Raipur


Raipur is the capital city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Raipur is also the administrative headquarters of Raipur district and Raipur division, and the largest city of the state. It was a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Chhattisgarh was formed on 1 November 2000. It has exponential industrial growth, and has become a major business hub in central India. It is ranked 7th in Ease of Living Index 2019 by Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

History

The earliest archaeological evidence from old sites and ruins of fort indicate the existence of Raipur since the 9th century. However, there are enough literary evidences which define the history of Raipur since the time of the Maurya Empire. Raipur district was once part of Southern Kosal and considered to be under the Maurya Empire. Raipur had later been the capital of the Haihaya Kings, controlling the traditional forts of Chhattisgarh for a long time. Satawahana Kings ruled this part till the 2nd-3rd century AD. Samudragupta had conquered this region in the fourth century, but the region came under the sway of Sarabhpuri Kings and then Nala Kings in 5th and 6th centuries. Later on Somavanshi kings had taken the control over this region and ruled with Sirpur as their capital city. The Kalchuri Kings of Tumman ruled this part for a long time making Ratanpur as capital. It is believed that the King Ramachandra of this dynasty established the city of Raipur and subsequently made it the capital of his kingdom.
Another story about Raipur is that King Ramachandra's son Brahmdeo Rai had established Raipur. His capital was Khalwatika. The newly constructed city was named after Brahmdeo Rai as ‘Raipur’. It was during his time in 1402 A.D. that the temple of Hatkeshwar Mahadev was constructed on the banks of the river Kharun which still remains one of the oldest landmarks in Raipur. After the death of king Amarsingh Deo, this region had become the domain of Bhonsle Kings of Nagpur.
With the death of Raghuji the III, the territory was assumed by the British government from Bhonsle's and Chhattisgarh was declared a separate Commission with its headquarters at Raipur in 1854. After independence, Raipur district was included in the Central Provinces and Berar. Raipur district became a part of Madhya Pradesh on 1 November 1956 and subsequently became a part of Chhattisgarh on 1 November 2000 with Raipur becoming the capital of the new state.

Demographics

, Raipur Municipal Corporation had a population of 1,010,087, of which 519,286 are males and 490,801 are females —a sex ratio of 945 females per 1000 males, higher than the national average of 940 per 1000. 124,471 children are in the age group of 0–6 years, of which 64,522 are boys and 59,949 are girls —a ratio of 929 girls per 1000 boys. There are 769,593 literates. The effective literacy was 86.90%; male literacy was 92.39% and female literacy was 81.10%, significantly higher than the national average of 73.00%.
The urban agglomeration had a population of 1,122,555, of which males constitute 578,339, females constitute 544,216 —a sex ratio of 941 females per 1000 males and 142,826 children are in the age group of 0–6 years. There are a total of 846,952 literates with an effective literacy rate of 86.45%.

Geography and climate

Geography

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 Deccan Plateau.

Climate

Raipur has a tropical wet and dry climate, temperatures remain moderate throughout the year, except from March to June, which can be extremely hot. The temperature in April–May sometimes rises above. These summer months also have dry and hot winds.
The city receives about of rain, mostly in the monsoon season from late June to early October. Winters last from November to January and are mild, although lows can fall to making it reasonably cold.

Transport

Railways

is the primary railway station of the city which is situated on the Howrah-Nagpur-Mumbai line of the Indian Railways and is connected with most major cities.
Some small railway stations are also present here for local trains like Sarona, Saraswati Nagar and WRS Colony railway stations.They also lie on same Howrah-Nagpur-Mumbai line.

Airport

or Mana Airport is primary airport serving the state of Chhattisgarh. The airport is located, 15 km south of Raipur near Naya Raipur.

List of Mayors

Education

Raipur has become a big educational hub of Chhattisgarh due to the presence of many institutes of national importance in engineering, management, medical and law. It is the only city in India which is home to IIM, NIT, AIIMS, Hidayatullah National Law University, and IIIT.

Premier institutes

News channels

Many local news channels are telecast from Raipur in Hindi:
News channelsLanguage
CG 24 news channel CGHindi
IBC 24Hindi
Khabar BharatiHindi
Grand News Hindi
ETV MP ChhattisgarhHindi
Sadhna NewsHindi
Sahara SamayeHindi
Zee MP CGHindi
India News MP CGHindi
Bansal NewsHindi
Abhi Tak Hindi
Inh NewsHindi

Newspapers

Many national and local newspapers are published from Raipur both in Hindi and English:
NewspaperLanguage
Dainik BhaskarHindi
Dainik Vishwa PariwarHindi
PatrikaHindi
Nava BharatHindi
DeshbandhuHindi
Nai DuniyaHindi
HaribhoomiHindi
The Times of IndiaEnglish
The Central ChronicleEnglish
Hindustan TimesEnglish
HindustanHindi
The HitavadaEnglish
The PioneerEnglish
Business StandardEnglish, Hindi
Business BhaskarEnglish, Hindi

Radio

Raipur city has five FM Radio Stations -
Frequency ModulationChannelSlogan
94.3 FMMY FMJio Dil Se
95.0 FMFM TadkaSound's Good
98.3 FMRadio MirchiMirchi Sunane Wale Always Khush
101.6 FMAll India Radio Raipur & Vividh BhartiDesh Ki Surili Dhadkan
104.8 FMRadio RangilaJamm ke suno

Notable people