Kurnool is a city and the judicial capital of Andhra Pradesh, India. It formerly served as the capital of Andhra State (1953–1956). The city is often referred to as “The Gateway of Rayalaseema”. It also serves as the district headquarters of its Kurnool district. As of 2011 census, it is the fifth most populous city in the state with a population of 484,327. It is located on the banks of the Tungabhadra river. Although the area has been inhabited for thousands of years, modern Kurnool was founded in the 16th century CE with the construction of the Konda Reddy Fort.
Etymology
The original name of Kurnool is found in historical records as Kandanavōlu or Kandanōlu. It used to be a crossing on the Tungabhadra River, where the bullock cart caravans are believed to have greased their wheels (“kandana” being a reference to grease). The city is often referred to as “The Gateway of Rayalaseema”.
History
Palaeolithic era
The Ketavaram rock paintings from the Paleolithic era and are (18 kilometres from Kurnool). Also the Jurreru Valley, Katavani Kunta and Yaganti in Kurnool District have some important rock art and paintings in the vicinity, may be dated from 35,000 to 40,000 years ago.
Belum Caves are geologically and historically important caves in the district. There are indications that Jain and Buddhist monks were occupying these caves centuries ago. Many Buddhists relics were found inside the caves. These relics are now housed in Museum at Ananthapur. Archaeological survey of India (ASI) found remnants of vessels and other artifacts of pre-Buddhist era and has dated the remnants of vessels found in the caves to 4500 BC.
Vijayanagara era
Little was known about Kurnool town before the 11th century. The earliest knowledge of this settlement dates from the 11th century. It has developed as transit place on the southern banks of the river Tungabhadra.
Ruled by the Cholas in 12th Century and later taken over by the Kakatiya dynasty in 13th century. Kurnool developed into a transit point on the southern banks of the Tungabhadra River. It eventually fell under the rule of a jaghirdar before becoming a part of the Vijayanagar dynasty. King Achyuta Raya, successor of Sri Krishnadeva Raya constructed the Kurnool Fort during the 16th century.
Mughals Rule
The Abyssinian, Abdul Wahab Khan, defeated King Gopal Raja of the Vijayanagar Kingdom in the 17th century and went on to rule the land for 16 years until his death.
In 1686, Kurnool fell under the influence of the Mughals who were ruled by Emperor Aurangzeb. Later on in Kurnool’s history, it was ruled by the Nawabs until the British Government took over in 1839.
Nawabs
Ghulam Rasul Khan Bahadur (died on 12 July 1840) was the last nawab of Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. He reigned the territory from 1823 to 1839 until the kingdom was defeated by the East India Company. On 12 October 1839, a war broke out between British Indian Army and the kingdom and continued for six days until the king was detained on 18 October. He was subsequently sent to Tiruchirappalli Central Prison where he died on 12 July 1840.
Post independence
Kurnool was the capital of erstwhile Andhra State between from 1 October 1953 and 31 October 1956. The state was later merged with Telangana to form Andhra Pradesh with Hyderabad as the state’s capital.
Geography
Kurnool is located at 15.8333°N 78.05°E. It has an average elevation of 273 metres (898 feet). Kurnool lies on the banks of the Tungabhadra River. The Hundri and Neeva rivers also flow through the city. The K.C.Canal (Kurnool–Cuddapah) was built by the Dutch for transportation, but later used for irrigation.
Cityscape
Front View of Kondareddy Buruju.
Landmarks in and around the city include Konda Reddy Fort Formerly called Kondareddy Burj is the Historical Monuement and Major Tourist Attraction of Kurnool located at the north east part of the city. Orvakal rock Garderns is the Sculpture Garden with Ancient cave lies on the South East of the city.
Climate
Kurnool has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh) with temperatures ranging from 26 °C (78.8 °F) to 46 °C (114.8 °F) in the summer and 12 °C (53.6 °F) to 31 °C (87.8 °F) in the winter. The average annual rainfall is about 705 millimetres (28 in).
| hideClimate data for Kurnool (1981–2010, extremes 1901–2012) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 37.3 (99.1) |
39.9 (103.8) |
43.3 (109.9) |
44.8 (112.6) |
45.6 (114.1) |
45.6 (114.1) |
38.5 (101.3) |
37.8 (100.0) |
38.7 (101.7) |
38.4 (101.1) |
38.8 (101.8) |
35.4 (95.7) |
45.6 (114.1) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 31.7 (89.1) |
34.8 (94.6) |
38.2 (100.8) |
40.1 (104.2) |
40.5 (104.9) |
36.2 (97.2) |
33.6 (92.5) |
32.5 (90.5) |
32.9 (91.2) |
32.5 (90.5) |
31.2 (88.2) |
30.5 (86.9) |
34.6 (94.3) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 17.9 (64.2) |
20.3 (68.5) |
23.8 (74.8) |
26.7 (80.1) |
27.5 (81.5) |
25.5 (77.9) |
24.5 (76.1) |
23.9 (75.0) |
23.8 (74.8) |
22.8 (73.0) |
20.1 (68.2) |
17.8 (64.0) |
22.9 (73.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 8.3 (46.9) |
11.1 (52.0) |
12.8 (55.0) |
15.5 (59.9) |
19.4 (66.9) |
17.6 (63.7) |
19.2 (66.6) |
19.9 (67.8) |
17.0 (62.6) |
13.0 (55.4) |
9.3 (48.7) |
6.7 (44.1) |
6.7 (44.1) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 4.0 (0.16) |
2.2 (0.09) |
9.8 (0.39) |
26.4 (1.04) |
50.4 (1.98) |
93.6 (3.69) |
121.4 (4.78) |
143.4 (5.65) |
145.0 (5.71) |
114.1 (4.49) |
23.0 (0.91) |
3.9 (0.15) |
737.2 (29.02) |
| Average rainy days | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 5.7 | 7.6 | 9.0 | 7.7 | 5.2 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 43.0 |
| Average relative humidity (%) (at 17:30 IST) | 35 | 26 | 23 | 25 | 28 | 45 | 54 | 57 | 57 | 56 | 51 | 44 | 42 |
| Source: India Meteorological Department | |||||||||||||
Demographics
As per final data of 2011 census, Kurnool urban agglomeration had a population of 484,327, making it the fifth largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The literacy rate of Kurnool was 77.37 per cent at the time of the 2011 census.
Religion
As per final data of 2011 census, Hindus formed the majority in the Kurnool urban agglomeration. Other religious groups found in Kurnool are Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and Parsees.
Government and politics
Kurnool serves as the district headquarters of its Kurnool district. The city is administered by Kurnool Municipal Corporation.
Education
The primary and secondary school education is imparted by Government, aided and private schools of the School Education Department of the state.
Transport
Roadways
National Highway 44 (India) which runs from Srinagar to Kanyakumari and also highway of Bangalore to Hyderabad. passes through Kurnool.
National highway 340C which connects to Srisailam, Vinukonda, Guntur, Vijayawada.
National Highway 40, which runs from Kurnool to Chittoor, are the major highways passing through the city.
The city has a total road length of 519.22 km State owned bus transport system, APSRTC, operates buses from Kurnool bus station to other parts of the state.
Railways
Kurnool City railway station lies on the Bengaluru – Hyderabad railway line. It is classified as an A–category station in the Hyderabad railway division of South Central Railway zone. Another railway station name Kotla lies in the middle of the city.
Airport
Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy Airport (IATA: KJB, ICAO: VOKU) is an airport at Orvakal in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is Situated on The East Side of National Highway 40, 18 kilometres from Kurnool and 54 kilometres from Nandyal . The greenfield Airport was Built by the Andhra Pradesh Airports Development Corporation Limited. . The first flight was successfully launched during Jagan Mohan Reddy’s government from the airport , which was started in his presence in March 2021
Economy
Kurnool is endowed with good mineral resources. The important minerals are Iron ore, dolomite, limestone, ochre, quartz and silica.
Notable people
- K. E. Krishnamurthy, former Deputy Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh
- Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar – Founder of Justice party, Diwan of Mysore and the First President of UNESCO
- Byreddy Rajasekhar Reddy, Indian politician
- Kotla Jayasurya Prakasha Reddy, former member of parliament and Union minister, Railways
- Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy, former Chief Minister, United Andhra Pradesh
- Damodaram Sanjivayya, former Chief Minister, United Andhra Pradesh
- T. G. Venkatesh, Indian businessman and politician