Guntur serves as a major hub for the export of chilli, cotton and tobacco, and has the largest chilli-market yard in Asia.[3] It is also a major hub for transport, education, medicine and commercial activities in the state.[4] Ancient temples and sites near the city include
Kondaveedu Fort,
Amareswaraswamy temple, and
Undavalli Caves, and Sri Bramarambha Malleswara Swamy Temple at
Pedakakani.
Etymology
In
Sanskrit documents, Guntur was referred to as Garthapuri; in
Telugu, "Guntlapuri" means "a place surrounded by water ponds".[5] The settlement might have been near a pond (Telugu: "gunta"); hence "gunta uru" means "pond village". Another source refers to "kunta", a land-measuring unit, which may have transformed to "kunta uru" and later to "Guntur".[6]
Inscriptions in Nagalipi at the Sri Ganga Parvati Sameta Agastesvaraswamy temple in the old city
The region was historically known for
Buddhism; the first
Kalachakra ceremony was performed by
Gautama Buddha.[8] Agastyeshwara temple is one of the oldest temples in the city; according to a local legend,
Agastya built it in the
Treta Yuga around a swayambhulinga. Inscriptions on the side of Naga Muchalinda, a sculpture unearthed in 2018 in the compound of the temple, are in Naga Lipi, an ancient script from the third century
CE. Based on this discovery, Emani Sivanagi Reddy, archaeologist and Buddhist scholar believes this region served as a Buddhist site contemporary to
Nagarjunakonda.[9]
The earliest reference to Guntur is found in inscriptions by
Ammaraja I (922–929 CE), the Vengi
Chalukyan king.[5] According to an inscription in Sri Narasimha Swami temple at Ramachandra Agraharam, Tirumala Dasa Mahapatra – the local ruler of the
Gajapathi king
Kapileswara Gajapathi – gave donations to the temple of Mulastha Mallikarjuna Deva in 1485 CE.[10]
The city rapidly became a major market for agricultural produce from the surrounding countryside due to the opening of the railway link in 1890. The expansion continued post
independence as well and was concentrated in what is now called New Guntur, with many urban areas such as
Brodipet,
Arundelpet and suburban areas like Pattabhipuram, Chandramoulinagar, Sitaramanagar, and Brindavan Gardens. In 2012, the city limits were expanded with the merger of surrounding ten villages, namely
Nallapadu, Pedapalakaluru, Ankireddipalem, Adavitakkellapadu,
Gorantla, Pothuru, Chowdavaram, Etukuru,
Budampadu and
Reddypalem.[12]
Guntur is the place of discovery of
helium from observations of the
solar eclipse of 18 August 1868 by the French astronomer
Pierre Janssen.[16][17] Allen Olliver Becker's family from Guntur was among the survivors of the Titanic ship disaster.[18]
Geography
Guntur is located at 16°17′N80°26′E / 16.29°N 80.43°E / 16.29; 80.43.[19] It has an average elevation of 33 metres (108 ft) and is situated on the plains. There are few hills in the surrounding suburban areas and Perecherla Reserve Forest is located in the city's north-west. Guntur lies approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of
Amaravati, the capital of Andhra Pradesh.
Climate
According to the
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system, the climate in Guntur is
tropical with dry winters (Aw). The average temperature is warm-to-hot year round. The summer season, especially May and June, has the highest temperatures, which are usually followed by
monsoon rains. During the winter season, running from November to February, the weather is usually dry with little-to-no rainfall. The wettest month is July. The average annual temperature is 28.5 °C (83.3 °F) and annual rainfall is about 905 millimetres (36 in). Rain storms and cyclones are common in the region during the rainy season, which starts with the monsoons in early June. Cyclones may occur any time of the year but occur most commonly between May and November.[20]
Based on the
2011 Census of India, after a merger of nearby villages in 2012, Guntur had a population of 743,354.[2] The 2023 estimate of the city population is 9,81,000.[22] It is classified as a Y-grade city under the
Seventh Central Pay Commission.[23]
Based on the 2011 census data prior to the city's expansion in 2012,
Telugu is the most-widely spoken language with 545,928 native speakers, followed by 109,574
Urdu speakers. A significant minority speak
Hindi,
Odia and
Tamil.[24] The religious demographic consists of 522,030
Hindus (77.91%), 120,974
Muslims (18.05%), 21,787
Christians (3.25%), 2,312
Jains (0.35%) and 2,605 (0.82%) did not state any religion.[25] One of the supposedly
lost tribes of Israel called
Bene Ephraim has a presence in Guntur; there is a
Jewishsynagogue at Kothareddypalem near
Chebrolu.[26]
Governance
Civic administration and politics
The city's local authority is
Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC), which at over 150 years old, is one of India's oldest municipalities.[27] It was constituted in 1886, when the city had a population of 25,000; the city was upgraded to a third-grade municipality in 1891, a first-grade municipality in 1917, a special-grade municipality in 1952, and a selection-grade municipality in 1960. In 1994, Guntur was provided with a
municipal corporation and its first local election was held in 1995.[28] The city is divided into 57 revenue wards.[21] During the financial year 2018–19, the corporation had a budget of ₹1,004
crore (equivalent to ₹13 billion or US$160 million in 2023).[29]
Guntur has several urban healthcare centres and about 200 private hospitals, including several specialty centres.[42] The Government General Hospital (GGH) is the city's main tertiary healthcare provider.[43]
Guntur police uses surveillance and central monitoring control systems with high-resolution cameras at important traffic junctions.[48][49]
Economy
Guntur forms a part of the
East Coast Economic Corridor.[50]
Due to its status as the district capital and part of the state capital region, Guntur houses many state offices and agencies, including the headquarters of the Agricultural Marketing Department,[37] the Tobacco Board and the
Spices Board.[51]
India is the world's biggest exporter of chillies and much of this is grown around Guntur.[52] The city's Agriculture Market Committee Market Yard in Guntur is the largest
chilli yard in Asia; in 2023, its sales exceeded sales ₹10,000 crore (US$1.2 billion) during that year's trading season.[53][3] There are also several spinning mills on the outskirts of the city.[54]
Culture
Residents of Guntur are referred as Gunturians.[55] Cultural events with focus on literature and poetry are regularly organised.[56] Venkateswara Vignana Mandiram and Annamaiah Kalavedika are popular venues for cultural programs. In 2021, a new venue called Gurram Jashua Kala Pranganam was being constructed.[57] Hindu residents celebrate Hindu festivals such as
Vinayaka Chavithi,[58]Vijaya Dasami[59] and
Ugadi.[60]Eid and
Christmas[61] are also celebrated in Guntur.
Baudhasree Archaeological Museum has collection of beads, bangle pieces, potsherds and coins. It has stone Buddhist, Jain and Hindu sculptures dating from the 1st to 19th centuries C.E., bronze sculptures from the 11th to 20th centuries, 19th-century
Buddhatankas and wooden carvings, and portraits and paintings.[62]
Cuisine
In the local cuisine of Guntur,
Idli,
Dosa,
Puri,
Vada are popular breakfast foods.[63] Red chilli biryani is a local dish.[64]Guntur Sannam, a variety of chilli pepper, was registered as a
geographical indication of Andhra Pradesh under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.[65] The city has many hotels and restaurants. There are street food vendors on every corner of the city.[66]
Cityscape
The major commercial and residential areas in the city include Arundelpet, Lakshmipuram and Brodipet. Other major areas of the city are Koretapadu, Navabharath Nagar, Pattabhipuram, Syamalanagar and Vidyanagar, Autonagar,
Gorantla,
Pedapalakaluru,
Nallapadu,
Budampadu and
Chowdavaram.[67][68]
Baudhasree Archaeological Museum, AC College Road, Kannavari Thota
Jinna Tower, MG Road
Chuttugunta center in Guntur
Jinnah Tower on Mahatma Gandhi Road is a rare monument related to
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan, in India.[69] Guntur has 17 parks, some of which are maintained by the municipal corporation.[70] Nagaravanam, a part of Perecherla Reserve Forest, was developed on the outskirts of the city as a park.[71]
Tourism
Tourist attractions and landmarks in Guntur (Interactive map)
Tourist attractions in Guntur include Sri Ganga Parvathi Sametha Agastheswara temple. In the old city are Gandhi Park, Baudhasree architectural museum, Nagaravanam and NTR Manasa Sarovaram. Ancient temples and sites near the city include
Amareswaraswamy temple,
Undavalli Caves, Sri Bramarambha Malleswara Swamy Temple at
Pedakakani and
Kondaveedu Fort.[72][73]Uppalapadu Bird Sanctuary is 10 km (6.2 mi) from the city and
Suryalanka Beach is 60 km (37 mi) away.
Environment
In 2019, pollution levels in Guntur city were at a moderate level when compared with other major cities.[74] There have been many efforts to increase awareness and keep the city clean,[75] including a 100-day cleanup drive in 2021.[76] A plastic-waste-to-fuel conversion plant was set up in the city; fuel from the plant was used for vehicles run by the GMC.[77][78]
The GMC started using electric vehicles for domestic garbage collection in 2021.[79] E-auto rickshaws were introduced in the city to reduce air and noise pollution; many electric charging stations have been set up across the city for this purpose.[80] Efforts to reduce plastic use in the city and replace it with environment-friendly materials like jute, paper and cloth have been made.[81]
In 2021, United Nations Human Settlement Program planners recommended implementation of larger parks, mass transit with metro trains and electric bus systems, and improvements to city expansion plans.[82]
Transport
Local transport in Guntur includes privately operated
auto rickshaws, taxi cabs, minibuses and government-run
APSRTC buses.[83][84][85] Auto rickshaws operating on a sharing basis are the cheapest form of transport for students and workers.
NTR bus station and an adjacent minibus station accommodate more than 2,000 buses every day, about half of them from depots in the erstwhile united district.[86][87] Plans for e-Bus Bay centres in the city were proposed in 2021.[88]
Roads
The city has a total of 893.00 km (554.88 mi) of roads.[89]Mahatma Gandhi Inner Ring Road is a 6.34-kilometre (3.94 mi)
arterial road that starts on
National Highway 16.[90][91] The inner ring road, along with Guntur Bypass, and sections of national and state highways, encircles the city. The arterial city roads include Grand Trunk Road, JKC College Road, Lakshmipuram Road, Pattabhipuram Road and Palakaluru Road. The GMC identified Amaravati Road, Lalapuram Road, Medical Club Road, Chuttugunta Road and Palakaluru Road for double-laning, and many other roads for widening to accommodate traffic.[92]
Primary and secondary education is provided by government and private schools. Aided schools were either transferred to government or became private in 2020 as per a government mandate.[103] According to the school information report for the academic year 2015–2016, more than one lakh (100,000) students were enrolled in over 400 schools.[104][105] The medium of instruction in municipal corporation schools was switched to English from the year 2016-2017.[106][107]
The public library system in Guntur is supported by the government and the district central library is located at Arundalpet.[108] Annamayya library was set up with 1 lakh books that were donated by bibliophile
Lanka Suryanarayana.[109]
Guntur has hosted sporting events such as the All India Senior Tennis Association,[124] the All India Sub Junior Ranking Badminton Tournament,[125] the All India Invitation Volleyball Tournament,[121] the Ganta Sanjeeva Reddy Memorial Trophy[126] and the Inter-district Master Aquatic Championship.[127] The city was also a host for the Khelo India programme for junior-level national sports in 2016.[128] The city hosts mini-marathons and 10 km (6.2 mi) walks.[129] International sports personalities from Guntur include cricketer
Ambati Rayudu[130] and badminton player
Srikanth Kidambi.[131][132]
^Samuel Jonathan, P (24 July 2014).
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^"3.4 Infrastructure"(PDF). Guntur Municipal Corporation. p. 19. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2017.{{
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^"School Information Report". Commissionerate of School Education. Government of Andhra Pradesh. Archived from
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