SRIKAKULAM DISTRICT TOURISM

ABOUT SRIKAKULAM DISTRICT

Srikakulam District, formerly known as Chicacole, is the extreme northeastern district of Andhra Pradesh, situated within the geographic co-ordinates of 18°-20’ and 19°-10’ N and 83°-50’ and 84°-50’ E. Vizianagaram District flanks it in the south and west while Odisha bounds it on the north and Bay of Bengal on the East. The great Eastern Ghats run from the northeast. It is the second least populous district of Andhra Pradesh (out of 13), after Vizianagaram.

Pre History

Evidence of early historic man and his activities during Stone Age and Iron Age periods have been recently discovered at Sangamayya Konda and Dannanapeta. The speciality of Dannanapeta Iron Age megalithic site is a large single capstone as a dolmen with 36 ft in length and 14 ft in width and 2 ft thickness. Sailada Hills consists of 36 upright rocks and natural caves used for habitation by Iron Age man in Amudalavalasa mandal of the district.

Post Independence

Srikakulam District was carved out in 1950 by bifurcating it from Visakhapatnam District, and it remained unaffected in its territorial jurisdiction for some time. But in November 1969, the district lost 63 Villages from Saluru Taluk and 44 Villages from Bobbili Taluk on account of their transfer to the then newly constituted Gajapathinagaram Taluk of Visakhapatnam District. Again in May 1979, the district had undergone major territorial changes on account of the formation of new District with headquarters at Vizianagaram which involved transfer of Saluru, Bobbili, Parvathipuram and Cheepurupalli Taluks to the new District. Srikakulam's culture is a blend of traditional festivals, Temples, food, music and theatres.

Geography

Srikakulam district occupies an area of 5,837 square kilometres (2,254 sq miles) and can be divided into two main distinct natural divisions. A portion of Srikakulam district is plain terrain with intense agriculture and another portion of the district is rocky and hilly terrain covered with forests. Some of the Mahendragiri Hills also come under Srikakulam district. Most of the forest area of the plain terrain has been damaged by intense agriculture. Kotthuru, Hiramandalam, Pathapatnam, Kalingadal reservoir and some other areas are still covered with dense forests.

Srikakulam is located 100 km (62 mi) north of Visakhapatnam. It has a population of 27,03,114 of which 16.16 % is urban as of 2011. Srikakulam district has the longest coast line of about 193 km (120 mi) in the state of Andhra Pradesh. It is bordered by Odisha on the north, Vizianagaram district on the west and south, Bay of Bengal on the east.

Major Rivers flowing through the district are River Nagavali, River Vamsadhara, Mahendratanaya, Champavati, Bahuda, Kumbhikota Gedda, Suvarnamukhi, Vegavati, Gomukhi. The Nagavali and Vamsadhara are the major rivers in Srikakulam district. These two river basins together constitute about 5% of the area. The Mahendratanaya and Bahuda rivers are two minor river basins in the district. Others are Benjigedda, Peddagedda, Kandivalasa gedda. Major irrigation projects on these rivers Vamsadhara Project, Narayanapuram Anicut, Thotapalli Regulator and some medium projects at Pydigam Project, Onigadda are providing a total ayacut of 69,373 acres (280.74 km²).

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Srikakulam district has a population of 27,03,114. This gives it a ranking of 147th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 463 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,200/sq mile). Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 6.52%. Srikakulam has a sex ratio of 1015 females for every 1000 males and a literacy rate of 61.74%.

Household indicators

According to 2007–08, International Institute for Population Sciences, 86.9% had access to Eelectricity, 70.4% had Drinking water, 18.5% Toilet Facilities, and 47.2% lived in a pucca (permanent) home. 31.5% of girls wed before the legal age of 18 and 90.1% of interviewees carried a BPL (Below Poverty Line) card.

Administration

Revenue divisions and Mandals : There are three divisions namely Srikakulam, Palakonda and Tekkali and 38 mandals in the  district

1. Amadalavalasa
2. Bhamini
3. Burja
4. Etcherla
5. Gara
6. Ganguvari Sigadam
7. Hiramandalam
8. Ichchapuram
9. Jalumuru
10. Kanchili
11. Kaviti
12. Kotabommali
13. Kothuru(Srikakulam)
14. Lakshminarasupeta
15. Laveru
16. Mandasa
17. Meliaputti
18. Nandigam
19. Narasannapeta
20. Palakonda
21. Palasa
22. Pathapatnam
23. Polaki
24. Ponduru
25. Rajam
26. Ranastalam
27. Regidi Amadalavalasa
28. Santhabommali
29. Santhakavati
30. Saravakota
31. Sarubujjili
32. Seethampeta
33. Sompeta
34. Srikakulam
35. Tekkali
36. Vajrapu Kotturu
37. Vangara
38. Veeraghattam

Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies

There are 3 Parliamentary Constituencies and 10 assembly constituencies in Srikakulam district. Parliamentary constituencies include Srikakulam, Araku, Vizianagaram. The 10 Assembly Constituencies are Amadalavalasa, Rajam, Tekkali, Ichchapuram, Palasa, Narasannapeta, Palakonda, Pathapatnam, Srikakulam and Etcherla.

KEY STATISTICS BASED ON 2011/2001 CENSUS :

Description	2011 CENSUS	2001 CENSUS
Actual Population	2,703,114	2,537,593
Male	1,341,738	1,260,020
Female	1,361,376	1,277,573
Population Growth	6.52%	9.33%
Area Sq. Km	5,837	5,837
Density/km2	463	435
Proportion to Andhra Pradesh Population	3.20%	3.33%
Sex Ratio (Per 1000)	1015	1014
Child Sex Ratio (0-6 Age)	954	967
Average Literacy	61.74	55.31
Male Literacy	71.61	67.19
Female Literacy	52.08	43.68
Total Child Population (0-6 Age)	281,037	336,093
Male Population (0-6 Age)	143,835	170,831
Female Population (0-6 Age)	137,202	165,262
Literates	1,495,381	1,217,659
Male Literates	857,824	731,778
Female Literates	637,557	485,881
Child Proportion (0-6 Age)	10.40%	13.24%
Boys Proportion (0-6 Age)	10.72%	13.56%
Girls Proportion (0-6 Age)	10.08%	12.94%

  

Description	Rural	Urban
Population (%)	83.84 %	16.16 %
Total Population	2,266,411	436,703
Male Population	1,126,888	214,850
Female Population	1,139,523	221,853
Sex Ratio	1011	1033
Child Sex Ratio (0-6)	958	932
Child Population (0-6)	238,331	42,706
Male Child(0-6)	121,732	22,103
Female Child(0-6)	116,599	20,603
Child Percentage (0-6)	10.52 %	9.78 %
Male Child Percentage	10.80 %	10.29 %
Female Child Percentage	10.23 %	9.29 %
Literates	1,186,662	308,719
Male Literates	692,122	165,702
Female Literates	494,540	143,017
Average Literacy	58.51 %	78.36 %
Male Literacy	68.86 %	85.97 %
Female Literacy	48.35 %	71.06 %