Vizianagaram district (also Vijayanagaram district) is one of the northern coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh, India. Vizianagaram is the district headquarters. The district is bounded on the east by Srikakulam district, on the southwest by Visakhapatnam district, on the southeast by the Bay of Bengal, and on the northwest by Orissa State.

The history of Vizianagaram district is with Kalinga dynasty. In modern times, the upper part of Kalinga was gradually merged into Orissa state and the lower part into Andhra Pradesh. The Kalinga empire extended from Cuttack in Orissa to Pithapuram in East Godavari district as far back as the 4th century B.C. The Nandas ruled the area between 467 B.C. and 336 B.C. They were followed by the Mauryas, the Chedis, the Satavahanas, the Pitribhaktas, the Matharas, the Vasishthas, the Vishnukundinas, the early Eastern Gangas, the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, the late Eastern Gangas, the Reddis of Rajahmundry and the Velanati Cholas till the Kakatiyas appeared by 1210 A.D.

Recorded evidence show that some local dynasties like the Rapatri Chiefs and the Gangas of Narayanapura (situated near Balijipeta), the Gangas of Jantarunadu (the track now known as Srungavarapukota), ruled over parts of the district from the 12th to 15th century.

The Kakatiya rulers under Ganapatideva defeated the Velanati Chola Chief, Prithvisvara who was ruling over the territory in 1210 A.D. The territory was recovered by the Eastern Gangas during the reign of Ananga Bhima III. The Gajapatis of Orissa then came to rule the territory after overthrowing the Eastern Gangas in 1443 A.D. The rule of the Gajapatis lasted for about 140 years till the Qutb Shahis conquered the territory around 1574 A.D. Consequent on the occupation of Golconda by the Mughals in 1687 A.D., the area came under the control of Mughals. When the Viceroy of the Mughals in Deccan, Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah declared independence in 1724 A.D., the area came under the rule of the Asaf Jahis.

In the war of succession after Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah died, Salabat Jung who came to power with the backing of the French General Marquis de Bussy, rewarded the French by ceding four Circars including the Chicacole Circar in 1753. An important event in the history of the district which occurred by about this time is the war between the Rajas of Vizianagaram and Bobbili, popularly known as Bobbili Yuddam. The war was fought between the Rajah of Vizianagaram aided by the French General Bussy and the Rajah of Bobbili on the 24th January 1757.

Another important event in the history of the district is the war between the French and English fought at Chandurthi in 1758, in which the French were defeated and the Northern Circars were made over to the British under a firmana from the Mughal emperor Shah Alam in 1765 which were placed under the then existing Chief and Council at Vizagapatam. In 1794, the Chiefs and Councils were abolished and Vizagapatam was arranged into three divisions each under a collector. Almost the entire area of the present area of Vizianagaram district fell under the second division. However the three divisions were merged and a collectorate for the whole district was established in 1803 after the introduction of the permanent settlement in the area.

The history of the rebellions against the British rule goes back to 1830s when the people of the district particularly the tribals unable to bear the oppression, rose in frequent rebellions (fituris) leading to the establishment of separate administrative system known as "Agency Administration" under the India Act XXIV of 1839. The rebellion of Korra Mallaiah, a tribal chief of the Salur area against the British rule in 1900 is another important event. The district magistrate dispatched Reserve Police to suppress the revolt, which was seriously resisted by the people. In the skirmish that followed many were killed. Korra Mallaiah along with son was arrested and kept in Jail where he died subsequently. Subsequently in the Indian freedom movement, the people hailing from this area enthusiastically took part in various phases like non-cooperative movement, civil disobedience movement, Quit India Movement etc.,

After abolition of the Zamindaris in 1948, Visakhapatnam district was found to be unwieldy for administrative purposes. Consequently, Srikakulam district was carved out in 1950 bifurcating it from Visakhapatnam district.

It is situated within the geographical co-ordinates of 17- 15 and 19 15 of the northern latitudes and 83 00 and 83-45 of the eastern longitudes.

The district can be divided into two distinct natural divisions i.e. plains and hilly regions. The hilly agency area covers Pachipenta and Gummalaxmipuram mandals fully and Salur, Makkuva, Ramabhadrapuram, Parvathipuram and Komarada mandals partly. Rest of the area is plain. The agency region mostly consists of hills covered by the Eastern Ghats which run parallel to the Coast from the North-East to South-West. The average height of these hills is over 914 meters, although there are several peaks of 1,219 meters high. In Parvathipuram division, the hills are lower than elsewhere and consists of steep and rugged lines devoid of plateaus.

The principal rivers flowing in the district are River Nagavali, Suvarnamukhi, Vegavathi, River Champavathi, River Gosthani and Kandivalasa.

The main soils are red soils, sandy loams and sandy clay, which constitute 96% of the total area. The predominant soils are loamy with medium fertility. There are red loamy soils in dry lands and clay loamy in wet lands. The soils at some places are as thick as 4 meters, probably represents alluvium along the valleys.

The total geographical area of the district is 6,30,038 hectares. About 51.1% of the land area is sown for agriculture and another 12.3% land is put to non-agricultural uses. The forest covers about 17.8% of the land. About 12.3% of the land is Barren and uncultivable. About 4% land is current and other Fallow lands.

The climate of Vizianagaram district is characterized by high humidity nearly all-round the year with oppressive summer and good seasonal rainfall. The summer season from March to May is followed by South West monsoon season, which continues up to September. October and November constitute the retreating monsoon season. The climate of the hilly regions of the district receives heavier rainfall and cooler than the plains. The maximum temperature recorded during 2004 is 39.6^O C during May and the minimum temperature is 17.1^O C during December.

The normal annual rainfall of the district is 1,131.0 mm. The district gets the benefits of both the South West and North East monsoons.

There is a coast line of 28 kilometers in the district on the east facing Bay of Bengal. There are 8 villages and 16 hamlets consisting of 6,993 fishermen. They are situated in Pusapatirega and Bhogapuram mandals.

[ edit ] Economy

Vizianagaram district is predominantly an agricultural district as 68.4% of the workers are engaged in Agriculture and about 82% of the population is living in rural areas and depend on Agriculture for their livelihood. Rainfed farming is the characteristic of Agriculture, as about 80% of the cultivation is purely under rain fed conditions. Even the irrigated area is mostly depend on the rainfall. Hence majority of crops grown are dry crops. Paddy crop is cultivated mainly during Kharif season with 80% of the area is under Tanks which in turn depend on the rainfall. The major crops grown are Paddy, Mesta, Groundnut, Ragi, Bajra, Cotton, Sugarcane and Pulses. The average crop yields are low.

Irrigation Projects

There are no major irrigation projects in the district. The Denkada Anicut, Thatipudi Reservoir, Andra Reservoir Project, Vegavathi Anicut, Surapadu Anicut, Seethanagaram Anicut, Peda Ankalam Anicut, Vottigedda Reservoir Project, Paradi Anikut, Thotapalli Regulator and Vengala Raya Sagaram Project are the medium irrigation projects.^[1] The total irrigated area under these projects and the other minor projects is about 2,85,077 acres. Jhanjavati Project^[2] is constructed in 2005 in Komarada mandal on river Jhanjavati, a tributary of River Nagavali. It is a rubberdam and first of its kind in India and the biggest in Asia.

The industrial development in the district generally agriculture based and consists of Jute mills, Sugar factories, Rice and Oil mills and Tiles manufacturing units. The mineral deposits are utilized by the FACOR and other industries. There are 520 factories registered under the Factories Act in 2005 in the district employing about 27,800 workers (males and females).

• The Ferro Alloys Corporation Limited (FACOR Group of Companies)^[3] at Sriramnagar, Garividi.
• Jindal Stainless Limited (Ferro Alloys Division), Kothavalasa.^[4]
• Andhra Ferro Alloys Limited, Kothavalasa and Garbham.^[5]
• Goldstar Steel Alloy (India) Limited at Sreerampuram, Lakkavarapukota.
• Sri Vijayarama Gajapathi Cooperative Sugars, Bheemasingi, Jami mandal.
• The N.C.S. Sugars Limited, Latchayyapeta.
• Nellimarla Jute Mills Company Limited, Nellimarla.
• The Hoogly Mills Projects Limited, Vizianagaram, Bobbili and V.T.Agraharam.
• A.P.Fibres Limited, Jeegiram, Salur.
• Uma Jute Mills, Kothavalasa.
• Navya Jute Mills Limited, Bobbili.
• Srinivasa Jute Mills Limited, Bhyripuram.
• Jyothi Jute Mills Limited, Dibbaguddivalasa, Bobbili mandal.
• Brick and tile making industries around Kothavalasa.
• Sagar cement factory at Karasavalasa village of Salur mandal.
• Matrix Laboratories Limited, G.Chodavaram, Pusapatirega.^[6]
• APSRTC Garage and Zonal Workshop, Vizianagaram.
• Andhra Pradesh Tanneries Limited, Nellimarla.

• Vizianagaram is famous for premises with temples (Paiditalli ammavari kovela) and more famous streets. The town is full of historic forts. Gantastambham (the clock tower) is a very famous place to see in this town. It can be called as Vidya (Study) Nagaram.
• Ramatheertham or Ramathirtham is famous for the 1000-year-old temple of Lord Rama. The temple is situated on Bavikonda Hill. The beautiful koneru lake in the vicinity was constructed by the Pusapati kings during 1650-1696 A.D. The unique feature of the temple is that it is built entirely upon a huge rock. On a nearby hill known as Gurubukhatakonda are the remains of enormous Buddhist mahasthupa, 19 feet high and 65 feet in diameter, a monastery, chaitya, monastic cells, two votive sthupas, a solid stone stupa, an enclosed courtyard and a pillered hall. In the vicinity are the ruins of a brick shrine with images of Jain Thirtankaras. Further up the hill, under a massive hanging rock, one can see several jain sculptures. They are located 13 kilometers from Vizianagaram, a town near Nellimarla.
• Kumili is famous for its 13 temples (Kovela) and well-organized streets. It is 12 kilometers from Vizianagaram town.
• Bobbili is a town with historical significance. The fort in the town is popular destination. It is renowned for its veenas, a classical instrument made in this region.
• Salur gives a stimulus to trade and provides an outlet to the marketable surplus particularly of the agency areas. The most important institution at this place is the Veda Samajam Sanskrit High School, which was established in 1888 A.D.
• Garividi is famous for The Ferro Alloys Corporation Limited (FACOR).
• Thotapalli is famous for Sri Venkateswara and Sri Rama Temples on the banks of the River Nagavali. There is a reservoir built in 1903.
• Govindapuram : The magnificent temple here is renowned for its sculptural beauty and is based on the essence of Bhagawad Gita. Gyana Ratham with Lord Krishna on the chariot is an impressive image which enthralls the visitors. It is 20 kilometers from Vizianagaram town.
• Gosthani Sarovar Vihar is situated at Thatipudi reservoir.