Bilaspur district, Chhattisgarh

Bilaspur district is a district of the Chhattisgarh state of India. Bilaspur city is the headquarters of the district. As of 2011 it is the third most populous district of Chhattisgarh (out of 18), after Raipur and Durg.

Etymology
The name of the district derived from the city of Bilaspur, the administrative headquarters of the district. The name 'Bilaspur' originated from Bilasa, a fisherwoman who founded it according to a legend.

History
The area which comprises present-day Bilaspur District was under the control of the Bhonsla Rajas of Nagpur until 1818 and was governed by a Maratha ‘Subah’ (district officer). In 1818, the British started administering the area on behalf of the Raghuji III who was minor. The area was administered by a commissioner. In 1853, after the death of Raghuji III, British annexed the Nagpur Kingdom to British India as Nagpur Province, and in 1861 when the new Central Provinces was born, Bilaspur was organized into a separate district. In October 1903, a new province ‘The Central Provinces and Berar’ was constituted and Bilaspur District became a part of the Chattisgarh Division of the province. In October 1905, on transfer of Sambalpur District to Bengal Province, Chandrapur-Padampur and Malkhurda estates were transferred to Bilaspur District. In 1906, when the Drug district (presently Durg District) was formed, a part of the Mungeli Tahsil was transferred to the new district. Also, another part of the district was transferred to the Raipur District. On 25 May 1998, the original Bilaspur District was split into 3 smaller districts, present Bilaspur, Korba and Janjgir-Champa.

Geography
Bilaspur district is situated between 21º47' and 23º8' north latitudes and 81º14' and 83º15' east latitudes. The district is bounded by loria on the north, Anuppur District and Dindori District of Madhya Pradesh state on the west, Kawardha on the southwest, Durg and Raipur on the south and Korba and Janjgir-Champa on the east. The area of the district is 6377 km². Bilaspur is also known as the cultuaral capital of the state and also boosts various cultural and social events. The district is also the medical hub of chhattisgarh due to several world class hospitals ex Apollo Hospital. Education at the primary and higher level has considerably improved in the past decade due to opening of several international standard schools (D.A.V PUBLIC School, DPS, St. Xaviers). The city is also witnessing high rate of infrastructural growth due to the several initiatives taken by the state government to improve the basic infrastructure of the city. The city has a mixed population basically consisting of Bengalies who migrated due to the partition or due to their job transfer in the Indian Railway and the South Eastern Coalfields Limited, the similar are the tamils. The native population is of chhattisgaries who speak the chhattisgari language comprise the maximum, living either as the urbun as well as the rural population. The cities most posh colony is Vasant Vihar which is the head quarter of SECL.

Economy
Bilaspur is the headquarters of South Eastern Coalfields Ltd. the largest and most profitable subsidiary of Coal India. The district of Bilspur also has the largest number of cement factories in the state consisting of manufacturers such as Lafarge, Century, ACC. etc. The bilaspur railway zone has been fifth time in a row awarded as the most profitable railway zone by the ministry of Indian railways this year. The district is also well connected to the rest of the country by means of rail and road network hence improving the economy of the city. The city's main commercial hub is Vyapar Vihar, Telipara, Link Road, Sepath Road, Bus Stand Road, Rajiv Plaza and Goal Bazar. Bilaspur is also the Regional Headquarter of Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board, headed by Chief Engineer (BR). The Chief Engineer (BR) has the jurisdiction of Bilaspur, Korba, Janjgir-Champa and Raigarh Districts for supply of electricity to all LT and HT consumers. After Regional Headquarter of Raipur of CSEB, the Bilaspur is the second largest jurisdiction for supply of electricity in Chhattisgarh State.

Divisions
Bilaspur district consists of 8 tehsils. These tehsils are Bilaspur, Pendra Road, Lormi, Kota, Mungeli, Takhatpur, Bilha and Masturi. The total number of villages in the district is 1635.

The headquarters of the district is Bilaspur. It is the second largest city in the state and the seat of the High Court of Chhattisgarh. It is called Nyaydhani (legal capital) of Chhattisgarh. Bilaspur is not famous for Kanan Pendari Zoo Park. Arpa is a river passing through the district, it very shallow in depth but does not creates havoc during rains.

Transport
Bilaspur has the zonal office of South East Central Railway, the 16th zone of Indian Railway which is recognized to have the maximum loading. The city is very well connected to rest of the country through good road and rail network. The city falls in the Mumbai Koklata rail network. The Bilaspur railway station is the most important railway station in the state from where several trains for different parts of the country originate. The District Administration and Municipal Corporation of Bilaspur City are forming a joint venture, to operate world class City Bus services in Bilaspur City by the end of 2007.

Demographics
According to the 2011 census Bilaspur district, Chhattisgarh has a population of 2,662,077, roughly equal to the nation of Kuwait or the US state of Nevada. This gives it a ranking of 152nd in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 322 PD/sqkm. Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 	33.21	%. Bilaspur	has a sex ratio of 	972	females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of	71.59	%.

Languages
Languages spoken include Agariya, an Austro-Asiatic tongue with approximately 72 000 speakers; Bagheli, which has a lexical similarity of 72-91% with Hindi (compared to 60% for German and English) and is spoken by about 7 800 000 people in Bagelkhand; and Bharia, a Dravidian language spoken by at least 200 000 members of the Bharia tribe and written in the Devanagari script.