The town was originally called Nandaluru. It derives its name from Nandi, the Mount of Lord Siva. means house/ dwelling in Sanskrit. Since it is surrounded by nine sacred temples of shiva it is called Nandi Aalaya which, over period of time, became Nandyala or Nandyal, the present name of the place. These nine temples are Garudanandi, Krishnanandi, Mahanandi, Naganandi, Prathamanandi, Shivanandi, Somanandi, Suryanandi and Vinayakanandi. These temples draw pilgrims from various places. Nandyal had a population of 200,746 at the time of the 2011 Census.
Demographics
As of 2011 census, the town had a population of 211,424. The total population constitute, 105,826 males and 105,598 females.
History
Nandyal has been an important pilgrimage site since the days of the Vijayanagar Kingdom due to the nine Nandi temples mentioned above. It was the introduction of the railways in 1890, however, that led to its rapid development. It became a municipality in 1900 and was visited, among others, by Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi,P.V.Narasimha Rao, Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy, Pendekanti Venkatasubbiah and many political Leaders across the India.
Geography
Nandyal is surrounded by hills with the Kundu River on its west, the dense forests of Nallamala Hills to the east and granite mines to the south. The City is rich in water sources like reservoirs. These give it an equitable climate throughout the year. However, summers can be particularly hot. The average temperature is around 28 °C.
Climate
Economy
The City is a major hub of industry and agriculture. It is rich in natural resources like marble. There are many rice mills and oil mills and Cotton mills and industries which produce milk, soft drinks, sugar, PVC pipes, etc. Some of the renowned industries in the City are the Vijaya Dairy, Nandi Dairy, Nandi Pipes, Nandi Polymers, S. P. Y. Agro, Nandi Steels, etc.
Governance
Civic administration
Nandyal municipality was constituted in the year 1899. The jurisdictional area is spread over an area of. Its urban agglomeration is spread over an area of which includes constituents of Nandyal municipality, out growths of Moolasagaram, Noonepalle and partial outgrowths of Udumalpuram, Ayyalur.
As mentioned and listed above, Nandyal is surrounded by nine sacred temples known as the Nava Nandi. Sri Yaganti Uma Maheswara Temple near Nandyal has one of the largest Nandi idols of the world. As per the Archaeological Survey of India, the rock grows at a rate of per 20 years. Nandyal is also the gateway to Belum Caves, Mahanandi and Srisailam.
The primary and secondary school education is imparted by government, aided and private schools, under the School Education Department of the state. The medium of instruction followed by different schools are Telugu,English and Urdu.
