Haldwani | |
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City | |
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| Nicknames: Gateway of Kumaon | |
  Haldwani Location in Uttarakhand, India | |
| Coordinates:29°13′N79°31′E / 29.22°N 79.52°E /29.22; 79.52 | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Uttarakhand |
| Division | Kumaon |
| District | Nainital |
| Founded | 1834 |
| Municipality | 1942 |
| Founded by | George William Traill |
| Named after | Haldu |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipal Corporation |
| • Body | Haldwani Municipal Corporation |
| • Mayor | Gajraj Singh Bisht (BJP) |
| • Lok Sabha MP | Ajay Bhatt (BJP) |
| • Municipal Commissioner | Paritosh Verma,IAS |
| Area | |
• City | 250 km2 (97 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 424 m (1,391 ft) |
| Population | |
• City | 201,461[1] |
| • Density | 810/km2 (2,100/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 232,095[3] |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Hindi |
| • Native | |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 263139,263141 |
| Telephone code | +91-5946 |
| Vehicle registration | UK-04 |
| Website | nagarnigamhaldwani |
Haldwani (Kumaoni:Haldvānī) is the largest city ofKumaon, and the third mostpopulous city in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Haldwani is said to be the financial capital of Uttarakhand, having the most commercial, economic and industrial activities of the state. Haldwani is located in theNainital District, and is one of itsthirteen subdivisions. Being situated in the immediate foothills of Kumaon Himalayas, theKathgodam neighbourhood of Haldwani is known as the Gateway to Kumaon.
Located in theBhabhar region in the Himalayan foothills on the banks of theGaula River, thetown of Haldwani was established in 1834, as a mart forhill people who visited Bhabar during the cold season. The establishment of theBareilly–Nainital provincial road in 1882 and theBhojeepura–Kathgodam railway line byRohilkund and Kumaon Railway in 1884 helped develop the town into a major trading post and then a hub between the hilly regions of Kumaon and theIndo-Gangetic Plains.
Haldwani hosted National Games 2025 (Gaulapar).
The name "Haldwani" is an anglicised version of theKumaoni word "Haldu-vani" (literally "forest of Haldu"), named after the tree of "Haldu" (Kadamb),[5] known to botanists asHaldina cordifolia. The Haldu trees were found in abundance around the city prior to deforestation of the region for agriculture and settlement. The place was regionally known as Halduvani until George William Traill took over as Commissioner of Kumaon and renamed it to Haldwani in 1834.[6]
The Bhabhar region, where the city is located, has historically been a part of theKingdom of Kumaon. The region came under the dominion of Kumaon, when KingGyan Chand ofChand Dynasty visitedDelhi Sultanate in the 14th century. Later, theMughals tried to take over the hills, but their attempts received a setback due to the difficult terrain.[7]
In the early 1600s, the Haldwani region was sparsely populated. It was inhabited by people of a Native tribe known as theBuksa.[8]
In 1816, after the British defeatedGorkhas, and gained control ofKumaon by theTreaty of Sugauli, Gardner was appointed the Commissioner of Kumaon. Later George William Traill took over as Commissioner and renamedHalduvani as Haldwani in 1834.[6] Though British records suggest that the place was established in 1834, as a mart for hill people who visited theBhabhar (Himalayan foothills) region, during the cold season.[9] The township, formerly located inMota Haldu, had only thatched houses. Brick-houses began to be built only after 1850. The first English middle school was established in 1831.
During theIndian Rebellion of 1857, Haldwani was briefly seized by the rebels ofRohilkhand,[10]: 19 soon martial law was declared in the region by SirHenry Ramsay (the Commissioner of Kumaon), and by 1858, the region was cleared of the rebels.[7][11] The Rohillas, who were accused of attacking Haldwani, were hanged by the British at Phansi Gadhera inNainital.[12] Later, Ramsay connected Nainital with Kathgodam by road in 1882. In 1883–84, the railway track was laid betweenBareilly and Kathgodam. The first train arrived at Haldwani fromLucknow on 24 April 1884.[13]: 38 [14]
Before the formation ofNainital district in 1891, it was part of the Kumaon district, which was later renamedAlmora district.[15] The Town Act was implemented here in 1885 and Haldwani was declared a municipality on 1 February 1897. The Tehsil office was opened here in 1899, when it became the tehsil headquarters of theBhabhar, one of four divisions of the Nainital district,[7] and included 4 towns and 511 villages; and had a combined population of 93,445 (1901), spread over 1,279 sq. miles.[16]
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In 1901, with apopulation of 6,624, Haldwani was the headquarters of the Bhabhar region ofNainital District, in theUnited Provinces of Agra and Oudh, and it also used to become the winter headquarters of the officers of theKumaon Division and theNainital District.[9] TheArya Samaj Bhavan was built in 1901 and Sanatan Dharm Sabha in 1902.[13]: 38 The Municipality of Haldwani was disestablished in 1904, and Haldwani was constituted as aNotified area.[13]: 38 The first Hospital of the city was opened in 1912.[17]: 183
Haldwani hosted the second session of the Kumaon Parishad in 1918.[10]: 23 [17]: 252 Protests against theRowlatt Act and forCoolie-Begar Abolition were held all over the city in 1920 under the leadership of Pt. Tara Datt Gairola Raibahadur.[10]: 23 [18] Many processions were carried out in the city between 1930 and 1934 during theCivil disobedience movement.[18] In 1940, at the Haldwani conference,Badri Datt Pandey voiced for granting special status to the mountainous regions of Kumaon in theUnited Provinces, thus, giving a way to the futureUttarakhand movement.[citation needed]
Haldwani was a mid-sized town, with a population of about 25,000, in 1947, when Indiabecame Independent from theBritish Rule. Haldwani became a part of theIndian state ofUttar Pradesh. The city was electrified in 1950.[19] The 2nd battalion of theNaga Regiment, affectionately known as Head Hunters, was raised at Haldwani on 11 February 1985.[20] Haldwani played a major role in theUttarakhand movement. The town was spearheading the agitation, which often ended up in violence and also in police firing and brutality.[21]
Forty human skeletons and 300 "grave-like structures" were discovered in Haldwani's Golapar area on 9 May 2017 during the construction of the Haldwani ISBT.[22] The skeletons were speculated to be the remains of theRohilla chieftains from Bareilly who fought against theBritish in 1857 and were killed by the British army or of those who died ofepidemics,malaria orfamine.[23] However, forensic tests later revealed the skeletons to be only two years old.[24]
Haldwani is located at29°13′N79°31′E / 29.22°N 79.52°E /29.22; 79.52,[25] in theNainital district on the right bank of theGaula River. Geologically, Haldwani is settled on a piedmont grade (called Bhabhar) where the mountain rivers go underground to re-emerge in theIndo-Gangetic Plain. The Haldwani Bhabhar stretches horizontally, surrounded by the regions ofRamnagar andTanakpur and lies between theShivalik hills to the north and the Terai region ofRudrapur to the south. The average land elevation is 424 m (1,391 ft)above sea level.[26] According to theBureau of Indian Standards, Haldwani falls underseismic zone 4, in a scale of 2 to 5 (in order of increasing vulnerability to earthquakes).[27][28]: 27
The Haldwani tehsil has an area of 958.6 square k.m, including both flat and hilly ground, and is in theIndian Standard Time Zone (UTC−5:30).[2] When Haldwani was founded in 1837, most of the early buildings were aroundMota Haldu. The city gradually developed northwards towards the present Bazaar andRailway Station. The city had in the past seen haphazard development due to the absence of a development authority.[29] Dozens of colonies were set up in the early 2000s without any regulation with narrow roads, making commuting a nightmare.[29] The city ranked 395 in theSwachh Survekshan 2017, out of 434 cities, with a total score of 557.[30][31]
Haldwani is the principal city in the Haldwani Urban Agglomeration Area, situated in the southeastern part of Uttarakhand, in the Kumaon region. Apart from the towns of Haldwani and Kathgodam, the Urban Agglomeration of Haldwani also includes eleven outgrowths (judge farm, Damua Dhunga Bandobasti, Byura, Bamori Talli Bandobasti, Amrawati Colony, Shakti Vihar, Bhatt Colony, Manpur Uttar, Haripur Sukha, Gaujajali Uttar, Kusumkhera, Bithoria No. 1, Korta, Bamori Malli and Bamori Talli Kham) and two census towns (Mukhani and Haldwani Talli).[32]
Haldwani is also atehsil, one of thethirteen subdivisions of the Nainital district.[33] The tehsil of Haldwani is situated in the southern part of the Nainital district and shares its borders with the tehsils ofNainital,Kaladhungi,Lalkuan and Dhari tehsils in Nainital district;Gadarpur,Kiccha andSitarganj inUdham Singh Nagar district and the tehsil of Poornagiri inChampawat district. The tehsil comprises four towns and 202 villages.[34]
| Climate data for Haldwani | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 20 (68) | 22.9 (73.2) | 28.4 (83.1) | 34.3 (93.7) | 37 (99) | 35.5 (95.9) | 31.2 (88.2) | 30.4 (86.7) | 30.5 (86.9) | 29.5 (85.1) | 25.2 (77.4) | 21.1 (70.0) | 28.8 (83.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 13.9 (57.0) | 16 (61) | 21.1 (70.0) | 26.2 (79.2) | 29.5 (85.1) | 29.6 (85.3) | 27.3 (81.1) | 26.7 (80.1) | 26.4 (79.5) | 23.6 (74.5) | 18.5 (65.3) | 14.7 (58.5) | 22.8 (73.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 7.8 (46.0) | 9.2 (48.6) | 13.9 (57.0) | 18.2 (64.8) | 22 (72) | 23.7 (74.7) | 23.4 (74.1) | 23.1 (73.6) | 22.4 (72.3) | 17.7 (63.9) | 11.8 (53.2) | 8.3 (46.9) | 16.8 (62.3) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 57 (2.2) | 33 (1.3) | 35 (1.4) | 8 (0.3) | 40 (1.6) | 256 (10.1) | 649 (25.6) | 587 (23.1) | 301 (11.9) | 110 (4.3) | 5 (0.2) | 14 (0.6) | 2,095 (82.6) |
| Source:[35] | |||||||||||||
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 7,498 | — |
| 1911 | 7,605 | +1.4% |
| 1921 | 8,536 | +12.2% |
| 1931 | 11,288 | +32.2% |
| 1941 | 17,976 | +59.2% |
| 1951 | 25,065 | +39.4% |
| 1961 | 38,035 | +51.7% |
| 1971 | 52,205 | +37.3% |
| 1981 | 77,300 | +48.1% |
| 1991 | 104,195 | +34.8% |
| 2001 | 158,896 | +52.5% |
| 2011 | 201,461 | +26.8% |
| † Includes population figures of Haldwani and its Outgrowths Source:District Census Handbook: Nainital[2]: 509–510 | ||
The Current population of Haldwani is about 650,000 people including urban and Rural areas.The region is dominated by theKumaonis and migrants of various states includingUttar Pradesh,Bihar,Punjab,Bengal, hence a major population belonging to various religions and regions are present in Haldwani as per provisional data released by the2011 census.[4][29] The 2017 estimate, on the other hand, predicted a population of 291,338.[36] The population of the municipality area, combined with outgrowths was 201,461, and the urban agglomeration of Haldwani-cum-Kathgodam had a population of 232,060, out of which males were 121,409 and females were 110,686.[37][38]
| Hinduism | 64.84% | |||
| Islam | 31.90% | |||
| Sikhism | 2.19% | |||
| Christianity | 0.90% | |||
| Others (incl.unclassified and religion not stated) | 0.19% | |||
Hinduism is the largest religion in Haldwani town, around 65% of the population. Islam is the second-largest religion which is practiced by 32% of the population. Sikhism and Christianity are small minorities.[39]
The predominant first language of the city is Hindi, spoken by nearly 57% of the population. Kumaoni is the second-largest language (20%) while Urdu is spoken by 19%. There is a small Punjabi population as well.[40]
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As of 2011, Haldwani has a total of 198 Government financed educational institutions, including 73 Primary Schools, 25 middle schools, 25 secondary schools and 25 senior secondary schools. Best being the DAV Centenary Public School among all. Besides, there are several other institutions of higher education, including 2-degree colleges affiliated with theKumaun University,Nainital and a medical college affiliated with theHemwati Nandan Bahuguna Uttarakhand Medical Education University,Dehradun. TheGovernment Medical College, Haldwani was established in 1997 as Uttarakhand Forest Hospital Trust Medical College, and is a residential & co-educational college recognised by theMedical Council of India andGovernment of India.[41]
TheDefence Institute of Bio-Energy Research (DIBER), an Indian defence laboratory of theDefence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is also located in Haldwani. It conducts research and development of bioenergy as well as the sustainable and eco-friendly high altitude agro-technologies in the Indian Himalayan Region for the use ofIndian Military.
Haldwani is home to theUttarakhand Open University, which was established by an act ofUttarakhand Legislative Assembly on 31 October 2005.[42] The university, located in Teenpani neighbourhood of the city, is the only open university in the state. More than 140 courses are available at the university; prominent ones being journalism and mass communication, hotel management, tourism management, business management, education,jyotish,karmkand and other traditional courses.
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Well connected with theIndo-Gangetic plain by road (to New Delhi, Dehradun and Lucknow) and rail (New Delhi,Dehradun,Lucknow andKolkata), Haldwani is an important commercial hub. It is home to one of the largest vegetable, fruit and foodgrain markets in north India. Being the gateway to most ofKumaon, it is an important revenue center of Uttarakhand based on its advantageous location as a base depot for goods in transit to the hills. The Gaula river is exploited for a large quantity of boulders, sand and gravels every year, and forms an important revenue source for both the government and local business.
Haldwani is amunicipal corporation governed by a mayor–council system. The municipal area is divided into 60 territorial constituencies known aswards. The Municipal Corporation is made up of a Wards Committee, where each ward has one seat. Members, known as Councillors, are elected to the Wards Committee on the basis of adult franchise for a term of five years, as provisioned by the 74th Amendment of theIndian Constitution relating tourban local governments.[43] The 'Nagar Nigam Haldwani' is a unicameral legislative body, comprising sixty Councillors, and the Mayor. In addition to the elected Councillors, the committee also includes fifteen councillors nominated by the state government and four additional members; the threeMLAs andMP from the city.
The Town Act was implemented in Haldwani in 1885 after which, it was declared a municipality on 1 February 1897. The Municipality of Haldwani was soon disestablished and Haldwani was constituted as a 'notified area' in 1904.[9] In 1907, it got the status of town area.[44] The Haldwani-Kathgodam Municipal Council was established on 21 September 1942, and was upgraded to aMunicipal corporation on 21 May 2011.[45] Currently it is the third largest Municipal Corporation in the state of Uttarakhand afterDehradun andHaridwar.
The city is represented in theLok Sabha by arepresentative elected from theNainital-Udhamsingh Nagar Constituency.Ajay Bhatt, fromBJP, is the currentMember of Parliament fromNainital-Udhamsingh Nagar.[46] He won the2024 Lok Sabha elections by 3,34,458 votes against Prakash Joshi from theCongress.[46] The city's first 33 wards are part ofHaldwani Assembly constituency whose current MLA isSumit Hridayesh. A lot of area is a part of theKaladhungi[47] (ward no. 34 to 55) andLalkuan (ward no. 56 to 60) constituencies which are represented byBanshidhar Bhagat and Mohan Singh Bisht, both from theBharatiya Janata Party,respectively.[48][49]
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Haldwani is known as the Gateway to Kumaon.[50] The most commonly used forms of transport in Haldwani include government owned services such as railways and buses. Complementing these government services are bus routes operated by KMOU (Kumaon Motor Owner's Union),[51] as well as privately operated taxis and auto rickshaws.
NH 109 cuts through Haldwani; other major roads are the Bareilly-Bageshwar highway,[52][53] Rampur Road, Haldwani-Kaladhungi–Ramnagar Road and the Kathgodam-Sitarganj Road. Haldwani is well connected to the country's capitalDelhi via buses run byUttarakhand Transport Corporation. All the buses leave from the Haldwani Bus Station for Delhi'sAnand Vihar ISBT. The connectivity to state capital Dehradun is also good. There are a number of buses for Dehradun-Haldwani route. Apart from Delhi and Dehradun, regular buses are available for several hill cities like Nainital,Almora,Ranikhet,Bageshwar andPithoragarh.
A new ISBT is under construction in the Gaulapar region. The ISBT would be spread over 8 Acres,[54] and has been termed the 'Largest ISBT in north India' byThe Times of India.[55] The foundation stone was laid in 2016.[56] The construction work started in 2014, but was halted in May 2017, when a large number of human skeletons were discovered at the construction site by workers.[57][58][59][60][61][62][63]
There are direct rail links to many parts both in and outside the state to all major junctions. All trains start fromKathgodam which is a terminal ofNorth Eastern Railway'sIzzatnagar Division and then reachHaldwani and proceed towardsLalkuan Junction. In 1883–84, the railway track was laid between Bareilly and Kathgodam. The first train arrived at Haldwani from Lucknow on 24 April 1884.[14] Later, the railway line was extended to Kathgodam.Indian Railways is planning shorter rail track viaRamnagar–Kotdwar–Haridwar instead of the present track viaRampur–Moradabad.
The air gateway to Haldwani is thePantnagar Airport located atPantnagar, which is about 28 km (17 mi) south of Haldwani city, and handles the domestic flights. ThePantnagar Airport provides direct connectivity toNew Delhi, the Capital of India.[64]Government has approvedHindon Airport to operate as civil Terminal. From October 2019 people of Uttarakhand can fly to Pithoragarh from Hindon Airport located inGhaziabad. Hindon Airport is only 4 km away fromEast Delhi. The new civil terminal is proposed to operate flights to eight routes, including Nasik, Pithoragarh, Kannur, Hubli, Faizabad, Shimla, Jamnagar and Kalaburgi.
Indira Gandhi International Sports Stadium is located in Haldwani. The stadium, having a capacity of 25000 people, was inaugurated on 18 December 2016 byHarish Rawat, the thenChief Minister of Uttarakhand.[65] It is spread over an area of 70 acres and hascricket andfootball grounds, atrack for 800-metre race, ahockey field,badminton courts, alawn tennis court, aboxing ring, and aswimming pool.
Haldwani hosted a state-level football championship,[66] and the first edition of CWE (Continental Wrestling Entertainment) pro-wrestling series,[67] in 2016. Haldwani will be the second city after Delhi innorthern India to have more than one international stadium. TheUttarakhand State Football Association has its headquarters in Haldwani.
Haldwani, along with other areas of the Kumaon division, is served by theAlmora station of theAll India Radio.[68] The first relay centre of Akashwani FM will be set up in Haldwani city on 1,560 sqm of land.[69] The relay centre will broadcast FM radio programmes of the All India Radio round the clock within a range of 70 km.[70] Internet Services are provided byBSNL,Vodafone,Bharti Airtel,[71]Idea Cellular andReliance jio.Hello Haldwani community radio broadcasts programmes on education, agriculture, health and local traditions from the campus ofUttarakhand Open University, Haldwani.[72]
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In Khari Boli,Kathgodam stands for timber depot. Kathgodam may be a railway station for most tourists traveling on to other destinations, but it has an interesting history.[original research?] Direct trains from cities such as Delhi, Kolkata, Jammu Tawi, Kanpur and Jaisalmer to Kathgodam provide access to travelers to the Kumaon Himalayas.[73]
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