Machilipatnam

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
(Redirected from Masulipatam)
Jump to: navigation, search
Machilipatnam
మచిలీపట్నం
Masulipatnam
Masula
City
Koneru center, the business center of Machilipatnam
Koneru center, the business center of Machilipatnam
Nickname(s): Bandar
Machilipatnam is located in Andhra Pradesh
Machilipatnam
Machilipatnam
Location in Andhra Pradesh, India
Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Country India
State Andhra Pradesh
District Krishna
Mandal Machilipatnam
Founded 14th century
Government
 • Type Mayor council
 • Body Machilipatnam Municipal Corporation
 • MLA Kollu Ravindra (Telugu Desam Party)
 • Municipal commissioner A.S.N.V.Maruthi Diwakar
Area[1]
 • Total 26.67 km2 (10.30 sq mi)
Elevation 14 m (46 ft)
Population (2011)[2]
 • Total 169,892
 • Density 6,875/km2 (17,810/sq mi)
Languages
 • Official Telugu
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 521 xxx
Telephone code 91-8672
Vehicle registration AP-16
Website mmc.ind.in

Machilipatnam (<phonos file="Machilipatnam.ogg">pronunciation</phonos>) is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of the Krishna district.[3] It is also the mandal headquarters of Machilipatnam mandal in Machilipatnam revenue division of the district.[4][5] The settlement was founded in the 14th century and it was a major trading port for the British, Dutch and French in the seventeenth century.[6]

Etymology

During seventeenth century, it was known with the name Masulipatnam or Masula. The gateway of the settlement was decorated with the eyes of a fish. Machili translates to Fish and Patnam means Settlement. Hence, the name Machilipatnam.[6] The city is also known with the name Bandar.[7]

History

Masulipatam port in 1759
View of Masulipatnam in 1676

The town has existed since the 3rd century BCE (Satavahana period) when, according to Ptolemy, it was known as Maisolos. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea calls it Masalia in the 1st century BCE.[8] The port is located on the southeastern, or Coromandel Coast, of India. Situated in the mouth of the River Krishna on the Bay of Bengal, the Masula port saw flourishing sea trade. Muslin clothes were traded by ancient Greeks from the town and the word muslin originated from the name Maisolos.[9] Muslin was an important source of income for the town, being a favourite of Roman traders for domestic consumption. Several Roman coins were found during excavations of Buddhist towns located near Machilipatnam.[10]

When Marco Polo visited India, probably some time around 1289-1293, Machilipatnam was a major port of the Kakatiya dynasty. He referred to the place as Mutfiliffn, and it was also known as Masulipatam.[11][12]

The naming of the eastern gate of Charminar as Machili-Kaman (literally meaning "gate of fish", in this case specifically meaning a gate to the fishing town of Machilipatnam) testifies the symbiotic relationship between port and the capital. There were Arab merchants in the area at least since the 13th century. The Portuguese controlled what they called Masulipatão between 1598 and 1610, when they vacated the place. The East India Company built its first factory in India in Masulipatnam, which became a 17th-century trading port for French, British and Dutch ships. The port has a medium-size fishing harbour which can accommodate 350 fishing vessels and an active carpet-weaving industry. The other products from the town include rice, oilseeds and scientific instruments. This town is a railway terminus and an important educational centre. Andhra Bank was established in 1923 at Machilipatnam.

The area is vulnerable to storm surges caused by the frequent cyclones in the Bay of Bengal. The 2004 Tsunami affected many fishing villages around Machilipatnam. The Government and NGOs are involved in rebuilding and reconstructing devastated villages.

Geography

Machilipatnam city is located at Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. on the southeast coast of India and in the east coast of Andhra Pradesh.[13] The city has an average elevation of 14 meters (45 feet).[14]

Climate

Machilipatnam city gets most of its annual rainfall due to the southwest monsoon. It has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification Aw) with hot summers and moderate winters. The hottest months are between April and June. The average normal rainfall in the district is 959 millimetres (37.8 in).

Machilipatnam city is frequently hit by cyclones originating in the Bay of Bengal. The Andhra Pradesh coast between Ongole and Machilipatnam is vulnerable to high surges of the sea due to cyclones. The 1977 Andhra Pradesh cyclone crossed the coast near Nizampatnam and took approximately 10,000 lives. As the storm approached the coast, gale winds reaching 200 km/h lashed Prakasam, Guntur, Krishna, East Godavari and West Godavari districts. A storm surge, 5 metres high, inundated the Krishna estuary and the coast south of Machilipatnam city (Bandar)

On 8 December 2004, a high capacity S-Band Doppler cyclone warning radar was installed, commissioned and made operational at the city.[15] It was purchased from a German manufacturer, Gematronik. With the installation of the radar, the state will be better equipped to track cyclones by the onset of monsoon, according to an official from the State Met Office talking to the newspaper The Hindu. This facility will monitor the 960 km long coastline of the state.[16]

Climate data for Machilipatnam
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 32.4
(90.3)		 34.6
(94.3)		 38.1
(100.6)		 41.8
(107.2)		 46.5
(115.7)		 45.4
(113.7)		 40.8
(105.4)		 38.6
(101.5)		 36.8
(98.2)		 37.2
(99)		 33.3
(91.9)		 33.0
(91.4)		 46.5
(115.7)
Average high °C (°F) 28.5
(83.3)		 30.2
(86.4)		 32.5
(90.5)		 34.6
(94.3)		 37.3
(99.1)		 36.7
(98.1)		 33.7
(92.7)		 32.6
(90.7)		 32.5
(90.5)		 31.6
(88.9)		 30.1
(86.2)		 28.8
(83.8)		 32.43
(90.38)
Daily mean °C (°F) 23.8
(74.8)		 25.5
(77.9)		 27.5
(81.5)		 30.2
(86.4)		 32.4
(90.3)		 32.4
(90.3)		 29.7
(85.5)		 29.0
(84.2)		 28.9
(84)		 27.8
(82)		 25.8
(78.4)		 24.3
(75.7)		 28.11
(82.58)
Average low °C (°F) 19.0
(66.2)		 20.8
(69.4)		 22.6
(72.7)		 25.7
(78.3)		 27.5
(81.5)		 27.0
(80.6)		 25.6
(78.1)		 25.4
(77.7)		 25.3
(77.5)		 24.0
(75.2)		 21.6
(70.9)		 19.9
(67.8)		 23.7
(74.66)
Record low °C (°F) 14.0
(57.2)		 15.6
(60.1)		 17.3
(63.1)		 17.8
(64)		 17.6
(63.7)		 21.0
(69.8)		 18.8
(65.8)		 18.8
(65.8)		 18.1
(64.6)		 17.8
(64)		 15.3
(59.5)		 14.6
(58.3)		 14
(57.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 6
(0.24)		 9
(0.35)		 7
(0.28)		 9
(0.35)		 20
(0.79)		 86
(3.39)		 171
(6.73)		 181
(7.13)		 156
(6.14)		 177
(6.97)		 116
(4.57)		 21
(0.83)		 959
(37.77)
Average rainy days 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.8 2.2 7.7 13.8 12.6 10.4 9.2 5.6 1.2 65.1
Average relative humidity (%) 76 75 73 73 66 62 72 74 78 79 75 75 73.2
Source: NOAA (1971–1990)[17]

Demographics

As of 2011 census, Machilipatnam had a population of 170,008. The total population constitute, 83,561 males and 86,447 females —a sex ratio of 1035 females per 1000 males. 13,778 children are in the age group of 0–6 years, of which 7,076 are boys and 6,702 are girls. The average literacy rate stands at 83.32% with 130,173 literates, significantly higher than the state average of 67.41%.[2][18]

Governance

Civic administration

Machilipatnam Municipal Corporation is the civic body of the city. It was constituted as a municipality in the year 1866 and was upgraded to corporation from special grade municipality on 9 December 2015.[19][20] It covers an area of 26.67 km2 (10.30 sq mi) under its jurisdiction. The present commissioner of the corporation is A.S.N.V.Maruthi Diwakar and the municipal chair person is Motamarri Venkata Baba Prasad.[21]

Politics

Machilipatnam is a part of Machilipatnam (Assembly constituency) for Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly. Kollu Ravindra is the present MLA of the constituency from Telugu Desam Party.[22][23] The assembly segment is also a part of Machilipatnam (Lok Sabha constituency), which was won by Konakalla Narayana Rao of Telugu Desam Party.[24]

Culture

Dance

Kuchipudi, a popular Indian Classical Dance form originated at Kuchipudi, 25 kilometres from Machilipatnam.

Cuisine

Bandar laddu hand moulded

Chilakapudi panduranga swamy temple

The city is well known for a sweet known as Bandar Laddu.[25]

Tourism

Machilipatnam Temple
Sai Baba Temple at Machilipatnam

Dattashram is a pilgrimage site on the coast., home to ancient Shiva temple and a recently built Datta temple. Manginapudi is popularly known as "Datta Rameswaram" due to the consecration of 12 wells for bathing (recalling those at Rameswaram).[26] Panduranga Swamy temple at Chilakalapudi near the city, Agastheeswara Temple etc. are some Hindu religious sites. The manginipudi beach is located at the coast of the city.

Transport

The city is well connected to most of the cities and towns by road. The National Highway 9 connects Machilipatnam to Pune, via Hyderabad and Vijayawada. National Highway 214A from Kattipudi to Ongole, passes through the city. Machilipatnam railway station is located in South Central Railway zone of Indian railways, under the jurisdiction of Vijayawada railway division. It is classified as an B–Category station and also one of the Adarsh Stations in the division.[27] It is the terminal station of Vijayawada-Machilipatnam branch line, that connects Howrah-Chennai main line at Vijayawada.[28]

Machilipatnam port was damaged by a giant ocean wave on 1 November 1864.[29] Since, then there were many efforts to build a new port. Navayuga Engineering Company Limited is in the process of building a deep water port at Gilakaladinne of the city.[30] The nearest domestic airport is Vijayawada Airport.

Education

Machilipatnam is an ancient and famous educational center. The Noble College Machilipatnam is one of the first four colleges in India and the first college in Andhra Pradesh. There are two other colleges with histories related to India's fight for independence, namely The Hindu College and The National College (Andhra Jateeya Kalasala). Kendriya Vidyalaya is the only school maintained by Government of India in Machilipatnam which was established in 1994. Krishna University has been established in Machilipatnam as the Headquarters of Krishna District in 2008 for Higher education.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ The Great Stupa at Nagarjunakonda in Southern India
  9. ↑ Periplus, Point 62; http://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/periplus.asp
  10. ↑ Buddhist Monks and Monasteries of India: Their History and Their Contribution to Indian Culture by Sukumar Butt, Motilal Banarsidas Publishers, 1988, p. 132
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00maplinks/mughal/bellinmasulipatam/overview1758.jpg
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Machilipatnam&oldid=3574960"