Vijayawada NAME There are many tales behind the origin of the name of the city. Legends have it that this was the place where Arjuna was blessed by Shiva, on Indrakiladri Hill. In another legend it is stated that Goddesses Durga killed the demon and relaxed in this place for some time. As she was victorious (Vijaya), the place got the name as Vijayawada (Vijaya- Victory and Wada- city/place/location) which literally means "City of Victory". The Epic of Mahabharata refers to Indrakiladri hills as the place where Arjuna secured “Pasupathastra” from Lord Siva.
In some legends Vijayawada was also known as Vijayavata and Rajendracholapura.
A tale behind its acquiring the name "Bezawada" is that Goddesses Krishnaveni (River Krishna) requested Arjuna to make a passage for her to merge into the Bay of Bengal. Hence Arjuna made a bejjam (hole) through the mountains and the place came to be known as Bejjamwada which later changed to Bezawada.
Economy
Vijayawada is surrounded by the Krishna river on the east and west and the Budameru River on the north. The Northern, North-Western, and South-Western parts of the city are covered by a low range of hills, while the Central, South-Western and North-Western parts are covered by rich and fertile agriculture lands with three major irrigation canals. The topography of Vijayawada is flat, with a few small to medium sized hills. The Krishna River runs through the city. These hills are part of the Eastern Ghats cut through by the Krishna river. They have very low elevation compared to the average elevation of the ghats. Three canals originating from the north side of the Prakasham barrage reservoir, Eluru, Bandar and Ryves, run through the city.Buckingham Canal originates from the south side of the reservoir formed by Prakasam Barrage. Due to the presence of the Krishna river the soil around here is very fertile and cultivated intensively.
Economy
The region around the city has fertile soil and irrigation is supported by the river Krishna and its canals. Major crops include sugarcane, Rice and Mango. Vijayawada is famous for automobile body building, garment, iron and hardware small scale industries. The Jawahar Lal Nehru Auto Nagar Industrial Estate in Vijayawada is one of the largest hubs of automobile industry of Asia.[10] There are about 1500 automobile accessory units in the city and near about 1,00,000 workers are employed in these industries. Apart from workers of the city, people from other parts of the state also come to work in the industrial estate. The main markets are situated in the old city (popularly known as One Town) and near Besant Road. It is estimated that nearly INR 10 crores of garment business takes place in the Vastralatha building alone in One Town daily. Garments are mainly sold in Besant Road and Governor Pet, but most upmarket stores have shifted their shops to Bandar Road. The city has many wholesale businesses. They include garments, iron market, pulses, cereals, and other edible products, fancy markets, fertilizers, mango exports, pharmacy and metal.
The total urban market size of Vijayawada for the year 2008 is estimated at Rs 5526 crores[11]
The industrial estate in Kondapalli, an industrial suburb of Vijayawada,is spread over 450 acres (1.8 km2) and is base to more than 800 industries.[12] In addition a 1800MW Vijayawada Thermal power project(VTPS) and 368.144 MW gas based LANCO power plant which is under expansion to 768.144 MW are located here.[13] In March 2011 Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) announced that it signed an agreement with APGENCO for setting up a 182 MW plant at Vijayawada as a technology demonstration project.[14] Kondapalli suburb also houses Andhra Pradesh Heavy Machinery & Engineering Limited (APHMEL) factory besides being a hub for storage, bottling and transportation of petroleum products.
The fact that Vijayawada is well connected through rail and road makes it one of the main hubs of commercial activities. The second largest wagon workshop of Indian railways is at Rayanapadu near Vijayawada
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