Nandyal

Nandyal నంద్యాల Nandi aalayamu
City
Shivanandi temple view near Nandyal
Country	India
State	Andhra Pradesh
District	Kurnool
Government
• Type	Municipal Committee
Elevation	203 m (666 ft)
Population  (2011)
• City	200,746
• Rank	228
• Metro	211,787
Languages
• Official	Telugu
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	518 xxx
Vehicle registration	AP–21
Website	Nandyal Municipality

Navanandi route map from Nandyal

Nandyal is a town in Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is a major centre of trade, commerce, education and industries in the region. It also has holy places of worship.

The town was originally called Nandalluru. It derives its name from Nandi, the vehicle of Shiva. It is surrounded by nine nandis and hence the name Nandyala. The temples draw pilgrims from various places. It had a population of 200,746 at the time of the 2011 Census.

History

The name Nandyal is from the word "Nandi Alayam". This place is approximately center point of nine Nandi temples, and it has been an important pilgrimage site since the days of the Vijayanagar Kingdom owing to its nine Nandi temples. It was the introduction of railways in 1890, however, that led to its rapid development. It became a municipality in 1900 and was visited, among others, by Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Indira Gandhi.

Geography

Nandyal is surrounded by hills, while the Kundu River on its west. The Nallamala Hills to the east are dense forest, granite mines towards south.

The town is rich in water resources like reservoirs. These give it an equitable climate throughout the year. However, summers can be particularly hot. The average temperature is around 28 °C.

Tourism

Nandyal is surrounded by nine temples of Lord Shiva, called Nava Nandi. These nine temples are Mahanandi, Shivanandi, Vinayakanandi, Somanandi, Prathamanandi, Garudanandi, Suryanandi, Krishnanandi (also called Vishnunandi) and Naganandi. Mahanadi is the most famous of all. Omkaram is another famous Siva temple very close to Nandyal. They attract a large number of devotees throughout the year. Sri Yaganti Uma Maheswara Temple near Nandyal is having the world's largest Nandi idol. The devotees believe that the Nandi idol in front of the temple is continuously increasing its size. As per Archaeological Survey of India the rock grows at the rate of 1 inch per 20 years (10 mm per 8 years).

Nandyal is also the gateway to Belum Caves, Mahanandi and Srisailam. Nandyal is a Diocese under the Church of South India, and it has a beautiful cathedral which was constructed and dedicated in 1905.

There is one more Siva temple Called Rudra Koduru, situated in Nallamalla forest. From Nandyal, it is around 50Kms towards Atamkur. Even there is an ancient Sraswathi temple called Kolanu Bharathi situated in Nallamall forest, which is also a sacred place to visit.

Flora and Fauna

Gundla Brahmeswaram Wildlife Sanctuary is located about 30 km from Nandyal railway station. It occupies an area of over 1194 km² The perennial Gundlakamma River flows through the sanctuary is the life-line of the wildlife sanctuary as it presents a varied habitat for wild life. The wildlife include Bengal tiger, Indian leopard, Sloth Bear, Wild Dog, Striped Hyena, Jungle Cat, Tufted Gray Langur, Bonnet Macaque, Indian Pangolin, Sambar Deer, Nilgai, Four-horned Antelope, Chinkara, Mouse Deer, Monitor Lizard, Indian Rock Python and Marsh Crocodile.

The sanctuary is covered by mixed deciduous forests and abounds in plants that have immense ethno-botanical value. In fact, the sanctuary is renowned as one of the most picturesque forest areas in India. The sanctuary boasts of a rich and diverse flora that comprises trees like Teak, Shisham, Boswellia, Terminalia, Dalbergia and Bamboo.

Economy

The city is a major hub of industry and agriculture. It is rich in natural resources like granite and marble.

Industries

The main export items are cement, sugar, PVC pipes, ethanol, oil, cotton. The seed industry has been flourishing for 30 years. It is also a busy business centrist area. There are many cement factories around Nandyal. Nandi group is the major exporter of Nandi Pipes, Nandi dairy, Panyam cement, Nandi Group of Companies, AP Dairy with "Milk Products Factory" of Vijaya brand Sugar Factory along with other Companies in different sectors.

Agriculture

The major crops cultivated here are paddy, jowar, tobacco and cotton. Other crops that are grown here are groundnuts, Bengal gram, sunflower, toor dal, mustard seeds and sugar cane. The vegetation of most famous Polur Brinjals has its native here. Other vegetables include Chillies, Cucumber, Tomatoes, Ridge Gourd, Indian Broad Beans, Cluster Beans. All types of leafy vegetables are grown here. The soil here is of mixed varieties making it suitable to grow many crops. The world famous variety of mangoes are grown in Banganapalli.

Commercial crops like Castor Seeds are also grown. Bananas are extensively grown in and around Nandyal though its productivity declined gradually. National Seed Corporation Ltd is established at Noonepalli, Nandyal which ensures to meet the demand for quality seed of the farmers.

Education

It is also hub for major educational institutions like ▪"1882 started SPG High school", ▪Holy cross High school, ▪St. Joseph's High School (Telugu & English medium), ▪Iqra ( urdu school ) ▪Municipal High School, Sri Samatha Vidyanikethan ▪Vijayavani Group of Institutions, ▪Good Shepherd English Medium School, ▪Bala Academy Silver Oaks School, ▪Sree lakshmi English Medium School, ▪Nava Bharath Public School, ▪Keshava Reddy Educational Institutions, ▪Ravindra Public School, ▪Sri Chaitanya School, ▪Shantiniketan e-Techno School ▪Goutam model school.

It has got Engineering colleges (RJIT..), Medical College (Shanthi Ram Medical College)and Agricultural College near Mahanandi. Famous banking coaching centre "Sri Sai Guru Raghavendra Banking Coaching centre" , which has given jobs to many thousands in banking domain, established by Mr.Dastagiri Reddy.

Politics

A Lok Sabha constituency is named after the city. P.V. Narasimha Rao was an Indian lawyer, politician, and activist who served as the ninth Prime Minister of India (1991–1996), registered his record-breaking victory in 1992 from here.

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, the sixth President of India, serving from 1977 to 1982, and the only person to be elected President of India unopposed, fought the Lok Sabha election from Nandyal constituency as a Janata Party candidate. He was the only non-Congress candidate to get elected from Andhra Pradesh. He was unanimously elected Speaker of the Lok Sabha on 26 March 1977.

      This is only constituency which has given a President and a Prime Minister to India.

Transportation

The city is well connected both by roads and railways.

Roadways

The NH18 in Nandyal which is well connected to Kurnool, Tirupathi, Kadapa etc. State owned APSRTC run bus services from Nandyal to major cities like Tirupati, Hyderabad, Kurnool, Vijayawada etc. Buses also ply to parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu such as Bengaluru, Bellary and Chennai.  

Railways

The city is the major junction for Railways because of its geographic location.

Nandyala railway station is a major station on the Guntur division of South Central Railway and has direct trains to Bengaluru, Secunderabad and Howrah. A new line to Yerraguntla is under construction.

    Within the town, auto rickshaws and rented cars are a common means of commutation.

Achievements and facts

Nandyal ranked as 132nd cleanest city in India, with a total of 38.640 points, according to a survey by the Ministry of Urban Development.