Godavarikhani

Godavarikhani is a town in Karimnagar district of Andhra Pradesh in the southern part of India. It is basically an industrial area with a high population. It is surrounded by other mining areas like Srirampur, Ramakrishnapur etc. Its located on the banks of Godavari river and that's how it gets its name Godavari + Khani (means mines).

This town is popular for its coal mines ('khani' means mines), controlled mostly by Singareni Colliers Company Limited (SCCL).The main source of income for most of the inhabitants is the wage provided by SCCL. The workers in the mines at times, involve pain-staking efforts. The risk involved can be illustrated by the rate of deaths and injuries in these mines. SCCL takes care of its employees by providing accommodation, water, electricity, healthfacilities, insurance and also by creating awareness on safety.

The mined and refined coal is mostly consumed by the National

Thermal Power Station (NTPC, Ramagundam). NTPC is a 2800 MW power plant and is around 4 km from the bus-stand of Godavarikhani. The power generated is not only used in the town, but also in the neighbouring states. Of late, the children of SCCL employees are accessing the advanced education and recreation facilities in NTPC.

It is similar to most other towns in Andhra Pradesh when it comes to the life-style. Most of the residents are middle-class, who have migrated from the nearby villages a few years ago. Most of the employees are illiterate or barely literate, but rigorous efforts are being taken to improve the literacy rate. The presence of an ever increasing number of schools and colleges is a good indicator of the same. An engineering college has also been set up a few years back. At the same time, there are also a number of liquor shops which have been attracting the employees and the youth, alike.

Literacy rate in godavarakhani is improving day by day. You can almost see at least few students in all the famous institutions in India such as IIT's,NIT's e.t.c. We can see many students pursuing their career abroad and not only bringing name for themselves but also to their place. One of the biggest assets of the place is the Godavari River, the second largest river in India. In fact, it splits the Karimnagar district and Adilabad district.

The main source of transportation is auto-rickshaws and the two-wheelers. It is very convenient to travel to the nearby places in the APSRTC buses which start at the bus-stand, located in the centre of the city.Also, the railway station in Ramagundam is just about 8 km away. Most of the super fast expresses have a halt in Ramagundam.

Godavari river is the asset of Godavarikhani, and it is one of the biggest rivers in Andhrapradesh.

The future of the town is controversial as the predicted amounts of coal available in the area would be mined out within a few years. It could either be converted to a commercial area or a dilapidated place.

Godavarikhani is surrounded by four opencast projects. These are open coal digging places having sophisticated machinery. Open casts have not only increased the safety concerns but have also proved to be interesting places of visit.

The socio-economic status of the people surrounding this coal city has increased when compared to the near by towns like karimnagar., Almost all the employees hail from the near by villages of karimnagar , peddapalli ., .The techno economy of the people residing here has aroused., A recent survey in Godavarikhani shown that one in every 10 houses has either gone to other country or settled in a very good position . After Hyderabad, Godavarikhani is second place in population in Telangana districts. Many industries situated in this area like Keshoram cement factory, F.C.C. Singareni coliries, NTPC Spinning Mills etc so Godavarikhani very powerful city in Telangana.

Children from this region have been performing exceptionally well academically and in performing arts. An example is the number of them pursuing higher education in top institutes across India and representation in various dance competitions.godavarikhani is fastly developing and is now a centre for many nearby towns for medical facilities.