Vijayawada
Vijayawada, also called as Bezawada, is the second largest city and a major commercial hub in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The city forms an integral part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is situated on the banks of the Krishna River, flanked by the Eastern Ghats and the Indrakeeladri Hills.
It is renowned for its iconic Kanaka Durga Temple, an important Hindu shrine that attracts millions of devotees each year. Geographically positioned near the center of the state, Vijayawada is popularly described as the commercial, political, cultural, and educational capital of Andhra Pradesh. It also serves as the administrative headquarters of the newly formed NTR district. The Prakasam Barrage across the Krishna River is a pivotal infrastructure asset that connects NTR with Guntur district.
Vijayawada is recognized as one of India's fastest growing urban areas. 2023 Oxford Economics report ranked it among the top 10 fastest growing cities in the world.
Vijayawada is considered to be a sacred place due to it being home to one of the most visited and famous temples in Andhra Pradesh and India, the Kanaka Durga Temple of the Hindu Goddess Durga residing on the Indrakeeladri hill. It also serves as the ritual host of Pushkaram of the River Krishna. There is a legend which says that Arjuna, one of the heroes of the Indian epic Mahabharata, prayed on top of the Indrakeeladri Hill in the city and won the blessings of the Lord Shiva to get the Pashupatastra to win the Kurukshetra War. It was called Vijayavatika when Goddess Durga killed the demon Mahishasura and rested on the Indrakeeladri Hill by the River Krishna establishing the victory over evil hence the place got its name Vijayavatika, "Vijaya" meaning victory, and "Vatika" meaning place or land in Telugu.
The city is the third most densely populated urban built-up area in the world. and is classified as a Y-grade city by the Sixth Central Pay Commission. The city is the second most populous in the state with a population of more than one million. It was recognised as a "Global City of the Future" by McKinsey Quarterly, which expected an increase to GDP of $17 billion by 2025. In October 2018, it was awarded with ISO 37120 platinum level certification and has been added to the "Global Cities Registry".
Due to the presence of several well-known educational institutions, the city has emerged as a major educational hub in recent times, with many of the nation's students studying in the city. It is predicted to be the world's, and India's, tenth fastest growing city economy through 2035 by an Oxford Economics report. Due to its high ratings in entertainment, construction, food, education, health care, and transport, it is ranked as India's ninth most liveable city as per Ease of Living Index 2018, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the second most liveable city in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
The Vijayawada Junction railway station is one of the busiest in the country. It is the tenth busiest railway junction in the country.
Toponymy
There are many legends behind the origin of the name Vijayawada. It is said that Goddess Durga killed Mahishasura and relaxed at this place. As she was victorious, the place came to be known as Vijayawada. The hill was called as Indrekeeladri since it was frequently visited by Indra and his affiliates. The epic Mahabharata refers to the Indrakiladri hills as the place where Arjuna secured Pashupatastra from Lord Shiva. One of the names of Arjuna is "Vijaya". Thus city thereafter came to be known as Vijayavatika and later as Vijayawada.A tale behind its acquiring the name Bezawada is that Goddess Krishnaveni requested Arjuna to make a passage for her to merge into the Bay of Bengal. Hence, Arjuna made a bejjam through the mountains and the place came to be known as Bejjamwada which later changed to Bezawada. Other names of Vijayawada were being Vijayavata, Beejapuram, Kanakaprabha, Kanakapuram, Kanakawada, Jayapuri, Vijayapuri, Phalguna Kshetram and Jananathpura in the twelfth century CE.
History
Bezawada was founded around 626 A.D. by Paricchedi Kings. Vijayawada history reveals that Bezawada was ruled by King Madhava Varma. Chinese Buddhist scholar Xuanzang stayed a few years in Bezawada in around 640 A.D. to copy and study the Abhidhamma Pitaka, the last of the three pitakas constituting the Pali canon, the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism.Mogalrajapuram hills have five rock-cut temples, built during the fourth–ninth centuries. Some of the caves can be attributed to Vishnukundina dynasty. Akkana Madanna Caves, at the foot of Indrakeeladri Hill, is a monument of national importance.
At the foot of Indrakeeladri hills is the temple of Malleswara. The temple has inscriptions dating back to ninth century AD to 16th century AD by various kings. There are ten pillars and a mutilated slab with inscriptions in the Telugu language. Of them, the inscriptions issued by Yudhamalla I and II of Eastern Chalukyas are important.
In the early 16th century, during the reign of Qutb Shahi dynasty, diamond mines were found near Vijayawada on the banks of Krishna River.
Geography
Vijayawada lies on the banks of Krishna river, covered by hills and canals. and at an altitude of above sea level. Three canals originating from the north side of the Prakasam Barrage reservoir — Eluru, Bandar, and Ryves — flow through the city.Climate
Vijayawada has a tropical wet and dry climate. The annual mean temperatures range between ; with maximum temperatures often crossing in the month of May and the minimum in December and January. The highest maximum temperature ever recorded was in May 2002. May is the hottest and January is the coldest month of the year. It receives rainfall from the South-west and North-east monsoons and the average annual rainfall recorded is.Vijayawada has been ranked 6th best “National Clean Air City” in India.
Demographics
The city is the second most populous in the state and the third most densely populated urban built-up areas in the world, with approximately 31,200 people per square km. Census of India, it had a population of 1,021,806, of which males are 524,918 and females are 523,322 — for a sex ratio of 997 females per 1000 males — higher than the national average of 940 per 1000. 92,848 children were in the age group of 0–6 years, of which 47,582 were boys and 45,266 were girls: a ratio of 951 per 1000. The average literacy rate stood at 82.59% with 789,038 literates, significantly higher than the national average of 73.00%.Language and religion
The predominant language spoken by the city residents is Telugu. In the 2011 census, the total number of language speakers in the city were. Telugu is spoken by speakers, followed by Urdu. A small minority speak Hindi, Tamil, Odia, Gujarati, Marathi and Malayalam. In the same census, the total religious population in the city was. It constituted Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jains and did not state any religion.Governance
Civic administration
is the civic governing body of the city and was the first ISO 9001 certified urban local body in the country.It was constituted on 1 April 1888 and was upgraded to selection grade municipality in 1960, and, to the corporation in 1981. The jurisdictional area of the corporation is spread over an area of with 64 wards. The present Municipal Commissioner of the city is Sri Dhyanachandra H M, IAS and the present Mayor is Rayana Bhagya Lakshmi. Vijayawada is the headquarters of Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority.
As per the G.O. 104, the state government had declared Vijayawada Municipal Corporation and its contiguous areas as a metropolitan area of Vijayawada. Its jurisdiction is spread over an area of and has an estimated population of. The metropolitan area covers Vijayawada municipal corporation and merged villages of Ambapuram, Buddavaram, Done Atkuru, Enikepadu, Ganguru, Gannavaram, Gollapudi, Gudavalli, Jakkampudi, Kanuru, Kesarapalle, Nidamanuru, Nunna, Pathapadu, Penamaluru, Phiryadi Nainavaram, Poranki, Prasadampadu, Ramavarappadu, Tadigadapa, Kankipadu, Vuyyuru, Katuru, Bollapadu, Mudunuru and Yanamalakuduru. The urban agglomeration spread in Guntur district covers Tadepalle Municipality and its outgrowth of Undavalli; Mangalagiri Municipality and its outgrowths of Navuluru and Atmakur.
Utility services
Water supply from the 59 water reservoirs, maintenance of roads, sewerage, underground drainage, environment protection programs, recycling of solid waste and producing power are the services provided by the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation. There has been an underground drainage system in the city since 1967–68. Many green parks are maintained by the corporation to protect the environment such as Raghavaiah park, Rajiv Gandhi Park, Dr. B.R Ambedkar Park, Mahatma Gandhi Park etc. The corporation won many awards and achievements such as National Urban Water Award, Siti e-Governance Project, ISO 9001 certification for Quality Management System.The Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Response and Fire Services Department with its headquarters in the city is responsible for protecting from fire accidents that occur during summers on the hill slope areas of the city.
Pollution control
The report on solid waste generation in 46 metro cities for the year 2015–16 shows Vijayawada produces 550 tonnes of solid waste per day. Vijayawada is one of the cities to be covered under the Solar/Green Cities scheme launched by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and is one of the 15 cities in the country listed in Pilot Solar Cities.In 2007, the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation that operates the city's public transport system introduced less-polluting CNG fuelled public transport busses in a drive to reduce the operational cost and protect the environment. In 2019, with the cost of CNG and fleet maintenance on the rise, the APSRTC had begun replacing the CNG run busses with BS4 and BS6 standard diesel-fuelled buses. However, APSRTC continues to be committed to alternative fuels for its fleet. It has since added more electric, and biodiesel fuelled busses.
Likewise, the city has a large number of CNG fuelled auto-rickshaws that support public transportation needs. However, auto-rickshaw operators have frequently suffered disruption in CNG supply and usually endure long queues to refuel. In February 2020, Piaggio Vehicles Private Limited launched the sale of electric auto-rickshaws in the city.