Penukonda Taluk, 1908

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This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.

Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.

Penukonda Taluk

Southern taluk of Anantapur District, Madras, lying between 13 54' and 14 22' N. and 77 20' and 78 2' E., with an area of 677 square miles. The population in 1901 was 92,482, compared with 81,104 in 1891. The taluk contains 96 villages and one town, PENUKONDA ('big hill’) (population, 6,806), the head- quarters, situated at the base of a large hill from which it takes its name. It is a place of historical importance, having become the capital of the fallen Vijayanagar monarch after his overthrow in 1565 at the battle of Talikota. The demand for land revenue and cesses in 1903-4 amounted to Rs. 1,56,000. It is the most hilly taluk in the District, and much of it is consequently quite unfit for cultivation. There is no black soil, and red and gravelly soils predominate.

The unirrigated crops are cholam and horse-gram, and the irrigated staples are rice, sugar-cane, and some ragi. The Penner river flows along its western and the Chitravati along its eastern boundary. At Bukka- patnam the latter river has been dammed up and a very large tank formed ; but the Penner is at present little utilized for irrigation, though a project for damming it has been proposed. Seven other tanks irrigate an area of more than 300 acres each.