Cumbum, natively spelt as Kambham, is a

census town In India and some other countries, a census town is designated as a town that satisfies certain characteristics. India In India, a census town is one which is not statutorily notified and administered as a town, but nevertheless whose population ...

Prakasam district Prakasam district is one of the twelve districts in the coastal Andhra region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It was formed in 1970 and reorganised on 4 April 2022. The headquarters of the district is ...

of the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

. It is the headquarters of Cumbum mandal in Markapur revenue division. It was a part of

Kurnool district Kurnool district is one of the eight districts in the Rayalaseema region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh after the districts are reorganised in April 2022. It is located in the north western part of the state and is bounded by Nandyal d ...

before it was merged into

Cumbum Lake

Cumbum Lake, also known as ''Gundlakamma Lake'', was built on the Gundlakamma rivulet upon the

Nallamala The Nallamalas (also called the Nallamalla Range) are a section of the Eastern Ghats which forms the eastern boundary of Rayalaseema region of the state of Andhra Pradesh and Nagarkurnool district of the state of Telangana, in India. They run in ...

hills. It 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. She was also the daughter of Gajapatis of

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

. The lake is about long and about wide. According to the Imperial Gazette of India, at the turn of the 20th century, the dam was 57 feet (17 m) tall, and the drainage area was 430 square miles (1,100 km²). At present the lake has an effective storage capacity of 3.38 tmc ft. The directly irrigated land is about 10,300 acres (42 km²) in all. It is the second largest irrigation tank in Asia. Cumbum Lake is accessible both by the

Guntur Guntur (), natively spelt as Gunturu, is a city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of Guntur district. The city is part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is lo ...

Nandyal Nandyal, commonly called as Nandyala, is a city and the district headquarters of Nandyal district of the Indian state of the Andhra Pradesh. It is a Municipal corporation and the headquarters of Nandyal mandal in Nandyal revenue division. Dem ...

railway line and from

Ongole Ongole (), natively known as Ongolu, is a city in Prakasam district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Prakasam district. It is known for Ongole cattle, an indigenous breed of oxen. Etymology The name 'Ongole' i ...

by road.

History

There are inscriptions at Cumbum and Bestawaripeta, one from 1706 , and another from 1729. The first refers to the death of the sheriff Khaja Muhammad, who was the Qiladar of Cumbum fort during the reign of

Aurangazeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

. The second refers to Muhammad Sahib, son of Muhammad Khayum of Tab and governor of Cumbum during the reign of

Muhammad Shah Mirza Nasir-ud-Din Muḥammad Shah (born Roshan Akhtar; 7 August 1702 – 26 April 1748) was the thirteenth Mughal emperor from 1719 to 1748. He was son of Khujista Akhtar, the fourth son of Bahadur Shah I. After being chosen by the Sayyid ...

. It also states that Muhammad Sahib had a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

constructed at Cumbum during his governorship. These inscriptions prove that this district, like other districts in the Qutub Shahi Kingdom, was once under the

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

rule. It was formed as part of the Golkonda province, one of the six provinces into which the Deccan Suba was sub-divided. During the

British rule The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or dire ...

, Cumbum tehsil was a municipality of

; as such, it had a regimental garrison and a collectorate. On 10 June 1846,

Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy was an Indian freedom fighter leader. Son of a former Telugu Palegaaru Mallareddy and Seethamma, Narasimha Reddy was born in Rupanagudi village, on 24 November 1806. He belonged to the Motati Clan of Reddys. He and ...

raided the treasury at Cumbum, and started rebellion against the British.

Geography

Cumbum is located at . It has an average elevation of 184 metres (606 ft).

Transport

Cumbum railway station provides rail connectivity and is a ''D-category'' railway station in the

Guntur railway division Guntur railway division is one of the six divisions of the South Central 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 ...

of the South Central Railway zone. State highways, roads, and the

–

Guntakal Guntakal, natively known as Guntakallu, is a city in Anantapur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Guntakal mandal and Guntakal revenue division.It is also the headquarters of the Guntakal Railway Division ...

railway line pass through the town.

International recognition by UNESCO

The Cumbum Tank was made a World Heritage Irrigation Structure (WHIS) in 2020 by UNESCO.

Politics

The town was an assembly constituency in Andhra Pradesh until 2009. Anna Venkata Rambabu won the 2019 assembly elections when the Cumbum constituency was reorganized and merged with the Giddalur constituency.

Education

The primary and secondary school education is provided by the government's ''School Education Department''. The languages of instruction followed by different schools are English and Telugu.

Notes

References

{{Prakasam district Census towns in Andhra Pradesh Mandal headquarters in Prakasam district