Nalgonda district

Nalgonda district is a district in the Telangana state of India. Nalgonda district has the highest number of mandals in the state with 31 mandals. The district shares boundaries with Suryapet, Rangareddy, Yadadri and Nagarkurnool districts and with the state boundary of Andhra Pradesh. In terms of area, Nalgonda is the largest district with an area of 7222.78 km2 in the state.

Etymology
Nalgonda is derived from two Telugu words Nalla (Black) & Konda (Hills) i.e. Black Hills.

History
Nalgonda was earlier referred to as Neelagiri, the name given by some local rulers and the name was changed to Nallagonda only after its conquest by Allauddin Bahaman Shah, the founder of Bahmani Sultanate.

The district had a major role in the Telangana Rebellion.

Geography
The district is spread over an area of 7122 km2.

Demographics
Census of India, Nalgonda district has a population of 1,618,416. Nalgonda has a sex ratio of 978 females per 1000 males and a literacy rate of 63.75%. 181,996 (11.25%) were under 6 years of age. 368,303 (22.76%) lived in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 292,951 (18.10%) and 209,252 (12.93%) of the population respectively.

According to the 2011 census, 81.75% of the population spoke Telugu, 11.91% Lambadi and 5.51% Urdu as their first language.

The Krishna River, Musi River, Aleru, Peddavagu, Dindi River, Halia River and Paleru flow through the Nalgonda district.

Economy
In 2006 the Indian government named Nalgonda one of the country's 250 poorest districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the thirty-three districts in Telangana currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).

Agriculture
Nalgonda district is an agrarian district with water resources from the rivers, lakes, canals and ponds. The wells and borewells also support farming in the district. The farmers mainly grow crops such as paddy, and cotton. The climate of the district supports the production of paddy and groundnut seeds.

Cities

 * Nalgonda
 * Miryalaguda

Towns

 * Devarakonda
 * Nakrekal
 * Munugode
 * Nagarjuna Sagar

Power projects
Telangana State Power Generation Corporation Limited (TSGENCO) is building Yadadri Thermal Power Plant in Nalgonda District. The 4000 megawatt thermal project is coming up in a phased manner at Veerlapalem in the district. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) is appointed as the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor for the project.

Notable places in district

 * Kurmagiri Narasimha Swamy Temple, Palem ( 16 Miles) from Nalgonda
 * Latif Saheb Hill in Nalgonda
 * Sri Chaya Someshwara Temple - 5 km from Nalgonda
 * Udaya Samudram -6 km from Nalgonda
 * Cheruvugattu Shivalayam - 14 km (8.6 mi) from Nalgonda
 * Devarkonda Fort - 60 km from Nalgonda
 * Nagarjuna sagar Dam - 64 km from Nalgonda

Administrative divisions
The district is divided into three revenue divisions: Nalgonda, Miryalaguda, and Devarakonda. These are sub-divided into 31 mandals and has 565 villages. Prashanth Jeevan Patil is the present collector of the district.

Mandals
The below table categorizes the mandals into their respective revenue divisions in the district: