Raipur

Raipur Chhattisgarh • India
Raipur
Coordinates: 21°14′N 81°38′E / 21.23, 81.63
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Area • Elevation	456 km² (176 sq mi) • 291 m (955 ft)
District(s)	Raipur
Population • Density	700,113 (2001) • 1,535/km² (3,976/sq mi)
Mayor	Shri Sunil Soni
Codes • Pincode • Telephone • Vehicle	• 492 001 • +771 • CG-04

Coordinates: 21°14′N 81°38′E / 21.23, 81.63 Raipur pronunciation (help·info) (Hindi: रायपुर) is the capital city of the state of Chhattisgarh, India. The population is 700,113(agglomeration) 2006. Raipur is the 55th largest city agglomeration in India according to the 2001 census. The city is also the administrative headquarters of Raipur District. It was formerly a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Chhattisgarh was formed on November 1, 2000. A World Class City Naya Raipur is being developed near Raipur.

Contents 1 History 2 Geography and Climate 2.1 Climate 3 Politics 4 Economy 5 Demographics 6 Education 7 Places of interest 8 References 9 External links

History

On the basis of ruins of a fort and other structures located on the southern part of the city, some historians believe that the city of Raipur was in existence even during the 9th century. However, most historians agree that King Rama Chandra Rai founded the city in the last quarter of the 14th century.[1]

Geography and Climate

The new city of Raipur is located near the centre of a large plain, sometimes referred as the "rice bowl of India", where hundreds of varieties of rice are grown. The Mahanadi River flows to the east of the city of Raipur, and the southern side has dense forests. The Maikal Hills rise on the north-west of Raipur; on the north, the land rises and merges with the Chota Nagpur Plateau, which extends north-east across Jharkhand state. On the south of Raipur lies the Baster Plateau. Raipur city is situated on the Mumbai-Howrah route of Indian Railways and is well connected with such important places as Mumbai,Howrah, Kolkata (Calcutta), Delhi, Amritsar, Pune,Bhopal,Jabalpur,Nagpur ,Vishakapatnam,Trivendrum, Patna, Ahmedabad,Jodhpur, Jaipur,Bhubaneswar, Secundrabad,Lucknow,Kanpur,Gorakhpur,Chennai and Bangalore. National Highway 6 (Mumbai-Kolkata) passes through the city of Raipur, and National Highway 43,200,12A links the city with [[Visakhapatnam, Bilaspur and Jabalpur. It is well connected by road to all important places of India. recently a 4 Lane ExpressWay has been built between Raipur-Bhilai-Durg. Air links to the city were revived after the city became the state capital. Along with Indian, which connects the city with Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Nagpur and Visakhapatnam, Air Deccan flies to Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar, Ahmedabad, and Ranchi, and Jet Airways has a daily flight to Bombay (Mumbai) and Delhi.Kingfisher Airlines has also daily Flights to Kolkata , Indore and Pune .Few other domestic airlines like Spicejet and Jetlite are eager to Add Raipur to their route-map and declared the commencement of services by the End of 2007. Raipur Airport is situated in the outskirts of the city, in the village of Mana, and is popularly known as Mana Airport. It is the sole commercially operating airport of Chattisgarh state. The Airport Authorities of India has recently started the process of Modernization of the Airport.

Climate

Climate Table

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Mean daily maximum temperature (°C)	27	30	35	39	41	36	30	30	31	31	28	26
Mean daily temperature (°C)	20	22	27	31	34	31	26	26	27	26	22	19
Mean daily minimum temperature (°C)	13	15	20	24	27	26	23	23	23	23	21	12
Average precipitation (cm)	0	2	1	1	2	23	38	36	19	5	1	0
Source: Weatherbase

Politics

Raipur is capital of newly created state of Chhattisgarh. The state of Chhattisgarh is presently governed by the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) one of the two main political parties of India. Dr. Raman Singh is the chief minister of Chhattisgarh at present.

Economy

Raipur is primarily a commercial city. Traditionally, the city of Raipur has been described as "an agricultural-processing and saw-milling town". The city is located centrally in the state of Chhattisgarh, and now serves as a regional hub for trade and commerce for a variety of local agricultural and forest products. There are several small-scale industries, which include oil milling, soap manufacturing and electrical welding. The traditional face of the city is changing, and the city of Raipur and its neighbourhood are now becoming an important regional commercial and industrial destination for the coal, power, steel and aluminium industries. Close to Raipur, several industries have developed:

• several cement units
• marble cutting and polishing industries
• granite cutting and polishing industries

Raipur is India’s biggest iron market - there are about 170 steel rolling mills, 170 sponge iron plants, more than 250 steel plants, 800 agro-industies and 70 ferro-alloy plants in and around the city. There are more than 300 rice milling plants, and all major and local cement manufacturing companies have a presence in the city. Raipur is believed to become one of the highly developed cities of India and the Commercial Capital Capital of Central India ,leaving Indore and Nagpur much behind , by the end of 2010 .

Demographics

Being an important regional centre and a city with a history stretching back more than a thousand years, Raipur has been attracting persons from different parts of Madhya Pradesh and neighbouring states. The demographic composition is a mixed one - North Indians, South Indians, local ethenic Chattisgarhri and few from North-East. The city is essentially inhabited by the trading communities like Baniyas,Agrawal/Agarwals, Jains, Gujaratis, Marwaris and . The city also houses an immigrant population that includes Sindhis and the Sikhs. It also has a sizable Bengalis, Malayalees and Maharashtrians population. Muslims and Christians are minorities. Raipur has remained calm even during times of communal riots during 1992-93 and during the post-Godhara period in 2002, thus presenting a unique model of harmony and coexistence in the newly formed state. Muslims primarily reside in such areas as Moudhapara (occupied by the immigrants from UP and Bihar), Baijnathpara, Chota Para,Momin Para (Shia Islam community) and Byron Bazaar (which is named after a Briton who is supposed to have formed the place; this place was once mostly inhabited by Muslims serving in the British Army (Madras Regiment), who occupied Byron Bazaar as a result of their regiment being disbanded here), while the Christian population is scattered around the city. As of 2001 India census^[1], Raipur had a population of 605,131 with an extended agglomeration population of 700,113. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Raipur has an average literacy rate of 72%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 78%, and female literacy is 65%. In Raipur, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Education

Most of the government-run schools in Raipur are affiliated with the State School Examination Board, whereas most private schools are affiliated with Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) boards.

• Kendriya Vidyalaya
• Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV), Mana Camp. JNV Mana^{(http://www.jnvraipur.com)} which is considered as one of the best Navodayas in India.
• S.S. Kalibadi H.S. School
• Saint Paul's School (A public school with more than 120 years of history, which started as a co-ed school)
• Holy Cross Convent (Pension Bada)
• Holy Cross (Byron Bazaar)
• Holy Cross (Kapa)
• Bharat Mata Higher Secondary School (Tatibandh)
• Rajkumar College (a public school more than a hundred years old),
• Gyan Ganga Educational Academy (Zero Point),
• Salem English School
• Ryan International
• St Xavier's.
• Desh Bandhu School.
• Delhi Public School.
• Radiant Public School.
• Maharishi Vidya Mandir (Tatibandh).

The state capital is served by these main universities:

• Pandit Ravi Shankar Shukla University (http://www.prsu.ac.in)
• Indira Gandhi Agriculture University
• the Hidayatullah National Law University (http://www.hnlu.ac.in)
• Kishbhau Thakre Patrakarity Avam Jansanchar Vishwavidyalaya(http://www.ktujm.ac.in)

Apart from several colleges offering undergraduate and postgraduate courses, there are many professional educational institutes viz.

• a government medical college
• a National Institute of Technology ^{(http://www.nitrr.ac.in)}(previously government engineering college)
• Raipur Institute of Technology, Raipur
• a music academy.

Places of interest

Telibandha Talab; the lake which lies on the most busy GE Road of the city. Is a location where most of the Hindu Religious Rites are performed Shankar Nagar; The Most Posh colony of the city Civil Lines; High Security Region of the City where Government Officials and IAS officers Reside. Hotel Babylon; The oldest Star Hotel of the city Bottle House; An Apartment which looks like a bottle. Is located at Shankar Nagar Burha Talab; literal meaning aged (burha) lake (talab), Burha Talab is the largest lake of several in the city. Its beauty is enhanced by an island, laced with green trees and gardens, situated in the middle of the lake. Dudhadari Temple; situated near the Burha Talab, stands the 500-year-old Dudhadari Temple, which has elaborate carvings. The temple is dedicated to the Hindu god Ram. In Raipur City, one of the most famous temple is known as the Banjari Mata Mandir which was established by Shree Harish Joshi [needs citation]. The folklore has it that Mr. Joshi found a place where a stone looked like an idol of Banjari Mata. Upon discovering the idol, he started worshiping the idol and hence attracting attention of the public. Since then the place has been converted into a famous temple [needs citation]. Shadani Darbar named after the saint Shri Shadaramji Saheb, is a popular pilgrimage spot for Hindus. It is located about ten kilometers from Raipur railway station and only 4 kilometers from the Airport, on the Dhamtari road. Shadani Darbar, spread over 12 acres of land, has a big hall where Dhuni Saheb is kept. The beautiful engraved images of gods and avatars (incarnations) can be seen on the either side of the wall. Dukh bhanjan Dhuni is performed every day. Other highlights are musical fountains with religious idols and statues.

Mahant Ghasi Das Memorial Museum; a large collection of inscriptions, images, coins, sculptures, etc. are displayed in this museum. Shaheed Smarak Complex; an exceptionally conceptualized architectural marvel of Prasanna Kothari - a memorial of freedom fighters enveloping a huge auditorium, library, museum and an art gallery. Hidayatullah National Law University; sixth in a series on National Law schools established on the lines of the National Law School at Bangalore. National Institute of Technology; The NIT, Raipur is spread over an area of 100 acres. The campus has a main college building, six hostel blocks, residential quarters for teaching and non-teaching staff, a bank, a separate Public Works Department and electricity office for campus maintenance, a well equipped low cost dispensary and a well maintained guest house. The campus has got an additional facility of a local railway station named as Sarswati Nagar meant specially for the benefit of the students of nearby areas. The college is about 5 km from the Raipur railway station and about 12 km from the air-port. Apart form NIT, Raipur has one Medical College called Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Medical College, three engineering colleges, the Raipur Institute of technology, New Government Engineering College and the Disha Institute of Technology. Nandanvan Garden developed by the wildlife division of the Raipur Forest Department, is located about 15 km from Raipur, on the banks of the Kharron River, in the western boundary of the City. It is noted for its natural beauty. There is a zoo with animals such as lions, panthers, wild cats and deer, among many others. Champaran is a small town about 60 km (37 mi) from Raipur that has religious significance as the birthplace of the saint Vallabha Acharya. The Historic place of Sirpur is only 78 km from Raipur. Recently, The very first mall of Chattisgarh and Raipur 'City Mall 36' was inaugurated by Hon'ble Chief Minister of Chattisgarh. The mall comprises number of national and international brands such as INOX, Mc. Donalds, Globus,Big Bazar etc. Raipur is getting ready for 6 more such global malls by end of 2008 namely Magneto The Mall, RDA Mall, Treasure Island and Future Group's Cinemax, Ambuja Mall, Velocity III[Beyond Imagination]. Also the TAJ group of Hotels has started the construction of its Five Star Hotel in Raipur which is taking place just behind the site of Magneto-The Mall.

References

External links

• Raipur District Administration
• RaipurLive.com - Everything About Raipur

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