Bapatla district | |
|---|---|
 Stupa atBhattiprolu | |
 Interactive map of Bapatla district | |
| Coordinates:15°54′18″N80°28′05″E / 15.905°N 80.468°E /15.905; 80.468 | |
| Country |  India |
| State |  Andhra Pradesh |
| Region | Kostaandhra |
| Headquarters | Bapatla |
| Administrative divisions | |
| Government | |
| • Collector & District Magistrate | Sri J. Venkata Murali,I.A.S. |
| • Superintendent of Police | Sri Tushar Dudi,I.P.S. |
| • Lok Sabha constituency | Bapatla |
| • MP | Krishna Prasad Tenneti |
| • Assembly constituencies | 06 |
| Area | |
• Total | 3,828.84 km2 (1,478.32 sq mi) |
| Population (2011)[2] | |
• Total | 1,586,918 |
| • Density | 414.464/km2 (1,073.46/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+05:30 (IST) |
| Website | bapatla |
Bapatla district is adistrict incoastal Andhra in the Indian state ofAndhra Pradesh (AP) established on 4 April 2022. The administrative headquarters are inBapatla. The district is formed from parts of the erstwhilePrakasam district andGuntur districts.[3][4][5][6] It has an Indian Air Force station and several universities.
Named after Bhavanarayana Swamy temple, it was originally called Bhavapuri, and later to Bhavapatla and finally, Bapatla, in due course. In 1977, a proposal to form Bapatla district was made by Kolla Venkaiah, famous communist leader. On April 4, 2022 as part of forming districts with parliamentary constituencies as the basis, the district was created with parts from erstwhile Prakasam district and Guntur districts.[7][8][9]
Bapatla Taluka was created in 1794. During May 26-27, 1913 meeting of the first Andhra Mahasabha at the townhall, the foundation for separate state for Andhras was mooted.[10] During Independence movement, Chirala-Perala movement of 1919 led by Duggirala Gopalakrishnaiah became prominent at national level.[7]
The first agricultural college in South India was started in Bapatla on 11 July 1945. BPT-5204 and Samba Masuri paddy varieties were developed here by MV Reddy. The Cashew Research Center at Bapatla developed the popular BPP-8 variety of cashews.[7]
This district is surrounded to the north by theGuntur district, south by theBay of Bengal, west by thePalnadu district,Prakasam district and east by theKrishna district.[11]
Sand reaches occur in Bhattiprolu and Kollur Mandals. Gravel is present in Amarthalur, Kollur, Bhattiprolu, Karlapalem and Bapatla mandals.[12]
Good deposits of coloured granites occur aroundUppumaguluru and Konidena.[13]
| Religion | Percent | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hinduism | 91.82% | |||
| Islam | 6.82% | |||
| Christianity | 1.03% | |||
| Other or not stated | 0.33% | |||
Based on 2011 census, Bapatla district had a population of 15,86,918, of which 284,114 (17.90%) lived in urban areas. It had a sex ratio of 1012 females per 1000 males. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 3,58,655 (22.6%) and 75,838 (4.97%) of the population respectively.[15]
At the time of the 2011 census, 93.00% of the population spokeTelugu and 6.12%Urdu as their first language.[16] 91.82% of population follow Hinduism, while Muslims and Christians make up smaller percentages.
The district is divided intoBapatla,Chirala andRepalle, which are further subdivided into a total of 25mandals.[17]
The list of 25 mandals in Bapatla district, divided into 3 revenue divisions, is given below.
| Ciy/Town | Civil status | Revenue Division | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chirala | Municipality | Chirala | 1,62,471 |
| Bapatla | Municipality | Bapatla | 70,777 |
| Repalle | Municipality | Repalle | 50,866 |
| Addanki | Municipality | Chirala | 60,022 |
| Martur | Nagar Panchayat | Bapatla | 21,434 |
| Inkollu | Nagar Panchayat | Chirala | 17,585 |
| Parchur | Nagar Panchayat | Bapatla | 13,375 |
There are one parliamentary and six assembly constituencies in Bapatla district. The parliamentary constituency is
The assembly constituencies are[18]
| Constituency number | Name | Reserved for (SC/ST/None) | Parliament |
|---|---|---|---|
| 89 | Vemuru | SC | Bapatla |
| 90 | Repalle | None | |
| 92 | Bapatla | None | |
| 104 | Parchur | None | |
| 105 | Addanki | None | |
| 106 | Chirala | None |
Agriculture contributes to major share of gross district domestic product. Agriculture and allied services based industries such as cotton spinning mills, oil mills and shrimp processing are present in the district[19]
Irrigation are other sources of irrigation.[20]
The first agricultural College in South India was started on 11 July 1945 in Bapatla by the Government of Composite Madras State India. It became part ofAcharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Andhra Pradesh in 1964.[12]
Airforce station at Suryalanka ofSouthern Air Command is a major defence establishment in the district. It has carried out Emergency Landing Facility trials onNational Highway 16 nearAddanki on 29 Dec 2022.[21]
Bhavanarayana Swamy Temple inBapatla is a 5th Century CE temple dedicated to Ksheera Bhavanarayanaswamy and Sundaravalli. This temple is under the administration control ofArchaeological Survey of India. Chariot procession and other festivals are celebrated.[22] Prasannanjaneya swamy temple atSingarakonda near Addanki is a popular pilgrimage center. This temple was said to be constructed in the 15th century by Vijayanagara king Devarayalu.[23] Mahasivaratri is celebrated in a grand manner at Ganga Bhramarambha Sameta Malleswara Swamy temple,Manikeswaram[24][25]
One of the earliest evidence ofBrahmi script, origin of most scripts in India, is written on an urn containing Buddha's relics placed in the Stupa ofBhattiprolu. The script has been named Bhattiprolu script.[26]
Saraswata Niketanam atVetapalem is a library founded in 1918. It is known for its large collection of palm leaf manuscripts, newspapers and books.
Nallamada, East Tungabhadra, Gundamthippa, Romperu(right) rivers meet the sea at Kappalavaripalem, Pinniboyinavaripalem. Suryalanka beach, about 9 km from Bapatla is suitable for sea bathing. Vadarevu and Ramapuram beaches near Chirala are also popular tourist attractions.[27]
Kasinadhuni Viswanath who won the prestigiousDadasaheb Phalke Award for his contribution to films as director, screenwriter, lyricist and actor hails from Repalle.[28]D. Ramanaidu,Guinness Book of World Records holder for the most films produced by an individual hailed from Karamchedu near Chirala.[29]Pawan Kalyan born in Bapatla is a famous film actor and founder ofJana Sena Party.Daggubati Venkatesh known as Victory Venkatesh a notable Telugu actor hailed from Karamchedu.Pullela Gopichand former Indian Badminton player and title holder ofAll England Open Badminton Championships winner hails from Nagandla village ofInkollu Nagar Panchayat.
Konijeti Rosaiah elected as MLA of Chirala assembly constituency several times rose to become Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and Governor of Tamil Nadu.[30]Kona Prabhakara Rao represented Bapatla assembly constituency several times and served as Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker, State Minister and Governor.[31]
CPO (2022).District Hand Book of Statistics – Bapatla district(PDF).
Capital:Amaravati | |
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