Allur, Nellore district

Allur is bounded by Alluru peta, Gogulapalli, Graddagunta, Isakapalli, Indupuru, North Mopuru, Puruni and Singapeta villages.[2][3] It is about 30 km northwest of Nellore and lying between the railroad and seacoast. Allur is located at 14°41′N 80°3′E.[3]

Part of the area is served by Pennar canals and the rest of the area is served by rain fed tanks. Most soils are red soils and low in Nitrogen, medium in Phosphorus, high in Carbon and high in Potash.[3]

Allur was an important revenue center and also an important station for the American Baptist Missions in the Nellore district.

As of 2011 census, Allur had a population of 11,656. The total population constitute, 5,768 males and 5,888 females —a sex ratio of 1021 females per 1000 males. 1,195 children are in the age group of 0–6 years, of which 616 are boys and 579 are girls. The average literacy rate stands at 68.88% with 7,206 literates, lower than the state average of 67.41%.[1][12]

Allur gram panchayat is the local self-government of the village.[13][14] The panchayat is divided into wards and each ward is represented by an elected ward member. The ward members are headed by a sarpanch and the present sarpanch is Kareti Chandra Leelamma.[15][16] K.Vijayaramu is the secretary of the panchayat.[17]

Allur was known for its agriculture and nearby Isakapalli salt factory.[19] Allur was one of the chief centers of trade in Nellore District.[18] Rice produced from Allur and nearby villages is exported to neighbouring states such as Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. To distinguish it from other Allur, that was also part of Nellore district before Ongole district was carved, it was called as Pantala Allur or Allur with staple and its namesake was called as Akula Allur or Allur with leaves.[22]

According to gazettes published during the British rule, Allur was the largest land revenue generating town in entire Nellore district with the revenue of ₹ 53,000 in 1901.[22] It was home for 3,677 people in 1873[18] and the population increased to 5190 by 1881.[22] The population further increased to 7,527 by 1901 and it was considered as the second largest populous town after Nellore in Taluk.[19]

Allur Ramakrishna Junior College

There were only pial elementary schools that teach Telugu reading, writing, poetry and basic math till 1868. In 1868, the British government established a secondary school starting with 44 students under the 1864 Education Act and a system of payments based on results was introduced to increase school attendance. American Baptist Mission started a middle school around 1878 and maintained till 1927. A boarding school for boys was opened in 1907.[18]

Mr Madabushi Seshachari who was appointed in the ABM school later urged the rich of Allur to start a school so that he can help them by joining the school for the all-round development of the school and also to promote educational values in the younger generation of the village. He also took help from Ramakrishna Mission for organising the school and started Ramakrishna Middle School in 1928.[10][24] It was later extended to high school in 1934, to Junior College in 1950 and to Degree College in 1998.

The first government-aided dispensary was started in 1872. There are two public hospitals run by the government, Allur Government Hospital and Ayurvedic hospital.

The village has one ancient Siddeshwara temple and one ancient Gopalaswamy or Vishnu temple. There are inscriptions on a pillar in front of the temple of Siddeswara and on the flooring in front of Gopalaswamy temple. A woman called Perantalamma died in a Sati sacrifice and a temple was constructed in her memory.[18]

People of Allur celebrate a special festival honouring Poleramma, village goddess, on a Tuesday of January every year. The floors are decorated with rangavalli and village is decorated with lights and flowers. A heap of cooked rice is offered along with Neem leaves in the morning. The deity is placed in a palanquin on a tiger or a swan and taken in a procession.

People of Allur celebrate the birthday of Hindu God Sri Anjaneyaswamy (also called as Hanuman, a devotee to Lord Rama in the Hindu epic Ramayana) at Sri Maruthi Ashramam temple during the second month of a lunar calendar called "Vaisakha Masam" which falls on April/May/June. This annual celebration celebrated for three days at Sri Maruthi Ashramam and these celebrations are named as "Hanumanth Jayanthi" which is happening since 1976. Sri Maruthi Ashramam established in the year 1975 by Kidambi Sampath Kumaracharya, a devotee & upasakha of Lord Hanuman. During these celebrations for three days, approximately 10000 devotees visit the temple for having Deity darshan and approximately 7000 devotees are offered with free food by Temple authorities. The Permanent immovable Hanuman Deity (called Moolamoorthy) offered a grand bath known as "Thirumanjanam" during mornings on all the three days. The movable Hanuman deity (called as Utsavamoorthy) placed in a traditional palanquin and taken to procession inside the temple which is called "Pallakiseva" during evenings for the first two days. The celebrations reach to peak on the second day evening, nearly half a ton/500 Kg's of various flowers available in that season are offered to Sri Seetha Rama & Lakshmana deities, this is called as "Pushpa Yagam". On the last day, Hanuman deity placed in a palanquin on a Horse and taken in a procession in the village.

The best way to reach Allur is by road.

• Road: Allur is between two major towns, Nellore or Kavali. The Andhra Pradesh state road transport APSRTC runs a lot of buses to Allur from both of them. The APSRTC also operates nonstop bus services from Nellore to Allur. The national highway is 13  km away at Kodavaluru.
• Rail : Nearest railway station is 11 km away at Bitragunta and main railway stations are Nellore and Kavali
• Air : The nearest airport is at Tirupati (Renigunta), which is 150 km from the village which has limited services to certain domestic destinations like Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Mumbai and Delhi. The nearest international airport is the Chennai International Airport, about 200  km from the village, which is an international airport providing connectivity to major parts of India and the world.

• John Alexander Corrie Boswell (1873). A Manual of the Nellore District in the Presidency of Madras. Madras: Government Press. p. 6,21,84,211,335,336,338,574,638.
  • See p. 6,574,638 for Tahasildhar and Sub magistrate, p. 335,336 for Kovur Taluk, p. 6 for 1873 population, p. 84,21,211 for education and boarding school, p. 338 for Perantalu temple.
• E. Keys (1879). report on public instruction on the mardas presidency. Madras: Government Press. p. 50,71,54.}
  • See p. 50,71,54 for Allur schools and pupil attendance.
• South India missionary conference (1880). The Missionary conference: south India and Ceylon, 1879. p. 239.
  • See p. 239 for Allur Mission, Mr Jewett and Mr Bullard.
• W.W.Hunter (1885). The imperial gazetteer of India [by] W.W. Hunter. London: Trubner and Co. p. 200,201.
  • See page 200 and 201 for Allur 1881 population and disambiguation with other Allur.
• David Downie (1893). The Lone Star: The History of the Telugu Mission of the American Baptist Missionary Union. Philadelphia: American Baptist Publications Society. p. 61, 64,123,182,186,188.
  • See p. 61,64,123,182,186,188 for history of Allur and Nellore missions.
• Francis, W (1908). Imperial gazetteer of India: Provincial series. Superintendent of Government Printing. p. 353,354,361,364.
  • See p. 353,364 for trade and salt factory, p. 354 for Allur jurisdiction and administration. p. 361 and p. 364 for 1901 Allur revenue and population.
• John Everett Clough; Emma Rauschenbusch-Clough (1914). Social Christianity in the Orient: The Story of a Man, a Mission and a Movement. New York: The Macmillan Company. p. 85, 88,276.
  • See p. 85,88,276 for John E. Clough's biographical references to Allur. and Dr.
• Howard Benjamin Grose (1933). Missions: An International Baptist Magazine. p. 443.
  • See p. 443 for Mr Davis of Allur
• South India Teachers' Union (1934). Jubilee yearbook and educational directory of Madras. p. 142.
• Government of Madras Staff; Government of Madras. Gazetteer of the Nellore District: Brought Up to 1938. Asian Educational Services. p. 2,84,274. ISBN 978-81-206-1851-0.
  • See p. 84 for Allur mission, p. 274 for mosque and processions.
• Mahatma Gandhi (1973). Collected works. Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India. p. 519.
  • See p. 519 for Gandhi's Allur visit and meeting.
• Somanchi Girija (1990). Freedom movement in India: Nellore District. Discovery Pub. House. p. 6,112. ISBN 817141074X.
  • See p. 6 for education and p. 112 for Gandhi in Allur.
• Arvind Kumar Verma. Social Science. Vk Publications. p. 112,117. ISBN 978-81-7973-214-4.
• Peniel Rajkumar; Joseph Prabhakar Dayam; I. P. Asheervadham (5 November 2014). Mission At and From the Margins: Patterns, Protagonists and Perspectives. Eugene: Wipf & Stock Publishers. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-4982-0956-4.
  • See p. 115 for American baptist missionaries in Nellore.