Tenali

For other uses, see Tenali (disambiguation).

Tenali తెనాలి
City
Tenali Railway Station West Booking office
Nickname(s): Andhra Paris
Tenali Location in Andhra Pradesh, India
Coordinates:
Country	India
State	Andhra Pradesh
District	Guntur
Mandal	Guntur
Government
• Type	Municipal council
• Body	Tenali Municipality APCRDA
• MLA	Alapati Rajendra Prasad (Telugu Desam Party)
• Municipal commissioner	P.Shakuntala
Area
• Total	15.11 km2 (5.83 sq mi)
Area rank	21st
Elevation	15 m (49 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	164,937
• Rank	17th
• Density	11,000/km2 (28,000/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Telugu
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	522201 / 2
Vehicle registration	AP–07
Lok Sabha constituency	Guntur
Assembly constituency	Tenali

Tenali is a city in Guntur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the headquarters of Tenali mandal and Tenali revenue division. The city is a part of Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is the seventeenth most populous in the state, with an overall population of 164,937. It is often referred with the nickname as Andhra Paris.

Etymology

The word Tenali was transformed from Teravali.

History

From 225 B.C. to 225 A.D., it was a ruled by Andhra–Satavahana dynasty. The relics found in the excavations around Tenali reveal the existence of Jainism and Buddhism in the ancient days.

Geography

It is located in the coastal andhra region of the state. Tenali is located 28 kilometres (17 mi) east of the district headquarters, Guntur, and 37 kilometres (23 mi) south of Vijayawada by road. It lies on the Eastern coastal plains. It has an average altitude of 15 metres (49 ft).

Climate

Tenali is located about 30 km from the sea coast. Hence it is generally hot and humid during summer with temperatures ranging between 28–42 °C (82–108 °F). Winters are milder with temperatures between 15 °C (59 °F) and 25 °C (77 °F). Heavy rains are experienced between July and November during monsoon time.

Demographics

As of 2011 census of India, the city had a population of 164,937 with 43,593 households. The total population constitute, 81,427 males and 83,510 females —a sex ratio of 1026 females per 1000 males. 14,340 children are in the age group of 0–6 years, of which 7,347 are boys and 6,993 are girls—a ratio of 952 per 1000. The average literacy rate stands at 75.56% with 1,24,618 literates, significantly higher than the state average of 67.41%.

Governance

Civic administration

The municipality was formed in 1909 and was constituted as Special Grade Municipality in 1965. It comprises Tenali, Pinapadu and Chinaravuru, spread over an area of 15.11 km² (5.83 sq mi). There are 46 election wards represented by a councilor. The present municipal commissioner of the city is P.Shakuntala.

Utility services

In the 6th Plasticon Awards 2012, Tenali Municipality was awarded Green City of the country for waste segregation management. The city municipality implements two-bin garbage collection and also took up sanitation campaigns like Mana Tenali-It’s people’s creation for hygiene of the people. As per National Urban Sanitation Policy, the city was ranked 364th in the country in 2009–10, with a total of 24.580 points. The city is also a part of water supply and sewerage services mission known as Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).

Politics

Tenali a part of Tenali (Assembly constituency) for Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly. Alapati Rajendra Prasad is the present MLA of the constituency from Telugu Desam Party. It is also a part of Guntur (Lok Sabha constituency) which was won by Galla Jayadev of Telugu Desam Party.

Economy

The town thrives on trade and agriculture. The region around the town has fertile black alluvial soil irrigated by the Krishna river and its canals. Major crops include Lemon, Banana, Sugar Cane, Paddy, Lentil, Sapota and Turmeric. Pulses like Black gram and Red gram are grown as rice fallows in the area. Maize has recently been introduced in the region which has become a major commercial crop. Tenali is famous for Handloom Pattu (Silk) Sarees, Gold Jewelry, Wood and Steel Utensils.

Culture

The city is most notable for its drama and fine arts. There are many religions with their worship centers like, Vaikuntapuram Venkateswara temple, Iglesia Ni Cristo church are some of them.

Films and literature

Tenali Ramakrishna, one of the eight poets in the court of Sri Krishna Devaraya hail from Tenali. In the area of modern literature, contributors such as Chakrapani, Gudipati Venkata Chalam, Kodavatiganti Kutumbarao, Tripuraneni Ramaswamy are some of them.

Many artists who hail from Tenali and the nearby villages has contributed the major share to Telugu film industry such as AVS, Kalyanam Raghuramaiah (Eelapata Raghuramaiah), Govindarajula Subba Rao (first Telugu hero), Krishna, Gummadi Venkateswara Rao, Jamuna, Kanchanamala (first Telugu heroin), Kongara Jaggayya, Prabha, Savitri, Sharada etc.

Transport

Tenali is well connected to the major towns and cities by roads and railways. The nearest cities to Tenali are Guntur and Vijayawada. APSRTC operates busses from Tenali Bus station to major towns and nearby villages. Tenali Junction lies on the Howrah-Chennai main line and also connects Tenali-Repalle branch line with Guntur-Tenali section. It is one of the thirteen A – category stations located in Vijayawada railway division of South Central Railway zone.

Education

Tenali is well known for its educational institutions and one of the major destinations for students from nearby villages. It consists of major educational institutions like VSR & NVR College, etc. Yalavarthy Veda Pathashala is one of the oldest vedic schools of the state, which was established in 1893, is located in Gandhi Nagar area of Tenali. Traditional Vedic smartham was taught by late Prathanacharya Sri Pandita pamarthi Nagabhushana Sarma.

See also

• List of cities in Andhra Pradesh
• List of municipalities in Andhra Pradesh