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Belagavi district Belgaum district | |
|---|---|
     Clockwise from top-right:Kamal Basadi in Belagavi Fort,Gokak Falls,Navilatirtha,Suvarna Vidhana Soudha,Kamala Narayana Temple | |
.svg) Location in Karnataka | |
 Belagavi district | |
| Coordinates:15°51′N74°33′E / 15.85°N 74.55°E /15.85; 74.55 | |
| Country |  India |
| State |  Karnataka |
| Division | Belagavi division |
| Headquarters | Belgaum |
| Government | |
| • Deputy Commissioner | Mohammad Roshan |
| • Police Commissioner | Borse Bhushan Gulabrao,IPS[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 13,415 km2 (5,180 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 1st (31 districts) |
| Population (2011)[2] | |
• Total | 4,779,661 |
| • Density | 356.29/km2 (922.79/sq mi) |
| Demonym(s) | Belgaumites,[3] Belagavians[4] |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Kannada |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| ISO 3166 code | IN-KA |
| Vehicle registration | |
| Sex ratio | 1.04♂/♀ |
| Literacy | 64.2% |
| Precipitation | 823 millimetres (32.4 in) |
| Website | belagavi |
Belagavi district, formerly also known asBelgaum district,[5] is a district in the state ofKarnataka, India. The district is known as the sugar bowl of Karnataka with 150,000 hectares being used for commercial production.[6] It has overtakenMandya district in sugarcane production over the last decade.[7] The city ofBelgaum (Belagavi) is the district headquarters in Belagavi district. It houses theSecond legislative building, where the Karnataka Legislature holds session once a year. The district is famous for its native sweet, Kunda. According to the 2011 Census of India, it has a population of 4,779,661, of which 24.03% live in urban areas,[8] making it the second most populous district in Karnataka (out of31), afterBangalore Urban.[9] The district has an area of 13,415 km2 (5,180 sq mi), making it the largest district in terms of size in Karnataka It is bounded byKolhapur District,Sangli district and on the north west bySindhudurg district ofMaharashtra state on the west and north, on the northeast byBijapur district, on the east byBagalkot district, on the southeast byGadag district, on the south byDharwad andUttara Kannada districts, and on the southwest by the state ofGoa.
The original name of the town of Belgaum was Venugrama, meaningBamboo Village. It is also known as Malnad Pradesh. The most ancient place in the district isHalsi; and this, according to inscriptions oncopper plates discovered in its neighbourhood, was once the capital of a dynasty of nineKadamba kings. It appears that from the middle of the 6th century to about 760 the area was held by theChalukyas, who were succeeded by theRashtrakutas. After the break-up of the Rashtrakuta dynasty a portion of it survived in theRattas (875–1250), who from 1210 onward made Venugrama their capital. Inscriptions give evidence of a long struggle between the Rattas and theKadambas of Goa, who succeeded in the latter years of the 12th century in acquiring and holding part of the district. By 1208, however, the Kadambas had been overthrown by the Rattas, who in their turn succumbed to theYadavas of Devagiri in 1250. After the overthrow of the Yadavas by theDelhi Sultanate (1320), Belgaum was for a short time under the rule of the latter; but only a few years later the part south of theGhataprabha River was subject to the Hindu rajas ofVijayanagara. In 1347 the northern part was conquered by theBahmani Sultanate, which in 1473 took the town of Belgaum and conquered the southern part also. WhenAurangzeb overthrew theBijapura sultans in 1686, Belgaum passed to theMughals. In 1776 the country was overrun byHyder Ali ofMysore, but was taken by theMadhavrao Peshwa . In 1818 it was handed over to theBritish East India Company, and was made part of the district ofDharwar. In 1836 this was divided into two parts, the northern district becoming Belgaum.[10]
Yadur is situated beside theKrishna River, and there is a famous Veerbhadra temple there. Many devotees visit the area from Karnataka and Maharashtra.Hooli is one of the oldest villages in Belgaum district. There are manyChalukya temples in the village, including the famous Panchaligeswara temple.
Kittur in Belgaum district is a place of historical importance.Rani Chennamma of Kittur (1778–1829) is known for her resistance to British rule.
The British had a sizeable infantry post here, having realised the military importance of its geographic location. It is one of the reasons for Belgaum's sobriquetThe Cradle of Infantry. Development of a rail network for the movement of resources and later troops was one of the means employed by both the British East India Company and the British to exert control over India. Belgaum's railway station, theMahatma Gandhi Railway Station was established by the British. A signboard declaring the sobriquet can be seen hung on Platform 1 at the station.
After India became independent in 1947, the Belagavi district (which was in the erstwhileBombay Presidency) became a part of theBombay State. In 1948, the Belgaum Municipality that was dominated by Marathi speaking politicians requested the Indian Dominion, Indian Constituent Assembly, and the Boundary Commission to include the Belgaum Municipal district in the proposedSamyukta Maharashtra state for the Marathi speakers.[11]
In accordance with the established policy of bifurcation on a linguistic majority basis, in 1956, theBelgaum district was incorporated into the newly formedMysore state (nowKarnataka) with the passage of theStates Reorganization Act, adjoining areas that had a majority of Marathi speaking citizens were included in the newly formedMaharashtra state.[12]
List of rivers flowing through Belgaum District
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 1,131,186 | — |
| 1911 | 1,083,804 | −0.43% |
| 1921 | 1,088,763 | +0.05% |
| 1931 | 1,237,223 | +1.29% |
| 1941 | 1,410,054 | +1.32% |
| 1951 | 1,645,620 | +1.56% |
| 1961 | 1,983,498 | +1.88% |
| 1971 | 2,422,994 | +2.02% |
| 1981 | 2,978,913 | +2.09% |
| 1991 | 3,583,606 | +1.87% |
| 2001 | 4,214,505 | +1.63% |
| 2011 | 4,779,661 | +1.27% |
| source:[13] | ||
According to the2011 census Belagavi district has apopulation of 4,779,661,[9] roughly equal to the nation ofSingapore[14] or the US state ofAlabama.[15] This gives it a ranking of 25th in India (out of a total of640).[9] The district has a population density of 356 inhabitants per square kilometre (920/sq mi).[9] Itspopulation growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 13.38%.[9] There were 969females for every 1000 males,[9] and aliteracy rate of 73.94%. 25.34% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 12.08% and 6.22% of the population respectively.[9]
| Religion | Percent | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hinduism | 84.49% | |||
| Islam | 11.06% | |||
| Jainisim | 3.73% | |||
| Other or not stated | 0.72% | |||
Hindus are the biggest religion in the district with 84.49% of the population. Muslims are the second-largest with 11.06% and Jains are 3.73%.[16]
At the time of the 2011 census, 68.40% of the population spokeKannada, 18.70%Marathi and 9.79%Urdu as their first language.[17]
The administration of Belgaum district has been divided into 15taluks.
Athani taluk is the largest with an area of 1,997.70 km2 and Raybag taluk is the smallest with an area of 958.8 km2. The district comprises three revenue sub-divisions headquartered atBelgaum,Bailhongal andChikodi governed by anassistant commissioner and taluks headed byTehsildar[18] and has six police sub-divisions. Apart from the Belgaum City Corporation, there are 17 municipalities, 20 towns, 485gram panchayats, 1,138 inhabited villages and 26 non-inhabited villages.
The district has seven industrial areas, onespecial economic zone (SEZ) (India's first precision engineering SEZ with more than 200 acres) and 16 industrial estates.[6] The city's industrial growth begin when Babu Rao Pusalkar set up a small unit in city over a century ago and that transformed Belgaum city into foundry and hydraulics base.[19]
| Name of Industrial Area | Extent (acres) |
|---|---|
| Kanbargi Auto Complex | 267.00 |
| Kakati | 74.75 |
| Honaga | 209.5 |
| Kangrali | 58.59 |
| Gokak | 109.05 |
| Kittur | 433.19 |
| Kanagala | 848.00 |
| Name of Industrial Estate | Extent (acres) |
|---|---|
| Udyambag | 55.15 |
| Udyambag Tq. Karigarika Sangh | 0.32 |
| Angol- 1 | 21 |
| Angol- 2 | 4.6 |
| Kanbargi | 6 |
| Khanapur | 9.57 |
| Gokak | 9.62 |
| Chikkodi | 6 |
| Bailhongal | 3 |
| Ramdurg | 9.4 |
| Nippani | 3.5 |
| Kangrali | 2.5 |
| Desur | 41.34 |
| Athani | 28 |
| Borgaon | 75 |
| Kagwad | 20 |
List of industrial clusters in Belgaum district that are identified by Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises[20]
| Cluster place | Cluster activity |
|---|---|
| Belgaum | Foundry, Powerloom and artisan activities like Dolls & Toys, Horn & Bone, Metalware, Artistic Chappals by hand |
| Angol | Wooden Furniture Cluster |
| Udyambag | Machine Tool and Engineering Cluster |
| Kudachi | Kudachi Jaggery Cluster |
| Madhabavi | Foot Diamond Leather Cluster |
| Ramdurg | Readymade Garments Cluster, Birds Power loom Cluster |
| Chikkodi | Jaggery processing Cluster |
| Khanapur | Bricks Processing Cluster, Pottery & Clay, Terracotta, Textiles Hand Embroidered |
| Athani | Athani Raisins processing cluster |
| Gokak | Dolls & Toys |
Belgaum district is a home to three universities:Visvesvaraya Technological University,Rani Channamma University, Belagavi andKLE University. Also, it has a nine engineering colleges, two medical colleges, two dental colleges, 15 polytechnics, 7 Indian system of medical colleges, and 180 degree colleges.[21]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Belgaum".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 668.Singapore 4,740,737 July 2011 est.
Alabama 4,779,736
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