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Vijayawada

Vijayawada literally translates to "The Place of Victory". It is also known as Bezawada. It is the third largest city in Andhra Pradesh, India and is located on the banks of the Krishna River to the south, bounded by the Indrakeeladri Hills on the west and the budameru stream on the north. The fertile Krishna delta extends from Vijayawada towards Bay of Bengal to the east. There are plenty of canals that go through Vijayawada and irrigate the farm land throughout the delta. Vijayawada is situated along the Madras-Howrah, and Madras-Delhi rail route, and is famous as being both the largest railway junction in South India and the most important station of the South Central Railways. National highways 5 and 9 pass through the city.

History

An Andhra Kingdom was mentioned in the Sanskrit epics such as Aitareya Brahmana and Mahabharata. Inscriptional evidence showed that there was a kingdom in coastal Andhra ruled by Kuberaka with Pratipalapura (Bhattiprolu) as his capital in 5th century BCE. This probably was the oldest known kingdom in south India. Around the same time Dhanyakatakam/Dhranikota (present day Amaravati) seemed to be a very important place. According to Taranatha: "On the full moon of the month Chaitra in the year following his enlightenment, at the great stupa of Dhanyakataka, the Buddha emanated the mandala of "The Glorious Lunar Mansions" (Kalachakra). The Mauryans extended their rule over Andhra in 4th century BCE. With the fall of the Mauryan Empire Andhra Satavahanas became independent in 3rd century BCE. After the decline of the Satavahanas in 220 CE, Ikshvakus, Pallavas, Vishnukundinas, Anandagotrikas and Cholas ruled the Telugu land. Inscriptional evidence of Telugu was found during the rule of Renati Cholas (Kadapa region) in 5th century CE. During this period the Telugu language, emerged as a popular medium undermining the predominance of Prakrit and Sanskrit[citation needed]. Telugu was made official language during Vishnukundina Kings who ruled from Vinukonda as the capital. Eastern Chalukyas ruled for a long period after the decline of Vishnukundinas. Their capital was Vengi. As early as 1st century CE, they were mentioned as being the vassals and chieftains under the Satavahanas and later under Ikshvakus.

The battle of Palnadu resulted in the weakening of Chalukyan power and emergence of the Kakatiyadynasty in the 12th and the 13th centuries CE.

Economy

The region around the city has fertile soil and irrigation is supported by river Krishna and its canals. Major crops include sugarcane, paddy and Mango. Vijayawada is famous for automobile body building, garment, iron and hardware small scale industries. Small scale automotive industries 'Jawahar Autonagar', was the largest automobile township in Asia for sometime. The main markets are situated in the old city, formerly called One Town and Kaleswara Rao Market area. It is estimated that nearly INR 10 crores of garment business takes place in the Vastralatha building alone in the One Town on a daily basis. Garments are mainly sold in Besant Road and Governor Pet, but now this activity is also happening in the malls that have come up in Labbipet and M.G. Road areas. The city is also famous for different kinds of wholesale business. They include garments, iron market, pulses, cereals, and other edible products, fancy markets, fertilizers, mango exports, pharma, metal and so on. The city is one of busiest and crowded places due to its strong commercial hold in the entire state. Vijaywada is called the 'Commerce Hub' of the state, for it provides the right environ for all the agricultural and industrial goods to be transported in/out and traded in one single place.

Vijayawada is the busiest railway junction in South India, and is second biggest junction in India and only railway station to have escalators after New Delhi. The fact that Vijayawada is well connected through railways keeps it the main hub of commercial activities.

Transport

Vijayawada is an important link in connecting the three regions of Andhra Pradesh and is a major transit point. Two National Highways, the National Highway 5 from Chennai to Calcutta and the National Highway 9 from Machilipatnam to Mumbai pass through the city connecting it to other parts of the country.Another National highway 221 connects the city to jagdalpur in madhyapradesh state. It is connected to other areas of the state, by state highways and district roads.

Air - The domestic airport located at Gannavaram, about 16-km, from the city connects Vijayawada to Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore. Air Deccan and Kingfisher Airlines are the two airlines flying to and from Vijayawada.

Rail - Situated along the Chennai- Howrah and Chennai-Delhi rail route, Vijayawada is the largest railway junction of the South Central Railway. There are a number of express and super fast trains that connect Vijayawada with almost all the important places of the country.

Road - Good motorable roads connect Vijayawada with all the places within the state and also with the major cities in India. Transport by road from Vijayawada to all the places of interest is available in the form of Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) buses. There are huge number of buses that run between Vijayawada and Hyderabad 24 hours-a-day and 365 days-a-year, unlike the rest of transportation in the state.

State run city buses (APSRTC), motor driven auto(rickshaw)s and manual driven (cycle)rickshaws are the major means of transport in Vijayawada. Private lorries (trucks), cars and two-wheelers (motorcycles and scooters) abound as well. Public and private bus operators provide transport services to various parts of the country. Vijayawada also has one of the biggest bus terminals in the country, Pandit Nehru Bus Terminal in Vijayawada is an important link in connecting the three regions of Andhra Pradesh, biggest in Asia and is a major transit point. Two National Highways, No. 5 from Chennai to Kolkata and the No. 9 from Machilipatnam to Pune pass through the City connecting it to other parts of the country. It is connected to other areas of the state by State highways and district roads. Vijayawada is also one of the busiest railway junctions in India and the biggest in South India. It is also called the "City that never sleeps" with reference to railways. The domestic airport located at Gannavaram, connects Vijayawada to Hyderabad, Rajahmundry, Chennai and Bangalore by air.A new deep water port is under construction at machilipatnam replacing historical anchorage port which is about 65 km from city

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