Khammam district

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This article is about the district. For its eponymous headquarters, see Khammam.
Khammam district
ఖమ్మం జిల్లా
District of Telangana
Painting of Lord Rama on a temple at Bhadrachalam
Painting of Lord Rama on a temple at Bhadrachalam
Location in Telangana, India
Location in Telangana, India
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Country India
State Telangana
Headquarters Khammam
Area
 • Total 16,029 km2 (6,189 sq mi)
Population (2011)
 • Total 2,797,371
 • Rank 140
 • Density 175/km2 (450/sq mi)
Languages
 • Official Telugu, Urdu
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
Vehicle registration TS-04[1]
Website khammam.telangana.gov.in

Khammam District is a district in Telangana, India. It had a population of 2,797,370[2] of which 19.81% were urban as of 2001 census. Khammam city is the district headquarters. The present name of Khammam is derived its name after a local hill, which was called as 'Stambhadri'. The city was called with different names starting with Stambhadri, Kambhadri, Kambham mettu, Khammam mettu and then finally as Khammam. The Godavari River enters Khammam district from Warangal district and flows nearly 250 km across the district. Khammam district is one of the "Coal mining districts of India."The district has the Singareni Colleries head town , Kothagudem which is also called "Coal town of South India." It is currently a part of the Red Corridor.[3]

Dummugudem Barrage on River Godavari in Khammam District

Doli Gutta, at 965 m the highest point in Telangana, is located at the northern end of the district.[4]

History

Prehistory

Paleolithic man probably roamed around the areas of lower Godavari valley[5] and the surroundings of Bhadrachalam, Kothagudem, Wyra, Sathupally and Paloncha Taluks in the district. Prehistoric rock paintings were found near Neeladri konda[6] near Lankapalli of Sathupally Taluk.

Megalithic Dolmens were found at Janampet[7] of Pinapaka Taluk. Megalithic site on the campus of Government Degree college in Khammam has yielded pottery and skeletal remains.[8] Kistapuram[9] and Padugonigudem[10] villages in Gundala Taluk of the district were rich in Megalithic cultural remnants explored and discovered recently.

Buddhism

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[11] near Kothagudem.

Freedom movement

History of khammam district shows that it has produced a number of leaders who were part of the Freedom struggle (like Chepuri venkanna) and Telangana Movement (like Annabathula Ravindra Nath); Khammam district was initially a part of larger Warangal District.

  • 1857 – First Independence Movement – Bhadrachalam area
  • 1879 – Rompa Revolution by Pulitanti Sambaiah, Kuru Thimma Dora, Ambul Reddy, Bandala Chandraiah
  • 1920 – Alluri Seetharama Raju Manyam Revolution by Darikonda Venkatappaiah, Chinthalachervu Venkatadri, Kurichati Venkata Subba Rao
  • 1931 – First Independence movement in Khammam proper
  • 1934 – Library Movement. Viraatrayandhra Grandhalayam at Nelakonda-pally was reorganised for movement by Pendyala Satya Narayana Rao. The Library was established in 1912.
  • 1935 – First Library established in Khammam town
  • 1935 – Satyagraha Movement by Pendyala Satya Narayana rao, Peravelli Venkata Ramanaiah, Nedumuri Jagannatha Rao, Pabbaraju Ranga Rao, Sarvadevabhatla Ramadham, Jamalapuram Nizam Movement, Sardar Jamalapuram Keshava Rao,[12] Madapati Ramachandar Rao, Pandit Rudra Dev,Teegala Hanumantha Rao, Miriyala Narayana Reddy, Chandra Lakshmi Narayana, Bachu Simhadri
  • 1938 -Established Palair rytu project under the leadership of Pendyala Satya Narayana Rao
  • 1941 – Freedom movement writers (Darasathi Brothers)
  • 1942 -Established Political schools in many parts of Warangal district by Pendyala Satya Narayana Rao to activate the anti Rytu activities in Jamabandi which was conducted by Patel, Patwari and other officials of Nizam.
  • 1944 – State Congress National Conference at Jujjula-rao-peta held by kankipati Satya Narayan Rao Garu
  • 1944 – Bandi-pattala Movement (Farmers Movement) by Pendyala Satya Narayana Rao, Gangavarapu Sreenivasa Rao, K.L. Narasimha Rao
  • 1945 - 12th State Andhra Mahasabha meeting at Khammam organised by Pendyala Satya Narayana Rao as general secretary, Aahvana sangham. Elected Baddam Ellareddy as president and Pendyala Satya Narayana Rao as vice-president to 13th State Andhra Mahasabha in that meeting. The meeting was held on March,26th,27th and 28th. Puchala-pally Sundaraiah participated in the meeting as guest.Nearly 40,000 people attended the meeting.
  • 1946 – Mahathma Gandhi's visit to Khammam mett (Khammam town) on 5 August 1946
  • 1946 - Pendyala satyanarayana rao General secretary, Warangal district Andhramaha sabha and communist party attended the All India samshtaan peoples conference on 8 and 9 June at New Delhi as a member of standing committee from the Nizam state.Then the movement takes turn into complete freedom.
  • 1947 August, 7 – Satyagraham at Madhira and Khammam by Jamalapuram Kesava Rao, Kurapati Venkata Raju, Vattikonda Ramakotaiah, Heeralal
  • 1947

Moriya,Teegala Hanumantha Rao, Kolipaka Kishan Rao, Gella Keshava Rao, Pullabhotla Venkateswarlu (Hyderabad congress present)

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. In 2014 when Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated, to avoid land constraints in the relief and rehabilitation process for the displaced affected by Polavaram project, seven mandals of Khammam district, were merged with the successor state of Andhra Pradesh.

Bommakanti Satyanarayana(Freedom Fighter,MLA From 1957 to 1962,Warangal DCC Presadent,SR&BGNR Founder).Bommakanti satyanarayana Political Master to P.V.Narshima Rao(Ex PM),Jalangam Vengal Rao(Ex CM),Seelam Siddareddy(Ex Minister) .Bommakanti satyanarayana allot Plots,Lands to SC,ST,and BC at Bonakal and Madhira Assembly Constitution first time in the State.He is Main cause to form Khammam District .Bommakanti Satyanarayana 1957 to 1962 MLA Madhira INC Bommakanti Satyanarayana Contest as Hyderbad State P.C.C President In 17 January 1954 (opposition :Konda Venkatreddy). 47MLA support to Bommakanti Satyanarayana in 1955 To formation Visalandhra 47 MLAs under leadership of Bommakanti Satyanarayana meet to Nehru,Radakrishna, Govind Vallab Path, Moulana Azad and demand for Visalandhra in 4th Nov 1955 Bommakanti think he can check Konda Venkat reddy and Chenna Reddy with association of Ayyadevara Kaleshwarao and Andhra Leaders after formation of visalandhra but andhra leader check to Bommakanti

Bommakanti….. Praja party members some of Congress men who Opposed sanjiv Reddy leadership as chief Minister to AP State Formed Socilist Democratic Party in 1959, the Convention elected, P.V.G.Rajuas as Chairman

Bommakanti Satyanarayana as General Secretary Chenna Reddy as Legislature Party Leader Strength of the party 41 MLAs and main opposition party In Assembly

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 (Kukunoor, Velairpadu, Bhurgampadu, Chintoor, Kunavaram, Vararamachandrapuram and Bhadrachalam) back to Andhra Pradesh, in order to facilitate the Polavaram Irrigation project.[13][14]

Religions in Khammam district
Religion Percentage
Hindu
  
 93.3%
Muslim
  
 5.34%
Christian
  
 1.19%
Others
  
 0.17%

Geography

Khammam district occupies an area of approximately 16,029 square kilometres (6,189 sq mi),[15] comparatively equivalent to Canada's Bathurst Island.[16]

Divisions

Administratively, Khammam is divided into 4 revenue areas and 37 Mandals.

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Assembly Constituencies

There are 10 Assembly Constituencies in Khammam district.

110. Pinapaka . 111. Yellandu . 112. khammam . 113. Palair . 114. Madhira. 115. wyra. 116. Sathupalli. 117. Kothagudem. 118, Aswaraopeta. 119. Bhadrachalam.

Economy

Coal Handling Ropeway near Pamulapalli village (supply of coal from Manugur open cast mine to Aswapuram Heavy Water Plant)

In 2006 the Indian government named Khammam one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640).[17] It is one of the districts in Telangana currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[17]

Agriculture

Khammam District is endowed with Agro climatic and soil conditions in which a wide range of horticulture crops like mango, banana, cashew, coconut, oil palm, cocoa, pepper etc. are grown. Production and distribution of various kinds of fruits, vegetables and flowers and their seeds are the major activities supported by the horticulture Department.

Irrigation projects include:

Major projects
Medium Projects

Household indicators

In 2007–2008 the International Institute for Population Sciences interviewed 1258 households in 38 villages across the district.[18] They found that 85.8% had access to electricity, 92.2% had drinking water, 32.1% toilet facilities, and 28.6% lived in a pucca (permanent) home.[18] 33.6% of girls wed before the legal age of 18[19] and 81.7% of interviewees carried a BPL card.[18]

Image Gallery

  • Khammam Fort Entrance view from below

  • Godavari river at Parnashala near Bhadrachalam

  • Sunset in Kinnarsani WS, AP W IMG 6149.jpg

    Sunset in Kinnerasani Wild life sanctuary, Paloncha

  • View of Venugopala Swamy Temple, Iravendi Village in Khammam District.jpg

    View of Venugopala Swamy Temple, Iravendi Village in Khammam District

  • Bhadrachalam Temple during 2005 floods

  • Garuga pinnata (Kakad) in Kinnerasani Wild life sanctuary, Paloncha

  • Bogatha Water Falls near Wajedu in Khammam district

  • Khammam fort ghee well

  • Scenic View from a dam at Kinnerasani Wild life sanctuary, Paloncha

  • Illuminated view of Bhadrachalam Temple walls during 2015 Pushkarams

  • Singareni opencast coal mines at Manuguru

  • Road Bridge over Godavari River at Bhadrachalam

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Khammam district has a population of 2,797,370,[20] roughly equal to the nation of Jamaica[21] or the US state of Utah.[22] This gives it a ranking of 140th in India (out of a total of 640).[20] The district has a population density of 175 inhabitants per square kilometre (450/sq mi) .[20] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 8.5%.[20] Khammam has a sex ratio of 1010 females for every 1000 males,[20] and a literacy rate of 65.46%.[20]

The density of population has grown from 51 to 160 per km². Among the population, there are about 3,60,154 Scheduled Castes 5,58,958 Scheduled Tribes. About 80% of the population lives in rural areas. The sex ratio is 974 females for every 1000 male population in rural areas and about 977 females for 1000 males in the urban areas.
The tradition and culture of Khammam district is a conglomeration of mosaic culture representing Hindus, Muslims and Christians. There are sizable number of scheduled tribes, who constitute an integral part of Hindu community. Among the tribes, Koyas and Lambadas are in domination. These tribal people still follow their own traditions and customs in their social life. Khammam district is the largest tribal populated district in Telangana followed by Adilabad district.

Tribals

The Khammam district has a tribal population of 5,58,958, which is about 13.29% of the total tribal population of the Telangana state.

Koyas

The meaning of Koya is “a good person living on the hills”. Koyas constitute about 80% of the tribal population living in the Dandakaranya forests. In general, Koyas are short statured, lean and rather diffident. They speak koya language which does not have any script. They do not own much property and the crime rate in Koya communities is generally low. Alcohol consumption is permitted among both men and women.

Koyas are an ethnic tribe found in Telangana state and confined to Godavari valley and neighbouring Malkangiri District of Orisha State and Chhattisgarh State. They are found mostly in Bhadrachalam division of Khammam District in Telangana. They speak a dialect that is part of Gond language considered to be a major Dravidian group of languages. It more or less resembles the Telugu (the official language of Telangana) language.

Culture of Koyas

They constitute one of the indigenous schedule tribes of the State. Their native tongue is “koi” which to a great extent resembles Telugu language as they borrowed many words from Telugu. The songs, dances, music and games played by the Koyas reflect their life style and culture. They have strong spiritual [magico-religious] beliefs and consider nature as their Goddess. They term their gods and goddesses as Devaras. But many of the tribes identify themselves as Hindus and even worship Hindu Gods and Goddesses. They usually perform ceremonies (Jatara) of the martyrs who laid down their lives for a [tribal] cause; they adore them as their spiritual heroes. Sammakka and Saaralamma are of such sort. The regard for them, probably, has led to the genesis of this jatara. Dance and songs start from there. The Koyas have an interesting dance form in which the men tie buffalo or bison horns on their heads, wear traditional costumes and beat large sized drums, while the women wearing traditional costumes dance prettily in a circular formation with their hands clasped with each other. These are popularly known as real songs, as they normally start with the expression real real real real real rerela…. In any ceremony whether it is death or marriage meat and homemade liquor consumption are very widely prevalent. Normally chicken or Mutton is served, but even beef consumption is very high. Among Koyas, some years ago-may be a decade ago men would attire only in a loin cloth (a small piece of cloth to cover their genitals), except that they would not wear anything. Women would attire themselves in saris but the way they would wear them was entirely different from the way the ladies of non-tribal communities wear. Even now some old women who stick to old tradition would wear the sari in the same fashion. But as they came in contact with the other communities, there is a gradual change in their life style. They to a great extent, discarded they old lifestyle and try to look like other communities. Even the government is taking measures to bring about faster development among them. In spite of all these measures, even now, most of them are poor and only a small percentage of population has achieved economic prosperity. Christian missionaries are very active in these tribal areas and converted a large number of tribals. They even translated Bible into Koi language and are preaching them.

Livelihood

The livelihood of Koyas is mainly agriculture though they would do Podu, (i.e. slash and burn technique) and collect the local forest produce like tamarind, emblics, honey, Palm kernels and tender tamarind leaves. Even some of these things are a rare sight nowadays, as there is large scale deforestation. Now they no longer carry out Podu, as the forest cover has already dwindled. Most of these tribes own small land holdings and thanks to ITDA (Integrated Tribal Development Agency) Bhadrachalam; they started using modern methods in agriculture like the usage of HYV seeds, Pesticides, Fertilizers and Power sprays. So they gave up their traditional organic forming and went modern. With the passage of time, the wildlife habitat dwindled and the productivity of the land decreased due to deforestation and non-tribal settlements. The ethnic agriculture has given place for modern agriculture, with high-yielding varieties replacing the traditional ones. The culture and tradition of Koyas suffered a great deal in the process of modernization. They domesticate animals like pigs, oxen, goat and birds like fowls. These animals constitute the food items which give them protein.

Recreation

Hunting is one of the favorite recreations of the Koya people. They use lethal bows and arrows to hunt animals, but as it has already been mentioned the forest cover decreased to a great extent and all the wild animals were hunted down and eaten up. So they consider going on hunting a sheer waste of time. As they adopted modern life style, watching movies has become their main recreation. Scores of palm trees which are termed as toddy trees are found in the vicinity of tribal hamlets and the koya tribes men extract a whitish sap from these trees. It is a popular intoxicant which is widely consumed by them. They even consume homemade liquor. The usage of these intoxicants show lot of adverse impact on their health and as a result, their life expectancy esp. men is low.

Language

The people of Koya tribe speak a language called Koi or Koya. Though the origins of Koya community is still obscure they are said to be the members of the great Gond community of Dravidian family. So Koya language is considered to be a dialect of gond language. Even in the Koi language there are some variants. A small town called Chintoor not far away from Bhadrachalam, is considered to be the linguistic centre of Koi language and the language spoken by them is considered to be the finest variant of the language. Koi language does not have many words. Its Lexicon is very much limited. The most important reason might be the Koyas, being primitive tribes were mainly hunter gatherers. Their day-to-day activities were very limited. They were in no need of a sophisticated language like English which has Lakhs of words and can support the formation of a wide range of expressions. Since these tribes lead a very simple and austere life they have very small number of their own genuine, native words. So there is a strong link between the language they speak and their life style. For example, being hunter gatherers they have their own words to refer to trees, animals, weapons, food etc. This language does not have a script and Telugu script is commonly used to write this language. A government sponsored programme called Rajeev Vidya Mission has prepared some text books from class I to class V with the intention of imparting education to tribal children in their mother tongue. All those books are written in Telugu script.

Konda Reddis

Konda Reddis live in thick forests on high mountains. They speak an ancient dialect of Telugu. In general, they are reserved in behaviour and often do not trust people from the plains. They are good craftsmen, who use Bamboo to make a variety of items.

Lambadas

They are also called Sugalies or Banjaras. They are often dressed in colourful clothes which are studded with mirrors, beads and other decorative items. Men wear head turbans and many sport thick moustache.In entire Khammam District Manga puram is the largest gram panchayathi which is having cent percent lambadas.

Notable People

  • The former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh(United), Jalagam Vengala Rao is from Khammam District. He served as 5th chief minister during 1973-78.
  • Thummala Nageshwar Rao, minister for Roads and buildings, women and child welfare in Telangana State Government is from this region. He also occupied several ministerial portfolios in United Andhra Pradesh.
  • Anand Kumar, a 18-year-old student from Khammam district along with Poorna,aged 13,resident of Nizamabad scaled Mount Everest the highest peak in the world on 25 May 2014.
  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ http://books.google.co.in/books?id=yK8D8c5-HXAC&pg=PA155&lpg=PA155&dq=neolithic+sites+in+medak&source=bl&ots=RSa389ivlS&sig=FBc7Edepj6AgIA2hemIMZZjRcWc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=iNKMUdmYOcTKrAeav4DgBw&ved=0CCwQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=neolithic%20sites%20in%20medak&f=false
  7. ↑ http://asihyd.ap.nic.in/khammam.html
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ http://www.aparchaeologymuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Khammam-dt.pdf
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ "The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2014" Accessed 13 July 2014 [1]
  14. ↑ "Protests against Centre, Andhra Pradesh in Khammam over Polavaram Bill". Deccan Chronicle, 12 July 2014. Accessed 13 July 2014. [2]
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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