The town was formerly known as Bhavapattana,[7]Bhavapuri,[7]Bhavapattu[8] and Bhavapatta.[9] The names were derived from the Bhavanarayana Temple located in the town. Later, these names were transformed to the present name of Bapatla.[10]
The temple was constructed in 1465 by a chola king named Krimikantha Chola, and was later restored.
The town experiences tropical climate with the average annual temperatures records at 28.4 °C (83.1 °F). Hot summers and cool winters are observed due to its proximity to the coast of Bay of Bengal. It receives both South west monsoon and North-east monsoon as well.[11] The precipitation is very high with an annual rainfall of about 854 millimetres (34 in) and the month of October receives a maximum rainfall of 197 millimetres (8 in).[12] It is most affected by the cyclonic storms that occur on the east coast.[13]
Climate data for Bapatla (1991–2020, extremes 1978–2012)
As of 2011[update]Census of India, the town had a population of 100300 with 98,216 households. The total population constituted 54,385 males and 5
6,392 females —a sex ratio of 1058 females per 1000 males, higher than the national average of 940 per 1000.[16] 6,182 children were in the age group of 0–6 years, of which 3,156 were boys and 3,026 were girls—a ratio of 959 per 1000. The average literacy rate stood at 80.67% with 52,106 literates, significantly higher than the national average of 73.00%.[2][17]
Bapatla Municipality was established in 1951. It oversees the civic needs of the town like, water supply, sewage, and garbage collection. It is a Grade–I municipality which has an extent of 17.92 km2 (6.92 sq mi) with 34 wards.[1]
The Clock Tower, built in 1948, was demolished for road extension and started to be rebuilt in December 2017.[25]
The town has various religious structures depicting the presence of different worshipers, such as Bhavanarayana Temple and Centenary Baptist Zion Church[26][25]
The Suryalanka Beach connected by the Beach Road of the town hosts the Bhavapuri Beach Festival every year.[24]
On the road leading to the Suryalanka beach is a Town Hall in this coastal town. Constructed to commemorate the coronation of Edward VII, Emperor of India, the Town Hall which still retains its shape after 113 years, continues to hold the centre stage in the town and is a place of recreation. The Hall was constructed with public donations without any assistance from the government or local funds. The Edward Coronation Memorial Town Hall was inaugurated by Broodie, then Guntur district Collector on 17 July 1905. The Hall witnessed many historic moments including the first Andhra Conference in 1913 which paved the way for the creation of a movement for linguistic States. It hosted the First Andhra Provincial Conference in 1913 where a clarion call was given for a separate Telugu State. All important meetings of public nature were held in the compound and it had become a hub for all cultural, literary and political activities. Leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Babu Rajendra Prasad, Jayaprakash Narayan, Dange and many other Andhra leaders visited it and addressed people. The Victoria Diamond Jubilee Club and News Paper Club started in 1896 in Bapatla were merged with the Town Hall in 1905.
The town has a total road length of 165.50 km (102.84 mi).[28]
Until 1993, Vijaya Krishna Bus Service was the sole operator in Bapatla. APSRTC started operations in 1994 with its bus services to various parts of the state from Bapatla bus station.[29] The town has frequent buses to Vijayawada, Guntur, Ponnur, Repalle and Chirala.[30][31]
The primary and secondary school education is imparted by government, aided and private schools, under the School Education Department of the state.[34][35] The mediums of instruction followed by different schools are English and Telugu.
The town has many schools, colleges and universities. The Agricultural College was established on 11 July 1945 by Government of Composite Madras State. It is the oldest of all the colleges under Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University.[36]Bapatla Engineering College, College of Agricultural Engineering under Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University, College of Food Science and Technology,[37] Bapatla Polytechnic College,[38] and Bapatla College of Arts & Sciences[39] are other prominent ones.
Anautomatic weather stationofIndia Meteorological Department is located in the town which records the temperatures.[40] BPT 5204 (rice variety of Sona Masuri), BPT 2270 (Bhavapuri Sannalu) and BPT 2231 (Akshaya) were developed at this rice research unit.[41][42] There are also a number of research institutes of this agricultural university, such as the AICRP on Betelvine, and a cashew research station.[43]
^"Bhavanarayana Swamy Temple". Official website of Guntur District. National Informatics Centre. Archived from the original on 2 June 2017. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
^Sudhakar Reddy, U (16 September 2015). "Oil search moves to Guntur". Deccan Chronicle. Hyderabad. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
^"Details of Roads in each ULB of Andhra Pradesh". Commissioner and Directorate of Municipal Administration. Municipal Administration and Urban Developmemt Department – Government of Andhra Pradesh. Archived from the original on 1 August 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
^"School Education Department"(PDF). School Education Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh. Archived from the original(PDF) on 27 December 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
^"Sona Masuri variety rice". Business Standard. Chennai/ Hyderabad. 30 November 2011. Archived from the original on 14 June 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
