Mahbubnagar

File:Mehbubnagar.jpg

Map showing mehboobnagar district

Mahbubnagar or Mehboobnagar [[ur:محبوب نگر] is a city in Mahbubnagar district in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is the headquarters of Mahbubnagar District. It is 100 km southwest of the state capital Hyderabad.

The district has a population of 3,513,934 of which 10.57% is urban as of 2001. [1] This is the most backward district in Andhra Pradesh.

Mahbubnagar District

Mahbubnagar is the largest district in Telangana Region and the second largest in Andhra Pradesh State. This district consists of 1553 Revenue Villages, 1347 Gram Panchayats, 64 Mandals and 5 Revenue Divisions. Mehboobnagar District has 13 Assembly Constituencies and 2 Parliamentary Constituencies.

It is located in the semiarid region of India with recurring meteorological drought (because of erratic and scanty rainfall) and worsened by overexploitation of meager groundwater resources. This is a backward District with diverse socio-economic problems like lowest literacy rate, migrations, extreme poverty, etc.

The main languages spoken in the district are Telugu and Urdu.

Geography

Mahbubnagar is located at 16.73°N 77.98°E / 16.73; 77.98. It has an average elevation of 498 metres (1633 feet).

Demographics

As of 2001 India censusTemplate:GR, Mahbubnagar had a population of 130,849. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Mahbubnagar has an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 80%, and female literacy is 67%. In Mahbubnagar, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Concern and development

The Mahaboobnagar District is located in the Central Part of Peninsular India. The agriculture activity is intensive and the groundwater resources are meager. The southern part is relatively plain and has irrigation facilities from the projects on Tungabhadra and Krishna Rivers. The western part is backward and agriculture is also poor. The Northern part receives relatively more rainfall and greener and the agricultural activity is intensive.

Drought is ever persistent in Mehboobnagar District. The people’s adaptive and coping strategies have become a way of life. Seasonal migrations for alternative livelihood opportunities have become a tradition for some of the people. There are various ongoing projects / programmes in the district to mitigate the drought and its impact on livelihood opportunities. There are various departments in the District actively working for improving the livelihood opportunities, namely District Water Management Agency (DWMA), District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) / District Poverty Initiatives Programme (DPIP), Department of Agriculture, Department of Animal Husbandry, SC / ST / BC corporations and other line departments.

The means for living by all human beings - some survive and some thrive. In space and time the livelihood opportunities and options vary, there can be various factors responsible directly or indirectly. Livelihoods in the rural environment are diverse and are vulnerable to shocks and trends like Climate Change and Variability. And also there are certain policies and structures existing for the sustainability of the livelihoods. In space and time Sustainable Livelihoods are result of reduced vulnerability and increased adaptability.

Agriculture is the main livelihood activity and people are traditionally involved in agriculture but there is need for them to adapt to the organic and sustainable agricultural practices. There is also need to give them better skills in on-farm and off-farm related activities for coping with drought. There is scope to explore traditional knowledge in agricultural practices. PTD can be tried to innovate locally suitable sustainable agricultural practices. Seed banks could be promoted for conserving the traditional indigenous seeds which are resistant to climate variability. A grain bank can be promoted for food security. Majority of the farmers are small and marginal, there is a need to provide additional livelihood opportunities for the farmers. There is also need to provide with knowledge and technology to improve the existing lands and to bring the fallow lands under cultivation. Providing advise on cropping – choice of crops and management practices. There is a need for better extension of services by the agriculture department. Need to improve or work for non farm based livelihood activities, improvement of natural resources to cope in lean season and for food security.

There is a need to revive the dairy sector. The milk production is directly related to availability of fodder. The farmers are well aware of the leguminous fodder, there is a need to encourage and provide seed and other inputs for fodder improvement. Options for breed improvement could be explored for better management of livestock.

More area can be brought under cultivation through water conservation measures and practices (reduced paddy cultivation, installation of micro irrigation systems, etc.). Open wells could be converted into recharge wells and there is scope for renovation of existing tanks to increase the capacity of the tanks. Under the ongoing watershed programme there is scope for development in the following sectors - fodder development, Agro- and social forestry, horticulture development, promotion of quality of seeds, promotion of Vermiculture, Sustainable Agricultural methods, non-farm livelihoods, and facilitation for silt removal from the village tanks for application in the dry lands.

The people in the villages are mainly dependent on agriculture as primary activity. As majority of the farmers are marginal and small, there is need for livelihoods diversification by the people. The people need to be provided trainings and skills for adapting to diverse trades. This would also provide additional employment opportunities. People are well aware of the developments in various fields, therefore it is easy for them to diversify and adapt to other livelihood options.

Alternative livelihood options need to be provided to the educated youth in the village. The women and youth in the village should be imparted trainings in Micro-enterprise development. For example youth could be trained on electrical repairs (motor winding and pumps) and servicing home appliances etc.

Famous Personalities

Mr Jaipal Reddy, MP

P Hanumantha Rao

N Janardhan Reddy

V Jhansi Rani

R Chandrashekhar Reddy

K Madhusudan Rao

Bharatsimha Reddy

Salam Masdoosi

M Venu Gopal Rao

P Chandra Shekhar, MLA

Y Ella Reddy

Khaleel ur Rahman, MP

Ahmed Abdullah Masdoosi, Advocate

M Abdul Sami

Rameshwar Rao

Pt Damodar Thakur Zaki

Pt Raghavendar Rao Jazb, Alampur

M Abubaker Afsar

Salam Bin Mahfooz

Nusrat Farooqi

External links

• [2]
• Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Mahbubnagar
• REEDS, an NGO
• ECO-CLUB, an NGO
• NRIs from Mehboobnagar