Raipur

Raipur (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. At the time of the 2011 census, the population of the Municipal Corporation area was 1,010,087.

History
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.

In the 4th century AD the king Samudragupta had conquered this region and established his domination till fifth–sixth century when this part had come under the rule of Sarabhpuri kings. For some period in the fifth–sixth century, Nala kings dominated this area. Later on Somavanshi kings had taken the control over this region and ruled with Sirpur ("City of Wealth") as their capital. 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 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.

Demographics
2011 census, Raipur Municipal Corporation had a population of 1,010,087 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,122,555. The Municipal Corporation had a sex ratio of 946 females per 1,000 males and 12.3% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 86.90%; male literacy was 92.39% and female literacy was 81.10%.

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 speaking 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 Kanwar and Gond community.

Greater Raipur
Greater Raipur is an urban agglomeration comprising the city of Raipur along with the new city of Naya Raipur and the industrial city of Bhilai-Durg. Although there is no integrated civic body for Greater Raipur till now but the growing population of both Raipur and Bhilai and the birth of Naya Raipur has propelled the concept of a single urban agglomeration. The Metro Rail Project is the 1st project based on the concept of an integrated approach for Greater Raipur. The population of Greater Raipur is about 25 lakhs which is more than that of Nagpur and Indore.

Naya Raipur
Naya Raipur (New Raipur) is the new capital city of Chhattisgarh. Located between National Highways NH-6 and NH-43, it is 17 km away in the south-east direction from the current capital Raipur; Swami Vivekananda Airport separates the old and new cities. Naya Raipur is serving as the administrative capital of the State and also cater to the infrastructural needs of industry and trade in the region. Naya Raipur spreads over an area of about 8000 hectares. It includes 41 villages out of which 27 villages form the core of the Naya Raipur. The population of just one village has been displaced in this renovation of villages for the construction of Naya Raipur. About half of the total acquired land is being used for afforestation, roads, parks, public conveniences, water facilities-canals, green belts etc. 23 percent of the land would be reserved for educational institutions, government offices and public auditoriums etc. 30 percent of the land will be used for residential and economical purposes. Naya Raipur would be India's fourth planned capital city after Gandhinagar (Gujarat), Chandigarh (Punjab and Harayana) and Bhubaneshwar (Orissa). The project is likely to cost anywhere between Rs 1,500 and 2,000 crore. The city is expected to house about 4.5 lakh people within a decade and provisions, in the form of future infrastructure upgradation, have been made for its expansion

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 48 °C.These summer months also have dry and hot winds. The city receives about 1300 mm 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.

Railways
Raipur is situated on the Howrah-Nagpur-Mumbai line of the Indian Railways (via Bhusawal, Nagpur, Bilaspur, Kharagpur) and is well connected with almost all major cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kota, Ahmedabad, Jaipur e.t.c.A branch line from Raipur to Vizianagaram via Titlagarh originates from here. Also there is a narrow gauge line connecting Raipur to Rajim and Dhamtari via Abhanpur. This narrow gauge line is being converted into broad gauge line and realigned to serve the city of Naya Raipur as well.

The main railway station Raipur Junction is situated near the heart of the city. There are 8 small railway stations for local/passenger trains in other parts of the city. These are


 * W.R.S. Colony Railway Satation
 * Urkura Railway Station
 * Mandhar Railway Station
 * Saraswati Railway Station (National Institute of Technology Raipur Campus),
 * Sarona Railway Station
 * Mandir Hasaud Railway Station
 * Telibandha Terminal (Narrow Gauge)
 * Mana (Narrow Gauge)



Roads
National Highways connecting Raipur to various cities are as under:

Airport
Swami Vivekananda Airportor (Mana Airport) is the city's airport located 15 km away from the center. A Four Lane road is proposed on V.I.P. road which will connect airport to city more efficiently. The New Airport Terminal is proposed to avoid crowd hassle in old mana airport. The airport has seen a surge in traffic post after 2006 and presently connects Raipur to most of the major airports of India & operates 38 flights Daily. Raipur Airport is the second most busiest airport in central India after Nagpur.

Local transport
A City bus service is provided by Raipur City Bus Limited (RCBL) for the intra-city travel. Raipur Municipal Corporation launched the Raipur City Bus service on 25 Feb 2008. The company runs 40 buses out of which 32 are low floor Tata Starbus. Paratransit modes in the form of auto-rickshaws and tuk-tuk are available all over the city. 100 new city buses under JNNURM Have been inducted by RNNTL,Which will serve the old raipur,And will also connect new raipur. A Metro Train is proposed for an 86 km metro line from Naya Raipur-Raipur-Bhilai-Durg-Rajnandgaon in the Budget 2012-13. Almost 10,000 people commute per day from Raipur to Rajnandgaon. But the general public thinks that metro should be introduced on Raipur-Bilaspur route because the traffic pressure is higher than the Raipur-Rajnandgaon. But because of natural resource and blocks, the Raipur-Rajnandgaon route was an easier and cheaper option for the government. The estimated cost of the project is Rs.18000 crores and project would be completed with the help of Central and State Government.

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 Largest market of Steel in India. 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. Raipur also has a big chemical plant which produces formalin and distributes throughout the country. Raipur has a Wagon repair shop, where wagons of goods trains are repaired.A heavy machinery plant of Jindal group is situated in raipur. Sponge iron plants of major steel companies including Monnet, NECO are situated in raipur.L.P.G BOTTLING Plants of Bharat Petrolium and Hindustan Petrolium are also present in the city. The Industrial Areas of Raipur are:Urla and Siltara(heavy and medium scale industries), Bhanpur,Birgaon,Gondwara(medium and small scale industries).A world class engineering consulting group "Spongytech consulting Engineers Private limited" head office in Raipur.

Education


Raipur is well known 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. Some prominent government schools of raipur are:
 * Kendriya Vidyalaya no.1, W.R.S. Colony
 * Kendriya Vidyalaya no.2, P.t.R.S.University Campus
 * J.R. Dani Government Girls Higher Secondary School
 * Govt. Hindu High School
 * P.G. Umathe Government Girls School
 * Kalibadi Government School
 * Govt. Multipurpose High School

Other notable private schools include: Rashtriya Vidyalaya Near State Bank of India, Kutcheri Chowk Raipur
 * St.Paul School Byron Bazar(One of the oldest in the city)
 * Sachdeva International School
 * Brighton International School, Raipur
 * Kaanger Valley Academy
 * Salem English School
 * Rajkumar College, Raipur
 * Gyan Ganga Educational academy
 * DPS, Raipur
 * Holy Cross Senior Secondary School Kapa
 * Holy Cross School, Byron Bazaar
 * Krishna Public School, Raipur
 * Shishu Niketan Hr. Sec. School
 * N.H.Goel World School
 * Mintu Public International School
 * Indus World School
 * Holy Cross School, Pension Bada, Raipur
 * St.Vincent Pallotti College
 * St. Xavier's High School, Raipur
 * Raipur Convent Hr. Sec School, Gudhiyari
 * Raipur Convent Hr. Sec School, Khamtarai
 * Raipur Convent Hr. Sec School, New Rajendra Nagar
 * Holy Hearts Educational Academy, Raipur. By Syed Shadan
 * Desh Bandhu School, Raipur
 * Adarsh Vidyalaya, Raipur
 * Shri Balaji Vidya Mandir, Devendra Nagar Raipur
 * Radiant Public School, Raipur
 * holy cross h.s. school, pension bada
 * indus world school
 * Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's R.K. Sarda Vidya Mandir

Universities and deemed universities

 * Indian Institute of Management Raipur
 * National Institute of Technology (NIT) Raipur
 * Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University
 * Hidayatullah National Law University
 * Indian Institute of Hotel Management
 * Indira Gandhi Agricultural University
 * Kushabhau Thakre Patrakarita Avam Jansanchar University
 * C.G. Aayush State Medical University
 * Govt Nagarajun PG Science College, Raipur
 * MATS University, Raipur
 * ITM University, Raipur
 * Disha Institute of Management and Technology, Raipur
 * Indian Institute of Information Technology, Raipur (IIIT)
 * National Institute of Biotic Stress Management (proposed)

Engineering and management colleges

 * AVS Presidency International College, Raipur(APIC)
 * Kruti Institute of Technology & Engineering(KITE)
 * Raipur Institute of Technology
 * New Government Engineering College, Raipur
 * Disha institute of management and technology(DIMAT)
 * Shri Shankaracharya Institute of Professional Management and Technology, Raipur (SSIPMT)
 * Pragati College of Engineering and Management
 * Shri Rawatpura Sarkar Institutions, Raipur
 * Bhilai Institute of Technology, Raipur
 * Dignity College of Architecture
 * MM College of Technology, Raipur(MMCT)
 * Parthivi College of Engineering and Management, Raipur
 * Columbia Institute Of Engineering And Technology
 * Vindhya Institute of Technology
 * Rungta Institute of Technology & Management
 * Central college of Engineering and Management, kabir nagar, Raipur
 * Professional Institute of Engineering and Technology, Raipur.&#91;PIETECH&#93;

Medical colleges

 * All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS),Raipur
 * Pt Jawaharlala Nehru Medical College, Raipur
 * Governmenet Ayurvedic Medical College
 * Government Homeopathic College
 * Government dental college, raipur

Some prominet religious places

 * Hatkeshwar Mahadev Temple
 * Dudhadhari Montesary and Temple
 * Mahamaya Temple
 * Banjaari Mata Dham
 * KaliBadi
 * St Paul Church
 * Sadani Darbar
 * St Joseph Cathedral
 * Jagannath temple, Gayatri nagar
 * Baba budhasahib Gurudwara, (opp Telibandha lake)
 * Choti Masjid, Byron Bazar

News channels
Many local news channels are Broadcasted from Raipur in Hindi :

Newspaper
Many national and local newspapers are published from Raipur both in Hindi and English:

Radio
Raipur has 6 Radio stations & from the beginning Radio Mirchi is leading the private FM Radio space :

Attractions in the city

 * Mahant Ghasidas Museum - It was built in 1875 by Raja Mahant Ghasidas, King of erstwhile Rajnandgaon state.
 * Guru Tegh Bahadur Museum - It was 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.
 * Shabari handicrafts emporium and Chhattisgarh Haat - These are famous for uplifting the local artist and craftsman.
 * Mahakoshal Kala Parishad - This is a historic place for the exhibit of arts and paintings.
 * Purkhauti Muktangan Museum - This is being developed by Government of Chhattisgarh, Culture Department under Ministry of Tourism. It is spread over 18 hectares exhibiting entire Natural Resources with existing infrastructures, industries, places of tourists attraction, etc. including the VISION 2020
 * Vivekananda Sarovar (Burha Talab) - It is a very old lake which is as old as the city. A 37 ft high statue of Swami Vivekananda has been build in between the lake. This statue has been added in Limca Book of Records for being the 'largest model for a statue'. The lake has color-light fountains
 * Nandanvan - It is a mini zoo in the western fringes of the city on the banks of river Kharoon
 * Nagar Ghadi (City Clock Tower) - It is a clock tower situated in one of the busiests squares of the city. This clock plays a different local folk tune every hour(24 tunes in a day).
 * Gaurav path (The pride way) - This is a stretch of G.E road within the city which has been decorated with beautiful sculpture and plantation on both sides.
 * Rajiv Smriti Van and Urja Park (Energy Park)- This is a theme park built in the memory of Rajiv Gandhi. The unique feature here is that everything runs on solar energy.
 * Shaheed Smarak Bhavan- A huge and beautiful building with an art gallery and an auditorium dedicated to the freedom fighters of India
 * MM Funcity - A water cum amusement park in the eastern outskirts of the city.
 * Water World Resort - A water park on the banks of river kharoon in the south-western part of the city.
 * Raipur Municipal Corporation Building (White House) - The new building of the Raipur Municipal Corporation is a latest attraction in the city. It a 7 storeyed building built with a mix of ancient and modern architecture. The building is illuminated in blue light at night.
 * Mahavir Park (Anupam Garden) - This is the most beautiful park in the city with illuminated trees and fountains. It also has a battle tank provided by Indian Army for display.
 * 5D shows - Raipur is one of the few cities in India which have three 5D theatres. These are located in Magneto Mall, City Mall 36 and CG City Centre



Attractions around Raipur

 * Kanha National Park
 * Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary
 * Amarkantak
 * Bhoramdeo Temple
 * Dongargarh
 * Sirpur
 * Champaran
 * Rajim
 * Chitrakoot Falls
 * Indravati National Park
 * Kanger Ghati National Park
 * Gangrel Dam
 * Murrum Silli Dam
 * Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary
 * Jatmai-Ghatarani Waterfalls

Notable people associated with Raipur

 * Swami Vivekananda spent 2 years of his teenage in Raipur from 1877 till 1879 when his father was transferred here.
 * Ravishankar Shukla, the 1st Chief Minister of the state of Madhya Pradesh, spent his childhood and was educated in Raipur.
 * Justice Mohammad Hidayatullah, former Chief Justice of India and acting President of India, received his primary education at the Government High School of Raipur till 1922.
 * Osho started his teaching career as a lecturer in Raipur Sanskrit College in 1957.
 * Habib Tanvir, noted theatre artist and playwright, was born in Raipur in 1923.
 * K. S. Sudarshan, the former chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, was born in Raipur in 1931.Coincidentally he also died in Raipur on Sep 15,2012
 * Vidya Charan Shukla, former Union Minister and 9 times parliamentarian, was born in Raipur and still lives in Raipur.
 * Harshad Mehta, the infamous stock broker, spent his childhood in Raipur after his parents shifted here from Mumbai. He received his education from Holy Cross English School, Byron Bazar.
 * Lucky Ali, noted Bollywood singer/composer/actor did a part of his schooling from Rajkumar College, Raipur
 * Anurag Basu, noted Bollywood movie director was born in Raipur and later moved to the neighbouring city of Bhilai
 * Nitya Prakash, noted author and film writer teaches at ITM University, Raipur