Ongole is a city in Prakasam district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Prakasam district. It is known for Ongole cattle, an indigenous breed of oxen.

Etymology

Ongole's name derives from the Sanskrit word 'Ongole', meaning the 'town of Shiva'.

History

The city's history dates from 230 BCE with the era of the Mauryas and Satavahanas who ruled most of what is now Andhra Pradesh. A few inscriptions dating to the Satavahana period have been found in China Ganjam, a village near Ongole. According to the historical inscriptions available at Sri Raja Rajeswara Swami Temple complex, the city was founded by Cholas. Ongole is also mentioned in the inscriptions of the Pallava rulers of the third and fourth century A.D. The city was also ruled by Krishna Deva Raya. This place came into the limelight again during the Kakatiya dynasty, when the nearby towns of Motupalli and Vodarevu served as major seaports. The last dynasty to rule the Ongole region before the British was the Mandapati dynasty (zamindars). Kaasi Visweswara Swami temple, Chenna Kesava Swami Temple and Veeranjaneya Swami temple were built in the early 17th century by King Vankayalapati mantri and his chief of army. Andhra Baptist Mission High School founded in the late 19th century by American Baptist missionaries, is the oldest educational institution in the city. Ongole district came into existence on 2 February 1970, with the carving out portions of Markapur revenue division from Kurnool, Ongole revenue division from Guntur and Kandukur revenue division from Nellore districts. It was renamed as Prakasam district in 1972 in memory of freedom fighter, later Chief Minister of the composite Madras State and the first Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh State, Tanguturi Prakasam, who was born at Vinodarayunipalem, a hamlet of Kanuparthi village of Naguluppalapadu mandal of this district.

Geography

Ongole is located at 15.5°N 80.05°E. It has an average elevation of 10 m (33 ft) AMSL and is situated on the plains. The city is around 149 km to the south west of Amaravati, the stat capital.

Climate

Summer temperatures reaches as high as 44 C during March–May. During the monsoon season, the city receives lot of rain. The annual average rainfall 794.5 mm. The winter season from November to February is pleasant. Winter months are usually dry, with little to no rainfall. The average annual temperature is 24.5 C. Cyclones occur more commonly during October–December bringing rains and heavy winds. Ongole has been ranked 17th best “National Clean Air City” under (Category 3  population under 3 lakhs cities) in India.

Demographics

Based on the 2011 Census of India, the city had a population of 252,739. The sex ratio of 994 females per 1000 males is higher than the national average of 940 per 1000. 19,744 children are in the age group of 0–6 years, of which 10,228 are boys and 9,516 are girls&a ratio of 935 per 1000. The average literacy rate stands at 83.04% with 153,628 literates, significantly higher than the state average of 67.41%.

Governance

Civic administration and politics

It is constituted as a municipality in 1876 and was upgraded to municipal corporation on 25 January 2012. The jurisdiction of the corporation is spread over an area of 132.45 km2 with 50 election wards. The agglomerated villages that were merged into Ongole corporation are: Cheruvukommupalem, Throvagunta, Muktinuthalapadu, Dasarajupalli, Koppolu, Narasapuram Agraharam, Pellur, Pernamitta, Vengamukkapalem. The city is part of Ongole assembly constituency and Ongole Lok Sabha constituency. Damacharla Janardhan Rao is the present MLA of the constituency from Telugu Desam Party. The constituency is a part of Ongole (Lok Sabha constituency) which was won by Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy of Telugu Desam Party.

Economy

Agriculture is the primary industry of Ongole, and the city is a major center for tobacco trading in Andhra Pradesh. Ongole bulls are a breed of oxen that are exported to many countries. The Brahman bull in America is an off-breed of the Ongole. Ongole Island, in Malaysia, holds many Ongole oxen. The population of Zebu off-breed descended animals in Brazil, which contain a large Ongole component, was over 100 million in 1995. The original breed of Ongole stud bulls are found in a small region around Ongole town between the Gundlakamma and Musi rivers.

Transport

National Highway 16, a part of Golden Quadrilateral highway network, bypasses the city. National Highway 216 connects the city with Kathipudi. The city has a total road length of 738.50 km. Ongole bus station is owned and operated by Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation. The station is also equipped with a bus depot. The 'Passengers delight project' was implemented at the bus station for improving cleanliness and modernizing it. Ongole railway station was established as part of Nellore - Krishna Canal section on 20 December 1898 by Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway System. It is categorized as a Non-Suburban Grade-3 (NSG-3) station in the Vijayawada railway division.

Education

Education is imparted through government and private institutions. Several aided schools decided to become private schools or close down after transferring the staff to the government, when the government decided to stop giving aid. English became the medium of instruction for primary schools in the academic year 2020–21. Some of the famous educational institutes include Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), QIS College of Engineering and Technology, QIS Institute of Technology, RISE Groups of Institutions, Indira Priyadarshini Law College, Prakasam Engineering College, and the Pace Institute of Technology and Sciences. The city is the headquarters of Andhra Kesari University, a public university established on 11 January 2022.

Sports

The PDCA-CSR Sarma College Ground is one of the home grounds of the Andhra cricket team, with a first-class cricket status and hosts Ranji Trophy matches. The ground has recorded the first ever triple century by a wicket keeper in Ranji Trophy, achieved by Srikar Bharat of the Andhra cricket team. The police parade grounds hosted the first state-level Girl Football Tournament in October 2016.

Tourism

Kothapatnam beach (approx 17 km away), Valluramma temple at Valluru (about 11 km away), Gundlakamma Reservoir Project at Mallavaram (approx 20 km away) are few nearby places of tourist interest.