Holy relic sites map of Andhra PradeshReliquaries from the stupa at Gudiwada in the British Museum
The name Gudivada was derived from Gudi meaning Temple and Vada means Settlement or town in Telugu language. The presence of Habitation at this city may be dated back to 3rd Century BCE or 2nd Century BCE since the time of Sathavahanas as per some inscriptions.[5] Archaeological excavations[6] conducted at Gudivada yielded an ancient Buddhist stupa mound and Jain relics. Gudivada is religiously diversified city with many Hindu Temples and important JainTirth[7] of Bhagawan Parshvanath located at market road. Vidarbhapuri was one of its earlier names.[8]
Gudivada falls in the hot, humid region of the country, and it is less than 35 miles from Bay of Bengal. The climate of the town is very hot in summer and is pleasant during the winter. The hottest day falls in the month of May with shift to June during some years.
Demographics
As of 2011[update]census of India, Gudivada had a population of 118,167 with 30,834 households. The total population constitute 59,062 males, 59,105 females and 10,509 in the age group of 0–6 years. It had an average literacy rate of 81.64% with 87,887 literates, significantly higher than the district average of 73.7% and the state average of 67.41%.[2][10]
Gudivada municipality was constituted in the year 1937 as a "third grade municipality".[11] It was upgraded to "special grade municipality" and is spread over an area of 12.67 km2 (4.89 sq mi) with 36 election wards.[1]YSR Congress Party won the Gudivada municipal elections in 2014 and the present MLA is Kodali Sri Venkateswara Rao whereas the present chairman of the municipality is TBA. The present municipal commissioner is TBA.
Economy
Agri based economy is the traditional base, consisting of Rice Mills, Tractor Trailer building and other supporting industries. Gudivada is a centre for service industries for the many villages around. The service industries range from Medical, Entertainment and General stores. For the last several decades, Gudivada has transformed into a good educational hub for primary, secondary and higher schools.
Transport
Old photo of Gudivada Junction Railway station sign board and Machilipatnam Express halted at Gudivada Junction Railway station
The primary and secondary school education is imparted by government, aided and private schools, under the School Education Department of the state.[18][19] The medium of instruction followed by different schools are English, Telugu.
The private aided colleges are, ANR college and KT Reddy women's college. There are eleven other unaided private colleges for undergraduate and postgraduate education.[20] One-fourth of the passed out school children will enroll for college education.[21] There are colleges for vocational courses such as, Gudivada Vocational Junior College and St.Johns Vocational Junior College;[22] industrial training centres include, Gudivada Industrial Training Centre, Government Industrial Training Institute for Girls.[23] It is home for Regional Research Institute for Homeopathy.[24][25]
Sports
N.T.R Stadium in the city was built in partnership with Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh, the Sports Authority of India and the Gudivada Municipality. It is the multi-purpose stadium for several sports like, athletics, volleyball, cricket, kho kho, kabaddi, badminton, tennikoit and basketball.[26] In January 2016, the stadium hosted the National Rural Sports and Games competition, under the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan.[27]
Temples
There are six temples under the management of Endowments Department.[28]
^"Declaration of A.P. Capital Region"(PDF). Andhra Nation. Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department. 22 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
^"Details of Roads in Each ULB of Andhra Pradesh". Commissioner and Directorate of Municipal Administration. Municipal Administration and Urban Developmemt Department - Government of Andhra Pradesh. Archived from the original on 1 August 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
^"School Education Department"(PDF). School Education Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh. Archived from the original(PDF) on 27 December 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
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