Penamakuru
| Penamakuru | |
|---|---|
| village | |
  Penamakuru Location in Andhra Pradesh, India  Penamakuru Penamakuru (India) | |
| Coordinates: 16°19′21″N 80°49′40″E / 16.32250°N 80.82778°ECoordinates: 16°19′21″N 80°49′40″E / 16.32250°N 80.82778°E | |
| Country | India |
| State | Andhra Pradesh |
| District | Krishna |
| Area[1] | |
| • Total | 6.20 km2 (2.39 sq mi) |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
| • Total | 2,356 |
| • Density | 380/km2 (980/sq mi) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Telugu |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| Nearest city | Vijayawada |
| Lok Sabha constituency | Machilipatnam |
| Vidhan Sabha constituency | Pamarru |
Penamakuru is a village located in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, India (Thotlavalluru Mandal).
Bharatha Yuvajana Sangham, a youth welfare organisation, conduct the Games Meet to mark Sankranti in January to prevent illegal activities such as gambling and cock fights, in Penamakuru village of Thotlavalluru mandal in Krishna District.
After conducting various games at Penamakuru during Sankranti for 26 years, the sangham has decided to conduct district-level chedugudu and shuttle badminton competitions to draw the attention of youngsters toward games rather than cock fights and gambling during the festival, said T. Mareedu, Bharatha Yuvajana Sangham president.
Explaining about the games, he said chedugudu (kabaddi) competitions will be held between 4 and 9 January and shuttle badminton competitions will be organised between 10 and 14 January at Penamakuru. Other events like rangoli competitions, chess, running, musical chairs for women and children will also be conducted. The BYS initiated the events in the village in 1980 to prevent the illegal activities like cock fights, and gambling during the festival, he said.
Underlining the development aspects of agriculture, industrial sectors, people and their professions in the village, the State government carried out a seven-page syllabus about Penamakuru in Social Sciences textbook of Class VI both in English and Telugu mediums in the current academic year.
Unlike other villages in coastal districts, many youngsters who are educated and professionals working in corporate firms in various places, are busy in making shuttle badminton courts, decorating the venues where cultural activities will be held at Penamakuru village in Krishna district.
What more, children aged between six years and 15 years are seriously practicing dance for devotional and patriotic songs to perform at the venue. All these activities take place every year in Penamakuru village that comes under Vijayawada police commissionerate to divert the attention of youngsters and students to games and cultural events rather than illegal activities of gambling and cockfights during Sankranti.
Having an experience in organising such activities in the village for more than three decades, the Bharata Yuvajana Sangham, a youth welfare organisation, is all set to conduct the 31st annual games meet at Penamakuru to mark Sankranti. "A few years ago, many youngsters and children, clad in murky clothes, had indulged in illegal activities like cockfights and gambling during Sankranti.
Ever since, the Bharat Yuvajana Sangham started in organising games meet, we changed the mindset of youngsters not to indulge in illegal activities. They are totally changed now and participating in games.
Some youngsters participate in the games and cultural events and other take the responsibility in organising those activities during Sankranti in Penamakuru,’’ explains M. Timothi, an MBA graduate and president of Bharata Yuvajana Sangham.
In 1980, former sarpanch of the village M. Nageswara Rao had created the trend by organising such games and cultural events in protecting Sankranti festival and its tradition while preventing illegal activities of gambling and cockfights.
Attracted by this new trend in the village, youngsters who finished their higher education in various streams and working in various corporate firms in different places in the state and other places in the country have started a youth welfare organisation — Bharat Yuvajana Sangham. They have been continuing the games meet in Penamakuru to prevent illegal activities.
Penamakuru finds a place in textbook for Class IV Penamakuru, a village in Krishna delta, is part of the Social Studies textbook of Class VI prescribed by the State Council of Educational Research and Training. One of the invisible developments registered here was the stunning growth in the population in recent years.
‘Penamakuru – A village in Krishna Delta’ is in the Social Studies textbook of -VI. The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT-AP), has included the story of Penamakuru village in the series of Diversity on the Earth.
It narrates the changes witnessed in the agrarian village on several fronts — agriculture, rural economy, modes of ownership of land, livelihood options and diversification of crops on the deltaic land. The SCERT syllabus with the village story was prescribed from the academic year 2012-13 both for Telugu and English medium and is being distributed across the state.
"A drastic change in our lives over the years has made our village one of the ideal villages in the Krishna delta. There were unpredictable changes in crop pattern and growth in agriculture-allied sectors and food production," Penam-akuru sarpanch (1995-2002) Mareedu Nagesw-ara Rao said.
The lesson compiled with 14 pictures of the village on various aspects of life and geographical conditions, including village map, tells a complete tale of all-round development of an agrarian pocket in Andhra Pradesh.
References
- 1 2 3 "District Census Handbook – Krishna" (PDF). Census of India. p. 16,400. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
- ↑ "Celebrating Sankranti in peace". The Hans India. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ↑ "Yuvajana sangham shows the way". The Hindu. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
- ↑ http://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/in-other-news/140117/ap-youngsters-organise-cultural-activities-for-sankranti-to-avoid-cockfights.html