Srikakulam district

Srikakulam district occupies an area of 5,837 square kilometres (2,254 sq mi),[10] comparatively equivalent to Australia's Melville Island.[11] It is within the geographic coordinates of 18°-20’ and 19°-10’ N and 83°-50’ and 84°-50’ E. The district is skirted to a distance by Kandivalasagedda, Vamsadhara and Bahuda at certain stretches of their courses while a line of heights of the great Eastern Ghats run from the northeast. Vizianagaram district flanks in the south and west while Odisha bounds it on the north and Bay of Bengal on the East. Srikakulam district can be divided into two main distinct natural divisions. A portion of Srikakulam district is plain terrain with intense agriculture and the other is rocky and hilly terrain covered with forests. Some of the Mahendragiri Hills covers Srikakulam district. Most of the forest area of the plain terrain has been damaged by intense agriculture. Kotthuru, Hiramandalam, Pathapatnam, Kalingadal reservoir and some other areas are still covered with dense forests. Srikakulam is 100 km (62 mi) north of Visakhapatnam. It has a population of 2,703,114 of which 10.98% is urban as of 2001. Srikakulam district has the longest coastline (about 193 km (120 mi)) in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Major rivers flowing through the district are River Nagavali, River Vamsadhara, Mahendratanaya, Champavati, Bahuda, Kumbhikota Gedda, Suvarnamukhi, Vegavati, Gomukhi. The Nagavali and Vamsadhara are the major rivers in Srikakulam district. These two river basins together constitute about 5% of the area. The Mahendratanaya and Bahuda rivers are two minor river basins in the district. Others are Benjigedda, Peddagedda, Kandivalasa gedda. Major irrigation projects on these rivers — Vamsadhara Project, Narayanapuram Anicut, Thotapalli Regulator — and some medium projects at Pydigam Project, Onigadda provide a total ayacut of 69,373 acres (280.74 km²).

According to the 2011 census Srikakulam district has a population of 2,703,114,[12] roughly equal to the nation of Kuwait[13] or the US state of Nevada. This gives it a ranking of 147th in India (out of a total of 640).[12] The district has a population density of 462 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,200/sq mi).[12] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 6.38%.[12] Srikakulam has a sex ratio of 1014 females for every 1000 males,[12] and a literacy rate of 62.3%.[12] Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 9.5% and 6.1% of the population respectively.

At the time of the 2011 census, 92.32% of the population spoke Telugu, 5.34% Odia and 1.92% Sora as their first language.

The revenue divisions of Srikakulam district are Srikakulam, Palakonda and Tekkali

The district has three revenue divisions — Srikakulam, Palakonda and Tekkali. They are divided into 38 mandals in the district. The district has 12 towns and 973 villages. There are one municipal corporation, three municipalities, two nagar panchayats and seven census towns. The municipal corporation in the district is Srikakulam and three municipalities in the district are Amadalavalasa, Ichchapuram, Palasa-Kasibugga, and nagar panchayats of Palakonda, Rajam. The six census towns are Balaga, Hiramandalam, Narasannapeta, Ponduru, Sompeta, Tekkali.[16]

Khadi weaving at Ponduru, Srikakulam district

The gross district domestic product (GDDP) of the district is ₹19,942 crore (US$2.8 billion) and it contributes 3.8% to the gross state domestic product (GSDP). For FY 2013–14, the per capita income at current prices was ₹57,174 (US$800). The primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of the district contribute ₹4,855 crore (US$680 million), ₹4,114 crore (US$580 million) and ₹10,973 crore (US$1.5 billion) respectively.[18]

Tribal communities such as the Saora and Jatapus still practise the traditional podu system of cultivation.[19]

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, a major pharmaceutical company, is at Pydibhimavaram.

APSRTC bus depot locations

The total road length of state highways in the district is 959 km (596 mi).[20] Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation runs bus services to all the major cities and towns of the state from the district. Major railway stations in the district include Amudalavalasa, Srikakulam Road railway station, Palasa railway station ( major station) Naupada, Ichchapuram and Sompeta etc.

The district is renowned for the brassware products namely, Budithi Bell and Brass Craft, which are made at Budithi village. These are registered as geographic indication from Andhra Pradesh.[21]

The district has many people from fields like film industry, music, art and architecture etc. Among the notable people are Vaddadi Papaiah, J. V. Somayajulu, Gidugu Venkata Ramamoorty, Sarat babu, LV Revanth(Indian idol), Rao Ramesh, Rao gopala Rao, Sai kumar, Pingali Nagendrarao, and Kalipatnam Ramarao.

Kodi Rammurthy Naidu (body builder), Karnam Malleswari (Olympic medalist), Pujari Sailaja in weight lifting are famous people from the district.

The primary and secondary school education is imparted by government, aided and private schools, under the School Education Department of the state.[22][23] As per the school information report for the academic year 2015–16, there are 3,875 schools. They include, 55 government, 2,833 mandal and zilla parishads, 1 residential, 573 private, 14 model, 32 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV), 85 municipal and 282 other types of schools.[24] The number of students enrolled in primary, upper primary and high schools of the district is 371,472.[25]

The only university in the district is Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University, Srikakulam[26] and medical colleges are Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences in Srikakulam town, GEMS—Great Eastern Medical Speciality and Hospital in Ragolu village.

There are seven temples under the management of Endowments Department.[27]

Following are the towns & villages with respective commodities produced across the district.[28]

• Coastal Andhra

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Srikakulam district.

• Website of Srikakulam District Collectorate
• Official website