General 1 CHAPTER I GENERAL Mandya district, located in the southern plain of Karnataka State is mostly covered by greenery. Till the beginning of the 20th Century, this district was a dry area. After the construction of Krishnarajasagar dam, it got extensive irrigational facilities leading to the economic progress of the district. Since sugarcane and paddy are extensively cultivated in this district, it has been given the epithet ‘Sugar and paddy bowl” of Karnataka. The hydroelectric power project of Shivasamudram which was commenced in 1902 in this district has the distinction of being the second Electric Power Station in Asia. All the seven taluks of the districts are covered by the Command Area Development Authority, Cauvery Basin. Sericulture being a profitable occupation has resulted in wide spread mulberry cultivation throughout this district and is widespread in all the taluks. All the towns, villages and hamlets of the district have been electrified. The district has a good network of transport and communication. The Bangalore - Mysore rail line and highway passes through the district. The educational progress of the district has been impressive. Since the last two decades, many educational centres including a Post Graduation centre of the Mysore University and a College of Agriculture under the jurisdiction of the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore have been established here. The district has also distinguished itself in the field of literature and culture. 2 Mandya District Gazetteer The district has many tourist spots and places of historical importance in its vicinity. Shrirangapattana which enjoyed the status of the capital of Mysore Province between 1610 and 1799, Shivasamudram with its Gaganachukki and Barachukki waterfalls of Cauvery, Shimsha falls near Dhanagur, the charming Brindavan gardens of Krishnarajasagar are renowned tourist places. Bird Sanctuary at Ranganathittu near Shrirangapattana is very popular. Melukote, Tonnur, Shrirangapattana, Adichunchanagiri are other important pilgrim centres. Kambadahalli of Nagamangala taluk is known for beautiful basadi of Ganga period and is a holy place for Jains. The temples of Hoysala period are found in Govindanahalli, Hosa Holalu, Kikkeri, Aghalaya, Agrahara Bachahalli, Madapura and Tenginaghatta of Krishnarajpet taluk, Nagamangala, Bellur and Lalanakere of Nagamangala taluk, Basaralu, Hosobudanuru and in other places of Mandya taluk. The River Cauvery forms three small islands popularly called Adiranga, Madyaranga and Antyaranga, of which Adiranga is located in Shrirangapatna, Madya ranga in Shivasamudra (Kollegal taluk), and Antyaranga being Sri Ranga in Tamil Nadu. One more Shrirangappattana in the Dubare forest of Kodagu district has been recently discovered by Dr.M.G. Nagaraj. Origin of name Mandya district, like most of the districts of Karnataka, takes its name from the headquarters. According to a mythological account of Mandya, the place, before it was called Mandya, seems to have been known as ‘vedaranya’ and later as ‘Vishnupura’. In the ‘Krita Yuga’ it is said, this part of the country was covered with thick jungles and a ‘rishi’ was doing ‘tapas’ (penance) here. He is said to have installed the God Janardhana or Varadaraja Swami and was said to be teaching the wild beasts to pronounce the sacred word ‘veda’. On this account, the place came to be known as vedaranya. Several years later, during the same ‘yuga’, another ‘rishi’, who was residing here, set up an image of the god, Sakaleshwara Swami, and Lord Vishnu, it is said, appeared to him. The place was thereafter renamed as Vishnupura. Another account says that towards the age of ‘Dwapara Yuga’, a king by name Indravarma, who had no issues, came to this place in the hope of getting a son. His prayers were granted, and his son, Somavarma , built a fort and an ‘agrahara’ at this place and gave it the name mandevemu, which it is believed, has been corrupted into Mandya. It is also said that in the ancient days, a great and popular sage called Mandavya, lived in the area doing ‘tapas’ and the place came to be called Mandya after his name. General 3 The name Mandya has been entrenched in the inscription of 1276 AD found at Ananthapadmanabha temple near Hosabudanuru which belongs to Mummadi Narasimha (Narasimha III) as ‘Anadi Agrahara Mandya’. The first Brahmin families which settled down here, named the place Mandya after their native place near Tirupati. Mandya continued to remain a ‘sarvamanya’ village till the time of Tipu Sultan, who withdraw the concession. He also shifted the taluk office from Mandya to Keregode but later, Dewan Purnaniah retransferred it to Mandya. In the copper plate of Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagar Kingdom of 1516 AD, there is a reference of ‘Agrahara Mandaya’ and ‘Chikka Manteya’ given to Govinda Raja, twelth in descent from Ananthacharya a disciple of Saint Ramanujacharya and the first Brahmin family said to have settled down here, having migrated from ‘Mandevamu’ near Tirupathi. It can be inferred that the present name Mandya was derived from Mandeya, which further changed to Mantheya and earlier was a centre of learning. Location and Boundaries To the north west of the district lies Holenarasipur and Channarayapatna taluks of Hassan district and to its north and north-east are Kunigal and Turuvekere taluks of Tumkur district and to its east lie Kanakapura and Channapatna taluks of Bangalore Rural district and to its south and south west are Mysore, Tirumakudal Narasipur, Krishnarajanagar taluks of Mysore district and Kollegal taluk of Chamarajanagar district. The district extends from 76° 19’–77° 07’ East latitude and 12° 11’ N – 13° 00’ North longitude. It is unique in that the district has no common boundary with any other state and is encircled on all sides by five districts of Karnataka state. Area and population Mandya district has a total area of 4,961 sq. km. which forms 2.59 per cent of the total geographical area of the State. It ranks 20th among 27 districts of Karnataka in terms of area. The total population of the district is 16,44,374, which forms 3.66 per cent of the total population of the state and ranks 9th among the 27 districts in terms of population. According to the provisional statistics available in the 2001 census, the total population of the district amounts 17,61,718 which includes 8,87,307 males and 8,74,411 females. Out of the total population, 14,79,534 people live in rural areas and the remaining 2,82,184 people live in urban areas. While Nagamangala taluk with 21 per cent of the total area of the district occupies the first place in respect of area among 4 Mandya District Gazetteer the taluks, Shrirangapattana taluk which comprises of three per cent of the area of the district figures is in the last place. Mandya taluk which has a population 23 per cent of the district has the highest population among the taluks of this district. Shrirangapattana taluk has only has nine per cent of the total population of the district. The district has seven taluks, 31 hoblies , 1,365 inhabited and 13 uninhabited villages and seven towns (as on 2002). The district has two revenue divisions with Mandya, Maddur and Malavalli taluks under Mandya Sub-division and Krishnarajpet, Nagamangala, Pandavapura and Shrirangapattana taluks under Pandavapura sub-division. The geographical and the general information of Mandya district is given in table 1.1 and 1.2 and details of population census of 1991 is given in table 1.3 and provisional census statistics of of 2001 is given in table 1.4 and hobli-wise details of revenue villages in table 1.5. Table 1.1 Geographical details of Mandya District Sl.No. Taluk Area in East Longitude North Latitude Sq.Km From To From To 1 Krishnarajpet 905 76o19` 76o37` 12o28` 12o53` 2 Maddur 618 76o 42` 77o06` 12o24 12o47` 3 Malavalli 810 76o53 ` 77 o07` 12o11` 12o29` 4 Mandya 716 76o42` 76o39` 12o22` 12o44` 5 Nagamangala 1,045 76o34` 76o54` 12o38` 13o00` 6 Pandavapura 540 76o28` 76o40` 12o21` 12o41` 7 Shrirangapattana 357 76034` 76o53` 12o15` 12o29` District 4,961 76o19` 77o07` 12o11` 13o00` Source : Mandya district At a Glance - 2000-01 Table 1.2 General particulars of Mandya District Sl. Taluk Villages ( As per Village City/Urban agglomeration/ No. 1991 Census) Panchayats Municipality/Corporation/ Notified areas inhabited Un- 2000-01 As per inhabited 1991 Census 2000-01 1 Krishnarajpet 296 20 34 1 1 2 Maddur 153 7 42 1 1 3 Malavalli 172 14 39 2 1 4 Mandya 174 9 45 1 1 5 Nagamangala 343 23 27 2 1 6 Pandavapura 140 31 24 2 1 7 Shrirangapattana 87 9 21 2 1 Total 1,365 113 232 11 7 Source : 1. Mandya District At A Glance-2000-01, Zilla Panchayat 2000-01 General 5 Table 1.3 Talukwise Area and Population of Mandya District (As per 1991 Census) Sl.No Taluk Area Population Sq.k.mkm Total Male Female 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 Krishnarajpet Total 904.42 221,103 110,291 110,812 Rural 900.16 203,104 100,870 102,234 Urban 4.26 17,999 9,421 8,578 Krishnarajpet town Urban 4.26 17,999 9,421 8,578 panchayat 2 Maddur Taluk Total 618.43 282,726 144,572 138,154 Rural 612.73 260,611 133.243 127,368 Urban 5.70 22,115 11,329 10.786 Maddur Town Municipal Urban 5.70 22,115 11,329 10,786 Council 3 Malavalli Taluk Total 810.11 264,075 136,511 127,564 Rural 807.54 226,971 117,519 109,452 Urban 2.57 37,104 18,992 18,112 Belakavadi Mandal Urban 0.57 7,282 3,656 3,626 Panchayat Malavalli Town Municipal Urban 2.00 29,822 15,336 14,486 Council 4 Mandya Taluk Total 715.90 383,030 197,759 185,271 Rural 699.06 262,765 135,215 127,550 Urban 16.84 120,265 62,544