Kurnool district

Kurnool district is an administrative district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, located in the Rayalaseema region. The district headquarters is the city of Kurnool, which served as the first capital of Andhra State from 1953 to 1956. The district is known for its association with the medieval Vijayanagara Empire, the Tungabhadra and Krishna river systems, and its agrarian economy supported by the Tungabhadra and Srisailam irrigation projects.

Key facts

Country	India
State	Andhra Pradesh
Region	Rayalaseema
Headquarters	Kurnool
Major rivers	Tungabhadra, Krishna, Handri
Official language	Telugu

Geography

Kurnool district lies in the western part of Andhra Pradesh, bordered by the state of Karnataka to the west and by other Rayalaseema and Telangana-adjoining districts. The terrain is largely a semi-arid plateau, part of the Deccan, broken by the Erramala and Nallamala hill ranges. The Krishna river flows along the northern edge, while the Tungabhadra and Handri rivers traverse the district before joining the Krishna. A portion of the Nallamala hills falls within the district and forms part of the Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve.

Administrative reorganisation

Following the reorganisation of districts in Andhra Pradesh in April 2022, the erstwhile Kurnool district was bifurcated. The new Nandyal district was carved out of its eastern and southern portions, with Kurnool district retaining the revenue divisions and mandals around the city of Kurnool. The headquarters of the reconstituted district remains at Kurnool.

History

The region of present-day Kurnool has been settled since prehistoric times; the limestone caves at Belum and Billasurgam in the broader Kurnool–Nandyal belt have yielded Palaeolithic remains. In the medieval period the area formed part of the territories of the Chalukyas, Kakatiyas, and later the Vijayanagara Empire. After the decline of Vijayanagara, the territory passed to the Adil Shahi sultans of Bijapur and subsequently to the Mughals and the Nizam of Hyderabad. Kurnool was held by a line of Pathan nawabs until 1839, when the British East India Company annexed it following the deposition of the last nawab, Ghulam Rasool Khan.

Under the British, Kurnool was part of the Madras Presidency. Upon the formation of Andhra State on 1 October 1953, Kurnool city was chosen as its capital and remained so until the formation of Andhra Pradesh on 1 November 1956, when the capital shifted to Hyderabad.

Demographics and economy

Telugu is the principal language of the district, with Urdu spoken by a sizeable minority, particularly in Kurnool city. The economy is predominantly agricultural, with paddy, cotton, groundnut, sunflower, pulses and chillies being important crops. Irrigation from the Tungabhadra Low Level Canal, the Srisailam Right Bank Canal and the Handri-Neeva Sujala Sravanthi project supports cultivation in parts of the district. Industrially, cement manufacture, granite quarrying and limestone-based industries are notable, while Kurnool city functions as a regional commercial and educational centre.

Notable places

Kurnool city – district headquarters; site of Konda Reddy fort and the former capital of Andhra State.
Orvakal – known for rock garden formations.
Mantralayam – pilgrim town on the Tungabhadra associated with the saint Raghavendra Swami.
Yaganti – Shaiva temple in the Erramala hills.
Adoni – historic fortified town that was a stronghold under Vijayanagara and later the Bijapur Sultanate.

Transport

The district is served by National Highway 44 (the Hyderabad–Bengaluru corridor) and National Highway 40, along with state highways. Kurnool City railway station, on the Guntakal–Secunderabad line of the South Central Railway, is the main rail head. Kurnool Airport at Orvakal commenced commercial operations in 2021, providing regional air connectivity.

References

Wikidata entity Q15381 – Kurnool district.
Government of Andhra Pradesh, notifications on the reorganisation of districts, 2022.

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