Markapuram district

Markapuram district
Markapuram district
District of Andhra Pradesh
	Clockwise from top-left: Chennakesava Temple Markapuram,Bhairavakona Cave temples, Cumbum Lake
Country	India
State	Andhra Pradesh
Region	Coastal Andhra
Formed	31 December 2025
Founded by	Government of Andhra Pradesh
Headquarters	Markapuram
Largest city	Markapuram
Administrative Divisions	2 revenue divisions Markapuram, Kanigiri; 21 Mandals;
Population (2011)
• Total	1,142,313
Languages
• Official	Telugu
Literacy
Time zone	UTC+05:30 (IST)
Postal Index Number	523XXX, 516XXX, 517XXX

District of Andhra Pradesh, India

District of Andhra Pradesh in India

Markapuram district^[1] is one of the twenty eight districts in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It was formed in 2025. The headquarters of the district is located at Markapuram.^[2]

Etymology

The name of the district is derived from the name of the district headquarters, Markapuram.

Geography

Markapuram district is bounded by Nagarkurnool district of Telangana state in the north, YSR Kadapa,SPSR Nellore districts in the south, Nandyal district in the west, Palnadu and Prakasam districts in the east.

The Nallamalas and the Veligondas are the major hill ranges in the district. The Nallamalas consist of a range of continuous fairly steep hills with an average elevation of about 620 meters above sea level. There are two passes in the Nallamalas namely, the Nandi Kanuma and Manbala Kanuma. The Nandi Kanuma passes from Bellary (in Karnataka) via Kurnool, Dornala, and Yerragondapalem to Markapur. The portions of Veligondas stand prominently as two continuous parallel ranges of fairly steep hills running in a north-south direction with a wide valley in between. The water from the eastern range of hills drains in a northerly direction to the Gundlakamma river.^[3] The Gundlakumma river flows in this district Thippayapalem Reservoir, Duvvaleru Project, Cumbum tank and Bhavanasi tanks are constructed on this river.

Flora and Fauna

The total forest area is 4,42,073 Ha. which forms 30.86% of the total geographical area. Orchids, casuarinas and cashew plantations are common in the coastal areas. The Nallamalla forest has wildlife including tigers.^[4]

Mineral resources

Markapur is India's main slate-manufacturing town.^[5]

Administrative divisions

The District comprises two revenue divisions viz., Markapur and Kanigiri. There are a total of 21 mandals, with 6 in Kanigiri division and 15 in Markapur division.

Kanigiri revenue division
1. Chandrasekharapuram
2. Hanumanthunipadu
3. Kanigiri
4. Pamur
5. Pedacherlopalle
6. Veligandla
Markapuram revenue division
1. Ardhaveedu
2. Bestavaripeta
3. Cumbum
4. Dornala
5. Giddalur
6. Komarolu
7. Konakanamitla
8. Markapuram
9. Pedda Araveedu
10. Podili
11. Pullalacheruvu
12. Racherla
13. Tarlupadu
14. Tripuranthakam
15. Yerragondapalem

Politics

Markapuram district forms part of one parliamentary constituency and has four assembly constituencies.

The district lies partly in the Ongole Lok Sabha constituency.

The assembly constituencies in the district are:^[6]

Constituency number	Name	Reserved for (SC/ST/None)	Lok Sabha constituency
102	Yerragondapalem	SC	Ongole
111	Markapuram	None
112	Giddalur	None
113	Kanigiri	None

Tourism

The Bhairavakona cave temples in the district are 8th-century single rock-cut cave temples (similar to Mahabalipuram) for Lord Shiva.^[7]^[8] Other religious places include the Sri Bala Tripuranthakeswara and Sri Bala Tripurasundaridevi temples at Tripuranthakam and the Chenna Kesava temple in Markapur.^[9]

Cumbum tank is one of the oldest man-made lakes in Asia. The anicut was built by the Vijayanagar Princess Varadharajamma (also known as Ruchidevi), wife of Sri Krishna Devaraya. The length of this tank is 7 km (4.3 mi) and width is 3 km (1.9 mi). It has received World Heritage Irrigation Structure (WHIS) tag in the year 2020 by UNESCO.^[10]

References

^ "Andhra Pradesh Cabinet approves formation of two new districts, headquarters status for Madanapalle". The New Indian Express. 30 December 2025.
^ "A.P. Cabinet clears district reorganisation, mandal realignment". The Hindu. 29 December 2025.
^ CPO 2022, p. 1. sfn error: no target: CITEREFCPO2022 (help)
^ CPO 2022, p. III. sfn error: no target: CITEREFCPO2022 (help)
^ Cite error: The named reference dist prof was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "District-wise Assembly Constituencies". Chief Electoral Officer, Andhra Pradesh.
^ Subba Reddy, V. V. (2009). Temples of South India. ISBN 9788121210225.
^ Staff Reporter. "Devotees throng rock cut cave temples at Bhairavakona". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014.
^ AP Tourism e-brochure Prakasam district (PDF). 2023.
^ Chatterjee, Badri (1 December 2020). "Four sites in India get World Heritage Irrigation Structure tag". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.

[1] "Andhra Pradesh Cabinet approves formation of two new districts, headquarters status for Madanapalle". The New Indian Express. 30 December 2025.

[2] "A.P. Cabinet clears district reorganisation, mandal realignment". The Hindu. 29 December 2025.

[FOOTNOTECPO20221-3] CPO 2022, p. 1. sfn error: no target: CITEREFCPO2022 (help)

[FOOTNOTECPO2022III-4] CPO 2022, p. III. sfn error: no target: CITEREFCPO2022 (help)

[dist_prof-5] Cite error: The named reference dist prof was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[6] "District-wise Assembly Constituencies". Chief Electoral Officer, Andhra Pradesh.

[7] Subba Reddy, V. V. (2009). Temples of South India. ISBN 9788121210225.

[8] Staff Reporter. "Devotees throng rock cut cave temples at Bhairavakona". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014.

[9] AP Tourism e-brochure Prakasam district (PDF). 2023.

[10] Chatterjee, Badri (1 December 2020). "Four sites in India get World Heritage Irrigation Structure tag". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.