Khammam district is an administrative district in the Indian state of Telangana. The district takes its name from its headquarters, the city of Khammam, which lies on the banks of the Munneru river, a tributary of the Krishna. Historically a part of the erstwhile Warangal region, Khammam has long been associated with the cultivation of cotton, paddy and chillies, and with mining and agro-based industry in the wider Godavari basin.
| Country | India |
|---|---|
| State | Telangana |
| Headquarters | Khammam |
| Region | Southern India, Deccan plateau |
| Major river | Munneru (tributary of the Krishna) |
| Type | District |
Khammam district lies in the south-eastern part of Telangana. The terrain is largely undulating, with patches of forest in its eastern stretches and agricultural plains in the west and centre. The district shares boundaries with several Telangana districts as well as with the state of Andhra Pradesh. The headquarters town derives its name from the hill shrine of Narasimha Swamy at Stambhadri, locally rendered as "Khammam Mettu".
Khammam was constituted as a separate district in the former Andhra Pradesh state, having earlier been part of Warangal district under the Hyderabad State. After the formation of Telangana on 2 June 2014, Khammam continued as one of the new state's districts. In the 2016 reorganisation of districts in Telangana, parts of the original Khammam district were carved out to form the new district of Bhadradri Kothagudem, and Khammam district was redefined with a smaller area centred on the town of Khammam.
The Munneru and its tributaries drain much of the district, supporting paddy cultivation and a network of irrigation tanks. Cotton, chillies, maize and pulses are grown extensively, and Khammam is a recognised market centre for chillies in the region. The wider area was historically significant for coal mining around Kothagudem and Yellandu before that belt was placed in the new Bhadradri Kothagudem district in 2016.
Khammam town is served by the Kazipet–Vijayawada section of the South Central Railway, one of the busiest trunk routes in southern India. National Highway 65 (formerly NH-9), connecting Pune and Machilipatnam via Hyderabad and Vijayawada, passes through the district, providing road links to Hyderabad to the west and the coastal Andhra region to the east.
Khammam Fort, a hilltop fortification with layers of construction by the Kakatiya, Musunuri Nayaka, Velama, Qutb Shahi and Asaf Jahi rulers, dominates the skyline of the district headquarters. The Stambhadri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at the foot of the fort hill is a major local pilgrimage site. The district lies within the Telugu cultural sphere, with Telugu as the principal language and Urdu spoken by a significant minority.
Khammam has been politically prominent in modern Telangana, both during the Telangana statehood movement and in earlier left-wing political mobilisation in the Telangana countryside. Its agrarian economy, transport links along the Hyderabad–Vijayawada corridor, and proximity to the forested Godavari belt make it an important transitional district between interior Telangana and coastal Andhra.