Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh

Historically, Bilaspur was part of Dakshina Kosala and was near capital of Malhar, Chhattisgarh (ancient Mallar), Sirpur (ancient Shripura), Tuman (ancient Tummana), and Ratanpur (ancient Ratnapura). From 5th Century onwards it was controlled by the Kalachuri dynasty of Ratanpur. Ratanpur was historical capital of Chhattisgarh state for many different dynasty. Bilaspur city, however, came into prominence around 1741, the year of the Maratha Empire rule, when a Maratha official took up his abode there to control dynasty of Ratanpur.

The management of Bilaspur district was taken over by the British East India Company in 1818 after Bhosale lost territory in Third Anglo-Maratha War. Under Bhosale of the Nagpur kingdom there were many subedars or zamindars/landlords like Akbar Khan, Vazeer Khan, Sao and others in Bilaspur.

Bilaspur district was constituted in 1861, followed by Bilaspur municipality in 1867.[5] Famines in the Bilaspur district were recorded by the British administration in 1828–9, 1834–5, 1845–6, 1868–9 and 1899–1900. In 1868-9 and 1899–1900, the rains failed almost completely, resulting in severe distress, migration and desertion of villages. After the 1868-9 famine there was prosperity for the next 25 years; but in 1895 there was a very poor harvest, followed in 1896 by a complete failure of crops, and severe famine continued throughout 1897. In that year the mortality rate was as high as one in six people. The famine of 1897 was followed by two favorable years; but in 1899 the monsoon failed completely and the rice crop was wholly destroyed.

Guru Ghasidas (1756–1836) started a religious movement, Satnamis (meaning the worshippers of Satnam(not related to Sikhism), between 1820 and 1830 primarily around the Sonakhan forests. This religious movement preached against idol-worship, and instead stressed that God is synonymous with truth. His community was a farming community. The university at Bilaspur is named after him as Guru Ghasidas University.

Railways arrived at Bilaspur in the decade 1880–90, with the arrival of the Bengal Nagpur Railway. In 1888 Mistri Jagmal Gangji and other Mistri Railway Contractors laid the first railway tracks from Rajnandgaon to Bilaspur, and in that same year fellow Kutchi contractor Khoda Ramji and others built the line from Bilaspur to Jharsuguda, including the bridge over the Champa river.

In 1890, the present railway station and yard were constructed by the Gujarati railway contractor Jagmal Gangji. His son Mulji Jagmal Sawaria was later given the title of "Rao Sahib" by the British for his contribution to the development of the town, railways and the district. Jagmal Block and Jagmal Chowk in the city are named after Jagmal Gangji Sawaria.

In 1901, the population of Bilaspur was 18,937 and it was the eighth-largest town in the Central Provinces of British India. In 1908, weaving of tasar silk and cotton clothes were recorded as the major industries of Bilaspur.

Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh

Historical records like Imperial Gazetteer of India, Vol 8, 1908 note that the city is said to be named after a fisherwoman by the name of "Bilasa" in the 17th century, and for a long period it consisted only of a few fishermen's huts. Another book like [The highlands of central India, James Forsyth, 1889] states that Bilaspur is named after 'Palash' tree butea frondosa which are found in abundance in the area.

Bilaspur is located at 22.09°N 82.15°E / 22.09; 82.15.[6] It has an average elevation of 264 metres (866 ft).

Bilaspur is situated on the banks of the rain-fed Arpa River, which originates from the Maikal Range of Central India. It's a dolomite rich region surrounded by dense forests in the north and the coal mines of the Hasdeo Valley in the east.

Bilaspur District is surrounded by Koria District in the north, Anuppur District of Madhya Pradesh, Mungeli and, Baloda Bazar-Bhata Para District in the south and Korba and Janjgir-Champa District in the east.

Major cities around Bilaspur are:

• Raipur and Durg-Bhilai in South-West
• Nagpur in West
• Bhopal and Jabalpur in North-West
• Varanasi and Prayagraj in North
• Ranchi and Patna in North-East
• Korba, and Raigarh in East

As of 2011 India census, Bilaspur Municipal Corp had a population of 365,579.[7] Bilaspur urban area population was estimated at 652,851.[8] In August 2019, adjacent 18 towns and sub-urban areas were included in the Bilaspur Municipal Corporation. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Bilaspur has an average literacy rate of 91.29%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 92.94% and female literacy of 88.33%. 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.

According to the 2011 census, Bilaspur District, Chhattisgarh has a population of 2,662,077,[9] roughly equal to the nation of Kuwait[10] or the US state of Nevada.[11] Bilaspur District ranks 152nd in India (out of a total of 640).[9] The district has a population density of 322 inhabitants per square kilometre (830/sq mi) .[9] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 33.21%.[9] Bilaspur has a sex ratio of 972 females for every 1000 males,[9] and a literacy rate of 71.59%.[9]

The main languages spoken are Chhattisgarhi, Hindi.

Bilaspur Division consists of seven districts -

1) Bilaspur

2) Korba

3) Raigarh

4) Janjgir-Champa

5) Mungeli

6) Gaurella-Pendra-Marwahi

7) Sakti

The district consists of 8 Tehsils - Bilaspur, Kota, Takhatpur, Bilha, Masturi, Ratanpur, Sipat, Belgahna.

Bilaspur is divided into 4 blocks namely Kota, Takhatpur, Bilha, Masturi.

The city of Bilaspur is also a Nagar nigam. It has two Nagarpalikas namely (1) Takhatpur and (2) Ratanpur. It has been categorised into four Nagar Panchayat namely (1) Bilha (2) Kota (3) Boadri and (4) Malhar.

Bilaspur City runs under the administration of the Bilaspur Municipal Corporation (BMC). Ram Sharan Yadav is the current Mayor of Bilaspur, a member of Indian National Congress Party.

Raut Dance of Bilaspur Chhattisgarh

6th 7th century Bhima Kichak Temple, Malhar Chhattisgarh India - 10

Bilaspur is rich in its cultural heritage. Bilaspur has its own dance styles, cuisine, music and traditional folk songs. In rural areas, women wear garlands made of one rupee coins. This has gone out of fashion in recent times. The city celebrates all the major festivals of India. There are some local festivals such as the colorful Rout Dance (November), harley, and pola. The Rawat Nach Mahotsav is the folk dance festival of Bilaspur celebrated by Rawat tribes.

The town has been the home of several literary, theatre, arts personalities including Makhan Lal Chaturvedi, Satyadev Dubey, Bimal Mitra, Shrikant Verma.

Over the years, Bilaspur has developed many 4 – lane and 6 – lane roads, street lighting and squares. However, the last decade has seen large-scale unregulated urbanization and residential and commercial expansion, over-straining the water resources and generally defunct civic amenities due to indifferent officials and politicians. There is a master plan for the city and surrounding areas.

Electricity is government-regulated and, as of now, no power cuts are effected, thanks to the massive expansion in energy generating capacity both by public and private companies in the energy sector.

Bilaspur is home to many hospitals & nursing homes, some run by the state government and others by the private sector. City has a government medical college named Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Science which has 750 beds for patients. There is Apollo Hospitals in the private sector, which is 300 bedded specialty hospital. A new mental hospital is established in village Sendri (Ratanpur Road) which provides quality treatment. More than 25 Sanjivni express and Mahatari express are running in city. It also has private dental colleges in the city area.

City-36 Shopping Mall, Bilaspur

Bilaspur is the center of electric power generation in India. Bilaspur and the surrounding area generate 10,000 MW of electricity, and an additional 50,000 MW are planned in the next few years. As many as 22 companies are interested to tap an estimated power generation potential of 50,000 megawatts in the region. The railways have gotten a major boost with big energy sector players set to invest Rs.5,000 crore in three proposed railways corridors around Bilaspur.[12] Chhattisgarh is also known as "The Rice Bowl" – Dhan ka katora. Bilaspur is the centre of agri products. There are approx. 500 rice and dall mills in the surrounding area. In FY2022/21, the South East Central Railway zone, whose geography encompasses Bilaspur, earned Rs 14,2855.71 crore, "the highest among all of the railway divisians of Indian Railways".[13] The Bilaspur railways zone comprises the divisions of Bilaspur, Nagpur and Raipur. South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), a subsidiary of Public Sector Unit Coal India Limited (CIL) – A Maharatna Company, is situated with headquarters at Bilaspur. SECL is a Miniratna PSU under the Ministry of Coal, with several awards in its credentials including best PSU award in 1997–98. An integrated action plan for development of civic infrastructure, including hi-tech water purifier system, proper drainage facilities and cleanliness, is being planned by the state government for cities and towns, while the proposed 'Arpa Project' would give a new life to the city of Bilaspur, minister for urban administration and health Amar Agrawal said in an interview to the Times of India, a leading newspaper of India. The State Government has drawn up an ambitious plan of Rs2,000 crore to develop the Arpa river bank in Bilaspur district during the next seven years. For this, the Government has constituted a ‘Special Area Development Authority’ (SADA) for the development of the Arpa river bank near Bilaspur city.

The Government has invited proposals from interested national and international institutions for the development of the river bank on a PPP model. The Authority has prepared a project for the development of the river and is now in search of organisations that would be interested in developing the river on a Public Private Partnership (PPP).

According to SADA, about 653 hectares of area on the banks of the river would be developed. This area is 13.4 km in length. Commercial, residential, entertainment and other institutional facilities would be developed in this area. On both the sides of the river, 13.4-km-long retaining wall, houses and commercial complexes would be constructed, besides bridge, roads and walkways. Water supply, sewerage, drainage, electricity supply would be provided in the area.

The estimated cost of all the works is Rs2,000 crore. The development works would be taken up in phases during the next seven years.

Of the total 653-hectare area, some of the land is owned privately. In lieu of acquisition of private land, the affected people would be given land at other areas. After development about 267 hectares of land will be made available for sale. By selling this land, the developer could recover the invested amount. The downtown is called Gol Bazaar (Circular Market). Gol Bazaar, Sadar Bazaar and company Garden Chowk are buzzing and vibrant but overcrowded with slow-moving traffic. In contrast there are some newly developed areas as well. The Vyapar Vihar is a newly developed commercial and goods transport area. Bilaspur has Chhattisgarh's first hi-tech bus stand at Bodri.

It has the High Court of Chhattisgarh which is Asia's largest court (in area).

• Industries: Around Bilaspur, there are many industrial areas, including Tifra, Sirgitti and Silpahri Industrial Growth Centres. Sirgitti, Silpahri and Tifra around Bilapur are major industrial areas near Bilaspur. Located on the outskirts of Bilaspur city Sirgitti Industrial Centre is spread over an area of approx. 338 hectares. With about 324 industries it provides direct employment to 4431 persons. Silpahari Industrial Centre is another industrial area near Bilaspur and is home to many sponge iron industries. Tifra Industrial Area situated on the outskirts of Bilaspur city is spread over an area of approx. 65 hectares. Many chemical, PVC footwear, HDPE woven sacks, polythene bags and sheets, soft drinks and other units are located here. CSIDC or Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation Limited is responsible for the development of maintenance of all these industrial areas in and around Bilaspur. Chhattisgarh Laghu Evam Sahayak Udyog Sangh or CLSUS is an association of industries which represents all major industries of Bilaspur and Chhattisgarh. BEC Fertilizers – a unit of Bhilai Engineering Corporation is situated in the Sirgitti Industrial Area.
• Power plants – Bilaspur has India's second largest power plant of NTPC at Sipat which generates power of 2980 MW with 3 units of 660 MW each and 1 unit of 1000 MW. Many thermal power plants are coming up in the surrounding area of Bilaspur. Also notable are Nova, KSK, Gitanjali, Mahanadi etc.
• Legal: The day the state of Chhattisgarh was constituted (1 November 2000) with its capital at Raipur, the High Court of Chhattisgarh was established at Bilaspur. It is the 19th high court of India.
• Banks: All major Indian banks have branches and ATMs in the city. SBI have approx. 80 ATMs in the city as of 2013.
• Website: A website dedicated to provide information on Bilaspur is maintained by NIC.
• A new Indoor stadium is under construction at Behtarai Road.

Bilaspur is famous for food varieties, such as Doobraj rice, fara, chila, rice roll, sonhari (Poori made from Rice Flour or Sweet Potato), ayirsa roti, gulgula bhajiya, angakar roti, thetri-khurmi, airsa, tamatar fatka (tomato chutney), different types of bhajis (includes leafy vegetables like bathua, palak, chench, tirpaniya, khatta bhaji, laal bhaji, amari patua, Bohar Bhaji), etc. The wheat grown in the region is called sharbati (juicy) or like a sweet refreshing drink. The rotis made from the flour of this wheat are soft and tasty.[20][21]

New IT building GGV Bilaspur

Bilaspur has developed as a centre of education for Chhattisgarh with students from all over the state coming to Bilaspur to study engineering, medical and administrative officers' competitive exams. As of 2012 Bilaspur has 5 universities. Bilaspur has following educational institutions:

• Leslie Claudius, former Olympic field hockey player. He has distinction of being one of only two Indian players to win four Olympic medals
• Balakrishna Shivram Moonje (B. S. Moonje) was a leader of the Hindu Mahasabha
• Satyadev Dubey, Padmabhushan, theater director, actor, playwright, screenwriter. He directed Amrish Puri in Andha Yug and known for Junoon (1979), Bhumika (1977) and Aakrosh (1980)
• Makhanlal Chaturvedi wrote Pushp ki Abhilaashaa (Hindi: पुष्प की अभिलाषा) in Bilaspur Central Jail when he was prison by British for sedition charges.
• Bimal Mitra was a renowned Bengali writer with more than one hundred novels and short stories. One of his most popular novel Shaheb Bibi Golam was adopted in Hindi movie. He served in railways in Bilaspur for long year.
• Sandeep Shrivastava is screenwriter, lyricist known for his works in movie like Shershaah, Ludo, New York, Ab Tak Chhappan etc.
• Bilasa Devi,[22] founder of Bilaspur city and amazon of Chhattisgarh
• Satyajeet Dubey, voice and film actor
• Ajit Jogi, first chief minister of the state of Chhattisgarh
• Ingrid Mcleod, a nominated Lok Sabha member representing India's Anglo-Indian community
• Shrikant Verma, a noted poet and Member of Parliament
• Arun Sao, elected (2019) MP (Member of Parliament) from Bilaspur Lok Sabha seat.

• "Malhar – A Rhythm of Antiquity". Indian History and Architecture. Archived from the original on 10 November 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
• The census has been taken from Hari Bhoomi Bilaspur Bhaskar Edition dated 23/12/2013.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh.

• Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Official website
• Map of Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh