Page:Gódávari.djvu/310

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YELLAVARAM DIVISION.


The Yellavaram division of the Agency occupies the north-easternmost corner of the district. The whole of it is hilly, though considerable areas of level land lie among the hills, and, except for fifteen villages adjoining the plains, is covered by forest; it is also very malarious; the soil is poor and in the summer months water is always scarce; there are only 24 miles of metalled road in the whole of it; and the inhabitants are mostly Kóyas and hill Reddis. Consequently it is very backward and sparsely populated, and contains only 31 persons to the square mile. Some little irrigation is provided by a few tanks. The chief cereals are paddy, pulses and oil-seeds; but the hill men depend mostly on the produce of the tamarind trees, which grow to a great size. There are no industries worthy of the name in the division, except a very little basket making. There are five weekly markets.

Large areas which formerly belonged to the old Jaddangi estate are now Government land, but considerable tracts are held by the various hill muttadars referred to below. Round Jaddangi considerable tracts of forest have been reserved and the Forest department has opened up these with roads.

Addatigela: Head-quarters of the division. Population 459. Contains a police-station, a travellers' bungalow, a local fund dispensary (established 1901) and one of the four weekly markets of the division. It is an insignificant place and little suited to be the head-quarters of a division, being unhealthy and surrounded with jungle.

The village was the scene of some stirring events during the Rampa rebellion referred to in the account of Rampa above. Almost the first act of the insurgent leader Chandrayya was to burn down the police-station there. This occurred at the end of April 1879. The station was rebuilt and re-garrisoned, but in June was again attacked by Chandrayya. On the twelfth of that month some police under a European officer were attacked by Chandrayya in this neighbourhood, kept under fire for four and a half hours, and finally driven to take refuge in the station. There they were attacked three days later. They had to unroof the thatched station buildings for fear of fire; a reinforcement of 20 men sent to their rescue was driven back by Chandrayya; and a