21°08N 79°10E, pop (2000e) 1 905 000. City in Maharashtra, WC India; on R Pench, 675 km/419 mi NE of Mumbai; founded, 18th-c; scene of the final British overthrow of the Marathas, 181718; former capital of Berar and Madhya Pradesh states; airfield; railway; university (1923); cotton textiles, paper, metallurgy, trade in oranges.
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| Nagpur | |
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Nagpur |
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State - District(s) |
Maharashtra - Nagpur |
| Coordinates | 21.06° N 79.03° E |
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Area - Elevation |
218 km² - 310 m |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
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Population (2006 est.) - Density |
2,420,000 - 12,300/km² |
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Codes - Postal - Telephone - Vehicle |
- 4400xx - +91-712 - MH-31,MH-40 |
Nāgpur pronunciation (help·info) ('Marathi:' 'नागपुर') is the largest city in central India and the third largest city in the western state of Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune. With a population of 2.1 million (2001 Census), Nagpur was the nation's 13 and the headquarters of Nagpur District and Nagpur Division administrations. On a global scale, Nagpur is estimated to be the 114 and 143 Nagpur is also important geographically as it lies practically at the centre of India with the country's geographical centre (Zero Mile) being situated here. Nagpur is also famous throughout India as a trade centre for high-quality oranges grown in the region and hence the city is also known as Santra Nagari (Hindi and Marathi for 'Orange City').
Geography and Climate
Nagpur (meaning City of the Snakes) is situated in the state of Maharashtra. State Government offices and institutions are located in Nagpur.
Nagpur is 837 kms.
Nagpur has an area of approximately 220 km² and is situated at 21° 06' N latitude and 79° 03' E longitude and a mean altitude of 310 meters above sea level. Being located far away from any major water body at the centre of the Indian peninsula, the Nagpur's climate is dry or mildly humid for most of the year except for the rainy season. Nagpur city receives an annual rainfall of 1,205 mm (47.44 in) mostly between the months of June and September. Summer lasts from March to June, with temperatures peaking in the month of May. Summers in Nagpur are extremely hot, during which the daytime temperature regularly crosses 40°C (114°F).
AIR ROUTES : The Sonegaon Airport is 7.5 kilometers south of Nagpur City.
Nagpur is also known as the "Orange City," as it is a major trading centre for oranges. It's said to be the cleanest city in India and the second greenest. India's "zero mile" is situated in Nagpur, making it the centre of the country, the point where all the distances in India are measured.
History
The first reference to the name Nagpur is found in a 10 However, tradition ascribes the founding of Nagpur to Bakht Buland, a prince of the Gond kingdom of Deogarh in the Chhindwara district. In 1743, the Maratha leader Raghoji Bhonsle of Vidarbha established himself at Nagpur, after conquering the territories of Deogarh, Chanda and Chhattisgarh by 1751. Regardless, the Nagpur state continued to grow. Under Raghoji II, Nagpur covered what is now the East of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, and parts of Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand. Despite the fact that he had entered into a treaty with the British in the same year, Mudhoji joined the Peshwas in the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1817 against the British, but was forced to cede the rest of Berar to the Nizam of Hyderabad, and parts of Saugor and Damoh, Mandla, Betul, Seoni and the Narmada valley to the British after suffering a defeat at Sitabuldi in modern-day Nagpur city. In 1853, the British took control of Nagpur after Raghoji III died without leaving an heir. From 1853 to 1861, the Nagpur Province (which consisted of the present Nagpur region, Chhindwara, and Chhatisgarh) became part of the Central Provinces and Berar and came under the administration of a commissioner under the British central government, with Nagpur as its capital.
TATA, one of the most respected industrial houses in India, started the country's first textile mill at Nagpur, formally known as Central India Spinning and Weaving Company Ltd.
Nagpur was a scene of significant political activity during India's freedom struggle. The city hosted two annual sessions of the Indian National Congress and the Non Co-Operation Movement was launched in the Nagpur session of 1920. After Indian Independence in 1947, Central Provinces and Berar became a province of India, and in 1950 became the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, again with Nagpur as its capital. However when the Indian states were reorganized along linguistic lines in 1956, the Nagpur region and Berar were transferred to Bombay state, which in 1960 was split between the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. Nagpur is the only Indian city to have lost the status of a state capital during the reorganizaton of states.
Notable Institutions in Nagpur
Nagpur gains its political importance from the fact that the entire political community of Maharashtra descends on the city for the two week duration of the Winter Session of the Maharashtra State Legislative Assembly during the month of December. Furthermore, Nagpur is known throughout India as the birthplace and headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist organization.
Nagpur is an important city for the scientific community as it is home to the headquarters of a number of national level scientific and governmental establishments like the National Environmental Engineering and Research Institute (NEERI), Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR), National Research Centre for Citrus, National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Aluminium Research and Development Centre, the Indian Bureau of Mines, India's Intellectual Property Training Institute, the National Academy of Direct Taxes, the Chief Controller of Explosives of the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation, and the South Central Zone Cultural Centre in addition to a regional office of the Indian Meteorological Department.
Nagpur is also an important city for the Indian armed forces as the headquarters of Maintenance Command of the Indian Air Force and an Ordinance factory and Staff College for the Indian Armed Forces are located in the city. A Nagpur suburb named Kamptee is home a neatly laid out cantonement of the Regimental Centre of Indian Army's Brigade that is made up of the National Cadet Corps' Officers' Training School, Institute of Military Law, and other establishments of Indian Army. Furthermore, Nagpur's National Civil Defence College provides civil defence and disaster management training to pupils from all over India and abroad.
Due to Nagpur's geographical position, all distances within India are measured from Zero Mile, which is located in the Civil Lines locality in the city. The battle was a turning point as it laid the foundations of the downfall of the Bhonsles and eventually the British acquisition of Nagpur city. In addition, Nagpur also contains prominent places of worship for other religions. With its scenic gardens and recreation facilities, the Ambazari Lake has historically been one of the most popular spots in Nagpur, a status that it retains to this day. Pench forest reserve, which is the setting for Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book", is 45 miles to the north of Nagpur.
The Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground (VCA) in Nagpur is one of the nine test venues in the country.
Nagpur boasts many restaurants specializing in Indian as well as international cuisine.
For its size and population, Nagpur has only two five-star hotels Hotel Tuli International, and Hotel Pride.
Demographics
Marathi and Hindi are the two most widely-spoken languages in Nagpur. Around 99.4% of the population was engaged in non-agricultural activities, attesting to the overwhelmingly urban character of Nagpur city.
Culture
The city's culture is cosmopolitan as it contains a large number of people from other Indian states as well as people belonging to the world's major faiths. Every year on Ram Navami (which ususally falls in late March or early April), Nagpur plays host to spectacular shobha yatra in which a massive procession of floats depicting various events from the Ramayana is organized by the Sri Poddareshwar Ram Mandir. The procession snakes through several important streets of the city from late afternoon to well past midnight and is witnessed by hundreds of thousands of people from the city as well as other parts of India. Like the rest of India, Nagpur celebrates major Hindu festivals like Diwali, Holi and Dussera with fervour and enthusiasm.
Nagpur plays host to a variety of cultural events throughout the year. The South Central Cultural Centre also actively sponsors various cultural programmes in Nagpur city, such as the Orange City Craft Mela and Folk Dance Festival, which is noted for its numerous folk-dances.
Nagpur has a vibrant media scene with its own TV as well as radio station. Nagpur is the only non metro city in India that has twoDoordarshan channels in air. In fact, All India Radio's Nagpur station is among the earliest set up in India. Lokmat, Sakal, Tarun Bharat, and Loksatta are major Marathi language newspapers published in Nagpur, while Dainik Bhaskar, Nav Bharat and lokmat samachar leading Hindi ones.
Although the middle class continues to comprise the major chunk of Nagpur's population, in recent times the city has attracted the affluent in increasing numbers and was the fastest growing crorepati city in India in 2004. Although historically the city has not reaped the benefits of India's economic boom in comparison to cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore, Nagpur remains one of the most livable cities in the country due to its citizen- friendly statistics. Nagpur's crime has remained at a constant level. A notable fact about Nagpur is that it has remained peacful even as other Indian cities like Kolkota and Mumbai went through violent episodes of communal conflicts for one reason or another. Moreover, Nagpur is known for its tolerance and acceptance for people from all over India, in contrast to cities like Mumbai where anti-migrant sentiments led to the rise of regionalist parties like the Shiv Sena.
Major Localities
The Civil Lines contains most of the government offices and residences in Nagpur including the Bombay High Court bench and the Vidhan Bhavan. It contains numerous shops of all sizes and the largest wholesale vegetable market in Nagpur. The longest flyover in Nagpur has its origin in Sitabuldi and terminates at Lokmat Square, approximately 1.5 kilometer away. Itwari is the wholesale business center of Nagpur. Mahal is the old part of Nagpur, and is noted for its relatively narrow streets and crowded residential quarters.Economy
Nagpur has been the centre of commerce in the Vidarbha region since early days and currently is a large trading centre for a number of commodities and services. However, Nagpur's economic importance has gradually declined relative to Mumbai and Pune after the merging of Vidarbha into the Maharashtra because of a prolonged period of neglect by the state government. However, Nagpur is witnessing an economic boom in recent years and attracted Rs.
Currently a significant number of industries are located within the vicinity of Nagpur city. In addition, Nagpur is also home to well-known ice-cream maker Dinshaws, and the nationally famous sweetmakers Haldiram's.
Nagpur is also the next most favoured Information Technology (IT) destination in Maharashtra after Mumbai and Pune due to factors favorable to the IT industry like the city's location in the centre of India, good infrastructure (the spick and span four laned roads of Nagpur give it a leverage compared to Pune and even Banglore), and the availability of a large and relatively cheap pool of skilled labor from local and regional educational institutions. In the near future, Nagpur will also have a Rs.
Education
Nagpur is a major education centre in Central India and attracts students from all over the country. Founded in 1923, Nagpur University (recently renamed Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj Nagpur University) is one of the oldest in the country, and has geographical jurisdiction over the five districts of Nagpur division in addition to giving affiliation to hundreds of colleges. Additionally, Nagpur has several reputed engineering colleges like the Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT) (which is now a deemed university) and the Laxminarayan Institute of Technology (LIT), as well as several reputed public as well as private colleges like Hislop College and Shivaji Science College. And last but not least, a National Fire Service College that runs the country's only graduation course in Fire Engineering and a world-class 25-acre campus of the Indian Institute of Management Technology (IMT) are some of the more elite institutions situated in Nagpur.
In addition to the large number of colleges, Nagpur also has a number of fine schools that offer education through Marathi, Hindi, and English media.
Nagpur city had a literacy rate of 89.3% in 2001, which is very high by Indian standards.
Transport
Railways
Being situated at the centre of the country, Nagpur is a very important roadways and railway junction and a transit for almost all the trains that connect the country lengthwise and breadthwise, especially trains connecting India's four major metropolises (Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, and Kolkota) located in the four corners of the country. The main railway station in Nagpur city is the Nagpur Railway Station, while the much smaller Ajni, Itwari, Kalamna, Kamptee, and Khapri are the other railway stations in the city's vicinity.
Roads
In addition, Nagpur is a major junction for roadways as India's two major national highways (Kanyakumari-Varanasi (no. Moreover, Nagpur city has come in the national spotlight recenty for its good roads, which were developed as part of the upgradation and renewal works under Integrated Road Development Project (IRDP), spearheaded by the erstwhile Commissioner of the Corporation Dr. T Chandrashekhar. In another notable development, the Inland Container Depot at Nagpur run by Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) has been the fastest growing inland port in the country in recent years.
Air
Due to the city's central location, Nagpur's Air Traffic Control (ATR) is the busiest in India, with more than 300 international flights flying over the city every day in 2004. Domestic airlines such as Indian Airlines, Jet Airways, Indigo, [goAir] and Air Deccan connect Nagpur with major cities like Mumbai (5 flights daily), Delhi (2 flights daily), Hyderabad (1 flight daily and 1, 4 times a week), and Kolkata (1 flight thrice a week and another twice a week). In October 2005, Nagpur's erstwhile Sonegaon Airport was declared an international airport and was renamed Dr. Ambedkar International Airport. Initial flights between Nagpur and Sharjah were launched by Air Arabia with the intention of tapping the strong demand for international travel within Central India. In April 2006 Indian Airlines connected Nagpur and Bangkok with a non-stop twice weekly service. Likewise, Qatar Airways has announced that it will start a thrice-weekly service from Nagpur to Doha shortly.
Nagpur is set to be a prominent destination on India's aviation map as the country's first ever Multi-modal International Cargo Hub (MIHAN) was completed on the outskirts of the city in 2006. Another major impetus to the aviation industry in Nagpur is Boeing's decision to set up a $ 185 million maintenance base in the city in 2006.
Airlines flying into the airport include
Indian (Bangkok, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Raipur) Jet Airways (Delhi, Mumbai) Air Deccan (Hyderabad, Mumbai) IndiGo (Kolkata, Mumbai) Air Arabia (Sharjah) Qatar Airways (Doha, starts Feb 2007)Metropolitan
Despite its high population and its commercial importance, Nagpur has a poor public transport system.
Nagpur in 1911
In the early phase of its development, the city was lead by the then mayor, Sushrut Kulkarni, who is famous for being a leading activist during India's freedom struggle. The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica offers a picture of Nagpur in the early part of the 20th century:
The city is 1125 ft. Nagpur is the headquarters of two corps of rifle volunteers.This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
Image Gallery
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The Nagpur bench of the Reserve Bank of India |
The main office of Nagpur University |
The Dragon Palace Temple near Nagpur |
A Sikh Gurudwara in Ramdaspeth |
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The Apna Bazaar Mall in Nagpur |
The proposed plan for the upcoming international airport and cargo hub (MIHAN) near Nagpur |
Entrance to the Ambazari garden in Nagpur |
A used book market in Nagpur |
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A picture from a local Gorakshā Kendra (Place for Cow Protection) |
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