Raipur

Raipur
Metropolis
Left to right: Nagar Ghadi, Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, I love Raipur Logo, Swami Vivekananda Airport, Magneto the mall, Ram mandir Raipur, Indian Institute of Management Raipur
Raipur Raipur Show map of ChhattisgarhShow map of IndiaShow all
Coordinates: 21°15′N 81°38′E / 21.25°N 81.63°E / 21.25; 81.63Coordinates: 21°15′N 81°38′E / 21.25°N 81.63°E / 21.25; 81.63
Country	India
State	Chhattisgarh
District	Raipur
Named for
Government
• Type	Municipal Corporation
• Body	Raipur Municipal Corporation Raipur Development Authority(RDA) Naya Raipur Development Authority (NRDA)
• Mayor	Aijaz Dhebar (INC)
• District Collector	Dr. S. Bharathi Dasan (IAS)
• Senior Superintendent of Police	Ajay Kumar Yadav (IPS)
• Member of Parliament	Sunil Kumar Soni (BJP)
• Municipal Commissioner	Saurabh Kumar (IAS)
Area [1]
• Metropolis	226 km2 (87 sq mi)
Elevation	298.15 m (978.18 ft)
Population  (2011)[2]
• Metropolis	1,010,087
• Rank	India : 45th Chhattisgarh : 1st
• Density	4,500/km2 (12,000/sq mi)
• Metro [3]	1,122,555
• Metro rank	47th
Demonym(s)	Raipurians / Raipurya
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	492001-22, 493111-211
Vehicle registration	CG-04
UN/LOCODE	IN RPR
Website	www.raipur.gov.in

Raipur (/ˈraɪpʊər/ pronunciation (help·info)) is the capital city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Raipur is also the administrative headquarters of Raipur district and Raipur division, and the largest city of the state. It was a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Chhattisgarh was formed on 1 November 2000.^[4] It has exponential industrial growth, and has become a major business hub in central India. Raipur is ranked 7th in Ease of Living Index 2019 and 7th in Municipal Performance Index 2020 by Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).^[5][6][7]

History[]

The earliest archaeological evidence from old sites and ruins of the fort indicate the existence of Raipur since the 9th century. However, there is enough literary evidence that defines the history of Raipur since the time of the Maurya Empire. Raipur district was once part of Southern Kosal and considered to be under the Maurya Empire. Raipur had later been the capital of the Haihaya Kings, controlling the traditional forts of Chhattisgarh for a long time. Satawahana Kings ruled this part till the 2nd-3rd century CE. Samudragupta had conquered this region in the fourth century, but the region came under the sway of Sarabhpuri Kings and then Nala Kings in the 5th and 6th centuries. Later on, Somavanshi kings had taken control over this region and ruled with Sirpur as their capital city. The Kalchuri Kings of Tumman ruled this part for a long time making Ratanpur as capital. It is believed that the King Ramachandra of this dynasty established the city of Raipur and subsequently made it the capital of his kingdom.^[8]

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 CE. that the temple of Hatkeshwar Mahadev was constructed on the banks of the river Kharun which still remains one of the oldest landmarks in Raipur. After the death of king Amarsingh Deo, this region had become the domain of Bhonsle Kings of Nagpur. With the death of Raghuji the III, the territory was assumed by the British government from Bhonsle's and Chhattisgarh was declared a separate Commission with its headquarters at Raipur in 1854. After independence, the Raipur district was included in the Central Provinces and Berar. Raipur district became a part of Madhya Pradesh on 1 November 1956 and subsequently became a part of Chhattisgarh on 1 November 2000 with Raipur becoming the capital of the new state.^[9]

Demographics[]

As of the 2011 census, Raipur Municipal Corporation had a population of 1,010,087, of which 519,286 are males and 490,801 are females—a sex ratio of 945 females per 1000 males, higher than the national average of 940 per 1000.^[10] 124,471 children are in the age group of 0–6 years, of which 64,522 are boys and 59,949 are girls—a ratio of 929 girls per 1000 boys. There are 769,593 literates (420,155 males, 349,438 females). The effective literacy was 86.90%; male literacy was 92.39% and female literacy was 81.10%, significantly higher than the national average of 73.00%.^[2][11]

The urban agglomeration had a population of 1,122,555, of which males constitute 578,339, females constitute 544,216—a sex ratio of 941 females per 1000 males and 142,826 children are in the age group of 0–6 years. There are a total of 846,952 literates with an effective literacy rate of 86.45%.^[3]

Geography and climate[]

Geography[]

Raipur is located near the centre of a large plain, sometimes referred to as the "rice bowl of India", where hundreds of varieties of rice are grown.^[12] 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 (118 °F). These summer months also have dry and hot winds. The city receives about 1,300 millimetres (51 in) 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 (41 °F) making it reasonably cold.

Government and politics[]

Civic administration[]

Raipur city has a Municipal corporation. It was initially established by the British on 17 May 1867, it was then named Raipur Municipal committee.^[15] It was upgraded to Raipur Municipal Corporation in the year 1973.^[15] The area of the municipal corporation is 226 km² (87 sq mi).^[1][16] RMC is governed under the guidelines mentioned in the Chhattisgarh Municipalities Act, 1961.^[16] As per 2011 Census of India urban agglomeration population in Raipur, Durg-Bhilai was 3,186,632. The three urban cities of Raipur, Bhilai and Durg in West central of Chhattisgarh together creates Raipur-Bhilai-Durg Tri City Metro area.

The functions under the municipal corporation are the construction of health centres, educational institutes, schools, and periodic maintenance of the houses.^[17] In addition to taking the responsibility of constructing basic civic infrastructure, flyovers, and roads, it is also developing recreational centres such as museums, community halls, and parks. Along with basic civic infrastructure, flyovers, and roads.^[17]

The executive committee consists of the Commissioner, Deputy commissioner, city health officers, executive engineers, zone commissioners, and other staff.^[18] The Municipal Commissioner of Raipur is Shri. Saurabh Kumar (I.A.S).^[19] The current mayor is Aijaz Dhebar from INC. The Mayor in the council consists of the Mayor who is the ex officio chairperson of the MIC. Among elected councillors, the mayor elects them to the council.^[18] There are 70 wards and 8 zones within the Raipur Municipal Corporation.^[17] The zonal ward committees are headed by chairpersons who are elected by ward councillors of the respective zone.^[20]

The recent municipal elections were held on 21 December 2019. The political parties in the majority at the municipal level are BJP and INC. The estimated municipal budget 2017-2018 Budget is ₹ 2,612,667. Key revenue sources are tax income, Fees and charges, Sanitation charges, Grants and donations, and Capital income.^[21]

The city is a part of Raipur District with Dr. S. Bharathi Dasan, IAS/Collector & DM.^[22] The collector heads the district administration department.^[22] The upper collector, deputy collector and joint deputy assist the Collector. Other governing agencies that are active in the city of Raipur is the Urban Administration And Development, Chhattisgarh.^[22]

Master plan[]

Raipur Master Plan 2021 recognizes the need for planned development to take the pressure off the downtown core and meet the need for green spaces and bodies of water in that area. The plan calls for dense housing in new subdivisions on the outskirts and well-planned high-rise commercial and industrial development along with the NH-6 as well as on the north side of the city.^[23]

Legislative assembly and state agencies[]

Raipur is a Lok Sabha/Parliamentary constituency in Central Chhattisgarh of Chhattisgarh and is located in Central India.^[24] Raipur Lok Sabha seat is unreserved. Mr.Sunil Kumar Soni, BJP is Raipur City MP.^[24] There are three MLA constituencies in Raipur city and one constituency for Raipur Rural. The respective MLAs of the three constituencies are Raipur City South MLA is Mr. Brijmohan Agrawal, BJP, for Raipur City North it is Mr. Kuldeep Juneja, INC and for Raipur City West it is Mr. Vikas Upadhyay, INC.^[25]

Civic utilities[]

Transport services[]

The superintendent of Engineers Executive Engineers, the team of Engineers, and the staff responsible for the related activities of the road department head the Public works department.^[15] The respective functions are Planning and designing of road stormwater drain, maintenance of roads and streets, maintain gardens and parks as well as resurfacing the road, and repairing potholes and bad patches.^[15]

In the bus transport system of Raipur City there is a total number of 157 Buses plying within the city.^[26]

Fire service and electricity[]

The city electricity is supplied by Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Limited. Fire and Emergency services were set up in the year 2016 to protect fire incidents in the state.^[27] As per the directions of the government, the Fire Station of the urban body are being taken under fire and emergency services.^[27]

Water, drainage and sewerage[]

The existing source of raw water is from the Kharun river and about 170 MLD water is treated on a daily basis is 275 mld which is the treatment capacity of the plant. The per capita water supply in the city of Raipur is 135 lpcd. There is a water supply connection to a total of 50,000 households. Along with water from the Kharun River (27 MLD), another source of water is groundwater and the capacity utilized is 22 MLD. There is a total of 1133 handpumps in the city.

There is a lack in the sewerage systems of Raipur City. The data for households with a Sewerage Network is unavailable.^[28] But the number of households with Septic tanks are 1,44,882 and the households without any outlets for toilets is 5649.^[28] The city has no separate drainage system nor any sewer lines. There is a separate stormwater drainage system is laid as per requirement.^[28]

Solid waste management[]

The waste management in the city is entrusted with the city health officer, the in-charge health officer, zonal health officer, and the team of sanitary supervisors and ward supervisors.^[15] A total of 356490 households have been successful with source segregation and are covered by door-to-door collection.^[29] Raipur's major waste disposal site is the Sarona site, which is 12 km away from city centre.^[29]

Transport[]

Bus transport[]

Raipur and Naya Raipur BRTS bus services run between Old Raipur and Naya Raipur.

Raipur-Naya Raipur BRTS

Raipur Junction Railway Station Entrance

Swami Vivekananda Airport, Raipur

Railways[]

Raipur Junction railway station is the primary railway station of the city which is situated on the Howrah-Nagpur-Mumbai line of the Indian Railways (via Bhusawal, Nagpur, Gondia, Bilaspur, Rourkela, Kharagpur) and is connected with most major cities. It is categorized in the A-1 category of railway stations by the Indian Railways. Some small railway stations are also present here for local trains like Sarona, Saraswati Nagar, and WRS Colony railway stations. They also lie on the same Howrah-Nagpur-Mumbai line.

Airport[]

Swami Vivekananda Airport or Mana Airport is the primary airport serving the state of Chhattisgarh. The airport is located, 15 km (9.3 mi) south of Raipur near Naya Raipur.

List of mayors[]

Education[]

Raipur has become a big educational hub of Chhattisgarh due to the presence of many institutes of national importance in engineering, management, medical and law. It is the only city in India which is home to IIM, NIT, AIIMS, Hidayatullah National Law University (HNLU), and IIIT.^[30]

View of the Rajkumar College, Raipur

Premier institutes[]

• Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Raipur
• Hidayatullah National Law University
• National Institute of Technology (NIT) Raipur
• All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Raipur
• International Institute of Information Technology, Naya Raipur
• National Institute of Malaria Research

Government universities[]

• Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University
• Indira Gandhi Agricultural University
• Kushabhau Thakre Patrakarita Avam Jansanchar University
• Ayush & Health Sciences University Chhattisgarh
• Chhattisgarh Kamdhenu Vishwavidyalaya
• Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekanand Technical University, Bhilai

Private universities and deemed universities[]

• Amity University
• ITM University
• MATS University
• ICFAI University
• Kalinga University

Commerce, engineering and management colleges[]

• Government Engineering College (GEC)
• Rungta College of Engineering and Technology (RCET)
• Rungta Engineering College (REC)
• Raipur Institute of Technology
• Disha Institute of Management and Technology
• Shri Shankaracharya Institute of Professional Management and Technology (SSIPMT)
• Pragati College of Engineering and Management

Secondary education[]

• Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
• DAV Public School
• Delhi Public School
• Holy Cross Senior Secondary School Kapa
• Kendriya Vidyalaya
• Rajkumar College, established 1882
• Ryan International School

Media[]

News channels[]

Many local news channels are telecast from Raipur in Hindi:

Newspapers[]

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

Radio[]

Raipur city has five FM Radio Stations -

Notable people[]

• Abdul Qadir Raipuri, a spiritual reformer and well-known guide of Islam.
• Anurag Basu, noted Bollywood movie director, was born in Raipur and later moved to the neighboring city of Bhilai.
• Habib Tanvir, noted theater artist and playwright, was born in Raipur in 1923.
• Harinath De, Indian historian, scholar, and a polyglot, later became the first Indian librarian of the National Library of India (then Imperial Library) spent his childhood and did his initial schooling in Raipur.
• Harshad Mehta, infamous stockbroker, spent his childhood in Raipur after his parents moved here from Mumbai.
• K. S. Sudarshan, former chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, was born in Raipur in 1931.
• Lucky Ali, noted Bollywood singer/composer/actor did a part of his schooling from Rajkumar College, Raipur^[31]
• Mohammad Hidayatullah, former Chief Justice of India and former acting president of India, received his primary education at the Government High School of Raipur until 1922.
• Ravishankar Shukla, the first Chief Minister of the state of Madhya Pradesh, spent his childhood and was educated in Raipur.
• Shekhar Sen, world-famous musical mono act player, born and raised in Raipur.
• Swami Vivekananda spent two years of his teenage in Raipur from 1877 till 1879 when his father was transferred here.^[32]
  

  Swami Vivekananda spent 2 years of his teenage in this building at Raipur
• Teejan Bai, famous traditional performing artist for Pandavani.
• Vallabhacharya, a Hindu theologian and philosopher was born in the village of Champaran about 60 km (37 mi) away from Raipur in 1479
• Veer Narayan Singh,^[33][34] freedom fighter, he was jailed at Raipur by the British Army.
• Vidya Charan Shukla, former Union Minister and a nine-term parliamentarian, was born in Raipur

See also[]

• Naya Raipur
• Raipur Junction railway station
• Swami Vivekananda Airport
• Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium
• Samta colony
• Raman Singh
• Bhupesh Baghel

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Raipur.

• Raipur District Administration
• DPR Chhattisgarh
• DPR Raipur District