23°20N 77°53E, pop (2000e) 1 248 000. Capital of Madhya Pradesh, C India, 170 km/106 mi NE of Indore; founded, 1723; scene of a major industrial disaster in December 1984, when poisonous isocyanate gas escaped from the Union Carbide factory, killing c.2500 people and leaving 100 000 homeless; airfield; railway; university (1970); cotton, electrical goods, jewellery; Taj-il Masajid mosque (unfinished).
For the 18th century Indian state, see Bhopal (state).| Bhopal | |
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Bhopal |
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State - District(s) |
Madhya Pradesh - Bhopal |
| Coordinates | 23.16° N 77.36° E |
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Area - Elevation |
28576 km² - 427 m |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
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Population (2001) - Density |
1,433,875 - 160/km² |
| Mayor | Mr. Sunil Sood |
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Codes - Postal - Telephone - Vehicle |
- 462001 - +91 (0)755 - MP-04 |
Bhopāl pronunciation (help·info) (Hindi: भोपाल, Urdu: بھوپال, IPA: [bʰoːpɑːl]) is a city in central India. It is the capital of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of Bhopal District and Bhopal Division. Historically, Bhopal was also the name of a Muslim princely state in central India (See Bhopal (princely state)).
History
Bhopal is said to have been founded by the Parmara King Bhoj (1000–1055), who had his capital at Dhar. The city was originally known as Bhojpal named after Bhoj and the dam ('pal') that he is said to have constructed to form the lakes surrounding Bhopal.
During British Raj, Bhopal was ruled by Nawabs and Begums. See (Bhopal (princely state)).
After independence
Bhopal was one of the last princely states to sign the 'Instrument of Accession' 1947. Though India achieved Independence in August 1947, the ruler of Bhopal acceded to the Indian government only on May 1, 1949. Sindhi refugees from Pakistan were accommodated in Bairagarh, a western suburb of Bhopal.
According to the States Reorganization Act in 1956, Bhopal state was integrated into the state of Madhya Pradesh, and Bhopal was declared as its capital.
Bhopal disaster
Main article: Bhopal disaster
The Bhopal disaster: On December 3, 1984, a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal leaked 40 tons of toxic methyl isocyanate gas, which killed more than 3,000 people outright and injured anywhere from 150,000 to 600,000 others. (See Bhopal disaster.)
Law and government
Bhopal is the capital city of Madhya Pradesh. Currently, the mayor of the city is Indian National Congress' Sunil Sood
Geography
Bhopal is a hilly (elevation 498m) but hot area, located on the Malwa plateau, and the land rises towards the Vindhya Range to the south. These lakes are the Upper Lake (built by King Bhoj) and the Lower Lake. The catchment area of the Upper Lake is 361 km² while that of the Lower Lake is 9.6 km².
The major hills in Bhopal comprise of Idgah hills and Shyamala hills in the northern region and Arera hills in the central region.
Lakes
Upper lake (bada talaab) Lower lake (chota talaab) The lower lake is also known as 'Chhota Talaab'. Many people confuse that the name Chhota Talaab is because the lake smaller in comparision to the upper lake. However, the demographics of Bhopal district are slightly different with 69% Hindus and 24% Muslims. The Old City of Bhopal is a predominantly Muslim area, but New Bhopal is a demographically cosmopolitan area. In the princely state of Bhopal, Persian was the court language until nineteenth century.Population: 1.7 million Total waste generation: 600 ton/day Waste generation per capita: 0.43 kg/person per day
Major parks
Bhopal has many public parks. Some of the major parks are: Kamla Nehru Children's Park (BHEL Park), Chinar Park (famous for its Bougainvillea varieties and animal statues), Ekant Park, Mayur Park, The Rose Garden (Gulab Udyan), Kilol Park, Nandan Kanan etc.
Neighborhoods
Bhopal is divided into two parts: the Old City and the New Bhopal (these are not the official names). The Old City (often referred to in Bhopal as just "City") is the city built and developed by the Begums of Bhopal.
New Bhopal was developed after Bhopal became the capital of Madhya Pradesh. Nagar), Arera Colony (which is the second largest colony in Asia, coming only next to Kankarbagh Colony, Bihar), Shahpura, Ayodhya Nagar, Kasturba Nagar, Gautam Nagar, Subhash Nagar, Saket Nagar, Shakti Nagar, Barkheda, Piplani, Sonagiri and the commercial township called Maharana Pratap Nagar (commonly known as M.P.Nagar).
Major industries and products
The major industries in the city are electrical goods, cotton, chemicals (see Bhopal Disaster) and Jewellery. Another famous handicraft of Bhopal is 'Batua', a small string purse, usually used with Indian traditional dresses.Easily available either in city, or in Government owned Handicraft showrooms(eg.Mrignaynee in TT Nagar, New Market), at reasonable prices.
BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited), the largest engineering and manufacturing enterprise in India, has a unit in Bhopal.
Number of other reputed companies like VA TECH HYDRO, Eicher, P&G and HEG have their manufacturing units in industrial area near Bhopal. Bhopal has over 400 mosques. 1955 a beautiful wild life sanctuary just 125 k.m from Bhopal and 45 k.m from Astha, Bhopal-Indore road. Now it is used as the head-office of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation. Van Vihar National Park It is a national park situated beside the Upper Lake. Sanchi Situated at a small distance from the city of Bhopal, Sanchi houses some ancient Buddhist structures built by Emperor Ashoka. Bhojpur A small village situated some 40 km from Bhopal with a huge rock temple of lord Shiva, (the shivling in the temple is biggest in asia) and having betwa river flowing down the valley.
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