72
CUDDAPAH TALUK
tains one town, CUDDAPAH (population, 16,432), the head-quarters of
the tdluk and District; and r52 villages. The demand for land revenue
and cesses in 1903-4 amounted to Rs. 3,13,ooo. The Cuddapah
valley, in which the town lies, is a basin completely shut in by hills on
three sides, and is excessively hot and notoriously malarious. The
Penner traverses the taluk from west to east, and receives within its
limits three subsidiary streams: the Kunderu from the north, which
joins it near Kamalapuram ; the Papaghni from the south, which runs
into it below the same town ; and the Buggeru, which after having
received several affiuents, flows into it close by the town of Cuddapah.
The tdluk lies beyond the limit of black cotton soil which covers the
western side of the District, and its soil is for the most part alluvial,
overlying beds of argillaceous slates. This is by no means good gener-
ally, and is often rendered quite worthless by the presence of saltpetre,
common salt, and soda, all of which occur as efflorescences. Agri-
cultural practice is decidedly better than in other parts of the District.
The methods are not much more elaborate than elsewhere, nor the
implements much more perfect ; but manuring and the rotation of
crops are better understood, and the situation in the vicinity of centres
of population and of commercial activity strengthens the hands of
the ryot by increasing the demand for his produce and by rendering
money available at moderate rates. The tdluh is fortunate in its water-
supply, but the floods in the Penner might be more utilized.
Cuddapah Town.-Head-quarters of the District and taluh of the
same name in Madras, situated in 14° 29′ N. and. 78° 50′ E., 507 feet
above the level of the sea, 161 miles from Madras City by rail. Popula-
tion (lgor), 16,432, of whom half are Muhammadans who have, as a
class, a reputation for illiteracy and religious intolerance. The name
is sometimes derived from the Sanskrit kripa, `mercy'; but others
connect it with kadapa, meaning in Telugu a `gate,' since the place is
in some sense the gate from the north to the sacred town of TIRUPAT1.
During the Musalman occupation it went by the name of Neknam-
abad, after its supposed founder, Neknam Khan. It lies a few miles
from the south bank of the Penner, and being enclosed on three sides
by rocky hills is one of the hottest places in the Presidency, the
average maximum temperature from March to June being over loo'.
It also has a very bad name for malaria, and proposals have more than
once been made to transfer the District head-quarters elsewhere. The
Executive Engineer has been moved to Madanapalle, and the London
Mission and the Madras Railway have also changed their head-quarters
in the District to more healthy stations. The native town is sur-
rounded by irrigated land, and the houses in it are squalidly built
(generally of mud), badly constructed, and without free ventilation.
The introduction of a supply of drinking-water from the Buggeru has
|
![[Digital South Asia Library]](/graphics/thirdlevel.gif)
