About Vijayawada
Vijayawada is a city in the state of Andhra Pradesh, located on the banks of the Krishna River. The city is a major trading and business center and hence, it is also known as “The Business Capital of Andhra Pradesh
Info
There are many tales behind the origin of the name Vijayawada. 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: place/location) which literally means "The Place of Victory". The Epic of Mahabharata refers to Indrakiladri hills as the place where Arjuna secured "Pasupathastra" from Lord Siva.[1] The city thereafter came to be known as Vijayavatika and later as Vijayawada.
In some legends, Vijayawada was referred to as 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
History
Vijayawada history reveals that Bezawada (Vijayawada) was ruled by King Madhava Varma (Ancestor of Pusapatis of Vizianagaram).
The history of Vijayawada is largely shaped by the changes that were brought about in the city by the British rule. A major project, the Prakasam Barrage, was completed and a railway bridge over the River Krishna that connected Guntur City and its district was one of many improvements constructed.
Vijayawada is well connected to the rest of the country by National Highways. Two National Highways, the NH 5 (Now NH-16) fromChennai to Kolkata and the NH 9 (Now NH-65) from Machilipatnam to Pune, pass through the city connecting it to other parts of the country. Benz Cirlce is the intersection of NH 5 and NH 9, which happens to be the busiest area in the city. NH 16 is a part of the Golden Quadrilateral Project undertaken by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). NH 221 (Now NH-30) connects the city to Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh. It is connected to other areas of the state by state highways and district roads.
Air
Vijayawada is well connected by air. The domestic airport at Gannavaram, about 19 km from the city, connects Vijayawada to Hyderabad,Bangalore, Coimbatore, Tirupati, Vizag and Delhi. Vijayawada Airport is served by Air India, Jet Airways, SpiceJet and Air Costa. Annually, about 380,000 passengers use this airport. A plan for its expansion has been proposed which will enable the landing of larger aircraft and also provide night landing facilities.
