History
The name of the town Khammam is derived from the name of a local hill called Stambhadri which has an ancient temple of Narasimha Swamy on its top. This temple is believed to have been existing since Treta Yuga. The name of the town, Stambhadri, later became Kambhadri, Kambham mettu, Khammam mettu and finally, Khammam when it became the district headquarters. The town is located on the banks of a river called Munneru which is a tributary of the Krishna River. Khammam district has a lot of historical importance in Andhra Pradesh.
Khammam town which was the seat of Taluk Administration was part of the larger Warangal District, till 1 October, 1953. Five taluks of the Warangal district viz., Khammam, Madhira, Yellandu, Burgampadu and Paloncha (Now Kothagudem) were carved out and a new district Khammam with Khammam as District Headquarters. In 1959 Bhadrachalam Revenue Division consisting Bhadrachalam and Manuguru Venkatapuram Taluks of East Godavari district, which were on the other side of the river Godavari were merged into Khammam on grounds of geographical contiguity and administrative viability.
There is a festival held in Khammam remembering the old name "Stambhadri".
Electoral representation
The Khammam is the 40th Loksabha constituency in Andhra Pradesh. The district contitutes the following assembly constituencies: Constituency Current Member of Legislative Assembly
Burgampahad - Payam Venkateswarlu CPI
Khammam - Tammineni Veerbhadraiah [CPI(M)]
Bhadrachalam - Sunnam Rajaiah [CPI(M)]
Madhira - Katta Venkata Narsaiah CPI(M)
Yellandu - Gummadi Narasaiah CPI(ML)(ND)
Kothagudem - Vanama Venkateswar Rao Congress-I
Palair - Sambhani Chandrasekhar (Congress-I)
Sathupalli - Jalagam Venkatrao (Congress-I)
Sujatha Nagar - Ramireddy Venkata Reddy (Congress-I)
The current MP for Khammam is Smt. Renuka Choudary (Congress-I) and for Bhadrachalam is Sri Midiyam Baburao (CPIM).
Legislative Council Members:
Teachers Constituency: Chukka Ramaiah
Graduates Constituency: Kapilavai Dileep Kumar TRS
Local Bodies Constituency: Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka (Congress-I)
MLAs Constituency: Puvvada Nageswara Rao (CPI)
Getting There
RAIL:It is well connected by rail, nearest rail junctions are Kazipet and Vijayawada.
AIR: Nearest air port is Vijayawada Gannavaram and Hyderabad
ROAD:It is well connected by road ways.
Geography
Khammam is located at 17.25° N 80.15° E.It has an average elevation of 107 metres (351 feet). The district is bounded by Chhattisgarh state to the north, Orissa state to the northeast, East and West Godavari districts to the east, Krishna District to the south, Nalgonda District to the southwest, and Warangal District to the west. It has an area of 16,029 km².
Demographics
As of the 2001 Indian census, Khammam had a population of 158,022. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Khammam has an average literacy rate of 72%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 78%, and female literacy is 66%. In Khammam, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Tourist Destinations
Bhadrachalam
Khammam Fort
Parnasala
Nelakondapalli
Kinnerasani
Papi Hills
Neeladri
Madhira
(saradiagar)
