Karimnagar History

Karimnagar is a city and a Municipal Corporation in the state of Andhra Pradesh located on the banks of Manair river, a tributary of the Godavari river. As of 2010 it is the fourth most populous city in the Telangana region and twelfth most populous city in Andhra Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of Karimnagar District. Karimnagar is situated 162 kilometres (101 mi) north of Hyderabad, the capital city of Andhra Pradesh. It is a major business center and it is emerging as a major educational hub.

Karimnagar was originally called Kareem Nagar, deriving its name from Syed Kareemullah Shah Saheb Quadri.

It was one of the regional capitals during the rule of the Nizam It has many historical monuments such as Tower circle, Kaman circle and Elgandal Fort which is 12 km away from the town of Karimnagar.

Karimnagar is located at 18.43°N 79.15°EIt has an average elevation of 265 metres above sea level (869 feet)

As of 2011 India census Estimation, Karimnagar city had a population of 299,660. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. It has an average literacy rate of 86.75%, which is higher than the national average of 74.04%: male literacy is 92.61%, and female literacy is 80.79%. In Karimnagar, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age

The majority of people in Karimnagar are Hindus. Muslim rulers, who ruled this region before Indian independence left their mark on the area. The religious breakdown is: Hindus 80%, Muslims 15%, Christian 4% and Sikh 1% . Across Karimnagar, there are several Hindu Temples, Mosques, Churches, and Gurudwaras.

The city of Karimnagar is run by the Karimnagar Municipal Corporation. The Municipality of Karimnagar was upgraded to incorporated in 2005. Thousands of people within city limits reside outside corporation boundaries. Many areas on the outskirts have yet to be merged into corporation limits. The total population of the city (along with Karimnagar Sub-Urban and Karimnagar Rural) is around 3,30,000. The Municipal Corporation consists of members elected from the wards of the city. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are elected by the members among themselves. A Municipal Commissioner, who is from the Indian Administrative Service is appointed to head the administrative staff of the Municipal Corporation and implement the decisions of the Corporation and prepare its annual budget.

Karimnagar experiences dry inland climatic conditions which give it hot summers and cool winters. The region gets much rainfall from the South West monsoon. Summer season is extremely hot. Temperatures decline with the onset of the monsoons and winter season is generally cool. The most popular tourist season is from November to February. Summer season starts in March and can continue through early June.

During this period temperatures range from a minimum of 27°C and can reach a maximum of 39°C. The highest recorded temperature in the areas is around 44°C. Nights are much cooler and the humidity is around 50%. The place gets most of its rainfall from June to September during the monsoon season. October and November also experiences increased rainfall from the North East Monsoon. Daytime temperatures average around 30°C. Winter season starts in December and lasts through February. Temperatures range from a minimum of 20°C and can reach 35°C.

Telugu is the language spoken by the majority in Karimnagar. Both traditional attire like Chira, Pancha and modern dress styles are worn. Urdu is one of the major 2nd Language in Karimnagar Dist.

Typical of this region is the spring festival of Bathukamma. Other major Hindu festivals celebrated in the region are Ugadi, Sri Ramanavami, Vinayaka Chavithi, Holi, Sri Krishna Janmashtami,Dasara, Deepavali, Sankranti and Maha Sivaratri.

Muslims celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, Ramadan (ninth month of the Islamic calendar), Laylat al-Qadr (Shab-e-Qadr), Isra and Mi'raj (Shab-e-Meraj), Shab-e-barat (Mid-Sha'ban), Milad-un-Nabi (Mawlid) and Muharram (Day of Ashura) with great pomp and ceremony and Christians celebrate Christmas and Good Friday.

Sakinalu is one of the many traditional snacks made in Karimnagar Usually, they are made for Sankranti festival. They are made with rice flour and sesame seeds, and fried in oil.

Sarvapindi is the another traditional snack native to Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh.

Karimnagar Silver Filigree is a local silverware handicraft.

Karimnagar city is located 162 kilometres from Hyderabad, 70 kilometres from Warangal and 150 kilometres from Nizamabad. APSRTC (Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation), has a Zonal headquarters (covering Adilabad, Nizamabad, Warangal, Khammam, and Karimnagar Districts) in Karimnagar. It has one of the busiest bus stations in India with over 2500 buses passing by every day.

As Karimnagar is not served fully by Rail. So, most of the commuters in city use buses to travel to distant places. APSRTC operates buses from Karimnagar to several places like Hyderabad/Secunderabad (served by 300 buses every day including Volvo coaches), Adilabad, Nizamabad, Warangal, Khammam, Nalgonda,Suryapet, Vijayawada, Vishakapatnam, Guntur, Piduguralla, Ongole, Kandukur, Kavali, Nellore, Puttaparthi & Tirupathi, in Andhra Pradesh. Mumbai, Bhiwandi, Shirdi, Chandrapur, Gadhchiroli, Gondia, Ramtek & Ahiri in Maharashtra State and Bangalore (served by Volvo Coach) in Karnataka State.

Karimnagar city is connected by a single broad gauge railway line with the Main Line (North-South or New Delhi-Chennai) at Peddapalli (35 kilometres) to the northeast and Jagtial (48 kilometres) to the northwest. A daily passenger train (Jagityal-Sirpur, Push Pull Passenger-Up/Down) and a Bi-weekly train (Agility-Vijayawada) on every Tuesday and Friday passes through Karimnagar station. Karimnagar railway station generates good revenues to Indian Railways in terms of freight transport and it is one among very few stations in India which handles Granite. The nearest major railway junction is Kazipet Junction which has 147 trains passing through, including super-fast trains such as the AP express and Rajadhani express.

There is an airport at Basant nagar Kesoram cement factory at Ramagundam which is about 50 km from Karimnagar City. It was used when the Government of India was operating Vayudoot airlines a subsidiary of Air India and Indian Airlines. After the closure of Vayudoot, it has not been regular use. As of 2010, it is only used for landing of any VVIP's flights or for emergency landing of flights. The nearest international airport is Rajiv Gandhi International Airport located 162 km away from Karimnagar. The Andhra Pradesh state government is planning to develop this airport as a part of developing a second airport in Telangana region.

Elgandal Fort is located on the banks of the Manair River amidst palm groves at a distance of 10 km from Karimnagar on the Kamareddy Road. The fort is historically important because five important dynasties have ruled over it. The antiquities of the fort worth mentioning are a fort on a hill, Brindavan tank on the outside of the Eastern Gateway of the fort made by Zafar-ud-Doula in 1754 A.D. minarets that oscillate when shaken and tombs of the Muslim saints such as:

Syed Shah Munawar Quadri Saheb

Doola Shah Saheb

Syed Maroof Saheb

Mohammed Khairuddin Saheb

Shah Talib Bismilla Saheb

And Vali Hyder Saheb.

Ujwala Park is one among the tourist places in Karimnagar. This was inaugurated in the year 2001. Ujwala Park has an excellent atmosphere and is a much-visited site by tourists in the city.

Lower Manair Reservoir work started in 1974 and it was completed in 1985. It is a huge construction much visited by tourists. The water of this reservoir rises to great heights during monsoon season

Rajeev Deer park is located in a sprawling 30-acre land near to Lower Manair Dam on the outskirts of Karimnagar town.

Famous pilgrimages

Vemulawada 

Vemulawada (alternatively spelt Vemulavada) is a town 35 km from Karimnagar, in the Andhra Pradesh state, India. It is chiefly notable for the Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy Temple complex, a site of pilgrimage for Hindu (particularly devotees of Shiva) worshippers.

Dharmapuri

Dharmapuri attained religious importance owing to the existence of the shrine dedicated to Narasimha Swamy, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Siva With Dakshinamurthy, Vinayaka and Sapitha Mathrukas carved on a single slab of stone and Mahishasuramardhani, the sixty pillared temple, Mahalakshmi temple, Akkapalle Rajanna, and over five hundred year old sri Sita Rama Swami temple are the other temples of importance that heighten the sanctity of the places of tourist interest in the district.

Kondagattu

Kondagattu is a temple about 35 km from District head quarters, dedicated to Lord Anjaneya Swamy. According to the folklore, the temple was constructed by a cowherd some 300 years ago. The present day temple has been built 160 years ago by Krishna Rao Deshmukh. It is believed that if a woman offers puja for 40 days at this temple then she will be blessed with a child. It is about 30 km from vemulavada, another well known temple in Karimnagar. There is a Ghatroad from hilltop to base station.

Kaleshwaram 

Kaleshwaram is the site of the famous Shiva temple called "Kaleswara muktheswara swamy".Significance of Mukteshwara Swamy Temple is ancient temple holds a unique significance as two Shiva Lingas found on a single pedestal,one is Lord Shiva and Lord Yama, collectively known as Kaleswara Mukteswara Swamy.this place is also called Dakshina Triveni Sangamam.Kaleshwaram village is in Mahadevpur mandal of Karimnagar district. 125 kilometers from the town of Karimnagar and 60 kilometers from Manthani.Kaleshwaram is located exactly at the merging point of the River Pranahita (tributary of Godavari) with the Godavari River.

People

NTPC Ramagundam,Karimnagar.

There are 5806 small scale industries in the district as on 31-03-2006. The bulk of the industries is based on agriculture, engineering, forest and mineral sectors and animal husbandry providing employment of about 42619 people. These units are mostly consisting of rice mills, saw, oil, dhall and other grain mills, seed and other processing mills. Some important small sector industries are of general jobbing and engineering, manufacture of paper and tiles, stone dressing and crushing, cement concrete pipes, repairing of motor vehicles etc. The major industries in the district are National Thermal Power Corporation, at Ramagundam Singareni Collories at Godavarihani,Nizam Sugar factory at Mutyampet.

NTPC Ramagundam, a part of National Thermal Power Corporation, is a 2600 MW Power station situated at Ramagundam in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is the current largest power station in South India. It is the first ISO 14001 certified "Super Thermal Power Station" in India.

This Navaratna Public sector undertaking has completed 25 years of service. The Corporation during this period grew to be a front runner in the Indian Power Sector and is ranked as the 6th largest Power Generator in the world, with an installed capacity of 19,435 MW.

Singareni Collories Company Limited 

Kesoram Cement is one of the Birla group of companies.It was incorated in 1967. The plant is one of the biggest in south India and can produce cement with a capacity of 2500 metric tones per day. The technical objectives of the company are to develop indigenous technology and integrate foreign technology wherever necessary.

Karimnagar district is known for its popular Tan Brown and Maple Red variety of granite. The granite from Karimnagar district in general and Odyaram village in particular was used extensively by China during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Ever since, China has been using granite from Karimnagar district. It has become a popular brand the world over and all the Asian countries, including Japan, have started using the granite for various projects. Several countries began using the granite because of its low cost and superior quality. In Karimnagar district, there are over 600 stone quarries spread over several mandals such as Karimnagar, Manakondur, Mallial, Kesavapatnam etc. However, the popular quarries, which have a sway in the global market, number around 20.

Every month about 10,000 to 12,000 cubic meters of granite stones are being exported to China and other countries. Each cubic metre of granite costs around Rs. 12,000 to Rs. 15,000. Every year, the granite stone business turnover crosses over Rs. 500 crore in the district. It has also become a good source of income for the railways, which has constructed special platforms for transportation of granite from Karimnagar, Gangadhara and Uppal railway stations in the district to Kakinada and Chennai ports for export to China. The stone is exported to China where it is polished and then marketed to Japan and other Asian countries. The cranes deployed for lifting of huge blocks of granite at the railway stations were also earning lakhs of rupees. Besides, it is also providing employment to several labourers and others.

Karimnagar district has 58 Mandals (Taluqas or revenue and administrative units)

1) Konaraopeta

2) Ibrahimpatnam

3) Mallapur

4) Raikal

5) Sarangapur

6) Dharmapuri

7) Velgatoor

8) Ramagundam

9) Kamanpur

10) Manthani

11) Kataram

12) Mahadevpur

13) Muttaram-Mahadevpur

14) Malhar

15) Muttaram-Manthani

16) Kalva Srirampur

17) Peddapalli

18) Julapalli

19) Dharmaram

20) Gollapally

21) Jagtial

22) Medipalli

23) Korutla

24) Metpally

25) Kathlapur

26) Chandurthi

27) Kodimial

28) Gangadhara

29) Mallial

30) Pegadapalle

31) Choppadandi

32) Sultanabad

33) Odela

34) Jammikunta

35) Veenavanka

36) Manakondur

37) Karimnagar

38) Ramadugu

39) Boinpalli

40) Vemulawada

41) Yellareddipet

42) Gambhiraopet

43) Mustabad

44) Sirsilla

45) Ellanthakunta

46) Bejjanki

47) Thimmapur

48) Kesavapatnam

49) Huzurabad

50) Kamalapur

51) Elkathurthi

52) Saidapur

53) Chigurumamidi

54) Koheda

55) Husnabad

56) Bheemadevarpalle

57) Eligedu

58) Mallapoor.