Annamayya district

Annamayya district is one of the eight districts in the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh, established in 2022. Rayachoti is the district administrative headquarters, and Madanapalle is the most populated city in the district.

Etymology
The district is named after the Annamacharya, a 15th-century Hindu saint hailing from Tallapaka, Rajampeta, and the earliest known Indian musician to compose songs called sankirtanas in praise of the Hindu deity Venkateswara.

History
Rayachoti has many megalithic sites and stone circles. A noted megalithic site is at Devandlapalli in Tsundupalle mandal of the district.

Nandalur is an important Buddhist site in the district along with Tallapaka, Rajampeta, Konduru, Khazipeta in the district.

Annamayya district was formed on 4 April 2022 from parts of erstwhile Chittoor district and YSR districts as part of the reorganisation of Andhra Pradesh districts based on parliament constituency as unit.

Geography
Annamayya district is the extreme southwestern district of Andhra Pradesh situated within the geographical co-ordinates of 13° 19’ 55” and 14° 42’ 32” of northern latitude and 78° 18’ 55” and 79° 20’26” eastern longitude. This district is part of Rayalaseema. The district is bounded on the north by Kadapa District, west by Sri Sathya Sai district and south by Chikballapur district and Kolar district of Karnataka and Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, east by Nellore and Tirupati districts of Andhra Pradesh.

Natural resources
Palakonda Hills, also known as Seshachalam hills, Nallamalais and Lankamalais, are the major hill ranges in the district. Cheyyeru is the main river of the district. It joins Penneru at Gundlamada in Vontimitta mandal. Bonnet monkey (Macaca radiata) and Madras langur are commonly found. Tigers, leopards and other wild animals can still be seen in the hill ranges. Grey partridge (kamju in Telugu) and quail are commonly seen in the forests and countryside. Black soil occupies 23.7% area in the district. Barytes, lime stone and asbestos are the major minerals. The average annual rainfall is 743.7 mm. The rainfall generally increases from the north-west to the south-east in the district.

Demographics
Based on the 2011 census, Annamayya district had a population of 16,97,308, of which 391,511 (23.07%) live in urban areas. Annamayya district has a sex ratio of 989 females per 1000 males. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 2,28,501 (13.46%) and 62,475 (3.68%) of the population respectively.

Based on the 2011 census, 81.91% of the population spoke Telugu, 16.40% Urdu and 1.04% Lambadi as their first language.

Mandals
The list of 30 mandals in Annamayya district, divided into 3 revenue divisions, is given below.
 * 1) Madanapalle revenue division
 * 2) Beerangi Kothakota
 * 3) Kalikiri
 * 4) Kurabalakota
 * 5) Madanapalle
 * 6) Mulakalacheruvu
 * 7) Nimmanapalle
 * 8) Peddamandyam
 * 9) Peddathippasamudram
 * 10) Ramasamudram
 * 11) Thamballapalle
 * 12) Valmikipuram
 * 13) Rajampeta revenue division
 * 14) Chitvel
 * 15) Nandalur
 * 16) Obulavaripalle
 * 17) Penagalur
 * 18) Pullampeta
 * 19) Railway Koduru
 * 20) Rajampet
 * 21) T. Sundupalle
 * 22) Veeraballi
 * 23) Rayachoti revenue division
 * 24) Chinnamandyam
 * 25) Galiveedu
 * 26) Gurramkonda
 * 27) Kalakada
 * 28) Kambhamvaripalle
 * 29) Lakkireddypalli
 * 30) Pileru
 * 31) Ramapuram
 * 32) Rayachoti
 * 33) Sambepalli

Politics
There is only one parliamentary constituency namely Rajampet and six assembly constituencies in the district.

The assembly constituencies are given below.

The district is divided into three revenue divisions, Madanapalle, Rajampeta and Rayachoti, which are further subdivided into a total of 30 mandals, each headed by a sub-collector.

Cities and towns
There are three municipalities and one nagar panchayat in the district.

Economy
Agriculture is the main economic activity. Paddy, groundnut, sunflower, cotton, and betel leaves are the major crops. Mango, papaya, banana, lemon and sweet orange are the major horticultural crops. As per the FY 2019–20, the gross cropped area is 1,71,617 hectares, while the gross irrigated area is 66,281 hectares. Pincha and Annamayya are the major irrigation projects.

Roadways
301.59 km of National Highways, 330.46 km of State Highways 831.91 km of major district roads and 4,131.43 km of Panchayat Raj roads form the road network of the district. NH 716,NH 40 and NH 71 pass through the district.The proposed NH 370 Nellore to Ananthapuram (Nellore–Rapur–Rajampet–Rayachoti–Kadiri–Ananthapuram) under planning passes through the district.

Railways
As of 2019–20, broad-gauge railway line of 195.13 km length with 24 railway stations part of Guntakal railway division of South Central Railway Zone serve the district. Madanapalle Road railway 12 km away from Madanapalle is on Guntakal-Pakala-Tirupati line that passes through the district. Kadapa railway station is the nearest major railway station at a distance of 51 km from Rayachoty.

Airways
The nearest small airport is Kadapa Airport, is 54 km away from Rayachoty. The nearest airport is Tirupati International Airport is 130 km away from Rayachoty.

Education
Rishi Valley School founded by Jiddu Krishnamurti which developed the popular multi-grade teaching methodology and Besant Theosophical College founded by Annie Besant are some of the famous educational institutions in Madanapalle.

Based on the 2011 census, the district has a 64.63% literacy rate, which is lower than the state literacy which stands at 67.35%. As of 2019–20, the district has 1975 primary schools, 391 upper primary schools, 553 high schools, 128 junior colleges, 59 degree colleges and 82 professional and post graduate colleges.

The district has several institutions for engineering, such as Annamacharya Institute of Technology & Sciences (AITS) Narayanadri Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) Madanapalle Institute of Technology & Science (MITS), Sri Sai Institute of Science (SSITS)

Tourism
Sri Parasurameshwara temple, Attirala and Sowmyanadha Swamy temple, Nandalur are the major religious places in the district. Horsley Hills is a major hill station.

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.

Notable people
1.Nallari Kiran Kumar Reddy Former CM United Andhra Pradesh

2.Kiran Abbavaram Tollywood Actor

3.Harishankar Reddy CSK IPL player

4.Bindu Madhavi Tamil Actress

5.Jiddu Krishnamurthy Indian philosopher

6.Gadikota Srikanth Reddy Indian Politician