Nagarkurnool district

Nagarkurnool district is a district in the southern region of the Indian state of Telangana. The town of Nagarkurnool is the district headquarters. It was part of the Mahbubnagar district prior to re-organisation of districts in the state. The district shares boundaries with Nalgonda, Rangareddy, Mahabubnagar, Wanaparthy districts and with the state boundary of Andhra Pradesh with Nandyal, Palnadu and Prakasam Districts.

History
The Nagarkurnool district is historically, traditionally ruled by several empires in past. The evidences of monuments and inscriptions found near confluence of rivers Krishna River and Tungabhadra River reveals that it was an inhabited place since the Stone Age. Many places of this district have legendary history. The history of the district is divided into four periods, from Badami Chalukya till the Muslim invasion. Gona Ganna Reddy ruled Nandi vardhamana puram by making capital.its near Village of Nagarkurnool. Gona Ganna Reddy was the secret agent of Rani Rudrama Devi.

Early Western Chalukya period lasting from about A.D. 535 to about A.D.757. Rastrakuta period from A.D. 757 to A.D.973.and Eruva cholas also ruled. The River Krishna was southern boundary for Kakatiya Empire and later was under Deccan sultanates.

Geography
The district is spread over an area of 6545.00 km2. It is the 3rd largest district by area.

Geography and climate
Nagarkurnool is located at 18°N, 79.58°W. It has an average elevation of 458 metres (1503 feet).It is settled in the central Deccan Plateau and northern part of Nallamalla Hills made up of granite rocks and hill formations. Most of the region is occupied by Deccan thorn scrub forests and Central Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests towards the southern region of the district. The region falls under semi arid climate which left the region barren making the cultivation dependent on seasonal rainfall. Krishna river flows from southern border of district and additionally the district has many interlinked chains of lakes and ponds that drain into "Dindubi" river. Located in the semi-arid region of Telangana, Nagarkurnool has a predominantly hot and dry climate. Summer starts in March, and peak in May with average high temperatures in the 42 C range. The monsoon arrives in June and lasts until September with about 550 mm of precipitation. A dry, mild winter starts in October and lasts until early February, when there is little humidity and average temperatures in the 22 - 23 C range. Many hill rocks and lakes are located throughout district.

Demographics
As of 2011 Census of India, the district has a population of 861,766. Nagarkurnool has a sex ratio of 968 females per 1000 males and a literacy rate of 54.38%. 107,459 (12.47%) were under 6 years of age. 87,830 (10.19%) lived in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 183,769 (21.32%) and 106,880 (12.40%) of the population respectively.

At the time of the 2011 census, 84.32% of the population spoke Telugu, 9.54% Lambadi and 5.48% Urdu as their first language.

Administrative divisions
The district has four revenue divisions of Achampet, Nagarkurnool, Kalwakurthy and Kollapur and is sub-divided into 20 mandals. Sri P Uaday Kumar IAS is the present collector of the district.

Roadway
There are two national highways that connect the district, NH765 Hyderabad to Srisailam connects Kalwakurthy town and Mannanur village in Nallamala hills and runs through the forests of Amrabad to reach srisailam. NH167 Bellary to Kodad connects Kalwakurthy with Mahaboobnagar, Jadcherla to the west and Devarakonda towards the east. SH20 starts from Mahboobnagar connects Nagarkurnool, Achampet to join NH765 at foothills of Nallamala. A proposed new national highway 167k from Hyderabad to Nandyal is expected to connect towns of Kalwakurthy, Nagarkurnool and Kollapur with Atmakur, Nandyal in Nandyal district of Andhra Pradhesh.

The district is well connected within neighbor towns and cities by bus. TSRTC operates bus services from 4 major towns of Nagarkurnool, Kalwakurthy, Achampet and Kollapur with nearby villages and major towns such as Hyderabad, Mahabubnagar and Kurnool.

Railway
There are no railway lines in the district, the nearest railway station is Jadcherla. A proposed railway line from Gadwal to Macherla that is expected to link Nagarkurnool and Kalwakurthy towns of the district, However, the project is on due for approval for several years.

Tourism
The Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation is a state government agency identified and developed several places of Interest throughout the district.

Religious Tourism


 * Umamaheshwaram
 * Saleswaram
 * Lalitha Someswara Swamy Temple
 * Sri Madanagopalaswamy Temple
 * Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy Temple
 * Nandeeswara shaneeswara Temple
 * Ramagiri Temple

Eco Tourism

The forest regions from southern boundaries of district are part of Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve, Telangana Tourism developed Jungle safari and trek at Farahbad forest checkpoint and also developed Riverfront cottages at River Krishna near Eegalapenta towards Srisailam. The backwaters of Krishna river from srisailam reservoir at Somasila are developed under state Eco-tourism Package with cottages, river cruising and trekking activities at foothills of Nallamala.