Kakinada



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Nestled in the cove of East Coast of India, Kakinada is the headquarters of the East Godavari District, in Andhra Pradesh. Also called as "Cocanada", it is situated on the western side of Koringa Bay. Although a seaport, it is now little used because the anchorage is 8-km to 10-km offshore. Because it is situated in a shifting deltaic region, the port has to be constantly dredged to keep the seabed at a uniform depth of 1.2-km to 1.8-km. Kakinada passed under the control of Kapilesvara Gajapati of Orissa and it remained under the Gajapatis for a long time. 'Jaggannaikpur' or 'Jagannathapuram', which lies to the south of Kakinada harbour, was associated with the Dutch, the French and the English. Kakinada has risen in importance as an educational center and has Engineering, Medical, Polytechnic and Arts and Science colleges affiliated with Andhra University. Kakinada is also commercially and industrially important. Kakinada exports cotton, peanuts (groundnuts), sugar, and tobacco, and there are many industries in and around the city. 
 A business centre and Head Quarters of East Godavari district of Andhrapradesh - It is a costal town located at East coast. 
Going back to the history, Kakinada was considered as 2nd Madras. The original name of this place was Kakanandivada named by the king of Ikshavaku, Kaka. During 17th century, some part of the city was occupied by the Dutch and named this place as Co-Canada. The name was then changed to Kakinada after the independence during 1947. 

Importance of Kakinada 
Kakinada has also been described in Bhima Khandam as the place with clustered tanks and temples. The temple street (Jawahar) has many temples and there are many tanks exist till now. Maharshi Bulusu Sambamurthy is a well known personality who emerged from kakinada struggled during Indian freedom movement. Present Gandhi Nagar Park area was used by all India Congress during 1923 for their work. Japanese targetted this place during 2nd world war for bombing. It has got heritage for the buildings like P.R.College, Om Tatsat is a building of Brahma Samaj, the Orphanage building, Main office building of State Bank of India. The cultural heritage lies in the Century old Saraswati Gana Sabha, Sangeeta Vidwat Sabha and others. Many famous cine artists are said to have been produced by Young men's happy club and Andhra Seva Sangam belonging to this area. 
This place is a fast developing industrial area and has got industries in the area of Auto mobiles, Fertilizers, petro chemicals and others. Kakinada has many famous educational institutions constituting Medicine, Engineering, Polytechnic, degree colleges and Law. There is a major natural port in Kakinada which is protected (against tides) by 18Kms long Hope island.    
 Visiting places 
Nearer to Kakinada, Draksharama (Pancharama Kshetra) and Kotipalli are located. These places are Piligrim centres for Hindus and are situtated at a distance of 25Kms (normal fare by taxi include INR 700 to INR 800). Bheemeswaralayam at Draksharama is the Pancharamas with Manikyamba Shakti Peetam (one of the 18 Shakti Peetams in India). Dhakshayagna Vatika is the place situated here where Dhaksha performed the Yagna. In Kotipalli the Sivalingam is installed by God Chandra (Moon) and the Vishnu temple is nearby which is very rare having Shiva and Vishnu temples at one place.  
Samalkot is one more important town which is just 12 Kms from Kakinada. One more Pancharama temple Kumararama Bheemeswara alayam is located at Samalkot. This temple was constructed during 9th Century by Chanukya kings. The famous Padagaya Kshetram is located at Pithapuram, just 20Kms from Kakinada. Uma kukkuteswara swamy temple, Kunti Madhava swamy temple, Datta Peetam of Sri Ganapathi Sachitananda swamy and Puruhootika Devi temples are situated at Pithapuram. Puruhootika Devi is another Shakti peetam. Bhavanarayana Swamy temple is located at Sarpavaram which is just 8 Kms from Kakinada. The water tank opposite to this temple is called Narada Gundam where Narada got rid off the Vishnu Maya of Sansarika Jeevitam by taking bath here. Sea shore and port are just 8Kms from the city. One can see fishing Harbour berths and Hope island in this place. 

History 
Kakinada is an ancient town. During the Dutch period it is used to call as Co-Canada and subsequently re-named as Kakinada after Independence. The people of Kakinada played an important role in Freedom Movement. Sri. K. Perraju, Sri Pydha Venakta Chalapathi and others took active part in establishing Indian National Congress in Kakinada. The All India National Congress 38th. Session was held in Kakinada in 1923. Sri Maharshi Bulusu Samba Murthy, SriRangayya Naidu, Sri Prathivadi Bhayankarachari, Sri Musalikanti Tirumala Rao, Dr.Vedantam Krishanayya and his wife Kamala Devi and Sri Mallipudi Pallam Raju have organized many meetings in Kakinada and led agitations against British rule. The Town took prominent part in the Uppu Satyagraham Mahatma Gandhi visited the town on 3rd April 1921, 24th December 1923 and 3rd May, 1929. This part of the town where Gandhiji addressed the public became a prominent place in the town and was named Gandhinagar. It has also earned reputation as a clean town, second Madras and Pensioners Paradise due to the planned development of the town. Kakinada is having an all Weather Anchorage Port. It is one of the intermediate Ports in the State developing into a major port. The Government have taken up the construction of Deep Water Port with the loan assistance of Asian Development Bank to a tune of $77.90 millions (Rs.120.74 Crores approximately) to give a big boost to the development of the Port at Kakinada. 

ADMINISTRATIVE ORGAN 
Kakinada Municipality was constituted in the year 1866. The first Municipal Council was formed in the Year 1907 under the Chairmanship of Sri Durusetti Seshagiri Rao Panthulu. Kakinada Municipality is one of the Selection Grade Municipalities which is providing services for more than 3.30 lakhs of population. The Government has Upgraded the Kakinada Municipality Status from Selection Grade to Corporation from 06-01-2005 and appointed District Collector, East Godavari District as Special Officer to the newly constituted Kakinada Municipal Corporation.facts and figures: Kakinada is a city on the east coast of India (Andhra Pradesh). It has around 450.000 inhabitants. The Kakinada bay is made up of the estuary of the Godavari River. A small sandy formation of 16 kilometers in the Bay of Bengal protects Kakinada from the strong cyclones and tidal waves. It's called Hope Island. Here we find several species of turtles. 

Fishing industry 
Agriculture and fishing industry are the main sources of income. There are about 28 landing centers at this zone. Kakinada also has a big fishing wharf. There are about 15,500 registered fishermen cooperative societies in the region. Along the shore around 200.000 people depend on fishing for their livelihood. 

Industrialisation 
The western shorelines are industrialised after the discovery of natural gas in the Krishna- Godavari basin. There are two big fertilizer plants and one big gas power plant. To handle the petroleum products and attract gas based industries, a deep-sea port was established. 

Mangrove 
The shallow Kakinada bay is an ecologically very sensitive area. On its southern part is the second largest mangrove forest in India. It's one of the last remaining big united mangrove areas in South East Asia. Part of it was declared as the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary, renowned for its reptiles. 
Pollution 
Industrial activities, waste disposal, settlement effect the coastal environment. Mass fish kills in Coringa followed the release of industrial effluents upstream. Kakinada canal, through which the town's sewage enters the bay is the major source of organic pollution. 
  
NEARBY CITIES: Sarpavaram: 3-km Annavaram: 48-km Draksharammam: 26-km 
PRIME ATTRACTIONS 
  
Bhavanarayanaswami Temple: 
At a distance of about 3-km from Kakinada, there is a Vaishnavite temple at Sarpavaram, dedicated to Bhavanarayana Swami. The architecture of the temple depicts a perfect and harmonious blend of the both the Chalukyan and Chola styles. The idol is a consummate piece of workmanship and many people of the locality visit this temple with great devotion. Annavaram:48-km from Kakinada is Annavaram, one of the reputed centers of pilgrimage in the state on account of a temple of Sri. Vira Venkata Satyanarayana Swami. Draksharammam:26-km from Kakinada is Draksharamam, famous for the Bhimesvara temple. The Lingam, which is andSphatika’ (white) Lingam, is one of the three Lingams in 'Trilinga Desa'. 
 HOW TO GET THERE 
Air: Nearest airport is at Vishakhapatnam. 
Rail: Kakinada is a railway station on the Samalakota - Kakinada branch line of the south central railway. It is well connected by rail to all the important places in the state. Road: Private and State run buses connect Kakinada with all the important places of the State. 
 FAIRS AND FESTIVALS 
The most important festivals celebrated here are the Nukalamma Tirtham (February-March), Gnanapati Navaratrulu (August-September) and Sriramanavami (March-April), and all these are attended by thousands of devotees. 

Industries 
JSW Infrastructure and Logistics, an infrastructure and logistics company owned by the JSW group is building ship repair and shipyard facilities near kakinada port with an investment of about US$250 million. 
Also, a third port is being planned to be built exclusively to serve KSEZ (Kakinada Special Economic Zone). 
In the late 1940s (around the time of Indian Independence) there was little industry in and around Kakinada and local economy mainly comprised of agricultural and fishing industry. Six decades later, Kakinada's economy has a diverse Industrial base. 
Fertilizer Industry 
Kakinada is often called the "Fertilizer City" of Andhra Pradesh. The city is home to two Fertilizer companies. Nagarjuna Fertilizers is the biggest Urea manufacturer in coastal Andhra. Another company, Godavari Fertilizers, produces DAP (Di-Ammonium Phosphate). 
Auto and Iron/Steel ancillary industries 
There are several auto and iron/steel ancillary industries in Kakinada which include Sri Ramadas Motor Transport Limited , Sri Bhavani Castings Ltd etc. 
Sugar Industry 
The Murugappa Group-owned EID Parry (India) Ltd and Cargill International SA have announced their plans to enter into a joint venture to set up a port-based stand-alone sugar refinery in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. EID Parry vice-chairman A Vellayan said the investment was estimated at Rs 325 crore. The plant was expected to be commissioned by December 2008, with an initial refining capacity of 6 lakh tonnes and ultimately 1 million tonnes. Reliance is also planning to set up a sugar mill. 
Petroleum Products 
There is an LPG Bottling plant set up by Shri Shakti LPG Limited Kakinada has been in the news recently after several oil companies decided to use it as a transit point for oil and gas shipments. The economic value of these investments has increased considerably after the recent gas finds by ONGC [Oil and Natural Gas Corporation], Reliance in the KG basin. ONGC is currently working on setting up a refinery in Kakinada. Reliance Gas Transportation Infrastructure Ltd (RGTIL), is implementing a 1,440-km pipeline project from [Kakinada] to Baruch (Gujarat) to transport gas from KG Basin fields owned by Reliance. 
Edible Oil Refineries 
In 2002 several edible oil refineries established themselves in Kakinada and the refining capacity has touched 3000 tons per day. Kakinada port is facilitating the imports of crude palm oil, crude soyabean oil. Kakinada is having an edible oil per day refining capacity of more than 3000 MTS Major refineries are Acalmar Oils & fats limited, Ruchi In frastructure, Nikhil refineries ltd, etc.[11] By mid 2007, kakinada will have 3 to 4 biodiesel units in operation namely Universal Biofuels , Naturol biofuels. Andhra Pradesh has entered into a formal agreement with Reliance Industries for Jatropha planting. The company has selected 200 acres of land at Kakinada to grow jatropha for high quality bio-diesel fuel. 
Electronics Industry  
Kakianada is home to the an electronic components manufacturing company that started operations since 1977 called Andhra Electronics Ltd. 
IT / ITeS Industry  
Kakinada is one of the 4 tier-II cities in Andhra Pradesh where Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) had setup a facility in 2007. About 12 companies are currently operating in Kakinada and four of them were incubated in the STPI facility.  Currently, Infotech Enterprises, a Hyderabad based multinational software company has opened a facility in the STPI, Kakinada in February, 2007 with about 120 employees.  Apart from Infotech Enterprises, there are several small to mid-size software companies that operate in Kakinada which include Aaspire Technologies, ForeTell Technologies, Traceout Technologies, Nyros Technologies, 3One Technologies , Easty Solutions etc. Avineon Inc, an US based technology company that provides geospatial and engineering services, has announced in April, 2008 that it would set up a new facility at Kakinada that can accommodate about 100 employees. 
Fishing and Aqua culture Industry 
There are about 28 landing centers and also a large fishing wharf in Kakinada. The area surrounding Kakinada is home to several aqua farms. There are also several units that process and export fish, shrimp and other marine products. Recognizing the importance of fishing and aquaculture industry to the local economy, Andhra Pradesh state government established a research and training center on fisheries in 1958 called APSIFT (Andhra Pradesh State Institute of Fisheries Technology) in Kakinada in cooperation with FAO. The CIFE (Central Institute of Fisheries education), a deemed university established by Indian government in 1961 has one of its three campuses in India in Kakinada. The CIFE is the first fisheries university in India and provides post-graduate education and training, to in-service fisheries personnel not only from India but also many African and Asian countries. 
Rice Mills 
Several Rice mills exist in and around Kakinada and some of the rice is exported to other countries. 
Power Generation Industry  Spectrum Power Generation Ltd. has a 208MW Power plant at kakinada. Very soon, Kakinada poised to have a floating power plant (FPP) .Industry major GMR Energy will be taking over the prestigious 220 MW FPP at an estimated cost of Rs 600 crore. GMR will supply power to the State power grid as per the terms and conditions of the Government. 

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