Raipur,Chhattisgarh रायपुर Raipur
—  capital  —
Raipur,Chhattisgarh Location of Raipur,Chhattisgarh in Chhattisgarh and India
Coordinates	21°08′N 81°23′E / 21.14°N 81.38°E / 21.14; 81.38Coordinates: 21°08′N 81°23′E / 21.14°N 81.38°E / 21.14; 81.38
Country	India
State	Chhattisgarh
District(s)	Raipur
Mayor	Mrs. Kiranmayi Nayak
Population • Density	605,131 (2001[update]) • 2,678 /km2 (6,936 /sq mi)
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	226 km2 (87 sq mi) • 298.15 metres (978.2 ft)
Codes • Pincode • 492001 • Vehicle • CG-04
Website	www.raipur.nic.in

Raipur  pronunciation (help·info) (Hindi: रायपुर) is the capital city of the state of Chhattisgarh, India. The city is 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. The population is 605,131 (as per census of India, 2001).

Geography

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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 district is important in historical and archeological point of view. This district was once part of Southern Kosal and considered to be under Mourya Kingdom. Raipur city had been the capital of the Haihaya Kings, controlling the traditional forts of the Chhattisgarh for a long time. The town of Raipur has been in existence since the 9th century, the old site and ruins of the fort can be seen in the southern part of the city. Satawahana Kings ruled this part till the 2nd-3rd century AD.

In the 4th Century AD the king Samudragupta had conquered this region and established his domination till Fifth-Sixth Century AD when this part had come under the rule of Sarabhpuri Kings. For some period in Fifth-Sixth Century A.D., Nala kings dominated this area. Later on Somavanshi kings had taken the control over this region and ruled with Sirpur (Sripur-The city of Wealth) as their capital city. Mahashivgupt Balarjun was the mightiest emperor of this Dynasty. His mother, the widow Queen of Harshgupta of the Somavansh, Rani Vasata built the famous brick temple of Lakshman. The Kalchuri Kings of Tumman ruled this part for a long time making Ratanpur as capital. The old inscriptions of Ratanpur, Rajim and Khallari refer to the reign of kalchuri kings. 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 (Now Khallari) . The newly constructed city was named after Brahmdeo Rai as 'Raipur'. It was during his time in 1402 A.D. that Hajiraj Naik the temple of Hatkeshwar Mahadev was constructed in the banks of river Kharun.The decline of this dynasty's rule came with the death of king Amarsingh Deo. This region had become the domain of Bhosle kings after the Amarsingh deo's death. With the death of Raghuji the III, the territory was assumed by the British Government from Bhonsla'a of Nagpur and Chhatisgarh was declared a separate Commissionery with its Headquarters at Raipur in 1854. After independence Raipur district was included in Central Provinces And Berar.

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 city receives about 1,300 millimetres (51 in) 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 5 °C (41 °F).

Transport

Raipur is situated on the Mumbai-Howrah route of the Indian Railways (via Bhusawal, Nagpur, Bilaspur, Kharagpur) and is well connected with major cities.

National Highway 6 (Dhule-Kolkata) passes through Raipur. National Highways 43, 200 and 12A link the city with Jagdalpur, Bilaspur and Jabalpur. A four lane expressway has been constructed between Raipur, Bhilai and Durg, which is further extended up to Nagpur.

Air links to the city were resinstated after the city became the state capital, serviced by Air India, Jet Airways, IndiGo Airlines and Kingfisher Airlines .

City bus service is provided by Raipur City Bus Limited (RCBL). Raipur Municipal Corporation launched the Raipur City Bus service on 25 Feb 2008. The company runs 68 buses out of which 54 are low floor Tata Starbuses.

Economy

Historically, when Raipur was a part of Madhya Pradesh, it was the second major commercial centre in Madhya Pradesh after Indore. Traditionally, Raipur's economy has been based on agricultural-processing and saw-milling. 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.

The traditional face of city has changed with Raipur becoming an important regional commercial and industrial destination for the coal, power, steel and aluminium industries. Raipur is among the richest cities and India’s biggest iron market; there are about 200 steel rolling mills, 195 sponge iron plants, more than 6 steel plants, 500 agro-industries and more than 35 ferro-alloy plants. There are more than 800 rice milling plants, and all major and local cement manufacturing companies have a presence in the city.

Demographics

As of 2001^[update] India census, Raipur had a population of 6,05,131. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Raipur has a reported literacy rate of 72%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; male literacy is 78%, and female literacy is 65%. 13 percent of the population is under 6 years of age.

Being an important regional centre and a city with a history stretching back more than a thousand years, Raipur has attracted people from different parts of Madhya Pradesh and neighbouring states. The population includes local ethnic Chhattisgarhis, North Indians, South Indians, and a few people from the North East. Local ethnic Chhattisgarhi comprises Kurmi, Swarnkar, Teli, Koshta and Satnami communities. The city is also inhabited by the trading communities like Baniyas, Agarwals, Jains, Gujaratis, and Marwaris. Due to close proximity with Orissa there is large numbers of Oriya population found in the city as well as in the state. The city is also home to an immigrant population that includes Sindhis and the Sikhs. It also has a sizable Bengali, Telugu, Malayalee and Maharashtrian population. Majority of the population in Raipur is Hindu. Muslims and Christians are minorities. 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; Byron Bazar was once mostly inhabited by the Muslims from the "Madras Paltan" i.e. those serving in the British Army (Madras Regiment), and had occupied Byron Bazaar as a result of their regiment getting disbanded). The Christian population is scattered around the city. This city is also populated by the people of Gond community.

Education

NIT Raipur

Raipur is fast emerging as a hub for education in the region as number of institutes of national repute have come up.

Primary and Secondary Education

There are many Government & Private schools in Raipur.Most of them are enrolled with:

• Chhattisgarh Board of Secondary Education
• The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) board
• The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (ICSE) board.

Universities/Deemed Universities

• Hidayatullah National Law University
• Indian Institute of Management Raipur
• Indira Gandhi Agricultural University
• Kushabhau Thakre Patrakarita Avam Jansanchar Vishwavidyalaya
• National Institute of Technology Raipur
• Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University
• C.G. Aayush State Medical University

Administrative Building of Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur, India

Architecture colleges

• Dignity College Of Architecture

Engineering colleges

• GD Rungta College of Engineering and Technology, Bhilai (GDRCET)
• Shri Shankaracharya Institute of Professional Management and Technology, Raipur (SSIPMT)
• Disha institute of management and technology(DIMAT)
• National Institute of Technology(N.I.T), Raipur
• Pragati College of Engineering and Management
• Raipur Institute of Technology
• Shri Rawatpura Sarkar Institutions, Raipur
• Bhilai Institute of Technology, Raipur
• MM College of Technology, Raipur(MMCT)
• Parthivi College of Engineering and Management, Raipur
• Columbia Institue Of Engineering And Technology
• Kriti Instute of Techonology
• Vindhya Instute of Techonology
• Rungta Instute of Techonology & Management
• Government Engineering College, Raipur
• Central college of Engineering and Management, kabir nagar ,Raipur

Medical colleges

• Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Medical College, Raipur
• Institute of Pharmacy, RSU Raipur
• Govt. Ayurvedic College
• Govt. Homeopathy College
• Govt Yunani Medical College
• Columbia Institute of Pharmacy

Healthcare

The most modern healthcare facilities are now available in Raipur.Some major hospitals are :
-Dr Ambedkar Hospital (700 bed hospital run by Govt Medical College)
-Ramakrishna CARE Hospital
-Modern Medical Institute
-Ashirwad Hospital
-Agrasen Hospital
-Suyash Super Speciality Hospital

Arts and culture

Mahant Ghasidas Museum was built in 1875 by Raja Mahant Ghasidas, King of erstwhile Rajnandgaon state. Guru Tegh Bahadur museum built in honour of Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur situated near Ghasidas museum.

- Sushilpikangan - The Art Gallery:Gallery of Chhatisgar / Bastar art where you can find Dhokra arts with finest workmanship.

- Govterment's Shabari handicrafts emporium and Chhattisgarh Haat is famous for uplifting the local artist and craftsman.
- Mahakoshal kala parishad is the only place for the exhibit of ARTs and paintings.

Media

Newspaper

Many national and local newspapers are pulbished from Raipur, like Dainik Bhaskar, Nava Bharat, The Central Chronical,Deshbandhu, The Hitavada, etc.

Radio

Raipur has 6 Radio stations:

Entertainement

Shopping Malls in Raipur

Raipur has 4 Malls as of Dec 2010

See also

• Naya Raipur
• Raipur Airport
• Raipur Central Mall

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