Anantapur district

The name Anantapur was named after a big tank called Anantasagara. It existed during reign of Vijayanagara Empire, which was named after Ananthamma, wife of Bukkaraya, one of the founders of the empire.[6]

Gooty fort was a stronghold of the Marathas, but was taken from them by Hyder Ali. In 1789 it was ceded by his son Tipu Sultan to the Nizam of Hyderabad, and in 1800 the nizam ceded the surrounding districts to the British in payment for a subsidiary British force.[7] In 1882, Anantapuram district was formed by carving out from Bellary district.[8]

Districts of Andhra Pradesh

It is the largest district of Andhra Pradesh and 7th largest district in India spanning an area of 19,130 square kilometres (7,390 sq mi),[9] comparatively equivalent to Japan's Shikoku Island.[10] It is bounded on the north by Kurnool District, on the east by Kadapa District, on the southeast by Chittoor District, and on the southwest and west by Karnataka state.[11] It is part of Rayalaseema region on the state. Its northern and central portions are a high plateau, generally undulating, with large granite rocks or low hill ranges rising occasionally above its surface. In the southern portion of the district the surface is more hilly, the plateau there rising to 2,000 ft (610 m). above the sea.[7] Six rivers flow within the district: Penna, Chithravathi, Vedavathi, Papagni, Swarnamukhi, and Thadakaleru. The district receives an average annual rainfall of 381 millimetres.

Anantapur city is 485 km (301 mi) from Vijayawada, 354 km (220 mi) from Hyderabad, and 200 km (120 mi) from the neighbouring state capital of Bengaluru. Anantapur connects Hyderabad and Bangalore through National Highway 7. There is an airport in the district located in Puttaparthi, known as Sri Sathya Sai Airport; however this airport currently has no scheduled service. Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru is nearest commercial airport to Anantapur District.

As of 2011 census of India, Anantapur district has a population of 4,081,148 with 9,68,160 households, ranking it as the 7th most populous district in the state. It is the largest district in the state with an area of 19,130 km² (7,390 sq mi).[1] Anantapur has a sex ratio of 977 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 64.28%.[12] Urban population in the district is 28.9% of total population.

The Gross District Domestic Product (GDDP) of the district is ₹35,838 crore (US$5.0 billion) and it contributes 6.8% to the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). For the FY 2013–14, the per capita income at current prices was ₹69,562 (US$980). The primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of the district contribute ₹9,944 crore (US$1.4 billion), ₹7,752 crore (US$1.1 billion) and ₹18,142 crore (US$2.5 billion) respectively to the GDDP.[14]

Agriculture and allied services Paddy and Groundnut are major agricultural crops in the district. When it comes to horticulture Banana and Papaya are heavily cultivated.

Industries Industries like Constructions, Manufactures and Electricity are major contributors for GVA.[14] Anantapur has a major potential for development of industry due to its strategic location between Bengaluru – Chennai and Bengaluru – Hyderabad routes and availability of vast tracts of land. In 2006 the Indian government named Anantapur one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640).[15] It is one of the thirteen districts in Andhra Pradesh currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[15]

Minerals Anantapur is a major producer of Dolomite and Iron Ore minerals.

Power plants Solar thermal power plant of 50 MW was commissioned at this village under Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission which was named as Megha Solar Plant. It is one of the 7 solar thermal plants in the country.[16][17]

Silk sarees

Dharmavaram region in Anantapur is world-famous for the handmade pure silk sarees. It's a major hub for Silk trade with end to end silk related industries situated in the region supporting a major portion of population. Tadipatri region in Anantapur is an industrialised town famous for Granite and Cement production. Ultra Tech Cements a unit of Industrial major Larsen & Toubro has a major Cement production unit near the town.

Agriculture

The economy is principally agrarian with a developing industrial sector. Anantapur receives very less rainfall due to its location in the rain shadow area of Indian Peninsula. Prominent crops include groundnut, sunflower, rice, cotton, maize, chillies, sesame, and sugarcane. Silk trade, limestone quarrying, iron and diamond mining. Anantapur town is known as Groundnut City in reference to the neighbouring Bengaluru being called as Garden City.

Religious tourism

Lepakshi, a village in Anantapur District famous for temple of Vijayanagara architectural style, Monolithic Lepakshi Nandi, and Hanging Pillar, Monolithic Naagalingam.

Puttaparthi region in Anantapur is home to the Ashram of Sathya Sai Baba, one of the most popular spiritual gurus of India. Puttaparthi has developed into a major tourist destination due to vast infrastructure created by the ashram he founded, known as Prasanthi Nilayam.

The Gooty Fort, also known as Ravadurg, is a ruined fort located on a hill in the Gooty town of anantapur Andhra Pradesh, India. The word Gooty (locally pronounced "Gutti") is derived from the town's original name, Gowthampuri. It is one of the centrally protected monuments of national importance.

Revenue divisions map of Anantapur district

The District has five Revenue Divisions viz., Anantapur, Dharmavaram, Kadiri, Kalyandurg and Penukonda divisions. Kadiri and Kalyandurg divisions are formed in 2013.[18][19] These revenue divisions are further divided into 63 mandals.[1]^:14

The mandals of the district are listed in the following table:

The Following are the towns in district.

The total road length of state highways in the district is 1,298 km (807 mi), the longest in the state.[20] It has a total Rail Network of which 340 km (210 mi) is Broad gauge and 249 km (155 mi) is Meter gauge. The major railways stations are Guntakal Junction, Dharmavaram Junction, Gooty Junction,Rayadurg Junction, Penukonda Junction, Sathya Sai Prasanthi Nilayam, Hindupur.

The primary and secondary school education is imparted by government, aided and private schools, under the School Education Department of the state.[21][22] As per the school information report for the academic year 2015–16, there are a total of 5,024 schools. They include, 28 government, 3,435 mandal and zilla parishads, 4 residential, 1,154 private, 25 model, 62 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV), 261 municipal and 55 other types of schools.[23] The total number of students enrolled in primary, upper primary and high schools of the district are 563,710.[24] The total number of students enrolled in primary, upper primary and high schools of the district are 563,266.[24]

Anantapur is an important education centre with many prominent educational, schools, colleges and universities situated in the district. Anantapur city has become a major hub with many education institutions situated in its vicinity. Some of the institutions include Sri Krishnadevaraya University, JNTU Ananthapur, Sri Sathya Sai University, Government Medical College, Government polytechnic anantapur, Srinivasa Ramanujan Institute of Technology, Government Polytechnic Hindupur. Gates Institute of Technology. Central University of Andhra Pradesh, Dalavai Chalapathi Rao

The following sixty five temples under the management of Endowments Department[25]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anantapur district.

• District official website