The next zamindar of any interest is Kumára Venkata Mahípati Rao 1[1] (1786-93), of whom we are told that he 'did away with the peshkash and ruled over the estate as if he were an independent ruler without any disturbance and in the enjoyment of the greatest delights.' This was too much for the 'Nawab of Masulipatam' (the Chief of the English Council there) who summoned the zamindar to appear before him. The zamindar started for Masulipatam; but on his way
he halted at Nallacheruvu and uttered the following native soliloquy: 'It is not proper to proceed any further; for if the Nawáb were to question me why I did not remit the peshkash
and I could not give him satisfactory answer; then it would be very difficult to say what steps the Nawáb might take.' So he retired to the hills by way of Rampa where, 'the climate of the place being unsuited' to him, he was attacked by jungle fever and 'died prematurely there.'
The story is confirmed by the general report of the Board of Revenue of that day. The Board recommended that the late zamindar's young cousin, Venkata Níládri, should succeed him, and it was with this man that the permanent settlement was made in 1803. From his death, which occurred in 1828, till 1841 the estate was under the Court of Wards; and it was again under management from 1850 till 1861, when it was handed over to the then owner Venkata Mahípati Gangádhara Ráma Rao with a balance of four lakhs. This zamindar died in 1890, and, with a brief interval, the estate continued under the Court of Wards until October 1906, when it was handed over to its present proprietor.
The estate is a remarkably fine one. In the early years of British administration it was no doubt overshadowed by the more important zamindari of Peddápuram; but while the latter has ceased to exist Pithápuram has greatly extended. Not only does it now comprise nearly the whole of the Pithápuram division and the Cocanada taluk, but it also owns fourteen villages in Amalápuram, twelve in Tuni, nine in Rajahmundry, eight in Rámachandrapuram and four in Chódavaram, as well as others in North Arcot and other districts. Its total area is 383 square miles and its income in 1903-04 was Rs. 9,14,000, and the peshkash Rs. 2,44,000.
For purposes of administration the estate is divided into six thánas, each under a thánadar. The cultivators have no admitted occupancy right in their holdings, though they have shown a tendency to claim this, and until recently what
- ↑ 1 This is the Mahípati mentioned by the Committee of Circuit, 1787.
