Konaseema district, officially known as Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema district, is a district in Coastal Andhra between the tributaries of the Godavari river in the Konaseema region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It was carved out of East Godavari district on 4 April 2022 by the Andhra Pradesh government. Amalapuram is the district headquarters and the largest city in the disctrict, which is named after B. R. Ambedkar.
Geography
Konaseema is located in the delta of the Godavari river. It is largely agricultural in nature, with lush green paddy fields. There are some Mangrove forests in the northeast of the district. It lies in between the two branches of Godavari river. The Godavari divides into two branches (i.e. Gautami and Vasishtha) and forms an island that was previously called Nagaram during the Mughal times. The land here is also very fertile.
This district is surrounded to the north by East Godavari district, south by Bay of Bengal, east by Kakinada district and west by West Godavari district.
Administrative divisions
The district has three revenue divisions, namely Amalapuram, Kothapeta and Ramachandrapuram, each headed by a sub collector. These revenue divisions are divided into 22 mandals. The district consists of one municipal corporation, Amalapuram.
Mandals
There are 10 mandals in the Amalapuram revenue division, 7 in the Kothapeta revenue division and 5 in the Ramachandrapuram revenue division. The 22 mandals under their revenue divisions are listed below:
| # | Amalapuram division | Kothapeta division | Ramachandrapuram division |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mummidivaram | Atreyapuram | Ramachandrapuram |
| 2 | Island Polavaram | Alumuru | Gangavaram |
| 3 | Katrenikona | Ravulapalem | Mandapeta |
| 4 | Amalapuram | Kothapeta | Rayavaram |
| 5 | Uppalaguptam | Patha Gannavaram | Kapileswarapuram |
| 6 | Allavaram | Ambajipeta | |
| 7 | Razole | Ainavilli | |
| 8 | Malikipuram | ||
| 9 | Sakhinetipalli | ||
| 10 | Mamidikuduru |
Cities and towns
|
Largest cities or towns in East Godavari district As per the 2011 Census
|
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Division | Pop. | |||||||
| 1 | Mandapeta | Ramachandrapuram Division | 65,406 | ||||||
| 2 | Amalapuram | Amalapuram Division | 53,231 | ||||||
| 3 | Ramachandrapuram | Ramachandrapuram Division | 43,657 | ||||||
| 4 | Mummidivaram | Amalapuram Division | 25,355 | ||||||
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| S.No. | City / Town | Municipalityformation year | No. ofWards | Civic statusof municipal body | 2011 censuspopulation | 2001 censuspopulation | 1991 censuspopulation | 1981 censuspopulation | 1971 censuspopulation | 1961 censuspopulation | 1951 censuspopulation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mandapeta | 1958 | 30 | Municipality Grade – 2 | 65,406 | 51,638 | 42,453 | 33,499 | 25,316 | 19,766 | 15,139 |
| 2 | Amalapuram | 1948 | 30 | Municipality Grade – 1 | 53,231 | 51,444 | 46,029 | 38,999 | 30,518 | 24,063 | 21,117 |
| 3 | Ramachandrapuram | 1959 | 28 | Municipality Grade – 2 | 43,657 | 41,370 | 36,788 | 30,902 | 23,685 | 18,778 | 15,381 |
| 4 | Mummidivaram | 2011 | 20 | Nagar Panchayat | 25,355 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| S.No. | Town | Civic Status of Town | 2011 CensusPopulation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tallarevu | Grama panchayat | 24,550 |
| 2 | Kothapeta | Grama panchayat | 24,539 |
| 3 | Rayavaram | Grama panchayat | 17,361 |
| 4 | Razole | Grama panchayat | 13,597 |
| 5 | Alamur | Grama panchayat | 9,723 |
| 6 | P.Gannavaram | Grama panchayat | 9,459 |
| 7 | Korukonda | Grama panchayat | 9,228 |
| 8 | Rangampeta | Grama panchayat | 7,983 |
| S.No. | Town | Civic status of town | 2011 censuspopulation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bandaru Lanka [Amalapuram] | Census town | 11,470 |
| 2 | Arempudi [Sankhavaram] | Census town | 5,073 |
Politics
There is one parliamentary and seven assembly constituencies in the Konaseema district. The parliamentary constituency is Amalapuram (Lok Sabha constituency). The assembly constituencies are listed below
| Constituency number | Name | Reserved for (SC/ST/None) |
Parliament |
|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | Ramachandrapuram | None | Amalapuram (Lok Sabha constituency) |
| 43 | Mummidivaram | None | Amalapuram (Lok Sabha constituency) |
| 44 | Amalapuram | SC | Amalapuram (Lok Sabha constituency) |
| 45 | Razole | SC | Amalapuram (Lok Sabha constituency) |
| 46 | Gannavaram | SC | Amalapuram (Lok Sabha constituency) |
| 47 | Kothapeta | None | Amalapuram (Lok Sabha constituency) |
| 48 | Mandapeta | None | Amalapuram (Lok Sabha constituency) |
Demographics
At the time of the 2011 census, Konaseema district had a population of 1,719,093, of which 164,421 (9.56%) lived in urban areas. Konaseema district had a sex ratio of 994 females per 1000 males.[10]: 85–90 Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 427,130 (24.85%) and 13,481 (0.78%) respectively.
Telugu is the predominant language, spoken by 99.11% of the population.
Culture
The region has a diverse folk culture. Being in the heart of the Godavari Delta, Konaseema has a large population of Brahmins, Settibalija, Kapus, Rajus and Kammas who own most of the land. Konaseema is one of the only two regions in India, apart from Kerala, where there is still a large community practising traditional Shrauta rituals. These traditions have largely fallen out of use in the rest of India, making it a favoured destination for scholars seeking to understand ancient Vedic culture.
The villagers also have a varied folk culture with their own regional gods. Most of the Dalits, like in most of Coastal Andhra, are Christians – both Catholic and Protestant.
Transportation
Konaseema District is connected by National Highway NH216. Andhra Pradesh public state transport operates APSRTC bus services from the district headquarters Amalapuram to Rajahmundry, Razole, Kakinada, Annavaram, Visakhapatnam, Ravulapalem, Tanuku, Eluru, Palakollu , Tuni, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Srikakulam, Tekkali, Ichapuram, Vizianagaram , Narsapuram, Bhimavaram, Machilipatnam, Srisailam, Guntur andTirupati.
Nearest railway stations
Rajahmundry railway station, Palakollu railway station, Narsapuram railway station, Bhimavaram Junction railway station, Bhimavaram Town Halt railway station are the nearest railway stations.
Proposed railway line
The Kakinada – Kotipalli – Narsapur railway line is under construction and a bridge over the Godavari river is being constructed.
This railway line makes a stop at Amalapuram.