Vinukonda is a town in

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 twenty-six districts The district ...

of the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n 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 ...

. It is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

and the headquarters of Vinukonda

mandal A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

and administered under

Narasaraopet revenue division Narasaraopet revenue division is an administrative division in the Palnadu district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It comprises 9 mandals and is one of the three revenue divisions in the district, along with Gurajala and Sattenapalli. ...

Etymology

The town was formerly known as ''Vishnukundinapuram''. The hill is in the shape of tortoise. Many temples are also found on the top of hill. Srigangasametha Ramalingeswara Swamy temple (according to available sources the deity present in temple was sanctified by Lord Rama). Down the hill Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple was found which was constructed in Gupta's rule.

History

Dolmen A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were somet ...

s and other megalithic structures have been found in the town's neighbourhood. Inscriptions from about 1000–1400 CE are also to be found in many old temples. The Vishnukundinas, a local dynasty, ruled the adjoining areas from here during the turn of the millennium. During the medieval era, the hill nearby was the site of a fortress. A four-hundred-year-old Jamia Masjid, built in 1640, is the only major relic of Muslim rule in the town.

Geography

Vinukonda is located at . It has an average elevation of 75

metre The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pref ...

s (246

feet The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...

). Much like the rest of Palnadu district, it has very hot summers and mild winters. Rainfall is mostly in July to September. High concentrations of

fluorides Fluoride (). According to this source, is a possible pronunciation in British English. is an inorganic, monatomic anion of fluorine, with the chemical formula (also written ), whose salts are typically white or colorless. Fluoride salts typi ...

are found in the underground water reserves and potable water is therefore rare. Summer storage tank is the source of drinking water for the village.

Demographics

The town had a population of 60,420 and an urban agglomeration population of 63,450.

Governance

Vinukonda municipality is the civic administrative body of the city. It is a second grade municipality, constituted on 29 May 2005 and spread over an area of . The urban agglomeration constituents of the town are Vinukonda municipality and a partial out growth of Brahmanapalle village. The current

Member of Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...

representing Vinukonda town area is Bolla Brahma Naidu from the

YSRCP The Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP or YCP; ) is an Indian Regionalism (politics), regional political party based in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Its president Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy serves as List of chief ministers of Andhra ...

Transport

The town has a total road length of . It is located on

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 ...

–

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 ...

–

Bellary Bellary, officially Ballari, in the eponymous Bellary district, is a city in the state of Karnataka, India. History Bellary was a part of Rayalaseema (Ceded Districts) which was part of Madras Presidency till 1 November 1956. The Ball ...

highway.

Vinukonda railway station Vinukonda railway station (station code:VKN), is an Indian Railways station in Vinukonda of Andhra Pradesh. It lies on the Nallapadu–Nandyal section and is administered under Guntur railway division of South Central Railway zone. It is one of ...

is located on the – railway line and falls under the

Guntur railway division Guntur Railway Division is one of the three divisions of the South Coast Railway zone of Indian Railways. The division was sanctioned in 1995–96 and was fully operational on 1 April 2003, with its headquarters at Guntur. The ''Rail Vikas Bhavan ...

South Central Railway 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 ...

. A road through

Nagarjuna Sagar Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is a masonry dam across the Krishna River at Nagarjuna Sagar which straddles the border between Nalgonda district in Telangana and Palnadu district in Andhra Pradesh. The dam provides irrigation water to the Nalgonda, Surya ...

located at is a way to reach its neighbouring state

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 ...

and a shorter route to reach the capital city of Telangana, .

Education

The primary and secondary school education is imparted by government, aided and private schools, under the School Education Department of the state. The medium of instruction followed by different schools are English and Telugu.

References

External links

{{Municipalities of Andhra Pradesh Forts in Andhra Pradesh Towns in Guntur district Mandal headquarters in Guntur district Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India Villages in Guntur district Tourist attractions in Guntur district Ancient Indian cities Former capital cities in India