Bapatla

Etymology

The town was formerly known as Bhavapattana and Bhavapuri. The names were derived from the Bhavanarayana temple located in the town. Later, these names were transformed to the present name of Bapatla.

Geography

The coordinates of the town are 15°54′16″N 80°28′3″E and is located at an altitude of 8 km from the coast of Bay of Bengal.

Climate

The town experiences tropical climate with the average annual temperatures records at 28.4 °C (83.1 °F). Hot summers and cool winters are observed due to its proximity to the coast of Bay of Bengal. It receives both South west monsoon and North-east monsoon as well. The precipitation is very high with an annual rainfall of about 854 millimetres (34 in) and the month of October receives a maximum rainfall of 197 millimetres (8 in). It is most effected by the Cyclonic storms that occur on the east coast.

Demographics

As of 2011 Census of India, the town had a population of 70,777 with 18,216 households. The total population constitute, 34,385 males and 36,392 females —a sex ratio of 1058 females per 1000 males, higher than the national average of 940 per 1000. 6,182 children are in the age group of 0–6 years, of which 3,156 are boys and 3,026 are girls—a ratio of 959 per 1000. The average literacy rate stands at 80.67% with 52,106 literates, significantly higher than the national average of 73.00%.

Governance

Civic administration

Bapatla Municipality was established in 1951. It oversees the civic needs of the town like, water supply, sewage, garbage collection etc. It is a Grade–II municipality which has an extent of 17.92 km² (6.92 sq mi) with 34 wards.

Utility services

Kommamuru and Poondla channels of Krishna Western Delta system provides irrigation water to Bapatla and the surrounding areas.

Politics

Bapatla being a part of Bapatla mandal, falls under Bapatla assembly constituency of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly. Kona Raghupathi of YSR Congress Party is the present MLA of the constituency. The assembly segment is in turn a part of Bapatla (SC) lok sabha constituency and the present Member of parliament is Malyadri Sriram of Telugu Desam Party.

Economy

Aquaculture and agriculture are the main occupations of the coastal areas of the town. Aquaculture involves Pisciculture and the farming is dominant with Paddy cultivation. The Cairn India have conducted oil drilling onshore of Bapatla which is a part of KG basin stretch. The Tourism also plays a role in generating revenue with the presence of Suryalanka Beach near the town, operated by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation.

Culture

The 1948 built Clock Tower (re-built at post office junction) is the landmark of the town. The town has various religious structures depicting presence of different worshipers such as, Bhavanarayana Temple, Centenary Baptist Zion Church etc. The Suryalanka Beach connected by the Beach Road of the town hosts the Bhavapuri Beach Festival.

Transport

APSRTC operates its bus services to various parts of the state from Bapatla bus station. The National Highway 214A passes through the town, which connects Digamarru and Ongole. State Highway 48 also known as Guntur-Bapatla-Chirala Road passes through Ponnur and connects the town with the district headquarters, Guntur. Bapatla railway station is located on the Howrah-Chennai main line of Indian Railways. It is a B–category station and was recognised as an Adarsh station in the Vijayawada railway division of South Central Railway zone.

Education and research

The primary and secondary school education is imparted by government, aided and private schools, under the School Education Department of the state. The medium of instruction followed by different schools are English, Telugu.

The town has many schools, colleges and universities. The Agricultural College was established on 11 July 1945 by Government of Composite Madras State. It is the oldest of all the colleges under Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University. Bapatla Engineering College, College of Food Science and Technology, Bapatla Polytechnic College, Bapatla College of Arts & Sciences are other prominent ones.

Research and defense establishments

Automatic weather station of India Meteorological Department is located in the town which records the temperatures. BPT 5204 (rice variety of Sona Masuri), BPT 2270 (Bhavapuri Sannalu) and BPT 2231 (Akshaya) were developed at this Rice Research unit. There are also a number of research institutes of this Agricultural University, such as the AICRP on Betelvine, Cashew Research Station are among others.

Air Force base

Suryalanka Indian Air Force base on the shore of the Bay of Bengal is located near Bapatla. The base carries out activities such as, testing missiles and guided weapon firing range.