Bhimavaram is a city and headquarters of

West Godavari district The West Godavari district is a coastal district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh with an administrative headquarters in Bhimavaram. As of the 2011 Census of India, the district has an area of and a population of 1,779,935. It is bounded ...

in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of

Bhimavaram mandal Bhimavaram mandal is one of the 19 mandals in West Godavari district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It has headquarters at Bhimavaram town. The mandal is bounded by Undi mandal, Palacoderu mandal, Veeravasaram mandal, Narasapuram ma ...

Bhimavaram revenue division The West Godavari district is a coastal district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh with an administrative headquarters in Bhimavaram. As of the 2011 Census of India, the district has an area of and a population of 1,779,935. It is bounded ...

. It is a part of

Eluru Urban Development Authority The Eluru Urban Development Authority (EUDA) is an urban planning agency in Eluru district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It was constituted on 1 January 2019, under ''Andhra Pradesh Metropolitan Region and Urban Development Authority A ...

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, it is the most populous urban area in the district with a population of 163,875. It is one of the major pilgrimage centers in the state, which is home to

Somarama Somarama is one of the five Pancharama Kshetras that are sacred to the Hindu god Shiva. The temple is located in Bhimavaram of West Godavari district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the centrally protected monuments of n ...

m, one of the five great

Pancharama Kshetras The Pancharama Kshetras () or the Pancharamas, are a group of five ancient Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Siva, located in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. These temples are situated at Draksharamam, Samalkota, Amaravathi, Palakollu, and ...

History

Along with much of present-day coastal Andhra Pradesh, Bhimavaram was controlled by the

Chola dynasty The Chola dynasty () was a Tamil dynasty originating from Southern India. At its height, it ruled over the Chola Empire, an expansive maritime empire. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd cen ...

. Under

Kulothunga Chola I Kulottunga Chola I ('; Middle Tamil: Kulōttuṅka Cōḻaṉ; Classical Sanskrit: Kulottuṅgā Cōḷa; 1025–1122) also spelt Kulothunga (), born Rajendra Chalukya ( Telugu: Rājēndra Cāḷukyuḍu), was a Chola Emperor who reigned fro ...

, Bhimavaram was ruled by his sons who served as viceroys. Stone inscriptions have been found in the town dating from his reign ().

Etymology

The name Bhimavaram literally means "the gift of Bhima". According to a legend, in around 890–918 AD, an

Eastern Chalukya Eastern Chalukyas, also known as the Chalukyas of Vengi, were a dynasty that ruled parts of South India between the 7th and 12th centuries. They started out as governors of the Chalukyas of Badami in the Deccan region. Subsequently, they becam ...

king named Chalukya Bheema built a Siva temple and laid the foundation to this town. It was originally called "Bhimapuram", but the name gradually changed to "Bhimavaram"; "puram" refers to a dwelling place while "varam" means an endowment in Telugu. An alternative explanation is, that the sound va (labiodental) is preferred to ba, pa (labials) in colloquial language and over a period of time tend to shift from pa to va. Hence "varam" from "puram".

Demographics

census of India The decennial census of India has been conducted 15 times, as of 2011. While it has been undertaken every 10 years, beginning in 1872 under Viceroy Lord Mayo, the first complete census was taken in 1872. Post 1949, it has been conducted by the R ...

, the town had a population of 142,184. The total population constitutes 70,066 males and 72,214 females—a sex ratio of 1031 females per 1000 males. 12,157 children are in the age group of 0–6 years, of which 6,149 are boys and 6,008 are girls—a ratio of 977 girls per 1000 boys. The average literacy rate stands at 83.41% with 108,535 literates, significantly higher than the state average of 73.00%. Its

urban agglomeration An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

population was 146,961.

Economy

Bhimavaram is in the epicentre of the

Godavari delta The Godavari (, Help:IPA/Sanskrit, �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganges River, Ganga River and drains the third largest Drainage basin, basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. It ...

region. It is one of the principal trade centres of paddy in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Agriculture-based businesses like food processing, aqua culture, rice mills etc., are the chief sources of the town's revenue. It serves as a distribution centre as well as commercial centre to its hinterland. The town is the regional centre for higher education and is known for its specialized health services. It has many major retail brand shops.

Governance

Civic administration

Its urban agglomeration covers Bhimavaram Municipality, partly out growths of Rayalam (rural) and Chinamiram. It has an area of . Trace of Bhimavaram Municipality Evolution: # April 1948:

Bhimavaram Municipality Bhimavaram Municipality is the local self-government in Bhimavaram of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is classified as a ''Selection Grade Municipality''. Administration The municipality was formed in April 1948 as Grade–III municipa ...

was established as a third grade Municipal Corporation. # August 1963: Upgraded to a second grade municipality in August 1963. # August 1967: Upgraded to a first grade municipality in August 1967. # September 1980: Upgraded to a Special Grade Municipality in September 1980. # September 2011: It was upgraded to 'Selection Grade municipality' in 2011. # 1 January 2019:

created. Bhimavaram became a part of EUDA along with places in West Godavari District.

Politics

Bhimavaram assembly constituency is a legislative assembly constituency in

Narasapuram Lok Sabha constituency Narasapuram Lok Sabha constituency is one of the twenty-five lok sabha constituencies of Andhra Pradesh in India. It comprises seven assembly segments and belongs to West Godavari district. Assembly Segments Narasapuram Lok Sabha constituency ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

Transport

The town has a total road length of . It is well connected with other places in the country by

national highways National Highways (NH), formerly Highways England and before that the Highways Agency, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in Eng ...

NH 216 National Highway 153 (NH 153), formerly NH-216, is a national highway in India. It is a spur road of National Highway 53. NH-153 traverses the state of Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (; ) is a landlocked States and union territories of Indi ...

passes through the town. The

Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (abbreviated as APSRTC) is the state-owned road transport corporation in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Its headquarters is located at NTR Administrative Block of RTC House in Pandit Ne ...

operates bus services from Bhimavaram bus station. Bhimavaram Junction railway station is classified as 'NSG-4' in

South Central Railway zone South Central Railway (abbreviated SCR) is one of the 19 zones of Indian Railways. The jurisdiction of the zone is spread over the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka. It has three divisions under its administration, wh ...

. The Gudivada–Bhimavaram section connects it with Howrah-Chennai main line.

Bhimavaram Town railway station Bhimavaram is a city and headquarters of West Godavari district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Bhimavaram mandal in Bhimavaram revenue division. It is a part of Eluru Urban Development Autho ...

is well-connected with daily trains to major cities like

Vijayawada Vijayawada ( ), formerly known by its colonial name Bezawada, is the second largest city and a major commercial hub in the Andhra Pradesh state of India. The city forms an integral part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is situated on th ...

Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...

, Tirupathi,

Bengaluru Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

Nellore Nellore, also spelt as Nelluru, is a city located on the banks of Penna River, in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, India.Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

. Almost all the trains passing through the Junction pass through the town station and vice versa. There are as many as 2,69,137 vehicle owners are licensed according to transport officials in the town. Out of this, about 13,064 are autos, 1236 school buses, 9908 lorries, 11,129 cars, 2,04,728 motorbikes, 2,833 three-wheelers, 15 car travels, and 5 bus travel vehicles. The nearest airport to Bhimavaram is

Rajahmundry Airport Rajahmundry Airport is a domestic airport serving the city of Rajamahendravaram, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is located at Madhurapudi, north from the city centre, on National Highway 516E (NH-516E). Before modernisation, it was used by Va ...

, which is 80 km away. Bhimavaram is located at distance of 120 km from

, 265 km from

and 400 km from

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

Culture

Bhimavaram is famous for: * the Gunupudi Someswara (

) temple, which is one of the five holy

Pancharamas The Pancharama Kshetras () or the Pancharamas, are a group of five ancient Hinduism, Hindu temples dedicated to Shiva, Lord Siva, located in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. These temples are situated at Draksharamam, Samalkota, Amaravathi, ...

and * the temple of the local deity Mavullamma. The

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

lingam A lingam ( , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or Aniconism, aniconic representation of the Hinduism, Hindu Hindu deities, god Shiva in Shaivism. The word ''lingam'' is found in the Up ...

is known for changing its color according to the lunar month: Black during

amavasya Amāvásyā () is the lunar phase of the new moon in Sanskrit. Indian calendars use 30 lunar phases, called tithi in India. The dark moon tithi is when the Moon is within 12 degrees of the angular distance between the Sun and Moon before conj ...

and white during pournami. Mavullamma is believed to have manifested herself here in the year 1200 CE with the temple being built around 1880 CE. According to local folklore the goddess' idol appeared inside a mango farm earning her the name Mamillamma (arising from mangoes) which was later modified to Mavullamma.

Notable people

Many people from the city have become notable in the

Telugu cinema Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to the production of Film, motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Based in Film N ...

industry such as: *

Trivikram Srinivas Trivikram Srinivas (born Akella Naga Srinivasa Sarma; 7 November 1971) is an Indian film director and screenwriter known for his work in Telugu cinema. Recognised for his witty dialogues, humour, and philosophical themes, he is one of the high ...

, *

Sivaji Raja Sivaji Raja (born 26 February 1962) is an Indian actor who primarily appears in Telugu films and television series. He appeared in more than 400 films. He is also known for his work in TV serials '' Amrutam'', ''Alasyam Amrutham Visham'', ''Mr.R ...

, * Penmatsa Subbaraju, *

Sunil Sunil (सुनील) is a first name for males, often found in the South Asian community. The Sanskrit word ' means "dark", "very blue", and is also an epithet of Krishna. Notable people * Sunil (actor), Indian Telugu film actor * Sunil ( ...

(Indukuri Sunil Varma), * Uppalapati Venkata Suryanarayana Prabhas Raju (

Prabhas Uppalapati Venkata Suryanarayana Prabhas Raju (; born 23 October 1979), known mononymously as Prabhas, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. One of the highest-paid actors in Indian cinema, he is known as Rebel Star in ...

) and *

Raja Ravindra Raja Ravindra is an Indian actor predominantly appears in Telugu films and television serials. Apart from Telugu films, he has acted in several Tamil films and a few Kannada movies. He started his career with TV serials and entered into films. ...

. Other notable personalities include: * Krishnam Raju Gadiraju, * Yellapragada Subbarao in science, * mystic

Swami Jnanananda Swami Jnanananda born as Bhupathiraju Lakshminarasimha Raju (5 December 1896 – 21 September 1969) was an Indian Yogi and Nuclear Physicist. Early childhood He was born in a village Named Goraganamudi Near Bhimavaram. West Godavari district of ...

, * Industrialists: ** B. V. Raju, **

Byrraju Ramalinga Raju Byrraju Ramalinga Raju (born 16 September 1954) is an Indian businessman. He is the founder of Satyam Computer Services and served as its chairman and CEO from 1987 until 2009. Raju stepped down following his admission to embezzlement from the ...

and * freedom fighter

Alluri Sitarama Raju Alluri Sitarama Raju (4 July 1897 or 1898 – 7 May 1924) was an Indian revolutionary who waged an armed rebellion against the British Raj, British colonial rule in India. He led the Rampa Rebellion of 1922, Rampa rebellion (1922–1924) whic ...

Education

Primary and secondary school education is imparted by government, aided, and private schools of the School Education Department of the state. The mediums of instruction followed by schools are English and Telugu. There are numerous higher educational institutions in and around Bhimavaram. Some of the renowned institutions are: *

Sagi Ramakrishnam Raju Engineering College Sagi Ramakrishnam Raju Engineering College Bhimavaram (or SRKREC) is a co-educational, Autonomous and a private engineering college in Bhimavaram, Andhra Pradesh, India, 534204 History It was formed in the 1980s to provide a better quality te ...

(S. R. K. R. Engineering College), * Bhimavaram Institute of Engineering & Technology, * Dantuluri Narayana Raju College (

D. N. R. Educational Institutions D. or d. may refer to, usually as an abbreviation: * Don (honorific), a form of address in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and their former overseas empires, usually given to nobles or other individuals of high social rank. * Date of death, as an abbreviati ...

), * Grandhi Varalakshmi Venkatarao Institute of Technology ( GVIT), *

K. G. R. L. Group of Educational Institutions K, or k, is the eleventh letter of the English alphabet. K may also refer to: General uses * K, a normal modal logic * K (programming language), an array processing language developed by Arthur Whitney and commercialized by Kx Systems * K ( ...

, *

Sri Vishnu Educational Society Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Assamese, Meitei ( Manipuri), Marathi, Malay (including Indo ...

, *

Vishnu Dental College Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation (sattva). Vish ...

Other schools

* Sarada Residential School

Sports

Badminton Indoor Stadiums & Academies

List of Badminton Indoor Stadiums in Bhimavaram Mandal.

Indoor Stadiums at Colleges & Clubs

Clubs * Townhall Badminton Indoor Stadium (1 Court) * The Cosmopolitan Club Badminton Indoor Stadium (3 Courts) * Youth Club Badminton Indoor Stadium (3 Courts) Colleges * DNR Badminton Indoor Stadium (4 Courts) * SRKR Indoor Stadium (2 Courts) * Sri Vishnu Educational Society (5 Courts & 2 Courts for Girls)

Badminton Stadium & Academy

* PRO Badminton Academy (5 Courts) * Venkat Badminton Academy (4 Courts) * Smash Badminton Academy (3 Courts)

References

External links

Bhimavaram Municipality website
{{Authority control Cities in Andhra Pradesh Mandal headquarters in West Godavari district District headquarters of Andhra Pradesh