppumaguluru and Kodidena. The minerals found in the district are Baryte,

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...

, and

silica sand Sand casting, also known as sand molded casting, is a metal casting process characterized by using sand as the mold material. The term "sand casting" can also refer to an object produced via the sand casting process. Sand castings are produced i ...

. In 2010-11, 4,300

tonnes 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 States ...

of Baryte, 22,722

of quartz, 2,24,075 tonnes of silica sand and 400 tonnes of iron ore were produced. Granite barons in Prakasam district sold ahead of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 as the natural stone material was widely used in the construction of the sports village. The famous Black Galaxy granite, Black pearl, Steal Grey and English Grey processed in the SEZ make it to, among other countries, the U.S., Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Algeria. Processing of granite was insignificant in the district before 2010. But now after the setting up of 13 export oriented units within the SEZ and five elsewhere in the district, at least 60% of the decorative stone material is processed here. Over 500 to 600 containers of the material are shipped from the SEZ every month to other countries, the U.S. alone accounting for 20%.

Tourism

Bhairava Kona, Prakasam district, Andhra Pradesh

The Bhairava Kona cave temples are 8th-century single rock-cut cave temples (similar to

Mahabalipuram Mamallapuram, also known as Mahabalipuram, is a town in Chengalpattu district in the southeastern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, best known for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of 7th- and 8th-century Hindu Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram. It is o ...

) for 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 ...

. Cumbum Tank is one of the oldest man-made lakes in Asia. The anicut was built by the Vijayanagar Princess Varadharajamma (also known as Ruchidevi), wife of Sri Krishna Devaraya. The length of this tank is and width is . It has received World Heritage Irrigation Structure (WHIS) tag in the year 2020 by UNESCO.

Administrative divisions

The District comprises three Revenue divisions viz., Ongole, Kanigiri and Markapur. 38 Mandals. ‘1’ Municipal Corporation i.e., Ongole, ‘1’ Municipality i.e., Markapur and ‘5’ Nagarapanchayats Chimakurthy, Giddalur, Podili, Darsi and Kanigiri in the District. Ongole division consists of ‘12’ mandals, Kanigiri division with ‘13’ mandals and Markapur division with ‘13’ mandals. Thus, a total of 38 mandals besides 1 Municipal Corporation, 1 Municipality, 5 Nagara Panchayats and 715 Gram Panchayats are existing in the district. ‘750’ Inhabited Revenue villages are existing in the district. They have been constituted into 734 Gram Panchayats.

Mandals

The list of 38 mandals in Prakasam district under three revenue divisions are listed in the following table:

Parliament segments

Ongole (Lok Sabha constituency) Ongole Lok Sabha constituency is one of the twenty-five lok sabha constituencies of Andhra Pradesh in India. It comprises seven assembly segments and belongs to Prakasam district. Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy(Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Pa ...

Bapatla (Lok Sabha constituency) Bapatla (SC) Lok Sabha constituency is one of the twenty-five lok sabha constituencies of Andhra Pradesh in India. It comprises seven assembly segments in Bapatla and Prakasam districts . Assembly segments Bapatla constituency comprises the ...

Assembly segments

Ongole and Bapatla Lok Sabha constituency presently comprises the following Legislative Assembly segments:

Erstwhile Talukas in Prakasam district

In 1978, the number of talukas in Prakasam was increased from 9 to 17. Later in 1985, 17 Talukas were divided into 56 mandals.

Towns in Prakasam District

* Vetapalem is included in Chirala town's population.

Transport

The total road length of

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

s in the district is . The district is well connected by

National highways National Highways, formerly the Highways Agency and later Highways England, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in England. It al ...

, state highways and district roads as well. The NH 16 passes through

which is the major highway connecting

Howrah Howrah (, , alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River opposite its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively it lies within Howrah district, and is th ...

–

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, a part of Asian Highway Network AH45.

APSRTC 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 ...

, a state government public bus transport operates services. The district has a rail network of . The entire rail network is under

South Central Railway zone The 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 Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh. It has three divisions under its administrati ...

. is one of the main stations of this district and most of the stations are under

Vijayawada railway division Vijayawada railway division (formerly: Bezawada railway division) is one of the three railway divisions under South Coast Railways of the Indian Railways. The headquarters of the division are located at Vijayawada. History It was formed as ...

. Minister of State for Civil Aviation, has granted site clearance for setting up of a Greenfield Airport at Ongole.

Notable personalities

There are many noted people from the district including

, a freedom fighter who was also the Chief Minister of Andhra State and Chief Minister of Madras Presidency. Mirza Ghouse Baig, M.A.LL.B Retired District Judge a second world war veteran who led the mutiny against the Britishers at Ambala Cantt. U. Aswathanarayana who was a Director of the Mahadevan International Centre for Water Resources Management in India. From the film industry personalities include Bhanumathi Ramakrishna was a film actress who was also a producer, director and singer.

D. Ramanaidu Daggubati Ramanaidu (6 June 1936 – 18 February 2015) was an Indian film producer known for his work in Telugu cinema. He founded Suresh Productions in 1964 which became of one of the largest film production companies in India. He was placed i ...

, film producer;

Tottempudi Krishna Tottempudi Krishna (1 September 1950 – 21 October 1986) was an Indian film director and screenwriter who worked in Telugu cinema. Known for directing revolutionary films, his notable works include ''Pratighatana'', ''Repati Pourulu'', and ''Ne ...

, film director and editor;

Giri Babu Yerra Seshagiri Rao, popularly known as Giri Babu, is an Indian actor, producer, and director who primarily woks in Telugu films. His son, Raghu Babu, is a notable actor-director. Career Giri Babu hails from a middle class agricultural fami ...

, film actor;

Raghu Babu Yerra Raghu, known professionally as Raghu Babu, is a Telugu comedian well known for his comic expressions and timing. He has worked in many successful films in Telugu industry. He is the eldest son of famous comedian and character actor Giri B ...

, film actor and comedian in Telugu cinema;

Dharmavarapu Subramanyam Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam (20 September 1954 – 7 December 2013) was a popular Indian actor, comedian and film director who worked in Telugu cinema. He was established as one of the highly paid and top most leading comedians in Telugu film in ...

, comedian in Telugu cinema.

Pullela Gopichand Pullela Gopichand (born 16 November 1973) is a former Indian badminton player. Currently, he is the Chief National Coach for the India national badminton team. He won the All England Open Badminton Championships in 2001, becoming the second In ...

, an all-england champion and national badminton coach; Yarlagadda Nayudamma is a consultant paediatric surgeon. He is the only Indian surgeon to have successfully separated three sets of Conjoined Twins fused at three different locations – head, thorax-abdomen and pelvis; Former HRD Minister in the UPA 2 government

Daggubati Purandeswari Nandamuri Purandareswari (born 22 April 1959) is an Indian politician from the state of Andhra Pradesh. She represented the Visakhapatnam constituency of Andhra Pradesh as a Member of Parliament in the 15th Lok Sabha of India. She had previousl ...

daughter of N. T. Rama Rao and is married to Daggubati Venkateswara Rao, GVL Narsimha Rao are nationally visible faces from the villages in the district. Artists family of Thimmiri Narasimharao,( Thimmiri naresh babu, (tollywood art director) thimmiri raveendra(secretary of srusti art academy) thimmiri bhanuchandar (artist), battula vani ( drawing teacher).

Education

The primary and secondary school education is imparted by government, aided and private schools, under the state's School Education Department. As per the school information report for the academic year 2015–16, there are a total of 4,311 schools. They include, 33 government, 2,949 mandal and zilla parishads, 1 residential, 1079 private, 10 model, 37 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV), 50 municipal and 152 other types of schools. The total number of students enrolled in primary, upper primary and high schools of the district are 562,510. The total number of students enrolled in primary, upper primary and high schools of the district are 461,065.

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Districts of Andhra Pradesh 1970 establishments in Andhra Pradesh