Guntur (ⓘ) is a city and the administrative headquarters of Guntur district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located on the Eastern Coastal Plains and is approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Amaravati, capital of the state. Based on 2011 Census of India data, city is the third most populous in the state with a population of 743,354.[2] It is spread across 159.46 km square.
Guntur Garthapuri | |
|---|---|
 Agastyeshwara temple, one of the oldest temples in Guntur. | |
| Nickname: Land of Chillies [1] | |
 Guntur Municipal Corporation | |
.svg)  Guntur Location in Andhra Pradesh, India | |
| Coordinates: 16°18′03″N 80°26′34″E / 16.3008°N 80.4428°E | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Andhra Pradesh |
| Region | Coastal Andhra |
| District | |
| Incorporated (Municipality) | 1866 |
| Incorporated (Corporation) | 1994 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipal Corporation |
| • Body | |
| • Mayor | Kavati Manohar Naidu (YSRCP) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 159.46 km2 (61.57 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 33 m (108 ft) |
| Population (2011)[2] | |
| • Total | 743,354 |
| • Rank | 3rd (in Andhra Pradesh) 64th (in India) |
| • Density | 4,700/km2 (12,000/sq mi) |
| Demonyms |
|
| Literacy | |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Telugu |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 522001 |
| Telephone code | +91-863 |
| Vehicle registration | AP |
| Website | cdma |
It serves as a major hub for exports of chilli, cotton and tobacco and has the largest chilli market yard in Asia.[3] It is also a major transportation, education, medical and commercial hub for the state.[4] Ancient temples and sites near the city include Kondaveedu Fort, Amareswaraswamy temple, Undavalli Caves, and Sri Bramarambha Malleswara Swamy Temple at Pedakakani.
Etymology
In Sanskrit documents, Guntur was referred to as Garthapuri. "Garthapuri", in common Telugu usage "Guntlapuri" means "a place surrounded by water ponds".[5] The settlement might have been near a pond, a "gunta" in Telugu; hence, "gunta uru" translates to "pond village" in Telugu. Another source refers to "kunta" (a land measuring unit) which may have transformed to "kunta uru" and later to "Guntur".[6]
History
The nearby places of Sitanagaram and the Guttikonda caves are referred in the ancient texts (Vedic puranas) going back to the Treta Yuga and Dvapara Yuga.[7]Satavahanas, Andhra Ikshvakus, Vishnukundinas, Pallavas, Vengi Chalukyas, Kakatiya kings, Reddy kings, Gajapathi kings, and Vijayanagar kings, Nizams of Hyderabad, French India, and British East India Company were some of the rulers of the city prior to British Raj.[8]
The region has been historically known for Buddhism and the first Kalachakra ceremony was performed by Gautama Buddha himself.[9] Agastyeshwara temple is one of the oldest temples in the city. According to the temple legend, Agastya built it in the Treta Yuga around a swayambhu linga. The inscriptions on the side of Naga Muchalinda sculpture unearthed in 2018 in the compound of the temple are in 'Naga Lipi' (an ancient script) of third century CE. Based on this discovery, Emani Sivanagi Reddy, archaeologist and Buddhist scholar believes that this region served as a Buddhist site contemporary to Nagarjunakonda.[10]
The earliest reference to Guntur is in the inscriptions by Ammaraja I (922–929 CE), the Vengi Chalukyan king.[5] As per the inscription in Sri Narasimha Swami temple at Ramachandra Agraharam, Tirumala Dasa Mahapatra, the local ruler of the Gajapathi king Kapileswara Gajapathi, gave precious donations to the temple of Mulastha Mallikarjuna Deva in 1485 CE.[11]
British East India Company took over the Kondaveedu Fort in 1788 and abandoned it in the early 19th century in favour of Guntur. It was made the headquarters of a district named after it. The district was abolished in 1859, only to be reconstituted in 1904.
Guntur is famous for being the place of discovery of helium from observation of solar eclipse of 18 August 1868 by French astronomer, Pierre Janssen.[12][13] Allen Olliver Becker's family from Guntur was among the survivors of the Titanic ship disaster.[14]
The city rapidly became a major market for agricultural produce from the surrounding countryside due to the opening of the railway link in 1890. The expansion continued post independence as well and was concentrated in what is now called New Guntur, with many urban areas such as Brodipet, Arundelpet and suburban areas like Pattabhipuram, Chandramoulinagar, Sitaramanagar, and Brindavan Gardens. In 2012, the city limits were expanded with the merger of surrounding ten villages, namely Nallapadu, Pedapalakaluru, Ankireddipalem, Adavitakkellapadu, Gorantla, Pothuru, Chowdavaram, Etukuru, Budampadu and Reddypalem.[15]
The High Court was setup in Guntur when Andhra State was formed.[16] It was moved to Hyderabad after the formation of Andhra Pradesh.[17] After the bifurcation of the state a new High Court is set up in the capital region of the residual state near Guntur.[18]
Geography
Guntur is located at 16°17′N 80°26′E / 16.29°N 80.43°E.[19] It has an average elevation of 33 m (108 ft) and is situated on the plains. There are few hills in the surrounding suburban areas and Perecherla Reserve Forest on the north west. The city is approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Amaravati, capital of Andhra Pradesh.
Climate
As per Köppen-Geiger climate classification system the climate in Guntur is tropical with a dry winter(Aw). The average temperature is warm to hot year-round. The summer season (especially during May and June) has the highest temperatures, but these are usually followed by monsoon rains. The winter season (from November to February) is the most enjoyable with a pleasant climate. Winter months are usually dry, with little to no rainfall. The wettest month is July. The average annual temperature is 28.5 °C (83.3 °F) and annual rainfall is about 905 millimetres (36 in). Rain storms and cyclones are common in the region during the rainy season, which starts with the monsoons in early June. Cyclones may occur any time of the year, but occur more commonly between May and November.[20]
Demographics
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 367,699 | — |
| 1991 | 471,051 | +28.1% |
| 2001 | 514,461 | +9.2% |
| 2011[a] | 670,073 | +30.2% |
| Source: (1981–2011)[21] | ||
Based on the 2011 census, the city after merger of nearby villages in 2012, had a population of 743,354.[2] The 2023 estimate of the city population is 9,81,000.[22] It is classified as a Y-grade city as per the Seventh Central Pay Commission.[23]
Based on the 2011 census data prior to city expansion in 2012, Telugu is the widely spoken language with a total of 545,928 native speakers, followed by 109,574 Urdu speakers. A significant minority speak Hindi, Odia and Tamil.[24] The religious population constitute 522,030 Hindus (77.91%), 120,974 Muslims (18.05%), 21,787 Christians (3.25%), 2,312 Jains (0.35%) and 2,605 (0.82%) not stating any religion.[25] One of the purportedly lost tribes of Israel called Bene Ephraim, has its presence in Guntur, with a Jewish synagogue as well at Kothareddypalem near Chebrolu.[26]
Governance
Civic administration and politics
Guntur Municipal Corporation(GMC) is one of the oldest municipalities with more than 150 years of history.[27] It was constituted with 25,000 population in 1866 and later got upgraded to third grade municipality in 1891, first grade in 1917, special grade in 1952 and then to selection grade in 1960. In 1994, it was finally made as municipal corporation and the first ever municipal corporation election was conducted in 1995.[28] The city is divided into 57 revenue wards.[21] During the financial year 2018–19, the corporation had a budget of ₹1,004 crore (equivalent to ₹13 billion or US$170 million in 2023).[29]
The city is one among the thirty-one cities in the state to be a part of water supply and sewerage services mission known as Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).[30] The city was certified as open defecation free as part of Swachh Bharat Mission.[31] As per the 2023 Swachh Survekshan rankings, the city was ranked 4th in the country.[32] This is a major improvement from 129th in 2018 rankings.[33]
Guntur is the headquarters of Guntur East and Guntur West mandals in Guntur revenue division.[34] The city is a major part of Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority.[35] It is represented in the government by being part of Guntur Lok Sabha constituency[36] and Guntur East and Guntur West assembly constituencies.
Other offices
As part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region, the city hosts many state offices and agencies such as Andhra Pradesh Forest Department, Agricultural Marketing Department, and regional office of Crime Investigation Department.[37] The AP State Judicial Preview offices are located at Nagarampalem.[38] Guntur group of the National Cadet Corps is located at Syamalanagar.[39] The city also hosts an Indian Army recruitment and training centre.[40] Passport Seva Kendra started functioning from 2018.[41]
Citizen services
There are several urban health care centres, couple of hundred private hospitals including several super speciality centres in the city.[42] The Government General Hospital (GGH) is the major tertiary care healthcare provider.[43] Guntur Channel is the main source of drinking water for the city residents, which draws water from Krishna river.[44] Extension of this channel is being planned to cover more areas around the city in the capital region.[45] Summer storage tank at Sangam Jagarlamudi, Vengalayapalem reservoir are the other sources of water to the city.[46] The Andhra Pradesh Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (APSPDCL) is responsible for power supply to the registered service connections through various sub-stations.[47]
Guntur police is using effective surveillance and central monitoring control systems with high resolution cameras at important traffic junctions.[48][49]
Economy
The city forms a part of the East Coast Economic Corridor.[50] It hosts many state offices and agencies, being the district capital and part of the state capital region. The city hosts headquarters of Agricultural Marketing Department.[37] The Tobacco Board and The Spices Board headquarters are located in the city.[51]
Agriculture Market Committee Market Yard, the largest chilly yard of Asia, crossed sales ₹10,000 crore (US$1.3 billion) during trading season of 2023.[52][3] India is the world's biggest exporter of chillies and a lion's share of this is from Guntur.[53] There are also several spinning mills on the outskirts of the city.[54]
Culture
The city residents are referred as Gunturians.[55] Cultural events with focus on literature and poetry are organised regularly.[56] Venkateswara Vignana Mandiram, Annamaiah Kalavedika are popular venues for cultural programs. Gurram Jashua Kala Pranganam is being constructed.[57] The citizens celebrate Hindu festivals such as Vinayaka Chavithi,[58] Vijaya Dasami,[59] and Ugadi.[60] Eid, and Christmas[61] are also celebrated.
Cuisine
Idli, Dosa, Puri, Vada are popular breakfast food items.[62] Red chilli biryani is a native dish.[63] Guntur Sannam, a chilli variety was registered as one of the geographical indication from Andhra Pradesh under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.[64] The city has many hotels, and restaurants. Also there are lot of street food vendors in every corner of the city.[65]
Cityscape
The major commercial and residential areas in the city include the Arundelpet, Lakshmipuram and Brodipet. Koretapadu, Navabharath Nagar, Pattabhipuram, Syamalanagar and Vidyanagar, Autonagar, Gorantla, Pedapalakaluru, Nallapadu, Budampadu, Chowdavaram are some of the other areas of the city.[66][67]
Baudhasree Archaeological Museum has collection of beads, bangle pieces, potsherds and coins. It has stone sculptures dating from 1st C.E to 19th C.E of Buddhism, Jainism & Hinduism, bronze sculptures from 11th C.E to 20th C.E, Buddhatankas of 19th century, wooden carvings of 19th century, and portraits and paintings.[68] The Jinnah Tower is on Mahatma Gandhi Road is a rare monument related to Jinna, founder of Pakistan in India.[69] There are seventeen parks in the city with some of them maintained by the municipal corporation.[70] Nagaravanam, a part of Perecherla reserve forest was developed on the outskirts of the city as a park.[71]
Tourism
Tourist attractions in the city include Sri Ganga Parvathi Sametha Agastheswara temple, in the old city, Gandhi Park, Baudhasree architectural museum, Nagaravanam, and NTR Manasa Sarovaram. Many near by tourist attractions can be visited with Guntur as the base. Ancient temples and sites near the city include Amareswaraswamy temple, Undavalli Caves, and Sri Bramarambha Malleswara Swamy Temple at Pedakakani and Kondaveedu Fort.[72][73] Uppalapadu Bird Sanctuary at a distance of 10 Km and Surya Lanka beach at a distance of approximately 60 km are also popular.
Environment
In 2019, the pollution levels in Guntur city were at a moderate level when compared with other major cities.[74] There were many efforts to increase the awareness and keep the city cleaner[75] including the hundred day clean drive in 2021.[76] Plastic waste to fuel conversion plant was set up in the city. Fuel from the plant was used for vehicles run by the city municipal corporation.[77][78]
GMC started using electric vehicles for the collection of garbage from the dwellers in 2021.[79] E-auto rickshaws were introduced in the city to reduce air and sound pollution. Many electric charging stations were set up across the city for this purpose.[80] Efforts were made to reduce plastic usage in the city and bring back the traditional, environment friendly materials like jute, paper, and cloth.[81]
In 2021, UN human settlement program planners recommended implementation of larger parks, introduction of mass transit with metro train and electric bus systems, and improvement city expansion plans.[82]
Transportation
The local transport includes privately operated auto rickshaws, cabs, mini-buses and government run APSRTC buses.[83][84][85] Auto rickshaws operating on a sharing basis are the cheapest form of transport for the students and the working population. NTR bus station and mini bus station adjacent to it handle more than 2000 buses every day, with about half of them from the depots in the erstwhile united district.[86][87] Plans for e-Bus Bay centres in the city were proposed in 2021.[88]
Roads
The city has a total road length of 893.00 km (554.88 mi).[89] The Mahatma Gandhi Inner Ring Road is an arterial road with a stretch of 6.34 km (3.94 mi) with its start point on NH 16.[90][91] Along with Guntur Bypass and sections of the national and state highways, it encircles the city. The arterial city roads include, Grand Trunk Road, JKC College Road, Lakshmipuram Road, Pattabhipuram Road and Palakaluru Road. The GMC identified Amaravati Road, Lalapuram Road, Medical Club Road, Chuttugunta Road, Palakaluru Road for double laning and many other roads for widening to facilitate traffic.[92]
National highways(NH), state highways(SH) and major district roads pass through the city.[93] NH16, part of Asian Highway 45 and Golden Quadrilateral with Guntur Bypass connects to Chennai and Kolkata on the east coast of India. NH167A and SH2 connect the city with Macherla and Hyderabad.[94] NH544D connects city with Anantapur and towards Bengaluru by NH44. SH48 connects the city with seashore and beaches through Bapatla and Chirala.[95] The Guntur – Amaravati,[96] Guntur – Nandivelugu, Guntur - Tenali.[97] and Guntur - Parchur roads[98] are major district roads.
Rail
Guntur Junction, Nallapadu and New Guntur railway stations are main stations within the city.[99] Namburu, Perecherla and Pedakakani Halt railway stations serve as satellite stations.[100] MEMU and local train services between Guntur and Vijayawada are used by thousands of university students and public.[100] The Rail Vikas Bhavan at Pattabhipuram is the headquarters of Guntur railway division.[101]
Air
Vijayawada international airport is the nearest airport at a distance of 54 Km.[102]
Mahatma Gandhi Inner Ring Road at its starting point of Autonagar on NH16
Guntur Junction railway station, Sambasivapet
Education and research
.jpg)
The primary and secondary school education is imparted by government and private schools. The aided schools were either transferred to government or became private in 2020 as per the mandate of the government.[103] As per the school information report for the academic year 2015–16, more than one lakh students were enrolled in over 400 schools.[104][105] The medium of instruction in municipal corporation schools was switched to English from the year 2016-17.[106][107] The public library system is supported by the government with the district central library located at Arundalpet.[108] Annamayya library was setup with the collection of 1 lakh books donated by bibliophile Lanka Suryanarayana.[109]
Hindu College, A.C College were established during British Raj for higher education. JKC College, RVR & JC College of Engineering, Tellakula Jalayya Polisetty Somasundaram College (TJPS College), Government College for Women and St. Joseph's College of Education for Women are some of the autonomous colleges.[110]
Guntur Medical College in the city is one of the oldest medical colleges in the state.[111] Several higher education institutes such as Vignan's Foundation for Science, Technology and Research, Katuri Medical College, AIIMS, Acharya Nagarjuna University, and Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University function from places near the city.
Regional AGMARK laboratory,[112] regional station of Central Tobacco Research Institute of Indian Council of Agricultural Research are located in the city.[113] The city hosts many national, state level conferences and expos on many topics like economy, agriculture, and technology[114]
Media
Eenadu, Sakshi, and Andhra Jyothi are the top 3 Telugu daily newspapers in terms of circulation in the united Andhra Pradesh and the top 3 Telugu news sites.[115][116] In addition to these, Surya and Vaartha are published from Guntur.[117] The Hindu, The New Indian Express, Hans India and Deccan chronicle are a few of the English dailies circulated in the city.
Sports
Sporting infrastructure of the city include Brahmananda Reddy stadium for Tennis, Badminton, Volleyball, athletics, and gymnastics[118][119] and NTR Municipal Indoor stadium for Table Tennis and Volleyball.[120][121] A Swimming pool is proposed to be added to Brahmananda Reddy stadium[122] and a Boxing ring is being planned inside NTR municipal stadium.[123]
The city hosted sporting events such as, All India Senior Tennis Association,[124] All India Sub Junior Ranking Badminton Tournament,[125] All India Invitation Volleyball Tournament,[121] Ganta Sanjeeva Reddy Memorial Trophy,[126] Inter-district Master Aquatic Championship[127] The city was also a host for Khelo India programme for junior level national sports in 2016.[128] City hosts mini marathons and 10K Walk in and around the city.[129] International sports personalities from the city include cricketer Ambati Rayudu,[130] and badminton player Srikanth Kidambi[131][132]
Notes
See also
References
Bibliography
HDHV (2016). "Guntur Municipal Corporation Situation analysis report" (PDF). guntur.cdma.ap.gov.in. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
External links
