Adilabad

Adilabad is a city which serves as the headquarters of Adilabad district, in the Indian state of Telangana. Telugu, Urdu, Marathi, and Lambadi, gondi are the most spoken languages of Adilabad. Adilabad is famous for its rich cultivation of cotton. Hence, Adilabad is also referred as "White Gold City". It is located about 304 km north of the state capital, Hyderabad, 150 km from Nizamabad and 196 km from Nagpur.

History
Before the 10th century, this town was referred to as Edlawāḍa, i.e. 'Land of Oxen'. Later during the rule of Qutub Shahis it was referred to as Edlabad. Adilabad derives its name from the erstwhile ruler of Bijapur, Muhammad Yusuf Adil Shah. It wasn't a homogenous unit for a long period. Adilabad was ruled by many dynasties like the Kakatiyas, Mauryas, Satavahanas, Chalukyas, Qutub Shahis, Asaf Jahis and by Gond Rajas of earlier sub-districts Sirpur and Chanda. It was created in 1872 by the ruler and In 1905 it was declared to be an independent district with a prominent headquarters. Later, many regions were combined and set apart. In 2016, it was divided into four districts namely, Adilabad, Nirmal, Asifabad, Mancherial.

Languages
Telugu is the most spoken language in Adilabad (65% as native language). Due to geographical proximity with Maharashtra, Marathi is also widely spoken and understood (10.5% as native language). Other languages spoken in Adilabad include Hindi, Urdu and lambadi,Gondi.

Geography
Adilabad has an average elevation of 264 metres. The district shares its boundaries with Nirmal districts of Telangana to the south, Komaram Bheem district on the east, with Nanded on the west and Yavatmal and Chandrapur districts of Maharashtra to the north.

The Kuntala Waterfall, rivers like the Godavari, Painganga, etc flow through the district. Mavala lake, built during the Nizam period, is situated 6 km south side of Adilabad city. There is a park adjacent to the lake. Other waterfalls in Adilabad include Pochara waterfalls also and Gayatri waterfall, where different rope games are conducted in year-round. Saptha Gundala waterfalls, consisting of 7 small waterfalls, is accessible only by track due to its isolated forest location.

Demographics
In 2011, Adilabad had a population of 117,167. Males make up 59,448 of the population, with females making up 57,719. 12,993 of the population are under the age group of 0–6 years. The city has an average literacy rate of 43.45%. The urban agglomeration population of the city stands at 139,383. It includes the population figures of its constituent census town, Dasnapur as 22,216.

Politics
Adilabad is one of the seventeen Lok Sabha constituencies in the Indian state of Telangana and consists of eight Legislative Assembly segments.

Economy
An IT Tower is being built by the KTR administration and will be inaugurated sometime in 2023-2024.

Education
Adilabad has many educational institutions. It has Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Adilabad

Road
National Highway 44 passes through Adilabad. Hyderabad is 310 km from Adilabad. Nagpur is 196 km away from Adilabad.

Bus
TSRTC operates buses from Adilabad to various destinations in the state.The Bus Station Connected with major cities such as Hyderabad, Karimnagar, Warangal,Nizamabad , Khammam in Telangana And Guntur , Vijayawada, Ongole. in Andhra Pradesh. Nagpur in Maharashtra And small cities like Mancherial ,Nirmal,Asifabad, Yavatmal, Nanded, Utnur.

Railway
Adilabad has a railway station on Mudkhed-Majri section of Nanded railway division of South Central Railway (SCR).

Landmarks

 * Kuntala Waterfall
 * Pochera Falls
 * Gayatri Waterfall
 * Kanakai waterfall
 * Mavala Harithavanam
 * Khandala Waterfall

Notable people

 * Komaram Bheem
 * Samala Sadasiva (Sahitya Akademi Awards)