When Rayalaseema was robbed of state capital

October 1,1953 was a red letter day in the history of Kurnool and Rayalaseema. It was on that day that Pandit Nehru, the Prime Minister, inaugurated the Andhra State at Kurnool, the capital of the first Linguistic State in Independent India. With the merger of Andhra and Telangana, Andhra Pradesh was to be formed on November 1, 1956. For reasons, political, social and economic, Hyderabad was selected as the capital. Andhra capital was shifted to Hyderabad from Kurnool on October 31, 1956. The date remains a black day in the memory of the people of Kurnool in particular and Rayalaseema in general.

Earlier States' Reorganisation (Fazl Ali) Commission (SRC), with certain conditions, in 1955 recommended that "The Telangana area is to constitute into a separate State, which may be known as Hyderabad State.” The leaders of Coastal Andhra and Communists who were unable to digest Kurnool as the capital of Andhra insisted on Visalandhra – Andhra Pradesh. Otherwise, no mala fides can be attributed to the move.

In 1953, it was almost a lottery that clicked in favour of Kurnool. Vijayawada - Guntur, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati and Kadapa, in order of priority, were the hot contenders for the capital. Andhra Legislators could not arrive at unanimity. Given the option to select the capital, the CM-designate, Andhra Kesari Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu shouted "Kurnool." It was dubbed as a "A dusty developed village sans elementary facilities and a place where the pigs and donkeys thrive triumphantly and lack civic amenities.”

Andhra Kesari roared: "Sessions of my Assembly will be held in the Maidan and the Secretariat will function from tents.” Though Assembly Sessions were held in the present district court buildings, the Secretariat really functioned from the tents, borrowed from the military. Though the buildings were raised, the locality is still known as A, B and C Camps. Only the Chief Secretary (CS) and his office functioned from the stone building, vacated by the Collectorate. Some more buildings were constructed by the side of the CS office within a year to house the Secretariat, the present Kurnool Medical College.

Some of the landmarks of the capital days were: KVR Women's College as Raj Bhavan; District Police Office as the Office of Inspector General of Police, SV Complex in RS Road as Prakasam's Bungalow (demolished); Katta Thippaiah Complex in RS Road as Dy CM Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy’s quarters; Government Junior College (Town) as Legislators' Hostel and the residence of the Speaker; Zilla Parishad as Revenue Board; Collector's Bungalow as CS residence; Forest Office as Guest House; KVR Grden and Ucon Plaza served as ministerial bungalows. (Many old buildings were demolished and the present ones are raised in their places).

Offices of the District Collector and the Police were shifted to Nandyal, and District Board to Banaganapalle. One among the last handful of links between pre-independent Kurnool and the present town, Telugu Narasaiah, now 85, was pedalling a cycle between Kurnool and Nandyal (75 km) carrying the government post during the capital. He was given an allowance of Rs 2 per day and bus charge allowance was Rs 3. Narasaiah joined duty in 1942 at the age of 12, a child labour as a Pankah puller to Seshadri, the last ICS Collector of Kurnool. He has an unfathomable information of Kurnool, particularly during the capital dys. He retired in 1995 as Dafedar in Zilla Parishad.

By K C Kalkura