Mangalagiri is a town in Guntur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
It is one of the 12 municipalities in the district. The town is the
headquarters of Mangalagiri mandal and administered under Guntur revenue
division. It is situated on National Highway 5 between Vijayawada and Guntur.
The town was known to be existed since 225 B.C..
Etymology Mangalagiri translates to The Auspicious
Hill in the local language. It was derived from the name Totadri. During
Vijayanagara Kingdom, it was also known as Mangala Nilayam.
History It is dated to 1520 and mentions the
capture of Kondavidu by Timmarasu, general of Krishna Deva Raya, in 1515
from the Gajapati rulers of Kalinga. Another stone near the temple of
Garudalvar has inscriptions on four sides recording grants in the reign of
Sadasiva Raya of Vijayanagara Empire 1538. The lofty gopuram in the temple at
the foot of the hill was erected by Raja Vasireddy Venkatadri Nayudu in
1807-1809, and in terms of sculpture and architecture this temple stands to be an
ultimate testament for the ancient vishwakarma sthapathis in planning and
sculpting these temples. Mangalagiri was under the control of
Golkonda Nawabs for a long period. It was plundered in 1780 by Hyder Jung but
could not be conquered. In 1816, a gang of Pindaris again looted the place. It
slowly recovered from these two attacks during the time of Raja Vasireddy
Venkatadri Nayudu who ruled the place from Amaravati. There is a big koneru in
the center of the place which went dry in 1882. As many as 9,840 guns and 44
bullets which might have been related to Pindaris have been found here after the
Pindaris looted this place.The picturesque hill was visited by the
great Sri Krishna Deva Raya. In the 1970s there was huge water
scarcity in Mangalagiri. Goli Gopala Rao, the then municipal chairman of
Mangalagiri, brought water to the town through water pipelines and he was
called "Apara Baghiratha" due to his services to the public.
Geography Mangalagiri is located at 16.43°N
80.55°E﻿ / 16.43; 80.55. It has an average elevation of 29.08 m.
Climate As per Köppen-Geiger climate
classification system the climate in Mangalagiri is tropical. The average
temperature is warm to hot around the year. Summer clothing suffices through
most of the year. The summer season has the highest temperatures, but these are
usually followed by monsoon rains in that season.
The winter season is the most enjoyable with a pleasant climate.Winter months
may get more rainfall than summer but there are dry spells during the winter
season. The wettest month is July. The average annual temperature is 28.5 C and
The average annual rainfall is 1046 mm Demographics
As of 2011 Census of India, the town had a population of 73,613. The total
population constitute, 36,532 males, 37,081 females and 7,706 children, in
the age group of 0–6 years. The average literacy rate stands at 76.16% with
50,197 literates, significantly higher than the national average of 73.00%.
Governance Civic Administration
The municipality of the town oversees the civic needs, like water supply,
sewage, garbage collection etc. It was establishment in the year 1969 and has
an extent of 10.49 km2. Navuluru and Atmakur are out gowths to Mangalagiri
municipality and are in turn a part of Vijayawada urban agglomeration. During
2010–2011 period, the total expenditure per annum was ₹3.52 crore, while the
total income generated per annum was ₹5.4 crore. The composition of the
municipality is of two types, one is Elected Wing, headed by Municipal
Council and the second is Executive Wing, headed by Municipal commissioner.
Politics Mangalagiri town is a part of
Mangalagiri for Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly. Alla Rama Krishna
Reddy is the present MLA of the constituency representing YSRCP. The
assembly segment is in turn a part of Guntur, which was won by Galla Jayadev.
Economy The major occupations of Mangalagiri is
an ancient institution of hand-woven fabrics.
Transport Mangalagiri is located on NH 5 that
connects Kolkata and Chennai. It has a railway station situated on the
Howrah-Chennai main line, administered under the jurisdiction of Guntur
division of South Central Railway zone. Vijayawada Airport is the nearest
domestic airport to the town. Education
The town is having many schools, colleges and universities namely
Acharya Nagarjuna University, a state government university
NRI Academy of Medical Sciences K L University, a deemed private
university etc. Tourism
Lord Narasimha temple, the abode of Lord Vishnu, who manifested himself as
Thotadri, is present in Mangalagiri. There are three Narasimha Swamy temples.
Undavalli caves, located near Mangalagiri, a specimen of Indian
rock-cut architecture. The historic caves are located at the top of the
hills overlooking the Krishna River, built during the 4th-5th century.
Dedicated to Ananta Padmanabha Swamy and Narasimha Swamy, Undavalli Cave Temples
are associated with the Vishnukundina kings.
Hinkar Thirtha Jain Temple,located in Namburu is the largest Jain temple in
the region, visited by many Jains, from different parts of the state.
Sports Mangalagiri International Cricket
Stadium is under construction in Mangalagiri.
See also Mangalagiri mandal
References External links
Mangalagiri Temple