Seemandhra

Seemandhra is used to refer to the combined regions of Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra(Costandhra) in Andhra Pradesh.Most of the area is void of industries and central government establishments.Telugu Desam Party and Congress party has often compared Seemandhra toSingapore(which had a rocky start at the time of demerger from Malaysia)and Japan(inspite of natural calamities and bombed with nuclear arms ,they sustain their growth and development).

The term came into wide use during the Telangana movement, as a way to refer to the parts of Andhra Pradesh that would remain if the Telanganaregion separates from the state. Seemandhra corresponds to the area of Andhra State which existed in between 1953 and 1956, and later Telugu speaking areas of Hyderabad State were merged with Andhra Pradesh in 1956.

The region is subdivided into 4 different regions Uttarandhra/Kalingandhra/Uttara Costa( Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam districts), Central/Madhya Costa( East Godavari and West Godavari, Krishna districts), Dakshina Costa ( Guntur, Prakasam, Nellore districts) and Rayalaseema( Chittoor, Kadapa, Kurnool, Anantapur districts). The language of Telugu spoken in these regions is slightly different and thus is an indication of the diversity of this region.

On July 30, 2013 the ruling congress party announced its intention to carve Telangana out of Andhra Pradesh as the 29th state of India. Hyderabad will be the common capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh (also known as Seemandhra) for 10 years.

Major Cities with a population of 5 Lakh or more

Visakhapatnam or Vizag is the biggest city in Seemandhra region with a population of 2 million people. It is the only city in Seemandhra with Greater status for its municipal corporation. Visakhapatnam has one of the major sea ports of India on the east coast and is also the headquarters of the Eastern Naval command of the Indian navy. It is also a big industrial hub, with India's first shore based Steel Plant, HPCL, BHEL, NSTL, NTPC, Visakhapatnam port trust, Gangavaram port etc. It will also emerge as the IT hub post bifurcation. Visakhapatnam is well connected to different parts of India by Railway, Airway. It is the only international airport in Seemandhra with regular flights to Singapore and Dubai. Visakhapatnam airport is connected by air to Mumbai, Bhubaneshwar, Kolkata, Chennai, Kochi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Hyderabad, Indore.

Vijayawada is the second biggest and is a business center. Vijayawada is a major railway junction in South India and is well connected through railway. The airport here is connected by air to Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Jaipur, Bangalore and Chennai. The airport here is also a hub for the newly started Air Costa airline. With a very long coastline of close to a 1000 km, this region can act as a maritime gateway on the East coast.

Greater Guntur is third largest city in the region and a greater municipal corporation and a major centre of business & learning. It is the heart of the textiles, tobacco, chillies, and cotton industries. With a major business of textiles & tobacco, Guntur city lacks in industrial development.It also has many ancient sites nearby. The upcoming commercial belt between Guntur & Vijayawada has a great scope of merging the cities into twins. Guntur is well connected to other to all metropolitan cities in India.

Nellore is the fourth largest city in this region both in-terms of area and also in population. Nellore city is the head quarters of Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district. Nellore is a port city with the Krishna Patnam port, the mineral export and coal import hub. It is strategically located on NH5 connecting Chennai (just 160 KM away) and Kolkata.Close to 20,000 MW thermal power plants are being setup in the close vicinity of Nellore, spearheading unprecedented industrial growth.

Kurnool is ex capital of Andhra state between 1953 to 1956. It is sixth largest city in Seemandhra and the largest city in Rayalaseema region. It is a major industrial city. It has good educational facilities like Rayalaseema University, Kurnool Medical College and G Pullareddy Engineering College.

Rajahmundry, also known as Raja Mahendri or Raja Mahendravaram, is the fifth largest city in this region both in-terms of area and also in population. Situated on the banks of the riverGodavari this city has availability of adundant water for drinking and good irrigation facilities through canal system. It has the major railway station between Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam and a Airport situated 18 km away from the city in Madhurapudi. The work of making this Muncipality into a Greater City is being under work at present. It's the biggest center for business in theEast Godavari. Adikavi Nannaya University,a state university, is located here established in 2006.

Tirupathi the temple town is another major city in this region. It is the abode of Lord Venkateshwara/ Balaji, which is the highest earning temple in the world. It is a big pilgrimage center in India and is busy all round the year. Tirupathi has an airport and is connected with Chennai, Hyderabad and Delhi. It is also well connected by railway with different parts of India.

Srikakulam is one of the most resourceful region of Seemandhra, but long been neglected.With an eye on development Seemandhra entrepreneurs are showing an interset in the region. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd is setting up a bulk drug unit.

Chittoor district is best suited for IT,Hardware and Health Care corridor development in South India. Strategic location and the connectivity to two major cities Chennai and Bangalore makes this district natural hub for IT and Hardware industry and Health Care Sector.

Other major towns include Kakinada, Anantapur, Kadapa,Chittoor, Ongole, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Eluru, Nandyal, Bhimavaram, Machilipatnam, Gudivada, Puttaparthi, Kavali etc.

The Central Government would set up a panel to identify the new capital for the residual state of Andhra Pradesh. The panel would submit its report in a 6 months timeframe. The President of India will give the nod for set up of the committee by mid March, 2014.

Seemandhra region has many prestigious universities like Andhra University,JNTU Kakinada,JNTU Ananthapur,Nagarjuna University,Sri Venkateswara University Tirupati,Sri Krishnadevaraya University Anantapur GITAM University and government has sanctioned IIIT at Kakinada, In addition to these universities there are many important medical colleges in Vijayawada,Kakinada.

Seaports

Visakhapatnam seaport is the biggest seaport in the region and is the 2nd biggest in the country. It handles coal, crude oil, sulphur and other products. It is on an expansion mode and aims to become a major sea port in South East Asia. It is a public sector port. Gangavaram seaport is another seaport in Visakhapatnam just a few kilometers away from Visakhapatnam seaport. It is a private port and is in close proximity to the Vizag steel plant. Kakinada has a deepwater medium sized seaport and an anchorage port as well. Krishnapatnam is another private and minor port in Nellore District. There are proposals for constructing of Ports at Machilipatnam (Krishna District), Nizampatnam (Guntur District).

A new major port is proposed at Duggarajupatnam in Nellore district.

Spaceports[edit]

Sriharikota is a barrier island off the Bay of Bengal coast located about 80 km (50 mi) north of Chennai in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, India. It houses the Satish Dhawan Space Centre First Launch Pad, one of the two satellite launch centers in India with the other being the Thumba Equatorial rocket launching station in Thiruvananthapuram. Indian Space Research Organisation launch satellites using multistage rockets such as the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle from Sriharikota.

Airports

Vishakapatnam-International airport with recently constructed terminal building. Expansion is needed to add air bridges.

Vijayawada - Currently there is only a landing strip without any basic facilities. With Air India, Jet, Spice jet and Air costs are serving over several routes there is high need to expand the runway and set up an international facility.

Tirupathi - domestic airport with old infrastructure. There is a need to build an integrated terminal to the international standards.

Rajahmundry domestic airport with integrated terminal.

These have been approved by the DGCA & IATA