Hyderabad, Dec 10 (IANS) Some facts about Andhra Pradesh’s Telangana region, which is all set to get the status of a separate state:
* Telangana, meaning ‘land of Telugus’, was part of the erstwhile princely state of Hyderabad.

* After the accession of Hyderabad State with India in 1948, Telangana remained a separate state till 1956 when it was merged with Andhra State, carved out of Madras province, to form Andhra Pradesh. It was India’s first state formed on linguistic lines.

* Number of districts: 10. Greater Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Medak, Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, Warangal, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Adilabad and Khammam.

* Geography: Has contiguous area bordering Andhra, Rayalaseema (parts of the existing Andhra Pradesh), Karnataka, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.

* Area: 114,800 sq km

* Population: about 35 million

* Languages spoken: Telugu and Urdu

* The region is situated at a high altitude in an upland area. Two major rivers Godavari and Krishna flow through the region but most of the land is arid.

* Greater Hyderabad, located almost at the heart of Telangana, is a major information technology hub and is likely to be the capital of the new state.

* The region sends 119 legislators to the 294-member Andhra Pradesh assembly and also accounts for 17 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats from the state.