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Ongole was originally known as Gundigapuri(Town Near to Gundlakamma rivilet), Vangalaprolu, Vangavolu and Vangolu after the surname of an astrologer in the court of an Addanki chief. It was part of Punginadu during the time of Ikshavakus, and was in the area of Karmarashtra(means work place) during the Pallava period.

The town's history goes back to the era of the Mauryas and Sathavahanas who ruled most of what is now present day Andhra Pradesh. A few inscriptions dating to the Satavahana period were found in a village called China Ganjam, near Ongole. After the Satavahanas, this place came into the limelight again during the Kakatiya dynasty, when the nearby towns of Motupalli and Voda Revu served as major seaports. Ongole is also mentioned in the inscriptions of the Pallava rulers of the 3rd and 4th Century A.D. The City was also ruled by Krishna Deva Raya. The last dynasty to rule the Ongole region before the British was the Mandapati Dynasty(Zamindars). According to the historical inscriptions available at Sri Raja Rajeswara Swami Temple in Ongole City was Constructed by Cholas. Kaasi Visweswara Swami temple, Chenna Keswva Swami Temple and Veeranjaneya Swami temple were built in early 17th century by King Vankayalapati Mantri and Army Chief.


Geography

Ongole is located in eastern part of Prakasam District at 15.5°N 80.05°E.[2] It has an average elevation of 10 m (33 ft) AMSL.
Climate

Winter: December To February
Summer: March to June
South West Monsoons - July to September
North East Monsoons - October to November

Rain storms and cyclones are common in the region during the rainy season, which starts with the monsoons in early June. The cyclones could occur any time of the year, but commonly between August and November.



Demographics

As per provisional reports of Census India, population of Ongole(Rural and Urban) in 2011 was 302,643 .

In education section, total literates in Ongole town are 153,888 of which 82,322 are males while 71,566 are females. Average literacy rate of Ongole town is 83.57 percent of which male and female literacy was 89.41 and 77.72 percent.

Total children (0-6) in Ongole town are 18,673 as per figure from Census India report on 2011. There were 9,651 boys while 9,022 are girls. Child sex ratio of girls is 935 per 1000 boys.
See also: List of cities in Andhra Pradesh

Ongole City is governed by Municipal Corporation which comes under Ongole Urban Agglomeration. Ongole City has urban / metropolitan population of 262,548 of which 134,541 are males and 128,007 are females




Country India
State Andhra Pradesh
Region Coastal Andhra
District Prakasam
Government
• Body OMC
Elevation 10 m (30 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total 202,826
Languages
• Official Telugu
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 523 001,523002
Telephone code (+91)8592
Vehicle registration AP 27 xx xxxx
Sex ratio 979:1000 ♂/♀
Planning agency OMC
Distance from Guntur 110 kilometres (68 mi) S (land)
Distance from Nellore 116 kilometres (72 mi) N (Rail)
Distance from Chennai 292 kilometres (181 mi) N (Rail)
Distance from Hyderabad 330 kilometres (210 mi) S (land)


Real boom

Real estate business has boomed in the past few years. Apartments have sprung up in the vicinity of main roads. The town has been expanding horizontally mostly adjacent to the main roads. Granite mining in an adjacent town has brought in plenty of revenue. Last 3 years real estate business in Ongole became stagnant.
Ongole bull
The Ongole Bull

Ongole is famous for the breed of bulls in that area. Ongole bulls have gone as far as America, the Netherlands, Malaysia, Brazil, Argentina, Columbia, Mexico, Paraguay, Indonesia, West Indies, Australia, Fiji, Mauritius, Indo-China and Philippines. The Brahmana bull in America is an off-breed of the Ongole. An Island in Malaysia where there are many Ongoles is named as Ongole Island. The population of Ongole off-breed in Brazil is said to be around several millions. During the time of Rev. Clough of Ongole, an Ongole bull named Potu Ramudu owned by Sri Potu Venkatadri Naidu was reported to have gone to the Netherlands. It is said that in the Wageningen Agricultural University in the Netherlands, a commemorative plaque exists with the name and image of Potu Ramudu. The mascot of the 2002 Indian National Games was Veera, an Ongole Bull. The original breed of Ongole stud bulls are found in a small region around Ongole town between rivers Gundlakamma, and Musi. Ongole Cattle are the pride of India for they are unequivocally world class.

Short horned Ongole bulls exactly look like Nandi sculptures seen in any Temple of Lord Shiva. Further the Ongoles are phylogenetically related to Tharparkar breed of North Western India and Sind area of Pakistan where the Indus Valley Civilization thrived approximately between 8000 to 2000 years BCE. Going by the theory that the civilization was initiated by Dravidians, it is not unlikely that Ongoles evolved into Tharparkars.


Pride of India: Ongolebull of Polavarapu Hanumaiah from Karavadi village received first prize from Indian first Prime minister Pandit jawaharlal nehru.

Ongole bull rock-pulling competitions (Banda Lagudu Potilu) are conducted as a part of traditional festival celebrations at a few villages near the Prakasam district. In the competitions, a pair of ongole bulls are made to pull a heavy rock, weighing around one and a half tons.
Politics

Ongole Lok Sabha constituency returns an elected member to the Parliament of India. The eponymous Assembly constituency is represented in the Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh.
Education
Medical colleges

Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences - RIMS - Govt Medical College & Hospital Link [3]

Engineering colleges

Rao & Naidu Engineering College[4]
QIS Institute of Technology[5]
QIS College of Engineering and Technology[6]
RISE Prakasam Engineering College[7]
RISE Gandhi Engineering College[8]
Prakasam Engineering College[9]
Pace Institute of Technology & Science[10]
Sri Veera Venkata Satyanarayana[11]
Sri Satyanarayana Engineering College[12]

Transport/Travel
National Highway 5 at Ongole
ongole railway station

Ongole railway station, on the Howrah-Chennai main line is well connected all over India with all 46 pairs of major trains & 6 passenger trains and nearly 120 goods trains.

The town is also connected by a well maintained network of roads to all major towns and cities of the state and country its on the national golden quadriangle route of NH5 which is serving it with six way lane highway.APSRTC runs buses from Ongole to all major towns and cities in India ranging from its Express service to the recently flag shipped Garuda-Plus and Vennela services apart from different Private tours and travels. NH-214A Ongole to Digammarru Highway i shortest way to NH5 nearly decreasing 204 km from chennai to vizag,NH-214A popularly called as COASTAL HIGHWAY.

The nearest port to Ongole is the Vodarevu port (55 km),This Port is a Greenfield Port and Government have designated the Vodarevu Port as specialized port for Ship Breaking Industry. The Government is planning to develop this Port under private sector.
Air Travel

Vijayawada Airport (VGA/VOBZ) is the nearest airport with scheduled commercial flights. It is about 160 km from Ongole. A new greenfield airport site was approved for Ongole in Feb