The Nizam and Haidar Ali too ruled the town till it came under the British in 1788. It was made the headquarters of a district named after it that was abolished in 1859, only to be reconstituted in 1904. The city rapidly became a major market for agricultural produce from the hinterland 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 Pattabhi nagar, Chandramouli nagar, Sitarama nagar etc. The current size of the city has an inner radius of about 6 miles (9.7 km). The City-region comprises the surrounding suburban and rural areas spanning in all the directions. New townships are mushrooming in these areas and it is considered as the fourth largest city in the state. On 7/13/2012 a new Government Order was issued adding 10 adjacent villages to be part of the city with ‘Greater’ status.
Motion Pictures/Films are a common form of entertainment in the city as well as in the rest of India. Guntur has many movie theatres with updated 3D Screens that play Telugu, English, and Hindi movies with many multiplex theatres. Though not as popular, traditional drama and theatrical events too have their presence in the city. The Guntur Nataka Rangam, Guntur Cultural Association are premier organizations in the state that promote and conduct theatrical events. During early summer season there are festivals and fairs that take place in the city, many types of rides, shows, novelties and food. There are numerous places of interest and parks in and around the city/district for entertainment, culture, and history. Suryalanka is the closest beach/shore-point for the city. There are also many shopping malls that have come up in the city area. in the coming days there is a proposal of INOX in the city
The city is the regional headquarters of the State Road Transport System. It is connected to all the major cities of the country through various national and state highways. There are major highways such as Madras—Guntur—Kolkata highway, Guntur—Nagarjuna Sagar—Hyderabad highway (which can take to other major routes like Mumbai and Delhi) and the Guntur— Vinukonda – Kurnool – Bellary highway. Within the city the traffic primarily flows using the inner, outer ring-roads, few bridges, main roads. Many intersections have innovative traffic signals and video cameras to control and monitor the traffic. Common modes of road transport within the city are cars, motorcycles, buses, and auto-rickshaws; antique pedal rickshaws can still be seen. The city is also a major part of the 60,000 crore Golden Quadrilateral system, a national transportation project that has recently been completed.
Telugu is the main language of communication in the city while Urdu is the other widely spoken language. One of the earlier forms of Telugu language can be noticed in this region. The famous Mahakavi Tikkana (1205–1288) was born in this region. Most of the Muslims in the city speak Urdu as their mother tongue, though they are fluent in Telugu. The culture is vibrant with many festivals (that have been celebrated over thousands of years). Those festivals observed in Guntur with great pomp and splendour are: Deepavali, Krishna-Ashtami, Rama Navami, Sankranti, Sivaratri, Ugadi, Vijaya Dasami, Vinayaka-Chaviti, Ekadasi, Karthika Purnima. Also, noticeable are festivals introduced before a few centuries, including Christmas, Eid ul-Fitr, Muharram, Ramadan. The 30th International Kalachakra festival was held at Amaravati near Guntur.
The industrial development in the Guntur Region is of medium scale. On a positive note, the region has minimal industrial and related pollution as compared to major cities in the country. It has a large skilled and educated workforce. Some of the industries in the area are: textile mills/handloom, silk, Sangam Dairy, Cement, Chemical and Biotechnology, Andhra Fertilizers, jute mills, granite industries, diamond and other ore processing , Auto-Nagar and software/IT Companies. A Textile Hub is being developed on the southwestern side of the city, and the government is also encouraging the setting up of new industries. Another ongoing project is a 850 crore IT park in Guntur outskirts. Possible future plans include a large scale Biotechnology Park, as well as a Knowledge Park.
There are numerous markets selling vegetables, fruits, flowers and other commodities throughout the city. Also, many Super Markets and Malls are opening due to the rapidly expanding middle and upper classes. The ‘Patnam Bazar’ area of the city is famous for the wholesale market of many consumer goods. The traditional method of selling vegetables, flowers and other consumer goods using push-carts is still very common and effective. There are special Rythu Bazaars in every corner of the city to sell fresh produce. Locally famous fruits and vegetables include the oval shaped – (unique honey taste) – sapota, mango, Seethaphalam, and Dosakai. Construction of Big Bazaar and Reliance Market are being done and Global retail chains Nmart Retails and Walmart have started their stores in the city.
Guntur (Greater Guntur) pronunciation (help·info) is a city and a municipal corporation in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, located 40 miles (64 km) to the north and west of the Bay of Bengal. It is approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 km) to the south of the national capital, New Delhi and 266 kilometres (165 mi) south east of state capital, Hyderabad. The city has a population of 6,54,381 (as per 2011 census). During the year 2012 the city limits have been expanded by merging ten surrounding villages into the corporation and the population of the city has increased to more than 10 lakhs with an urban agglomeration around 1.5 million. It is the fourth largest city in the state by the size of population and the third largest city by the area (sq. miles).
A social forestry project for Guntur is on the anvil to make the region greener; Guntur, (since only about 35% of the forest in the district has survived as per available statistics, a common issue throughout India). The government is closely working with corporates like ITC Ltd, which has been actively associated with Guntur since a long time due to the presence of Indian Leaf Tobacco Development(ILTD)Division. The government and ITC have in cooordination planned projects which have helped the government in meeting the goals of Green Guntur. As a part of this Green Guntur project, one crore saplings have been planted in the city. The city’s UDA is also developing many medium and large scale parks throughout the city.
Guntur city and its region are a major commercial centre in Andhra Pradesh. Cotton, tobacco and chilli are some of the major commodities that are exported from here to different parts of the world. The city hosts the largest Asian market for red chillies. The Tobacco Board, India, a part of the Government of India, is headquartered in Guntur. The chillies that are grown in this region are some of the spiciest in the world, and are in constant competition with chillies from Mexico for first place. One of the first of its kind, a global ‘Spice Park’ is currently being setup in the area. The cotton that grows in the region is used in making some of the finest sarees in India.
Guntur City is famous for the food items such as mirchi bajji (mirapakaya bajji), aavakaaya pickle, gongura pickle, with traditional Andhra style meals and common breakfast items such as Idli, dosa and puri. There are many top quality restaurants that offer varieties of food items (from several regions of India). The common masala stands, jilebi push-carts, sugar cane juice sellers can be noticed in every corner of the city. There are also International Fast Food and pizza outlets. The city has many star class lodgings, inns and hotels. Also international restaurant chains like KFC and Domino’s Pizza have opened up outlets in the city, which are becoming popular with the people.
Guntur is one of the first cities to provide higher education and graduate programs in India. The Acharya Nagarjuna University is one of the largest universities in the country, and covers various institutions from 3 districts. There are a number of graduate schools, colleges, and high schools providing basic and higher education (agricultural, arts, bio-med, engineering, management, medical, nursing, pharmaceutical, sciences, technology) in the region. The Guntur Institute of Medical Sciences is one of many premier institutes in the city region. The Vedic University near Guntur specializes in the teaching of Vedic Sciences, other related philosophies, and the Vedanta.
The region of Guntur is one of the medical hubs in India. It offers wide access to top medical care at reasonable prices and has a variety of charity hospitals that serve as a safety net for the destitute. It boasts major medical facilities (super specialty hospitals) and related research institutions. The General Hospital provides free health care to people across the coastal districts. The Sankar Eye Hospital, Kugler Hospital, St. Joseph Hospital are just a few of the many premier hospitals in the region. A new medical facility VIMS is established at Viswanagar to serve the people in the rural areas that are to the south and west of the city.
Guntur junction is one of the Divisional headquarters (Guntur division) and a major transit point of the Indian Railways System. All four metro cities and most state capitals can be accessed through this transit point. Proposed Greater Guntur has the following stations: the Main Station (near Arundelpet and Railpet) and the others at Nallapadu, University-Center(Namburu), New Guntur(Reddipalem). Two other major transit points close to Guntur are: Tenali and Vijayawada with a future plan of running suburban trains in the suburban region. The Indian Railways is one of the most convenient and efficient systems of commute for the people throughout India.
Guntur Range (Andhra Pradesh Police Department) is the regional headquarters of the State Police with its own Inspector General covering three nearby districts (including Guntur district). The High Court was in Guntur briefly after the separation from the erstwhile Madras State, which was later moved to the current state capital after the formation of AP. There is a pending plan to create a High Court bench at Guntur, covering for the coastal districts. Guntur also hosts one of the Indian Army recruitment and training centres. Suryalanka of Guntur Region has an airbase of the Indian Air Force.
The climate in Guntur City is very tropical in nature, but there are dry spells especially during the winter season, Current Temperature@City. The average temperature is warm to hot throughout the year, with temperatures ranging from approximately 16C to 48C (60F to 118F). The summer season (especially during May/June) has the highest temperatures, but these are usually followed by monsoon rains in that season. The winter season (from October to February) is the most enjoyable with a pleasant climate. Summer clothing suffices throughout the year. Local Time at Guntur.
The city’s lifestyle has a mixture of both urban and rural with some cosmopolitan element. Like any typical Indian city, the majority of the population is from middle class and lower-middle-class families. With a reasonable cost of living and most basic amenities readily available, the city attracts people from other regions. Guntur is known for its fusion of traditional Indian and Western cultures. Guntur’s residents wear both Indian style and Western style clothing. The common traditional clothing for women is a Saree, Salwar and for men formally, a Dhovathi or Pancha.
As quoted in NASA’s website “it is typical of the wider deltas along the southeast coast of India (known as the Coromandel Coast). The braided stream channels, broad floodplain, and extensive sandbars suggest that this part of the Krishna River flows through relatively flat terrain and carries a substantial amount of sediment, especially during the monsoon season.” Image Website of NASA of the Guntur City and District/Region of India. With the ocean on the top portion of the image, the actual location of the city is on the bottom right side portion of the image.
The ‘Agasthyeswara Sivalayam’ in the old city is an ancient temple of Lord Siva. There are inscriptions in the temple on stones in ‘Naga Lipi’ (an ancient script) dating back to about 1100 CE. It is considered one of the famous temples in the city. It is said that Agastya built the temple in the last Treta yuga around the Swayambhu Linga and hence it has this name. The ‘Nagals’ were said to have ruled the region at that time. The region has been historically known for Buddhism and the first Kalachakra ceremony performed by Buddha himself.
Guntur Region from a Satellite Guntur Plains: Guntur is located at 16.20°N 80.27°E. It has an average elevation of 33 metres (108 ft) and situated on the plains. There are a few hills in the surrounding suburban areas. The city is located around 40 miles (64 km) to the west of the Bay of Bengal on the east coast of India. The Krishna Delta lies partly in Guntur district. There are other smaller rivers and channels in the region such as Guntur Channel, Chandravanka, Naagileru, Guntur Branch Canal etc.
Both bureaucrats and elected officials manage the city affairs and issues. The municipal commissioner and district collector are usually from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). The MP, MLAs, Mayor, corporators constitute the local elected officials. Initiatives such as E-Governance are being put in place to reduce red-tapism, thereby enabling transparency in administration. The Guntur Municipal Corporation is among the select cities (4) across the world where an ‘eco-budget’ is being implemented.