Khammam district


Khammam district is a district in the eastern region of the Indian state of Telangana. The city of Khammam is the district headquarters. The district shares boundaries with Suryapet, Mahabubabad, Bhadradri districts and with Andhra pradesh state.

History

Paleolithic man probably roamed around the areas of lower Godavari valley and the surroundings of Bhadrachalam, Kothagudem, Wyra, Sathupally and Paloncha Taluks in the district. Prehistoric rock paintings were found near Neeladri konda near Lankapalli of Sathupally Taluk.
Megalithic Dolmens were found at Janampet of Pinapaka Taluk.
Megalithic site on the campus of Government Degree college in Khammam has yielded pottery and skeletal remains. Kistapuram and Padugonigudem villages in Gundala Taluk of the district were rich in Megalithic cultural remnants explored and discovered recently.
The southern parts of Khammam district flourished as famous Buddhist centers along with Amaravathi and Vijayapuri along the rivulets Munneru, Wyra and Murredu. Important Buddhist sites in the district are Nelakondapalli, Mudigonda, Aswaraopeta and Karukonda near Kothagudem.

Post Independence

Khammam town which was the seat of Taluk Administration was a part of the larger Warangal district, till 1 October 1953. Six taluks of the Warangal district viz., Khammam, Madhira, Yellandu, Paloncha, Kothagudem and Burgampadu were carved out as a new district with Khammam as headquarters. On 1 November 1956, Hyderabad state was dissolved, and Khammam district became part of Andhra Pradesh.
In 1959, Bhadrachalam revenue division consisting of Bhadrachalam and Nuguru Venkatapuram Taluks of East Godavari district, which were on the other side of the river Godavari were merged into Khammam on grounds of geographical contiguity and administrative viability. Aswaraopeta was also part of West Godavari District up to 1959. In 1973 a new taluk with Sathupalli as headquarters was carved out from Madhira and Kothagudem taluks. In the year 1976 three new taluks were formed viz., Tirumalayapalem, Aswaraopeta and Manuguru by bifurcating Khammam, Kothagudem and Burgampadu taluks respectively.
In the year 1985, following the introduction of the mandal system, the district has been divided into 46 mandals, under four Revenue Divisions – Khammam, Kothagudem, Paloncha and Bhadrachalam.
On 2 June 2014, Khammam together with nine other districts became the new state of Telangana, which was separated from Andhra Pradesh. On 11 July 2014, the Lok Sabha approved a bill transferring seven mandals of Khammam district back to Andhra Pradesh, in order to facilitate the Polavaram Irrigation project.

Geography

Khammam district occupies an area of.

Demographics

, the district has a population of 13,89,566.

Administrative divisions

The district has two revenue divisions of Kallur and Khammam. These are sub-divided into 21 mandals. Lokesh Kumar is the present collector of the district.

Mandals

The mandals of Chinturu, Kunavaram, Nellipaka and Vararamachandrapuram were added to East Godavari district based on Polavaram ordinance.
The list of 21 mandals in Khammam district under 2 revenue divisions are listed in the following table:
S.No.Khammam DivisionS.No.Kalluru Division
1Bonakal16Kalluru
2Chinthakani17Thallada
3Raghunathapalem 18Enkuru
4Khammam 19Penuballi
5Khammam20Sathupally
6Konijerla21Vemsoor
7Kusumanchi-
8Madhira-
9Mudigonda-
10Nelakondapalli-
11Kamepalli-
12Singareni-
13Thirumalayapalem-
14Wyra-
15Yerrupalem-

Economy

In 2006 the Indian government named Khammam one of the country's 250 most backward districts. It is one of the districts in Telangana currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme.

Notable personalities