West Godavari
| Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R) |
West Godavari (पश्चिम गोदावरी) district is one of the nine districts in the Coastal Andhra region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The administrative headquarters of the district is situated at Eluru.[1]
Origin
Variants
- Paschima Godavari (पश्चिम गोदावरी)
History
The Eastern Chalukyas ruled coastal Andhra from 700 to 1200, with Vengi, near Pedavegi village, as their capital. Historical evidences are found at the villages, Pedavegi and Guntupalli (Jilakarragudem). Eluru then became a part of the Kalinga Empire until 1471. Later it fell into the hands of the Gajapathis. In 1515 Sri Krishna Deva Raya captured it. After the fall of the Vijayanagara Kingdom, it was taken by the Sultan of Golkonda, Kutub Shah.[2] On 15 April 1925, West Godavari District was formed with Eluru as its headquarters.
West Godavari district was formed from old Godavari District in the year 1925 on 15 Apr. The Godavari district was renamed as East Godavari district and the new district is named as West Godavari district.[3]
In the Madras Presidency, the District of Rajahmundry was created in 1823.[9] It was reorganised in 1859 and was bifurcated into Godavari and Krishna districts. During British rule, Rajahmundry was the headquarters of Godavari district, which was further bifurcated into East Godavari and West Godavari districts in 1925. When the Godavari district was divided, Kakinada became the headquarters of East Godavari and Eluru became headquarters of West Godavari.