Guntur

Guntur is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and serves as the administrative headquarters of the Guntur district. Located on the Eastern Coastal Plains within the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region, the city covers 159.46 square kilometres and occupies a central position connecting different regions of the state.

Historically, the region surrounding Guntur experienced significant administrative and economic shifts. Ancient and medieval eras connected the locality to Buddhist traditions and various ruling dynasties, including the Satavahanas, Vengi Chalukyas, Kakatiyas, and the Nizams of Hyderabad, prior to the arrival of French India and the British East India Company. A major historical turning point occurred in 1788 when the British East India Company took over the Kondaveedu Fort and subsequently abandoned it in the early 19th century to establish Guntur as a district headquarters. The opening of the railway link in 1890 marked another critical turning point, rapidly transforming Guntur into a major market for agricultural produce from the surrounding countryside.

Following independence, the expansion continued and concentrated in areas now known as New Guntur, alongside various urban and suburban sectors. In 2012, the city limits expanded further with the merger of ten surrounding villages: Nallapadu, Pedapalakaluru, Ankireddipalem, Adavitakkellapadu, Gorantla, Pothuru, Chowdavaram, Etukuru, Budampadu, and Reddypalem.

Today, Guntur functions as a major hub for the export of chilli, cotton, and tobacco, containing Asia's largest chilli-market yard. According to the 2011 Census of India, the city recorded a population of 743,354. It houses numerous state government offices and agencies, and maintains extensive civic administration managed by the Guntur Municipal Corporation, which was constituted in 1886 and later upgraded to a municipal corporation in 1994.