Vizianagaram

This article is about the city in India. For other uses, see Vijaynagar.

Vizianagaram, also known as Vijayanagaram, is a city and the headquarters of the Vizianagaram district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.^[4] It is located in the Eastern Ghats, about 24 km (15 mi) west of the Bay of Bengal and 40 km (25 mi) north-northeast of Visakhapatnam. 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 dynasty. The rulers had a notable role in the history of the region in the 18th century and were patrons of education and arts.^[5]

West Entrance of the Vizianagaram fort in Andhra Pradesh

Vizianagaram Vijayanagaram
City
Vizianagaram
Clockwise from Top Left: Clock Tower (Ganta stambham), Vizianagaram Fort Balcony, View of Vizianagaram Town, Writings of the great writer Gurajada Apparao, Vizianagaram Fort Walls, Replica of a steam engine at Vizianagaram railway station
Nickname:  Vizianagaram
Vizianagaram Location in Andhra Pradesh, India
Coordinates: 18.1159°N 83.406°E / 18.1159; 83.406
Country	India
State	Andhra Pradesh
District	Vizianagaram
Incorporated (Municipality)	1888
Founded by	Vijayaram Raj
Wards	50
Government
• Type	Mayor–Council
• Body	Vizianagaram Municipal Corporation, Visakhapatnam Metropolitan Region Development Authority
• MLAs	Aditi Vijaya Lakshmi Gajapathi Raju
• MP	Appalanaidu Kalisetti
Area [1]
• Total	29.27 km2 (11.30 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[2]
• Total	228,025
• Rank	11th (in AP)
Literacy
Languages
• Official	Telugu
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	535001 - 535006
Area code	+91–8922
Vehicle Registration	AP35 (Former) AP39 (from 30 January 2019)[3]
Website	https://vizianagaram.ap.gov.in/public-utility-category/municipality/

History

Coat of arms of the Vizianagaram kingdom

Excavations at this town revealed copper coins belonging to the remains of 900 B.C. (Kalinga period).^[6]

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 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.^[7][8] 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%.^[7][9]

Governance

Civic administration

The Vizianagaram Municipal Corporation is the civic body of the city, constituted as a municipality in 1888^[10] before being upgraded to corporation on 9 December 2015.^[11] The jurisdictional area of the corporation is spread over 29.27 km² (11.30 sq mi) with 38 election wards.^[10] During 2010–11, the municipality spent ₹1,887.75 crore (US$230 million) and generated ₹2,367.51 crore (US$280 million).^[12]

Utility services

SH-26 towards Visakhapatnam in Vizianagaram

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, 330 km (210 mi) of roads, 243.25 km (151.15 mi) of drains, 32 parks, 2 playgrounds, 49 elementary and 3 secondary schools and 1 maternity and child health centre.^[13]

Transport

APSRTC Metro Luxury at Vizianagaram Bus Station

Vizianagaram Railway Station

Further information: Transport in Vizianagaram

Roadways

The city has a total road length of 317.80 km.^[14] The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation operates bus services from Vizianagaram bus station.^[15]

Railways

There is a Railway Station in the city,called Vijayanagaram Junction Railway Station, Code : VZM, in the division of East Coast Railways, giving it immediate access to several other parts of the state.^[16]

Educational

The primary and secondary school education is imparted by government, aided and private schools of the School Education Department of the state.^[17][18]

Vizianagaram has educational institutions, including:

• Maharajah's College
• Maharajah's Government College of Music and Dance
• Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University - Gurajada, Vizianagaram
• MVGR College of Engineering

Geography

Vizianagaram is located at 18.12°N 83.42°E / 18.12; 83.42. It has an average elevation of 74 metres (242 feet). The Champavathi River flows near the city.

Climate

Vizianagaram has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw) characterised by high humidity nearly year-round, with oppressive summers and good seasonal rainfall.^[19] The summer season extends from March to May, followed by monsoon 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.^[20]

Climate data for Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	27.6 (81.7)	29.4 (84.9)	32.1 (89.8)	33.8 (92.8)	34.8 (94.6)	33.9 (93.0)	31.6 (88.9)	31.5 (88.7)	31.4 (88.5)	31.0 (87.8)	29.0 (84.2)	27.3 (81.1)	31.1 (88.0)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	18.2 (64.8)	20.6 (69.1)	23.4 (74.1)	25.8 (78.4)	27.5 (81.5)	27.2 (81.0)	26.0 (78.8)	25.9 (78.6)	25.5 (77.9)	24.4 (75.9)	21.0 (69.8)	18.4 (65.1)	23.7 (74.6)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	11 (0.4)	7 (0.3)	11 (0.4)	19 (0.7)	77 (3.0)	132 (5.2)	157 (6.2)	172 (6.8)	204 (8.0)	245 (9.6)	57 (2.2)	5 (0.2)	1,097 (43)
Source: Climate-Data.org[21]

Vizianagaram has been ranked 24th best “National Clean Air City” under (Category 3 population under 3 lakhs cities) in India.^[22]

See also

• List of cities in Andhra Pradesh by population
• List of municipalities in Andhra Pradesh

References

1. "Basic Information of Municipality". Commissioner & Director of Municipal Administration. Municipal Administration & Urban Development Department, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
2. "Statistical Abstract of Andhra Pradesh, 2015" (PDF). Directorate of Economics & Statistics. Government of Andhra Pradesh. p. 44. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
3. "New 'AP 39' code to register vehicles in Andhra Pradesh launched". The New Indian Express. Vijayawada. 31 January 2019. Archived from the original on 28 July 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
4. "District Census Hand Book : Vizianagaram (Part A)" (PDF). Census of India. Directorate of Census Operations, Andhra Pradesh. 2011. pp. 11, 992–993. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
5. "Vizianagaram | India". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 27 November 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
6. "Welcome to Vizianagaram Municipality". Municipal Administration & Urban Development Department, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
7. "Andhra Pradesh (India): Districts, Cities, Towns and Outgrowth Wards – Population Statistics in Maps and Charts". citypopulation.de. Archived from the original on 24 July 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
8. "Sex Ratio". The Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India. Archived from the original on 22 September 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
9. "Chapter–3 (Literates and Literacy rate)" (PDF). Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
10. "Statistical Information of ULBs and UDAs" (PDF). Directorate of Town and Country Planning. Government of Andhra Pradesh. 27 February 2019. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
11. "Masula, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram upgraded into corporations". The Hindu. Vijayawada. 10 December 2015. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
12. "Basic Information of Municipality". Commissioner & Director of Municipal Administration. Municipal Administration & Urban Development Department, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
13. "Public services/amenities". Commissioner & Director of Municipal Administration. Municipal Administration & Urban Development Department, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh. Archived from the original on 2 December 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
14. "DETAILS OF ROADS IN EACH ULB OF ANDHRA PRADESH". Archived from the original on 1 August 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
15. "Bus Stations in Districts". Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
16. https://indianrailways.gov.in/, Official Website of Indian Railways, Retrieved 28 August 2023
17. "School Education Department" (PDF). School Education Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 March 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
18. "The Department of School Education – Official AP State Government Portal | AP State Portal". www.ap.gov.in. Archived from the original on 7 November 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
19. "About Vizianagaram | JNTUK". Retrieved 13 February 2023.
20. Atlas, Weather. "Vizianagaram, India - Climate & Monthly weather forecast". Weather Atlas. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
21. "Climate: vizianagaram". Archived from the original on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
22. "Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2024" (PDF). Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2024. 7 September 2024.

External links

• Vizianagaram official website