Vizianagaram, also known as Vijayanagaram, is a city and the headquarters of the

Vizianagaram district Vizianagaram district is one of the six districts in the Uttarandhra region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh with its headquarters located at Vizianagaram. The district was once the part of ancient Ka ...

in the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...

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 ...

. It is located in the

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats is a mountain range that stretches along the East Coast of India, eastern coast of the Indian peninsula. Covering an area of , it traverses the states and union territories of India, states of Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Prade ...

, about west of the Bay of Bengal and north-northeast of

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 ...

. The city has a population of 228,025 and was established as the capital of the Vizianagaram estate by Raja Vijayaram Raj from the

Pusapati Poosapati / Pusapati was the ruling clan of the Vizianagaram estate. History The Pusapati clan claims descent from Madhavavarma, who led a Rajput colony into the Krishna Valley in the late 6th century. The members of the colony subsequently h ...

dynasty. The rulers had a notable role in the history of the region in the 18th century and were patrons of education and arts. West Entrance of the Vizianagaram fort in Andhra Pradesh

West Entrance of the Vizianagaram fort in Andhra Pradesh

History

Excavations at this town revealed copper coins belonging to the remains of 900 B.C. (Kalinga period). Vizianagaram Princely State was ruled by Pusapati Kings & Gajapati Maharajas. Maharaja Vijayarama Gajapati Raju was a notable King. They are Suryavanshi Kshatriyas. Their ancestors are Udaipur Maharanas. Buddhist and Jain remains were excavated around hills near

Ramateertham Ramateertham is a village panchayat in Nellimarla mandal of Vizianagaram district in Andhra Pradesh in India, about 12 km from Vizianagaram city. Rama Temple The idol of Rama in the Kodanda Rama temple at Bodi Konda was beheaded by ...

village.

Demographics

As of the 2011 Census of India, the town had a population of 227,533. The total population constituted 111,596 males and 115,937 females—a sex ratio of 1,039 females per 1,000 males, higher than the national average of 940 per 1,000. 20,487 children are in the age group of 0–6 years, of which 10,495 are boys and 9,992 are girls. The average literacy rate stood at 81.85% with 169,461 literates, significantly higher than the national average of 73.00%.

Governance

Civic administration

The Vizianagaram Municipal Corporation is the civic body of the city, constituted as a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in 1888 before being upgraded to corporation on 9 December 2015. The jurisdictional area of the corporation is spread over with 38 election wards. During 2010–11, the municipality spent and generated .

Utility services

Utility services include a water supply, sewer connections, drainage systems, parks, grounds, community centres, and healthcare. The municipality maintains 458 public taps, 749 bore–wells, of roads, of drains, 32 parks, 2 playgrounds, 49 elementary and 3 secondary schools and 1 maternity and child health centre.

Transport

Roadways

The city has a total road length of 317.80 km. 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 Vizianagaram bus station.

Railways

There is a Railway Station in the city, called Vijayanagaram Junction Railway Station, Code : VZM, in the division o
East Coast Railways
giving it immediate access to several other parts of the state.

Education

The

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

and secondary school education is imparted by government, aided and private schools of the ''School Education Department'' of the state. Vizianagaram has educational institutions, including: * Maharajah's College *

Maharajah's Government College of Music and Dance Maharajah's Government College of Music and Dance () is an educational institution in Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is the first music college in South India. Profile It was established in 1919 by Pusapati Vijayarama Gajapathi Raju, M ...

* Maharajah's Government Sanskrit College * Maharajah Institute of Medical Sciences *

Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University - Gurajada, Vizianagaram The Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University-Gurajada, Vizianagaram (JNTU-GV) is a public university located in Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh. It was established on 12 January 2022. The university was named after Gurajada Apparao, a noted India ...

* MVGR College of Engineering

Culture

The Sirimanothsavam takes place every year in Vizianagaram along with the Vizianagaram Utsav at the

Vizianagaram Fort Vizianagaram fort is an early 18th-century fort in the city of Vizianagaram in northeastern Andhra Pradesh, South India. It was built by Vijaya Rama Raju, the Maharaja of Vizianagaram in 1713. The formal ceremony, while laying the foundation fo ...

Geography

Vizianagaram is located at . It has an average elevation of 74 metres (242 feet). The

Champavathi River River Champavathi () is a small river which originates in the Eastern Ghats at an altitude of 1,200 metres above mean sea level near Andra village and flows eastwards and joins the Bay of Bengal near the village Konada. The river passes ...

flows near the city.

Climate

Vizianagaram has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Aw'') characterised by high

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, dew, or fog t ...

nearly year-round, with oppressive summers and good seasonal rainfall. The summer season extends from March to May, followed by

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

season, which continues to September. October and November constitute the post-monsoon or retreating monsoon season. The normal rainfall of the district for the year is 1,131.0 mm, as compared to the actual rainfall of 740.6 mm received during 2002–2003. The district gets the benefit of both the southwest and northeast monsoon. The season from December to February generally has fine weather. Vizianagaram has been ranked 24th best “National Clean Air City” under (Category 3 population under 3 lakhs cities) in India.

References

External links

Vizianagaram official website
{{Authority control Cities in Andhra Pradesh District headquarters of Andhra Pradesh Mandal headquarters in Vizianagaram district Quasi-princely estates of India Towns in Vizianagaram district Zamindari estates