Macharla

Macherla: Macherla is a town in Guntur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Macherla mandal in Gurazala revenue division. 
               It is the capital of the region Palanadu. The name Macherla originated from Mahadevi Cherla. This town is in the heart of Palanadu, and has a history of over a thousand years. The famous battle Palanati Yudhdra (War of Palnadu) took place between Macherla and Gurajala between 1176 AD - 1182 AD. The Palnadu Battle is also called the Andhra Mahabharatam because of several similarities. The town is renowned for the Chesapeake Swamy temple built here during the reign of the Haihaya Kings.

       Sri Laxmi Chennakesava Swamy Temple was built around the 13th century A.D and renovated by Reddi King "Peruri Muktiraju Another temple dedicated to Veerabhadraswamy is located in the Old town. It was built in the 18th century A.D. Laxmi Chennakesava Swamy temple was built around the 13th century A.D in Nagulavaram village, located 12 km from Macherla town.

                               Nagarjunakonda Museum Nagarjunakonda, meaning the hill of Nagarjuna, was named after the Buddhist scholar and savant Acharya Nagarjuna. It was a great religious centre promoting Brahmanism and Buddhist faiths, moulding the early phases of art and architecture affiliated with them. The Ethipotala Falls lies 8 km from Macherla, is a mountain stream cascading down the hills as Chandravanka and Suryavanka streams. The Suryavanka falls from a height of 21 meters into a lagoon and joins River Krishna.

KCP Cement, Unit - I, Macherla

State-of-the-art Cement manufacturing plant at Macherla, Andhra Pradesh, South India is India’s 1st dry process kiln and was installed in 1958 by HUMBOLDT, Germany even while it was still a prototype in Europe.  In 1962 KCP installed its second wet process kiln in collaboration with FIVES LILLIE CAIL, France. KCP is 100% modernized cement plant in 1989 with a World Bank funded outlay of Rs.367 million incorporates the latest technology such as the energy-efficient dry process, with a two support kiln and a five stage pre-heater with flash calciner. KCP also incorporates a sophisticated centralized process control system with hardware and software from SIEMENS, Germany. Newton's Institute of Engineering Macherla:           The Newton's Institute of Engineering, Macherla is a college founded in 2001, located in Macherla, Andrapradesh India. The college offers courses in engineering and management, and is under the administration of Jawaharlal Nehru Technology University, Kakinada.This is one of the prestigious Engineering institutions in Macherla. Nagarjuna Sagar Dam:                                           Nagarjuna Sagar Dam was built across the Krishna river at Nagarjuna Sagar where the river is forming boundary between Nalgonda district of Telangana state and Guntur district of AndhrPa radesh state in India. Nagarjuna Sagar Dam was built across the Krishna river at Nagarjuna Sagar where the river is forming boundary between Nallagonda District of Telangana state and Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh state in India. The construction duration of the dam was between the years of 1955 and 1967. The dam created a water reservoir whose gross storage capacity is 11,472,000,000 cubic metres (4.051×1011 cu ft). The dam is 490 feet (150 m) tall from its deepest foundation and 0.99 miles (1.6 km) long with 26 flood gates which are 42 feet (13 m) wide and 45 feet (14 m) tall. Nagarjuna Sagar was the earliest in the series of large infrastructure projects termed as "modern temples" initiated for achieving the Green Revalution in India. It is also one of the earliest multi-purpose irrigation and hydro-electric projects in India. The dam provides irrigation water to the Prakasam,Guntur, Krishna, Khammam, West Godavari and Nalagonda districts along with hydro electricity generation. Nagarjuna Sagar dam is designed and constructed to utilise up to the last drop of water impounded in its reservoir of 405 TMC gross storage capacity which is the second biggest water reservoir in India.                                       The proposal to construct a dam to use the excess waters of the Krishna river was planned by the Nizam of Hydarabad and engaged British Engineers in 1903 to irrigate Telangana , though the work was never funded and made no progress. Since then, various competing sites in Siddeswaram, Hyderabad and Pulichintala were identified as the most suitable locations for the reservoirs. The perseverance and logistics support of Raja Vasireddy Rama Gopala Krishna Maheswar Prasad paved way for the identification and selection of dam site. The Raja made a matching grant of fifty two lakh Rupees (one hundred million British Pounds) and several thousand acres of ancestral land for the construction of the dam. The dam was built with local know how under the able engineering leadership of K.L. Rao a member of parliament from Vijayawada constituency. Project construction was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on 10 December 1955 and proceeded for the next twelve years. The reservoir water was released into the left and right bank canals by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1967.Construction of the hydropower plant followed, with generation increasing between 1978 and 1985, as additional units came into service. In the year 2015,diamond jubilee celebrations of project's inauguration was celebrated remembering the prosperity the dam has ushered in the region. The construction of the dam submerged an ancient Buddhist settlement, Nagarjunakonda, which was the capital of the Ikshvaku dynaty in the 1st and 2nd centuries, the successors of the Satavahanas in the Eastern Deccan. Excavations here had yielded 30 Buddhist monasteries, as well as art works and inscriptions of great historical importance. In advance of the reservoir's flooding, monuments were dug up and relocated. Some were moved to Nagarjuna konda now an island in the middle of the reservoir. Others were moved to the nearby mainland village called Anupu.