Anakapalli

Anakapalli (, ) is a suburb of Visakhapatnam city, located within the jurisdiction of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation. It contains India's second largest jaggery market.

History

The town was ruled by the Kalinga Empire (ancient Odisha). Different dynasties ruled this region, including the Chedi Kingdom of Kalinga (Odisha), Eastern Ganga dynasty of Odisha, Gajapati Kingdom of Odisha, Kakatiya, and Qutub Shahi empires. Around 1611, Kakarlapudi Appala Raju Payakarao conquered the region under the Sultanate of Golconda, with Anakapalli as his fortified headquarters. The historical saga of Anakapalli begins with the historian Tallapragada, who identified and documented its significance. This was substantiated by the historical evidence found on Bojjanakonda. Additionally, the area was ruled by various dynasties, including the Satavahanas, Vishnukundina, Gajapathi, Vijayanagara Samrats, and Golkonda Samanta Rajulu.

The alias of Anakapalli are Aniankapalli, Anekaphalle, Vijaypuri, Veniapalii, Kanakapuri, Bellampatnam, Anakapally and Anakapalli. It is located by the side of the holy Sarada River.

Anakapalli was an estate in the Visakhapatnam District of the Madras Presidency. Originally belonging to the Rajas of Vijayanagaram, it passed entirely into the hands of the family through an auction purchase in 1802. The estate was subject to a tribute (peshkash) to the government of 2997 peshkash per annum and was later resold by the Raja to Gode Jaggappa. It consists of 16 villages and 17 hamlets and comprises some of the richest land in the district. The annual rental value, along with 5 other attached estates, was 17,609 peshkash. The Anakapalli taluk contains 45 towns and villages and 154 hamlets, all zamindaris (private estate holders) with 27,929 occupied houses and 131,637 inhabitants. According to the 1881 census, the population included 1,30,667 Hindus, 1,367 Muslims, and 3 Christians. The government land revenue, excluding zamindari, was 127 peshkash. The area had a criminal court, and in civil matters, it was under the jurisdiction of the Munsif's Court at Rayavaram.

Anakapalli town, which is located in Anakapalli taluk, Visakhapatnam district, Madras Presidency, lies 20 miles south-west of Visakhapatnam on the Sarada River and the Grand Trunk Road. In 1881, the population of the town was 13,341, with 3,810 houses. The municipal revenue for 1880-81 amounted to about 915 peshkash. Much of the surrounding area historically belonged to the king of Vijayanagara. Recently, it has experienced a growth spurt due to the molasses and small-scale cotton export businesses, serving as an agricultural center.

As the headquarters of the taluk, it houses the regular subordinate courts, a jail dispensary and courts. It is the fourth most populous town in the district.

Buddhist area

One of the most significant Buddhist sites in Andhra Pradesh, Sankaram is located some 3.5 km away from Anakapalli and 41 km away from Visakhapatnam on the Sabbavaram by-pass road. The name Sankaram derives from the term Sangharama. Sankaram is famous for its many votive stupas, rock-cut caves, brick-built structural edifices, early historic pottery, and Satavahana coins that date back to the 1st century AD. The main stupa here was initially carved out of rock and then covered with bricks.

There you can see a number of images of the Buddha carved on the rock face of the caves. At Lingalametta, there are hundreds of rock-cut monolithic stupas in rows, spread all over the hill. Among other Buddhist attractions here are relic casket, three chaitya halls, votive platforms, stupas, and Vajrayana sculptures. The Vihara was functional for around a millennium and saw the development of the not only Theravada form of Buddhism but also Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Later Anakapalli went to the estate of Vavilavalasa Inuganty kings and ruled a long time.

Freedom struggle

Before the Sepoy Mutiny, the French were attacked in Anakapalli in 1753. Bassi Dora was arrested at Kasimkota. Many freedom leaders visited Anakapalli, like Dr. B. R. Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi, who started the movement to boycott foreign goods in Anakapalli. Mahatma Gandhi started his speech at Bellam Market in Anakapalli. The farmers requested that Gandhi name the jaggery market as Gandhi Market. He accepted the request. Leaders including Gandhi, N. G. Ranga, CPI's Jaya Prakash Narayan visited, 1 year later Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose also gave speeches at Anakapalli.

During 1944-45, Sri Koribilli Jogarao (Teacher) and Jakkanahalli Sri Ramamurthy (Compounder) participated in the freedom struggle and spoke against the movement and were sent to Rai Vellore Jail.

Anakapalle Town main divisions

* Gavarapalem
* Lakshmi Narayana Nagar
* Vijayaramaraju peta
* Laxmi Devi peta
* Gandhi Nagar
* Narasinga Rao peta

Geography

Anakapalli is located at , on the banks of River Sarada and at an altitude of . It is spread over an area of .

Demographics

According to Imperial Gazetteer of India, Anakapalli had an area of containing 143 villages.

As of the 2001 Indian census, Anakapalli had a population of 84,523. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Anakapalli has an average literacy rate of 67%, higher than the national average of 59.5%, with 54% of the males and 46% of females literate. 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Governance

Anakapalli Municipality has a history of 120 years. The municipality was started in 1877. Anakapalli became a municipality using the Madras City Development Act. According to the Madras District Municipality Act of 1884, they were decided to have 13 members. The municipality had a directly elected municipal chairman in 1885 and 1897. It became a first grade municipality in 1956. A municipality consisting of 32 wards. This municipality earns an annual revenue of around 1 crore. Later this was merged into G.V.M.C in 2015 of zone-07

Economy

Agriculture mainly consists of the production of Rice, Corn, Sugarcane, and all types of vegetables. The chief crop cultivated in this region is sugarcane and Anakapalli is well known for its jaggery market, which is the second-largest in India. Velagapudi Steels own a steel mill near Anakapalli.

Notable people

* Budhha Maha Lakshmi Naidu
* Villuri Venkataramana
* P. Appalanarasimham
* Dadi Veerabhadra Rao
* Konathala Ramakrishna
* Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry

Notable temples

* Bojjannakondaancient Buddhist site
* Nookambika Temple

Social welfare and clubs

When we start talking about the welfare of Anakapalli, we should talk about Anakapalli Merchant Association Sri Gauri Granthalayam and Sharada Granthalayam.Anakapalli Rotary Club (1953), Lions Club (1966), Premasamajam (1943), Gouri Yuvajana Seva Gangam (1966), Gouri Seva Sangam (1970). There are clubs like N.T.R. Stadium and Rao Gopal Rao Kala Kshetra and an indoor stadium.

Theatres

The theaters in this town include shri Satya Theatre, Satyanarayana Theatre, Venkateswara Theatre, Raja Theatre, Ramachandra Theatre, Parthi Sai Theatre and shiridi sai Theatre.

Transport

National Highway 16, a part of Golden Quadrilateral highway network, bypasses the town. Anakapalle railway station is on Howrah–Chennai main line. It is under the Vijayawada division of the South Central Railway zone. APSRTC runs the buses all over the state. Vizag city buses run from Maddilapalem, Dwaraka Bus Station, Gajuwaka, Yelamanchili, etc.. Anakapalle railway station got funds of nearly 27 crores under Amrit Bharat Scheme in 2023. Anakapalle Lok Sabha Constituency MP Dr. Beesetti Venkata Satyavathi of YSRCP laid the stone while Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated it virtually attended.

References

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Cities and towns in Anakapalli district
District headquarters of Andhra Pradesh