Kadapa district
Kadapa district (officially: YSR district formerly: Cuddapah district) is one of the twenty six districts in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is also one of the eight districts in the Rayalaseema region. Kadapa is the administrative headquarters for this district. The district was renamed as YSR District in honour of Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, commemorating former chief minister of united Andhra Pradesh. History. Rock paintings. Paleolithic rock paintings found at Chintakunta caves near Muddanur in Kadapa district are said to be the second largest group of paintings in India after Bhimbetika rock art paintings. The rock  paintings with mystic figures are also found at Dappalle village near Mylavaram Dam in Jammalamadugu Taluk of the district. Prehistoric culture. Many Paleolithic sites were found in Kadapa district, as the surroundings of Jammalamadugu, Mailavaram Dam and Gandikota. Some megalithic burial sites were explored near Porumamilla, Sankhavaram and at Yellatur village near Kadapa. The surroundings of Vontimitta are also noted as Megalithic cultural sites. The section of Rayachoti consists of many documented and undocumented Megalithic sites and stone circles. A noted megalithic site is at Devandlapalli in Tsundupalle taluk of the district. Buddhism & Jainism. Kadapa has historical importance since BC  era. It was ruled by the Mauryan Empire and the Satavahana Empire (Andhras). Buddhism must have flourished here for many years along the banks of rivers Cheyyeru and Penna. Nandalur is an important Buddhist site in the district along with Tallapaka, Rajampeta, Konduru, Khazipeta in the district. Jainism also had a place in Kadapa district history; the remnants of a buried Jain temple were found at Danavulapadu village on the banks of river Penna. Medieval history. It was part of the area ceded to the British by Nizam. The district was formed by splitting the ceded districts into two in  1808 during the British rule, the other district being Bellary. The British spelt the district as "Cuddapah". The district is part of Rayalaseema, commemorating the name of "Rayulu" (Kings) of the Vijayanagar Empire, who ruled the area in the 16th century. Gandikota fort located on the bank of the Penna river was the citadel of Pemmasani Nayaks, commanders of Vijayanagar army and who won the battles of Raichur and Gulbarga for the Vijayanagar kings. The old records of the district reveal that Kadapa previously called "Gadapa" which translated in Telugu to "threshold". The ancient village of Kadapa with its large  tank and temple of Lord Venkateswara at Devuni Kadapa was convenient camping place for the myriads of pilgrims travelling to the holy shrine of Tirupathi. There was a belief that the pilgrims have to first visit Devuni Kadapa, before going to Tirupathi to pray to Saint Annamacharya and Saint Potuluri Veera Brahmam who foretold the future and advocated a classless society. The ancient temple at Vontimitta which inspired Pothana to compose Andhra Maha Bhagavatham is also in the district. In the olden days Kadapa was also called "Hiranyanagaram". Recent historical records reveal that in Jyothi village located in Siddavatam mandal  has 108 Shiva lingas on the bank of Penna river. Modern history. After the Treaty of Seringapatam, Nizam of Hyderabad acquired the district. He ceded it to the British in 1800 and eight years later they created the present-day administrative entity. The district headquarters were situated in Siddavatam but moved to Kadapa in 1812. Geography. Kadapa district occupies an area of , comparatively equivalent to Canada's Prince Patrick Island. The main rivers in this district are Penna, Chitravathi, Kunderu, Papagni, Sagileru, Bahuda and Cheyyeru. Reservoirs. Kadapa district has several reservoirs, some of which are Brahmamsagar Reservoir, Mylavaram Dam Reservoir , Annamayya Project, Gandikota Reservoir. Volcanogenic bedded Barytes. Volcanogenic bedded Barytes located at Mangampet in Obulavaripalle mandal has been declared the National Geological Monuments of India by the Geological Survey of India (GSI), for their protection, maintenance, promotion and enhancement of geotourism. Demographics. census, Kadapa district has a population of 2,884,524. This gives it a ranking of 132nd in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 10.87%. It has a sex ratio of 984 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 67.88 %. After reorganizaion the district had a population of 20,60,654. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 3,37,860 (16.40%) and 40,994 (1.99%) of the population respectively. At the time of the 2011 census, 84.66% of the population spoke Telugu and 14.37% Urdu as their first language. Economy. Besides its historical importance, the district has occupied an important place in the industrial map of Andhra Pradesh with its valuable mineral resources. The Gross District Domestic Product (GDDP) of the district is and contributes 5% to the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). For the FY 2013–14, the per capita income at current prices  was . The primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of the district contribute , and respectively. Black corson soil lands are 24%, black soil 19%, sandy soil lands 4%, red soil lands 25%. The first variety lands are very fertile, sand soil lands less so. 'Korra', orange, lime and betel leaf are the special crops. They are cultivated near river beds. Starting at Sunkesula Dam on Tungabadra river K. C. Canal flows through Kadapa and Kurnool districts providing water to of cultivable land. The main source of drinking water to this district is Galeru Nagari Sujala Sravanthi Project Canal. This district is the  repository of mineral wealth. As per the 1983 survey of geological survey of India 3 million tons of lead, 74,000,000 tons of barytes, and 27000 tons of asbestos deposits are there. It is estimated that 70 million tons of barytes deposits might be in Mangampet. There are clay deposits in Rajampet. This is used to make stone implements. Limestone is available in Yerraguntla. National Mineral Development Corporation is extracting asbestos in Brahman palli and barytes in Mangampet. Kadapa is also famous for its stone called "kadapa stone" used in building construction and for slabs especially in south India. In Tummalapalle , there are 49,000 tonnes of confirmed uranium deposits which are mined and processed locally. Apart from these minerals and industries Agriculture also forms a part district economy. Industries. In 2006 the Indian government named Kadapa district as one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the thirteen districts in Andhra Pradesh currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF). Administration. Divisions. Kadapa district has four Revenue Divisions viz., Kadapa, Badvel ,Pulivendula and Jammalamadugu divisions. The district has 51 mandals under these revenue divisions. It also has  a Municipal Corporation of Kadapa and five municipalities namely Badvel, Mydukur, Proddatur, Pulivendula, Jammalamadugu Mandals. The mandals are listed with respect to their revenue divisions in the following table: Before the formation of mandals, Administration was done through Taluka system. Erstwhile Talukas in Kadapa district were Towns in Kadapa district. The Population of Towns in Kadapa district is as follows Transport. Kadapa district is well-connected by road, rail and airways with neighbouring districts of Andhra Pradesh. Roadways. The total road length of state highways in the district is . National Highway 40, National Highway 716 and National Highway 67 pass  through the district. Railways. The district has railway administration under Guntakal railway division. Kadapa, Yerraguntla Junction, Proddatur, Jammalamadugu are some of the main railway stations in the district. Airways. Kadapa Airport is located north west to Kadapa city. Education. The primary and secondary school education is imparted by government, aided and private schools, under the "School Education Department" of the state. the school information report for the academic year 2015–16, there are a total of 4,488 schools. They include, 22 government, 3,094 mandal and zilla parishads, 1 residential, 1,181 private, 10 model, 29 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV), 88 municipal  and 63 other types of schools. The total number of students enrolled in primary, upper primary and high schools of the district are 416,782. There are junior colleges for (10+2) education, among which 25 are under government, 13 are social welfare, 26 private aided, 83 are private unaided and also there are a few incentive, co-operative, government model colleges. For the purpose of imparting and the students sit for the certificate of Board of Intermediate Education. The government colleges of Kadapa, Proddatur, Pulivendula, Rayachoti, Jammalamadugu, and Rajampet are the oldest government colleges of the district, established in  1969. The higher education colleges have various fields of study like medical, nursing, degree, post graduate, polytechnic, law, teaching, pharmacy, engineering, veterinary, etc. The Yogi Vemana University is a state university which has one autonomous college as per the Universities Grant Commission. Sri Venkateswara College of Veterinary Sciences. The engineering colleges of the district are, KSRM College of Engineering, Annamacharya Institute of Technology and Sciences, etc.