East Godavari

Andra Pradesh > East Godavari

Kalyana Venkattaramasami temple

The East Godavari District is located in the North Coastal part of the state of Andhra Pradesh. The District boundaries are Visakhapatnam, West Godavari, Khammam Districts and Bay of Bengal.

The District is known as rice bowl of Andhra Pradesh with lush paddy fields and coconut groves. It is also known as another Kerala. East Godavari, it is the Rice Granary of Andhra Pradesh, beckons tourists to have a glimpse of its rich cultural heritage. Where the lush paddy fields swaying in the breeze appear to dance in a celebration to life.

It is where soulful bhajans and holy shlokas herald the dawn. Where the chirping birds and gurgling streams invite you to the beautiful lakes and wild life sanctuaries. The East Godavari district is having the area of 10,807 Sq Kms with 5 Revenue divisions, 60 Revenue mandals and 1011 Grama panchayats with a population of 48,72,622 as per 2001 provisional census figures. The District Head Quarters, Kakinada is famous for a sweet called Kotaiah's KAJA.

History of East Godavari District

The history of East Godavari district like the rest of Andhra, may be traced to the period of the Nandas. Mahapadma Nanda, the founder of the nanda dynasty, led expeditions and defeated several monarchs of a large portion of the Deccan The subsequent history of Nanda dynast is not known, except that, the last ruler Dhana Nanda was overthrown by Chandraguptha Maurya in 322 B.C.

Thus, Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Maurya dynasty assumed control over the empire which included a large portion of the Deccan. He was succeeded by his son, Bindusara (297-272 B.C.). Bindusara was succeeded to the throne by Ashoka.

After the Mauryas,the district passed under the sway of the Satavahanas. The access of Hala in about 6 or 7 A.D lasted for only one year.Though there were no events of political importance during his reign, he won for himself a niche among the great poets of all time. The rule of Gautamiputra Satakarni(A.D. 62-86), Vasisthiputra Pulumayi( A.D. 86-114) and Yajna Sri Satavahanas (A.D.128-157) is evident from the coins found during excavations. The satavahanas appeared to have ruled till the first quarter of the third century A.D.

Samudragupta, the Gupta ruler, who invaded this district in A.D.350 came into conflict with the rulers of both Pishtapura and Avamukta. The local rulers joined the rulers of neighbouring principalities to resist the onslaughts of the Gupta ruler. However, the outcome of this united opposition is not known.

Samudra Gupta's invasion was followed by the rule of a line of kings belonging to Matharakula. Their rule extended roughly from 375 A.D to 500 A.D. The earliest known ruler of the dynasty was Maharaja Sakthivarman.The district passed into the hands of Vishnukundin during the rule of Vikramendravarma I. They ruled for over two centuries from the first quarter of the 5th Century A.D. or a little earlier. The records discovered indicate that their domain extended over Visakhapatnam, West Godavari, Krishna and Guntur, besides the present East Godavari district. Ranadurjaya, a member of the Durjaya family,ruled Pistapuram or Pithapuram as a vassal of Vikramendravarma in recognition of his services to the state. Another Vishnukundin,ruler of lndrabhattaraka, defeated the rulers of Vasisthakula and re established his authority over this region.

Climate of East Godavari District

The Climate is comparatively moderate throughout the year except during the months of April to June when the temperature reaches a maximum of 48 deg. Centigrade. The normal rainfall of the district is 1280.0 mm.

More than half of the rainfall i s brought by South-West Monsoon while a large portion of the rest of the district receives rainfall from the North-East Monsoon also, during October and November.

Access to East Godavari District

The District is well connected by Rail and Road link. The National Highway connecting Chennai and Howrah passes through this district. Chennai to Howrah line also passes through this district. The district is also having an Airport at Madhurapudi near Rajahmundry which is 65 Km's from district headquarters Kakinada and 15 Km's from Rajahmundry.