Naupada
| Naupada | |
|---|---|
| city | |
  Naupada  Naupada Location in Andhra Pradesh, India | |
| Coordinates: 18°34′00″N 84°18′00″E / 18.5667°N 84.3°ECoordinates: 18°34′00″N 84°18′00″E / 18.5667°N 84.3°E | |
| Country |
 India |
| State | Andhra Pradesh |
| District | Srikakulam |
| Elevation | 5 m (16 ft) |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Telugu |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Vehicle registration | AP |
Naupada is a village located in Santha Bommali mandal of Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is famous for salt fields and called the "Salt Bowl of Andhra Pradesh". It is better known for its railway junction station.
Geography
Naupada is located at 18.5667N 84.3E.[1] It has an average elevation of 5 metre (19 ft).
Transport
Naupada railway station is 2 km from Naupada village. It is a railway junction on the Howrah-Chennai main line and express trains halt here. Naupada-Gunupur branch line was reopened in 2011 after conversion from narrow gauge to 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge under Project Unigauge. A passenger train runs from Gunupur to Puri and another train runs from Gunupur to Palasa.
Parlakimidi Light Railway
The narrow gauge railway route was constructed in the year 1889 by the Maharaja of Paralakhemundi, Odisha, Sri Krishna Chandra Gajapati Narayan Deb at the cost of Rs.99 lakh.[2] It was called Parlakimidi Light Railway.
Salt production
Naupada Salt Fields are spread across more than 3,000 acres (12 km²) in Naupada, Moolapeta and Bhavanapadu. This area is located where Garibula Gedda river is forming a lagoon before joining the sea. According to the official estimates, the quantity of salt produced by about 500 major and minor producers in and around Naupada is around 56,000 tonnes. Due to reduced prices and lack of support from government, the salt industry is almost shutting down. For the past few years the salt lands were converted to ponds for various types of aquaculture and almost polluted the land.[3]