Kakinada (Telugu: కాకినాడ) 
pronunciation (help·info) is a city and a municipal corporation in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the largest city urban agglomeration and the headquarters of East Godavari district.[1]
The city has a population of about 896,329 as per 2007 census. This coastal city is witnessing rapid growth thanks to the recently granted Special Economic Zone status. The city also has a deep-water port which is expanding rapidly.
This city is the most well planned city in Asia after Chandigarh.
The presence of a small island called Hope Island about 5 km from Kakinada coast, makes Kakinada a natural Harbor. Prior to construction of the deep water port, the old anchorage port operated for several decades as the largest minor port in India. At present, both the deep water port and older anchorage port operate side by side.
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Etymology
- Kakinada is younger than other major cities in Andhra pradesh. The city itself grew into prominence in the last 300 years after the European settlers arrived here and the British made it an administrative headquarters for the local area they ruled.
- Several theories exist regarding the origin of the name Kakinada. One them, the place was called 'Kakinandiwada' during the reign of Nandi kings who ruled prior to the arrival of the Europeans. The name was truncated to Kakinada over the passage of time. The British used to call it Cocanada (for British pronunciation "Co Canada"). After Independence, it was renaturalized to Kakinada, although a few organisations established during the British colonial rule retain the old name (e.g., Cocanada Chamber of Commerce). Even now, the City's two railway stations are codenamed CCT (Cocanada Town Junction) and COA (Cocanada Port) by Indian Railways.
- The first European settlers in this port city were the Dutch, followed by the British and then the missionaries of the Canadian Baptist Mission in 1874[2]
- Kakinada is known as the Second Madras. The original city that includes the central business district is a well planned city, divided by several grids with main roads that are straight and run parallel across the city.
Geography
Kakinada is located at 16°56′N 82°13′E / 16.93°N 82.22°E.[3] It has an average elevation of 2 metres (6 feet). Average annual rainfall is between 110 and 115 centimeters.
The 82 1/2 degrees east longitude, with respect to which IST (Indian Standard Time) is calculated, passes through Kakinada.
Distances to other cities
- Hyderabad 553 km
- Vijayawada 210 km
- Visakhapatnam 155 km
Civic administration
The city of Kakinada is run by the Kakinada Municipal Corporation, run by elected representatives and a commissioner. The city is divided into 50 wards and each ward elects a corporator. A mayor is elected for the entire city. The commissioner who is a (IAS) officer is appointed by the state government. It has a dedicated Collector's office for Administration of State and Central Government Programmes.
Transport
- Air
The nearest airport is located at Rajahmundry, about 65 km from the city has services to Hyderabad, Chennai and Visakhapatnam. Kingfisher Airlines is the airlines operating here. The nearest International airport is at Visakhapatnam at a distance of 145 km and has the services of all major airline operators to all big cities in the country.
- Rail
Kakinada being a city located on the sea shore, is a railway terminus. It has two railway stations namely Kakinada Town Junction (3 km) and Kakinada Port (8 km). Through a branch line, Kakinada is connected to Samalkot Junction (12 km) which is on the Chennai-Howrah trunk line, where almost all express trains stop to connect Kakinada with the important places of the country.
- Road
Good roads connect Kakinada with all the places within the state and rest of the country.
- Sea
Kakinada deep water port is the second largest in the state after Visakhapatnam port. It is operated by Kakinada Seaports Limited. Before the deep water port was built, the anchorage port was the largest of the forty minor-ports operating in India. It is well connected to all major seaports in the country. Currently both deep water port and older anchorage port operate side by side. It has a good seaport also.
JSW Infrastructure and Logistics, an infrastructure and logistics company owned by the JSW group is building ship repair and shipyard facilities near kakinada port with an investment of about US$250 million.[4]
Also, a second port is being planned to be built exclusively to serve KSEZ (Kakinada Special Economic Zone).[5]
Direction Compass
Industry
In the late 1940s (around the time of Indian Independence) there was little industry in and around Kakinada, when the local economy consisted mainly of agriculture and fishing. Six decades later, Kakinada's economy has a diverse industrial base.
- Fertilizer
Kakinada is often called the "Fertilizer City" of Andhra Pradesh. The city is home to two fertilizer producers: Nagarjuna Fertilizers is the biggest urea manufacturer in coastal Andhra. Another company, Godavari Fertilizers owned by Murugappa Group, produces Diammonium Hydrogen Phosphate (DAP).
- Auto and Iron/Steel
There are several auto and iron/steel ancillary industries in Kakinada which include Sri Ramadas Motor Transport Limited , Sri Bhavani Castings Ltd etc.
- Sugar
The Murugappa Group-owned EID Parry (India) Ltd and Cargill International SA have announced their plans to enter into a joint venture to set up a port-based stand-alone sugar refinery in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. EID Parry vice-chairman A Vellayan said the investment was estimated at Rs 325 crore. The plant was expected to be commissioned by December 2008, with an initial refining capacity of 6 lakh tonnes and ultimately 1 million tonnes.[6][7] Reliance is also planning to set up a sugar mill.
- Petroleum
Recently, several oil companies decided to make Kakinada a transit point for oil and gas shipments. Baker Hughes, Schlumberger are examples of the world class companies working on oil fields in the city. The economic value of these investments increased considerably after recent gas finds, considered to be the largest natural gas basin in India[8] were made by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Reliance in the Krishna Godavari basin. There is an LPG terminal and LPG bottling plant developed by Shri Shakti LPG Limited. ONGC is currently working on setting up an oil refinery in Kakinada.
Reliance Gas Transportation Infrastructure Ltd (RGTIL) is building a 1,440 km pipeline from Kakinada to Bharuch (Gujarat) to transport 120 million cubic meters per day (mcmd) of natural gas from Krishna-Godavari fields owned by Reliance Industries [9] across India to the west coast.
- Edible Oil Refineries and Biofuel Plants
In 2002 several edible oil refineries established themselves in Kakinada and the refining capacity has touched 3000 tons per day. Kakinada port is facilitating the imports of crude palm oil, crude soyabean oil. Kakinada has an edible oil refining capacity of more than 3000 MTS per day. Major refineries are Acalmar Oils & Fats Limited (now, taken over by Adani Wilmar Ltd.), Ruchi Infrastructure, Nikhil Refineries Ltd, etc.[10]
The Vakalapudi Industrial park in Kakinada has attracted investments worth over US$ 10 million from bio-diesel companies such as Reliance Industries, Naturol Bioenergy and Universal Bio Fuel .[11] Andhra Pradesh has entered into a formal agreement with Reliance Industries for Jatropha planting. The company has selected 200 acres (0.81 km2) of land at Kakinada to grow jatropha for high quality bio-diesel fuel.[12][13]
- Electronics
Kakianada is home to Andhra Electronics Ltd. , an electronic components manufacturing company, which started operations in 1977.
- Information Technology / ITeS
Kakinada is one of the 4 tier-II cities in Andhra Pradesh where Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) had set up a facility in 2007.[14]
Since the inception of the facility, several companies have started operations in this city and list is growing due to availability of highly educated workforce in the district.
About 15 companies are currently operating in Kakinada and four of them were incubated in the STPI facility.[15]
Infotech Enterprises, a Hyderabad based multinational software company has opened a facility in the STPI, Kakinada in February, 2007 with about 120 employees.[16]
Avineon Inc, an US based technology company that provides geospatial and engineering services, has commenced operations in April, 2008 in Kakinada with a new facility that can accommodate about 100 employees with plans to increase the staff up to 250 employees eventually.[17][18] [19]
Firstobject Technologies commenced operations in March, 2010 with an 18 seater facility on 24 by 7 basis
There are also several small to mid-size software companies that operate in Kakinada which include Aaspire Technologies, Traceout Technologies, ForeTell Technologies Private Limited, Nyros Technologies, Meconzee InfoTech and Software Services,3One Technologies, Easty Solutions, etc.
- Fishing and Aquaculture
There are about 28 landing centers and also a large fishing wharf in Kakinada. The area surrounding Kakinada is home to several aqua farms.[20] There are also several units that process and export fish, shrimp and other marine products. Recognizing the importance of fishing and aquaculture industry to the local economy, Andhra Pradesh state government established a research and training center on fisheries in 1958 called APSIFT (Andhra Pradesh State Institute of Fisheries Technology) in Kakinada in cooperation with FAO. The CIFE (Central Institute of Fisheries education), a deemed university established by Indian government in 1961 has one of its three campuses in India in Kakinada. The CIFE is the first fisheries university in India and provides post-graduate education and training, to in-service fisheries personnel not only from India but also many African and Asian countries
- Rice Mills
Several Rice mills exist in and around Kakinada and some of the rice is exported to other countries
- Power Generation
Spectrum Power Generation Ltd. has a 208MW Power plant at Kakinada.[21] Very soon, Kakinada will have a floating power plant (FPP). Industry major GMR Energy will be taking over the prestigious 220 MW FPP at an estimated cost of Rs 600 crore. GMR will supply power to the State power grid under a contract with the Government.[22]
Economy
Until early 1980s (before the fertilizer companies started their operation here), the local economy was mainly based on auto parts, steel industry related ancillary units, agriculture and fishery industries.
Exports consist of sea food (prawns, shrimp, fish) and related products, agricultural products like rice, corn[23], oilmeals[24], processed food products, chemicals, iron ore, bauxite powder [25], biofuel[11] etc.
Imports consist of chemicals, edible oils, agricultural products [26](wheat, sugar etc).
Education
Kakinada is a major hub fulfilling the growing educational demand of people within the district. The past decade has witnessed exponential growth and many residential colleges have established themselves to offer quality secondary education. There are also several professional colleges in and around the city offering courses in Engineering, Medical, IT and Management at the graduate and post graduate level.
However, the pride of the city is the widely recognised and sought after Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University offering Engineering education and the Rangaraya Medical College, one of the best medical colleges in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Apart from these, Kakinada has become a circumlocution of several educational institutions. Some of the institutions that are currently offering wide variety of courses in Under Graduate(Bachelor's) and Diploma curriculum are:
- Pragati Engineering College
- Aditya College of Engineering
- Kakinada Institute of Engineering & Technology.
- Kakinada Institute of Engineering & Technology for Women.
- Kakinada Institute of Engineering & Technology II
- Chaitanya Institute of Science & Technology
- Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Management Sciences
- Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Law
- PR Government College
- VS Lakshmi Woman's Degree College
- VS Lakshmi Degree College
- Ideal College of Arts and Sciences
- IFEN (ICFAI FLEXI EDUCATION)
- Sai College of Nursing
- Ideal Institute of Technology
- Kakinada Institute of Fashion Technology
- St. Mary's College of Education
- Sivasai School of Nursing
- Canan Ankita Hotel Management Academy
- Mohan Degree College
- OMEGAN School if Business
- Sudha Vocational Junior College
- Andhra Polytechnic
- Deepthi Institute of Hotel Management
- PVR Trust Degree College
- SKML Group of Educational Institutions
- State Institute of Fisheries Technology
- ASD Government Degree for Women, JK Pur
- Janapriya School of Nursing
- Aditya Degree College
- Adarsa Degree College
Note: Some of the institutes are not located in Kakinada, but are in a radius of 40KM from Kakinada.
Shri 'Chaitanya' Satyanarayana Raju is the Founder Chairman of Chaitanya Group of Educational Institutions in Kakinada. The Institutions consist of several Engineering Colleges, Degree and PG colleges, Management, Science and Technology, Arts Colleges and iti colleges and Schools. A noted school in Kakinada town is Sri Chaitanya E-Techno School. An excellent school in Kakinda Rural is Srikanth Public School.
Recently JNTU Constituent Engineering College at Kakinada was upgraded into a full university - JNTUK. The first Vice-Chancellor is Dr. Allam Appa Rao. Affiliates include: The All India Council for Technical Education maintains a list of technical colleges throughout India, found at <http://www.aicte.ernet.in/>
People
People from Kakinada can easily be identified by their characteristic Godavari Telugu accent. They have gained a reputation for being hospitable, polite and cultured in their interaction with people.
The Godavari Telugu accent places emphasis on respecting elders and strangers. To achieve this, people of this region normally use the grammatical forms of Telugu that convey respect which is not found in Telugu usage in other parts of the Andhra Pradesh.
The city of kakinada is a major educational center with several schools, colleges and Universities. A large part of the younger generation are migrating to the cities and out of the country in search of opportunities that meet their scale of ambition. However, there are significant parts of the society that ride the boom by expanding their businesses and investments. The local population is supplemented by immigrants who leave their villages to seek work and opportunity in this bustling city. Cocanada is a prominent CCDB member who shows unmatched affection towards his city.
Food
East Godavari is famous for traditional Andhra cuisine and Kakinada is no different - mouth watering pickles (Aavakaaya) made from mango, vegetables (e.g. Caulifower Aavakaaya), chicken, shrimp, mutton and even fish. Interestingly, a few people here swear by the pungent aroma and the lingering taste of dried fish (Endu Chepa) and shrimp (Endu Royya).
This city is also famous for its unique Kakinada Kaaja[27] which later was very popular not only in Andhra but also in far away places like Bihar and U.P.[28]. Kotiah Sweets (founded in the year 1900) is locally the most famous and possibly the earliest known maker of Kakinada Kaaja, a sweet made from maida and dipped in sugar syrup.
The locals frequent the innumerable carts strategically located at populous street corners to get their share of bhajis and a delightfully tasty mixture of onions, toasted rice, and sev (Pidatha Kindha Pappu).
Kakinada is also one of the few regions in the entire Andhra Pradesh where Chekkarakeli aratipandu (banana) and Kothapalli kobbari maamidipandu (mango) are available. Kakinada is also famous for its delicious pesarattu, a breakfast or brunch item formed into crepes from moong daal (pesara pappu), green chillies, ginger and cumin. These are sold in restaurants as well as street stalls. Pootarekulu is a Very famous Sweet in coastal Andhra, made of thin sugar plates is born in Atreyapuram, near to Kakinada.
Sports
Cricket is the most popular game followed by football and athletics. The city is home to a number of local cricket teams participating in various district and zonal events. Kakinada has a cricket stadium used for Ranji Trophy matches.Local games like goleelu(marbles),gootibilla etc,are also played with great interest.
References
- ^ Kakinada Information Portal
- ^ Frank Byrne, "India: Birthplace of CBM" in Mosaic a publication of the Canadian Baptist Ministries. Winter 2008. p 10.
- ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Kakinada
- ^ The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Business | JSW adds muscle to infrastructure arm
- ^ mJunction: Logistics - Kakinada SEZ plans deep-water port
- ^ "EID Parry teams up with Cargill for sugar EoU", The Hindu (25 April 2006)
- ^ http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14667906 "Murugappa group turnover up by 15%", Sify Business (2008-05-06)
- ^ Hemangi Balse, "Reliance gas-find 40 times bigger than Bombay High", rediff.com (October 31 2002)
- ^ "Reliance gets ready to test east-west gas pipeline" (Apr 14 2008) CNBC Money control.com
- ^ "Nikhil, Acalmar edible oil refineries go on stream", The Hindu
- ^ a b Moneycontrol >> News >> Business >> Bio-fuel is next big bet if crude continues to rise
- ^ "RIL enters bio-diesel farming". http://autofeed.msn.co.in/pandorav3/output/Business/05550e54-7612-43a4-8ab6-d08686d38cf9.aspx. Retrieved 2006-11-15.
- ^ Reliance?s new biofuel business model to provide fuel with food - Corporate News - livemint.com
- ^ "Andhra Pradesh News: SEZ paves the way for Kakinada to be IT hub" per day
- ^ Khabrein.info
- ^ The Hindu Business Line: Infotech centre at Kakinada
- ^ Avineon opens new facility in Kakinada
- ^ Avineon expanding - Sify.com
- ^ [1]
- ^ The Hindu Business Line: Kakinada gets aqua farming society
- ^ Lehman Bros to take over Spectrum
- ^ "Kakinada to have floating power plant soon" Webindia.com (Apr 6 2008)
- ^ UPDATE 1-India corn exports up to Sept set to treble-trade | Reuters
- ^ Oilmeals exports surge 82.05% in Jun`08
- ^ Vedanta to export bauxite powder from Kadinada
- ^ The Hindu News Update Service
- ^ http://kakinadakaja.com/
- ^ Khaja continues to be the star attraction of Silao
External links
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kakinada |
- Kakinada Information Portal - It also provides information of surrounding places
- About Kakinada
- Kakinada Port
- about Kakinada
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