Vijayawada – Information about Capital of Andhra Pradesh


History of Vijayawada

In mythology Vijayawada is known as Vijayavata, and is mentioned in some inscriptions of Rajendracholapura. During the time of Krishnadeva Raya, Vijayawada was designated as Chalukya Kingdom’s cultural and religious capital. Famous Chinese traveler Huin Tsang, the Buddhist visit Vijayawada when Buddhism was at its zenith. In early 1900s under British rule, Vijayawada grew in infrastructure and got many facilities for better connectivity of roads and rails.  Vijayawada was previously called as Vijayavatika, Rajendracholapuram and Bezawada. It is now the latest city to become capital of a state. Vijayawada is now the capital of Andhra Pradesh after its bifurcation in 2014.

Geography of Vijayawada
Vijayawada is surrounded by rivers on three sides, Budameru River on the north and Krishna River to the east and west. Some parts of the city are covered by low range of hills and some parts by rich and fertile agriculture lands. With population of about one million it is the 2nd most populous city in Andhra Pradesh State. It has an average elevation of 23 meters and spread in 216 sq kms.

Government and Administration of Vijayawada
Administratively Vijayawada comes under Krishna district and is 60 kms away from district head quarter Machilipatnam. City is part of Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and headquarters of APCRDA. Vijayawada Municipal Corporation takes care of the civic administration in the city. City contributes one member to Indian Assembly and three members to Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly.

Language and Culture of Vijayawada
Vijayawada is adjacent to Kuchipudi, Mangalagiri and Kondapalli which are famous for dance, temple and handicrafts respectively and have major impact in culture from them. Jaanapadam Theenmar is famous folk dance in Vijayawada. Pickles and Chutneys are famous in this place. Modern life styles have great impact on the culture of Vijayawada. City’s economy mainly depends on agriculture and its chief crop being rice, sugarcane and mango. Telugu is widely spoken followed by Hindi, English, Urdu and Tamil.

Educational Institutes in Vijayawada
Vijayawada is referred as “Vidyala Wada” (the land of education) and “The Education Sahara” as it houses many prestigious schools, colleges and Universities. Vijayawada is the headquarters of Andhra Pradesh Library Association. V.R. Siddhartha Engineering College, first private engineering college in state is housed here. School of planning and Architecture, Vijayawada is of the three school of planning and architecture, established by Ministry of Human Resource Development. NTR Health University which conducts the examinations of Medical Sciences in the state is housed here.

Transport Facilities in Vijayawada
Vijayawada airport is located in Gangavaram village which is 20 kms from the city. Airport is well connected domestically. They are plans proposed for enabling large aircrafts and night landing. Vijayawada junction with its A1 status is the important junction in South Central Railway Zone. It is the third busiest station in India handling 320 trains per day. National Highways 16 and 65 are passing through the city and are intersecting at Benz Circle. Pundit Nehru Bus Station previously known as Telugu Satavahana Prayana Pranganam is the third largest and busiest bus terminal in India.

Tourism in Vijayawada
Vijayawada has three ancient temples namely Kanaka Durga temple, Malleswaraswamy temple and Vijayeswaraswami temple. A holy relic of the Prophet Mohammed is kept in Hazarat BAL Mosque, which is displayed once in a year. Prakasham Barrage was built across Krishna over 1000 years ago by Sir Arthur Cotton. Beside the barrage Krishnaveni Mandapam, the River museum is located. Gandhiji’s first memorial in the country, Gandhi Hill, is constructed on a hill at an elevation of 150 meters in the city. Bhavani island one of the largest island is located on the Krishna River. They are many destinations around the city.

Festivals in Vijayawada
Navaratri and Dussera are the most remarkable festivals in the city. They are celebrated in Kanaka Durga festival for 10 days. During these 10 days, Goddess Kanka Durga is decorated in 10 forms and celebrated. Other important festivals are Deccan festival celebrated for five days in the month of February and Lumbini festival celebrated in December. Once in 12 years, Vijayawada celebrates Krishna Pushkaralu on the banks of Krishna River.

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