Gara is an important mandal in Srikakulam district. The Gara is bounded on the west by the Etcherla zone, on the west by the Polaki zone, on the north by the Narasannapeta and the Srikakulam zones. There are 133 villages and 24 panchayats. Fakitekya is the smallest village and Srikurmam is the largest village. Agriculture is the main source of income here and the major crops grown in Gara are rice, pulses and chillies.
Gara has a total population of 75,017 in which the male population is 37,373 and female population is 37,644. Gara has a total 17,154 houses under its land. The former glory should be brought to the port of Kalingapatnam. Trade should take place from here. Srikurmam, Salihundam and Kalingapatnam should be developed as spiritual and tourist destinations. A full range of protected drinking water schemes should be introduced in the zone.
Gara is easily accessible by all three major modes of transport, roadways, railways, and airways. Which will come as a source of relief to the many travel enthusiasts ready to visit Gara!
Gara town has Srikakulam APSRTC bus station and Narsannapeta APSRTC bus station are the nearby bus stations. APSRTC runs several busses from major cities to Gara.
Rails in India are the most affordable and most preferred modes of transportation. Srikakulam Road railway station and Urlam railway station are the very nearby railway stations to Gara.
Visakhapatnam Airport in Visakhapatnam and Biju Patnaik Airport in Bhubaneswar are nearest airports to Gara town. They are at a distance of 131 kms and 328kms from the town, respectively.
Kalingapatnam Beach is located on the coast of Kalingapatnam in the Gara mandal of Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, where Vamsadhara River empties into Bay of Bengal. Kalingapatnam Light House is a 30 min drive from Srikakulam. This light house is the best attraction in Kalingapatnam. It's amazing concrete structure about 100ft. Due to the installation of Radar system at the Kalingapatnam Light House, visitors are not allowed to get to the top.
Srikurmam is the only Indian temple in the world where Vishnu is worshiped in his Kurma avatar. It is a Hindu temple dedicated to Kurma – the second avatar of Vishnu is located in Srikurmam village, Gara mandal, Srikakulam. As per Hindu mythology, Vishnu is the lord of the universe and he is believed to have transcended the earth in various incarnations.
Kalingapatnam is a town in Gara mandal of Srikakulam revenue division and it is located at a distance of 26 km from the district headquarters. It has one of the major beach sand deposits of the Srikakulam district. Kalingapatnam is the ancient port town in Srikakulam and for so many years historians viewed Kalingapatnam as one of the capital towns of Kalinga Desa. Kalingapatnam Port acted in marine trade from Kalingapatnam during the Muslim rule.
Salihundam is a historically important Buddhist monument and a major tourist attraction of Gara. It is lying on top of the hill on the south bank of the Vamsadhara. During the period of Gupta monarch Samudra Gupta excavations were conducted at Salihundam on the banks of river Vamsadhara which revealed important Buddhist remains.
| Bank Name | Bank Address |
|---|---|
| State Bank of India Gara Address | near Chinnanaidu Seva Sangam Water Plant, Gara Junction, Gara |
| DCCB Bank Gara Address | Opp Venkata Balaji Enterprises, Gara - Chintada Road, Gara |
| Fino Payments Bank Address | near Karthikeya Temple, Main Road, Jalluvalasa, Gara |
| Bank Name | Bank IFSC Codes |
|---|---|
| State Bank of India Gara IFSC Code | SBIN0002719 |
| DCCB Bank Gara IFSC Code | APBL0001016 |
| Fino Payments Bank |
| Bank Name | Bank Toll Free Numbers |
|---|---|
| State Bank of India Gara | 1800 425 3800 |
| DCCB Bank Gara | 1800 121 0354 |
| Fino Payments Bank | 022 6868 1414 |
