Latest revision as of 09:06, 15 January 2015

Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.

[edit] Kottapatam

[Alluru-Kottapatnam). — Town in the Ongole taluk of Guntur District, Madras, situated in 15° 25' N. and 80° 10' E., on the seashore, about 160 miles north of Madras city and 10 miles south- east of Ongole town. Population (1901), 7,626. The place was once a Union, but is so no longer. It is a well-built town, the streets and houses being constructed with unusual symmetry. At one time it was an important seaport where ships used to call. After the construction of the Buckingham Canal the port suffered ; and when the East Coast Railway was opened, the place lost all its commercial importance, with the result that a large number of its inhabitants have settled in Madras and elsewhere.

The majority of the population now consist of Komatis. The story goes that about 160 years ago Padarti, which is at a distance of about i| miles from Kottapatam, was an important sea- port. A quarrel arose there between the Balijas and the Komatis, in consequence of which, with the permission of the local Rajas Maddu- pati Ramachandra Raju and Maddupati Bhadra Raju, the Komatis took themselves off and built the town of Kottapatam. Padarti then fell on evil days and Kottapatam ro.se to prominence. Two temples were constructed, dedicated to Vishnu and to Siva, and big wooden cars with elaborate carvings on them were made for the festivals. The place is now noted for its extensive cultivation of ragi {Eleusine cora- cana) and its casuarina groves. It exports vegetables, raw fish, and firewood to Ongole.