• Lemons are cultivated on nearly 20,000 hectares across undivided Nellore district, with farmers switching from paddy and replacing old orchards with new saplings.
• Podalakur’s dedicated lemon market yard has improved access to sales. During peak season, about 20 truckloads are exported daily to states across northern and southern India; prices are particularly good in February, March and April.
• Farmers report that despite occasional price fluctuations, lemons provide reliable income year-round and are especially profitable in summer.
• The Horticulture Department’s Rejuvenation Scheme provides subsidies for replacing old orchards. Small and marginal farmers can receive up to ₹50,000 per acre annually through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to support cultivation costs.

Andhra Pradesh’s district reorganisation proposal would merge Kandukur constituency with Prakasam district and transfer Saidapuram, Kaluvoya and Rapur mandals from Nellore to Tirupati district. Residents say Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and TDP National General Secretary N Lokesh had promised Gudur constituency would remain with Nellore. Earlier plans reportedly included Gudur Municipality, Gudur rural, Chillakur, Kota, Vakadu and Chittamur mandals in Nellore. Gudur MLA Pasam Sunil Kumar has raised the issue in the Assembly.

Residents and political leaders warn that shifting Kandaleru reservoir jurisdiction could create water-allocation disputes: nearly 30% of its ayacut is in Nellore. BJP State Convenor Midathala Ramesh cited farmers’ riparian rights in Podalakuru and Manubolu, and said the reservoir is interlinked with Somasila. Former minister Kakani Govardhan Reddy said farmers in Podalakuru, Manubolu and Venkatachalam could depend on another district for water releases; some villages in Saidapuram have fields there. Ramesh also said Nellore received less than 1 TMC from a 120 TMC Srisailam allocation via Pothireddypadu, while supplying Chennai drinking water from Kandaleru during droughts. Online opposition campaigns have drawn thousands of supporters.

Sarvepalli MLA and former minister Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy asked the Andhra Pradesh Cabinet Sub-Committee on district reorganisation to merge Gudur division with Nellore and retain Rapur, Kaluvoya and Saidapuram mandals in Nellore. He cited public interest and the need to avoid irrigation and revenue issues.

Somireddy said Nellore had lost SHAR, Sri City, Mambattu and Menakuru SEZs, along with spiritual and tourist sites, in the previous YSRC government’s reorganisation. Tirumala, Srikalahasti, Sriharikota and Sri City are now in Tirupati district. He said Gudur residents prefer Nellore and recalled promises by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Education Minister Nara Lokesh during the 2024 elections.

He said keeping Gudur in Nellore would keep the proposed Dugarajapatnam shipbuilding centre within the district’s reach. Somasila and Kandaleru reservoirs store 143 TMC and support the Telugu Ganga project and Chennai’s drinking-water supply. The Somasila–Kandaleru flood-flow canal passes through Rapur and Kaluvoya. He warned that placing Kandaleru entirely in Tirupati district could disrupt water-release coordination and affect farmers in Podalakuru, Chejerla, Kaluvoya, Manubolu and parts of Nellore Rural.

A 5 km stretch of CC (concrete) road from Batwadipalem to Dycus Road in Nellore Rural constituency was inaugurated by Kargil war veteran and retired Indian Air Force Wing Commander Valluru Shyam Prasad, invited by Nellore Rural MLA Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy.

The road construction included divider, central lighting, drain and greenery development work. Cost: ₹11 crore.

MLA Sridhar Reddy said the initiative to honour soldiers at such inaugurations reflects respect for military personnel. He also noted ongoing state development programmes under Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, including capital city Amaravati and Polavaram project construction.