Madras District Gazetteers

Due to the very old age and scarcity of this book, some pages are missing and may be hard to read due to the blurring of the original text. Vizagapatam lies on the east coast of the Presidency and, except Ganjam, is the northernmost of all the Madras districts. The author wants to explore a new avenue through the gazetteer of this district. This book follows the plan prescribed by Government, and statistics have for the most part been given in a separate Appendix which is to be revised decennially, after each census. One of its chief features was the section devoted to the early history of the numerous Zamindaries, and this has been freely utilized in this book. Much interesting matter regarding the ‘Agency tracts’ of the district has also been extracted from the annual administration reports of the Agents to the Governor, the earlier of which give vivid accounts of the difficulties of pioneers of law and order in that wild country. In a nutshell it is a standard book of information on all aspects of the covered area. It contains 14 chapters and a map. It covers physical description, political history, the people, agriculture and irrigation, trade and occupations, communication, rainfall and seasons, public health and education, sources of revenue, administration of justice, and local self-government. Following these chapters is gazetteer, declined Taluk (a specified area of land) wise. Among them the reader will find Anakapalle taluk; Bobbili taluk; Gunupur taluk; Koraput taluk; Pawda taluk; Rayagada taluk; Salur taluk; Vizianagram taluk, etc. This gazetteer is a reprint of the 1907 edition and good for common readers.