Vinukonda is a town in

Palnadu district Palnadu district is a district in coastal Andhra Region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. With Narasaraopet as its administrative headquarters, it was formed on 4 April 2022 to become one of the resultant twenty-six districts The distric ...

of the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n state of

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 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' ...

and the headquarters of Vinukonda

mandal A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative c ...

and administered under

Narasaraopet revenue division Narasaraopeta revenue division is an administrative division in the Palnadu district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of Ind ...

Etymology

The town was formerly known as ''Vishnukundinapuram''. The hill is in the shape of tortoise. Many temples are also found on the top of hill. Srigangasametha Ramalingeswara Swamy temple (according to available sources the deity present in temple was sanctified by Lord Rama). Down the hill Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple was found which was constructed in Gupta's rule.

History

Dolmen A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...

s and other megalithic structures have been found in the town's neighbourhood. Inscriptions from about 1000–1400 CE are also to be found in many old temples. The Vishnukundinas, a local dynasty, ruled the adjoining areas from here during the turn of the millennium. During the medieval era, the hill nearby was the site of a fortress. A four-hundred-year-old Jamia Masjid, built in 1640, is the only major relic of Muslim rule in the town.

Geography

Vinukonda is located at . It has an average elevation of 75

metre The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

s (246

feet The foot (: feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is an organ at the terminal part of the leg made up of ...

). Much like the rest of Palnadu district, it has very hot summers and mild winters. Rainfall is mostly in July to September. High concentrations of

fluorides Fluoride (). According to this source, is a possible pronunciation in British English. is an inorganic, monatomic anion of fluorine, with the chemical formula (also written ), whose salts are typically white or colorless. Fluoride salts typi ...

are found in the underground water reserves and potable water is therefore rare. Summer storage tank is the source of drinking water for the village.

Demographics

The town had a population of 60,420 and an urban agglomeration population of 63,450.

Governance

Vinukonda municipality is the civic administrative body of the city. It is a second grade municipality, constituted on 29 May 2005 and spread over an area of . The urban agglomeration constituents of the town are Vinukonda municipality and a partial

out growth An out growth (OG) is an urban settlement contiguous to another urban area (such as a statutory town, census town, or city) that possesses urban characteristics but is not qualified as an independent town. It should not possess any uninhabited are ...

of Brahmanapalle village. The current

Member of Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several national ...

representing Vinukonda town area is Sri G. V. Anjaneyulu from the TDP.

Transport

The town has a total road length of . It is located on

Guntur Guntur (), natively spelt as Gunturu, is a city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of Guntur district. The city is part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is lo ...

–

Kurnool Kurnool is a city in the state 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". Kurnool is also famous for Diamond hunting as diamonds ca ...

–

Bellary Ballari (formerly Bellary) is a city in the Ballari district in state of Karnataka, India. Ballari houses many steel plants such as JSW Vijayanagar, one of the largest in Asia. Ballari district is also known as the ‘Steel city of South Ind ...

highway.

Vinukonda railway station Vinukonda railway station (station code:VKN), is an Indian Railways station in Vinukonda of Andhra Pradesh. It lies on the Nallapadu–Nandyal section and is administered under Guntur railway division of South Central Railway zone. It is one of ...

is located on the – railway line and falls under the

Guntur railway division Guntur railway division is one of the six divisions of the South Central Railway zone of Indian Railways. The division was sanctioned in 1995–96 and was fully operational on 1 April 2003, with its headquarters at Guntur. The ''Rail Vikas Bhavan ...

South Central Railway 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 ...

. A road through

Nagarjuna Sagar Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is a masonry dam across the Krishna River at Nagarjuna Sagar which straddles the border between Nalgonda district in Telangana and Palnadu district in Andhra Pradesh. The dam provides irrigation water to the districts of Kri ...

located at is a way to reach its neighbouring state

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

and a shorter route to reach the capital city of Telangana, .

Education

The primary and secondary school education is imparted by government, aided and private schools, under the School Education Department of the state. The medium of instruction followed by different schools are English and Telugu.

References

External links

{{Municipalities of Andhra Pradesh Forts in Andhra Pradesh Towns in Guntur district Mandal headquarters in Guntur district Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India Villages in Guntur district Tourist attractions in Guntur district Ancient Indian cities Former capital cities in India