Shimoga | |
|---|---|
| Shivamogga | |
 .jpg)   Images, from top down, left right Indian lion in the Tyavarekoppa Tiger and Lion Reserve Statue of Keladi Shivappa Nayaka Sculpture of Mahishasura Mardhini Shivappa Nayaka palace | |
 Shivamogga in Karnataka | |
| Coordinates:13°56′N75°34′E / 13.933°N 75.567°E /13.933; 75.567 | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Karnataka |
| District | Shimoga |
| Region | Malenadu |
| Government | |
| • Type | City Corporation |
| • Body | Shivamogga Mahanagara Palike |
| Area | |
• City | 70.01 km2 (27.03 sq mi) |
| • Rural | 1,037.29 km2 (400.50 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 569 m (1,867 ft) |
| Population (2011)[2] | |
• City | 322,650 |
| • Rank | 10th (Karnataka) |
| • Density | 4,600/km2 (12,000/sq mi) |
| • Rural | 184,674 |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 577201 - 577205 |
| Telephone code | 91-(0)8182-XXXXXX |
| ISO 3166 code | IN-KA |
| Vehicle registration | KA-14 |
| Official language | Kannada[3] |
| Climate | Aw |
| Website | shivamoggacitycorp |
Shimoga, officiallyShivamogga,[4] is a city and the district headquarters ofShimoga district in theKarnataka state of India. The city lies on the banks of theTunga River. Being the gateway for the hilly region of theWestern Ghats, the city is popularly nicknamed the "Gateway ofMalnad".[5] The population of Shimoga city is 322,650 as per 2011 census.[2] The city has been selected for theSmart Cities Mission ' standing in the fourth position in the state and 25th in the country as of November 2020.[6]
The city is 569 m above sea level and is surrounded by lush green paddy fields, arecanut and coconut groves. It is located 267 km from the state capitalBangalore and 195 km from the port cityMangalore.[7]
The name of the city is derived from the term 'shivmoga' A version of the etymology is the story thatShiva drank theTunga River hence the name "Shiva-Mukha" which means the "face of Shiva". Another version of the etymology is that the name is derived from the termSihi-Mogge, meaning "sweet pot".[8]
The district formed the southern tip of the EmperorAshoka'sMauryan Empire in the third century BC.[citation needed] It was ruled during later centuries by theKadambas (4th century),Chalukyas (6th century),Western Ganga,Rashtrakutas (8th century),Hoysalas (11th century), and theVijayanagara rulers (15th century).Nayakas of Keladi, also known asNayakas of Bednore andIkkeri Nayakas, were anIndiandynasty based inKeladi in present-dayShimoga district ofKarnataka,India. They were an important ruling dynasty in thelate medieval and early modern Karnataka. They initially ruled as a vassal of the famousVijayanagar Empire. After the fall of the empire in 1565, they gained independence and ruled significant parts ofMalnad region of theWestern Ghats in present-day Karnataka, most areas in thecoastal regions of Karnataka, and parts of northernKerala,Malabar and the central plains along theTungabhadra river. In 1763 AD, with their defeat toHyder Ali, they were absorbed into theKingdom of Mysore.[9]
During theSatyagraha movement,Mahatma Gandhi also visited the place to instigate the fight for national freedom.[7] After the independence ofIndia in 1947, the Mysore state merged into the Republic of India.
On 1 November 2006, the government of Karnataka announced the renaming of Shimoga to "Shivamogga", along with nine other cities in the state. The central government approved (12 cities) the request in the October 2014 and the city was renamed on 1 November 2014.[10][11][12][13]
According to the Shimoga City Municipal Corporation,[14] the city has a total area of about 50 square kilometres (19 sq mi). As per the Smart City Proposal, of the total city area (around 70.01km2), 11.28% area is under OS & green belts while 7% is under water cover.[15] Most/all these hills are part of theWestern Ghats, a region known for plentiful rainfall and lush greenery and declared during 2012 as aWorld Heritage site.Tunga River flows through Shimoga. The river is the major source of drinking water in the city and the city gets its drinking water through the Tunga dam (also known as Gajanuru dam).[16]
The climate is tropical wet and dry (Köppen climate classification) summer average temperature 20–35 °C (68–95 °F). This means that the winter and the early part of summer are typically dry periods. The majority of the rainfall occurs between June and early October. Shimoga is a part of a region known asMalnad (land of hills) in Karnataka. The average annual rainfall of the city is 731.1mm.[17] January and February are the driest months, July the wettest, and April is the warmest month with an average high temperature of 35.5 degrees Celsius (95.9 degrees F). Coldest months of Shimoga are July, August, November and December with average high temperature of 27 degrees Celsius (80.6 degrees F).[17] In summer (April–May), temperature crosses 36 °C at Shimoga.[18]
| Climate data for Shimoga (1991–2020, extremes 1950–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 36.4 (97.5) | 38.8 (101.8) | 41.4 (106.5) | 41.2 (106.2) | 44.0 (111.2) | 40.0 (104.0) | 35.4 (95.7) | 35.0 (95.0) | 38.0 (100.4) | 35.0 (95.0) | 34.4 (93.9) | 34.0 (93.2) | 44.0 (111.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 31.7 (89.1) | 33.7 (92.7) | 36.3 (97.3) | 36.8 (98.2) | 35.3 (95.5) | 30.9 (87.6) | 28.6 (83.5) | 28.3 (82.9) | 30.0 (86.0) | 30.7 (87.3) | 30.6 (87.1) | 30.4 (86.7) | 32.0 (89.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 15.6 (60.1) | 17.0 (62.6) | 19.7 (67.5) | 21.8 (71.2) | 22.3 (72.1) | 21.7 (71.1) | 21.0 (69.8) | 20.6 (69.1) | 20.9 (69.6) | 20.3 (68.5) | 18.4 (65.1) | 16.2 (61.2) | 19.6 (67.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 6.5 (43.7) | 9.0 (48.2) | 11.7 (53.1) | 11.5 (52.7) | 15.0 (59.0) | 16.0 (60.8) | 15.7 (60.3) | 13.0 (55.4) | 11.5 (52.7) | 11.7 (53.1) | 8.0 (46.4) | 6.0 (42.8) | 6.0 (42.8) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 0.2 (0.01) | 0.4 (0.02) | 5.9 (0.23) | 39.6 (1.56) | 60.9 (2.40) | 129.8 (5.11) | 183.1 (7.21) | 161.4 (6.35) | 98.6 (3.88) | 169.5 (6.67) | 24.1 (0.95) | 8.7 (0.34) | 882.3 (34.74) |
| Average rainy days | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 3.9 | 9.9 | 14.3 | 12.9 | 7.0 | 7.3 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 60.7 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%)(at 17:30IST) | 40 | 39 | 34 | 45 | 53 | 74 | 80 | 80 | 76 | 70 | 59 | 50 | 57 |
| Source: Met Department | |||||||||||||
As of2011 Indian Census, Shimoga had a total population of 322,650, of which 162,018 were males and 160,632 were females. Population within the age group of 0 to 6 years was 32,691. The total number of literates in Shimoga was 254,531, which constituted 78.9% of the population with male literacy of 81.4% and female literacy of 76.3%. The effective literacy rate of 7+ population of Shimoga was 87.8%, of which male literacy rate was 90.8% and female literacy rate was 84.8%. TheScheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes population was 40,737 and 9,192 respectively. Shimoga had 76,009 households in 2011.[2]
| Religions in Shimoga City (2011)[22] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Religion | Percent | |||
| Hinduism | 72.76% | |||
| Islam | 23.93% | |||
| Christianity | 2.17% | |||
| Jainism | 0.82% | |||
| Other or not stated | 0.32% | |||
| Distribution of religions | ||||
Kannada is the most widely spoken language in Shimoga. 72.76% of people areHindus and 23.93% areMuslims, with rest beingBuddhists,Christians and others.[22]
Kannada is the majority language, spoken by 53.47% of the population.Urdu is the second-largest language, whileTamil,Telugu,Hindi,Marathi andKonkani are also spoken.[23]
 | This section needs to beupdated. The reason given is: Apparently this section needs updating. Updates require current references, not edited existing.. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(August 2022) |
Shimoga is governed by a Municipal Corporation called the Shivamogga City Corporation. The total area under it is 70.01 km2 (27.03 sq mi), with a population of 322,650 (Census 2011).[24] Shimoga has been selected under the Smart Cities Mission of the Indian Government under Round 2 of selections.[25] Shimoga was upgraded to a Municipal Corporation from a Municipal Council in 2013.[26]
APMC of Shimoga is main marketing point of arecanut, the major commercial crop grown in the district and well as in neighbouring districts like Uttara Kannada. Shimoga has the biggestareca nut market, and known for procuring high quality areca nuts. Other agricultural produces like rice, Maize, chili, coconut etc. are also marketed in APMC.
Shimoga IT Park is an information technology hub built just outside Shimoga near theShimoga Airport. The IT Park consists of a 100000 sq ft office building with 24/7 electrical capacity, diesel backup generators, and high speed T1 data connections for use by IT industries such as data centres, call centres, aerospace, robotics, etc.[27]
Shimoga is well connected by road to major cities likeBangalore,Mysore,Mangalore,Hubli,Davangere,Ballari. Two major National Highways pass through the city:NH69 andNH169.
The city has two railway stations, main one being Shivamogga Town Railway Station, and there are trains that run to and from Bangalore,Mysore,Tirupati andChennai.
Shimoga Airport is situated near Sogane, 13 km south of Shimoga. This is the first airport which is being operated by Karnataka State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited as a wholly owned and undertaking of Government of Karnataka and not handed over to Airport Authority of India.[28][29] The nearest international airports areKempegowda International Airport andMangalore International Airport.
| This section needs to beupdated. The reason given is: Apparently this section needs updating. Updates require current references. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(December 2023) |
Shimoga is one of the important centers for the high school and the pre-university education inKarnataka. Notable institutes in Shimoga for high school isJnanadeepa school and for pre-university (PU) education include: Sri Aurobindo PU College andPACE PU College and PES college in outskirts of city.
The village ofGajanur hosts aJawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (central school) which is aboarding school.Kuvempu University is located in Shankarghatta, at a distance of 20 km from Shimoga.
Shimoga Institute of Medical Sciences is the medical sciences college at Shimoga and managed by Government Departments. Subbaiah Institute of Medical Sciences is located at Purale.[30] It also has two engineering colleges,Jawaharlal Nehru National College of Engineering andPES Institute of Technology and Management.Also Rastriya Raksha University, Shivamogga Campus is opened in Ragigudda near Navule
