Bagalkot

Bagalkot ಬಾಗಲಕೋಟೆ
City
Bagalkot Location in Karnataka, India
Coordinates: 16°10′54″N 75°41′45″E / 16.1817°N 75.6958°ECoordinates: 16°10′54″N 75°41′45″E / 16.1817°N 75.6958°E
Country	India
State	Karnataka
Region	Bayaluseeme
District	Bagalkot District
Area
• Total	48.25 km^2 (18.63 sq mi)
Elevation	770 m (2,530 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	112,068
• Density	2,300/km^2 (6,000/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Kannada
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	587101-105
Telephone code	08354
Vehicle registration	KA-29,KA48
Website	bagalkot.nic.in

Bagalkot or Bagalkote is a town in the Indian state of Karnataka. Bagalkote is the district headquarters of the Bagalkot district. It is one of the major towns in North Karnataka.

History

According to stone inscriptions in the surrounding area, the town's name was formerly Bagadige. According to legend, the town was given to the Bajantries (musicians) by Ravana, the king of Lanka who ruled this area. One of the Bijapur kings is said to have presented the town to his daughter as bangle money (a tradition in which the daughter is given money to buy bangles, sarees, gold ornaments from her parents after the marriage). Consequently, the place acquired the name Bagdikot, which later became Bagalkot. Bagalkot remained under successive dominions of Vijayanagar emperors, Peshwas, Hyderali of Mysore, Maratha rulers, and finally the British in 1818. In 1865, it was established as a municipality and civic amenities were provided to the residents of Bagalkot. The place was a noted centre of freedom movement and the Unification movement.

Old Bagalkot was consisting of Halepeth, Jainpeth, Killa, Hosapeth and Venkatapeth. Before arrival of railway line only Halepeth, Jainpeth and Killa were existing. ( at @ 1882 A C) After constructing Bagalkot railway station, cotton starts moving to Bagalkot from villages around. Cotton Gins developed close to railway station. Typical Gin consists of a ginning machine to separate cotton seeds from cotton. And a brahma ( hydraulic) press with vast area for storage and parking of bullock carts. Bagalkot was an important cotton export hub on Hutagi-Gadag railway line. New industries new business arrived in town. At the same time new settlement for town was established close to old town called Hosapeth. Migration starts to Hosapeth from around villages. This boom attracts migrants from Gujarat and Rajasthan too. After independence of India Bagalkot Udhyog ltd. started a cement factory 3 km away on west side. To hold increased population one more new settlement established close to town on west side of town named Venkatapeth. Named against Ancient Venkateshwara temple.

Today, Bagalkot is divided into two parts — the new Bagalkote or Navanagar and the old Bagalkote town. The construction of new town became necessary following submergence of parts of old town due to construction of Almatti dam. Navanagar is a planned town with grid pattern layout with wide roads, parks, and other amenities.

Geography

Bagalkote is located at 16°11′N 75°42′E / 16.18°N 75.7°E.^[1] It has an average elevation of 533 metres (1,749 ft). It is situated on the bank of the river Ghataprabha.

Education

Bagalkot has many famous educational institutions, including St. Anne's Convent High School, Basaveshwara Vidya Vardhaka Sangha and Vidya Prasarak Mandal (mostly known as Sakri, named after Shankrappa Sakri for his charity to the association). Many colleges are affiliated with Rani Channamma University, Belgaum, Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences Bengaluru, Karnataka. Basaveshvara Engineering College (BEC), Bagalkot was established in 1963. S Nijalingappa Medical College, HSK (Hanagal Shree Kumareshwar) Hospital and Research Centre is affiliated with Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, at Kengeri Bengaluru.

The University of Horticultural Sciences (UHS) is headquartered in Navanagar, Bagalkote with its constituent colleges spread across the state.

For list of schools in Bagalkot visit www.nammabagalkot.in.

Holi Habba (Festival of Colours)

Bagalkot is famous for its "Holi Habba" i.e. Festival of Colours. It is said that Bagalkot ranks second to Kolkata in the way it celebrates Rang Panchami. The festive is celebrated across 4 days, with the first day for Kama Dahanam followed by 3 days of playing colours. Holi is celebrated with lot of alacrity and grandeur by the people of Bagalkot. It also symbolises religious unity and harmony where people of all sects come together to celebrate it. There are 5 different localities called as "Onees" namely jainpeth, hosapeth, halpeth, killa and venkatpeth hosapeth being the largest in area. In earlier times, Holi was celebrated over 6 days, with the each of last 5 days dedicated to the five "Onees" to celebrate colour separately. However, this was reduced to three days for security reasons.

Demographics

As of 2011 Census of India,^[2] Bagalkot had a population of 112,068 with males constituting 52% of the population and females 48%. Bagalkote has an average literacy rate of 70%, higher than the national average of 59.5%, with 77% of the males and 61% of females literate. Some 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.^[3] Kannada is the major language spoken here.

Transport

Road Bagalkote is well connected by road and railway routes. The National Highway NH 161 (old number NH 218) from Hubli to Bidar via Bijapur, Jewargi, Gulbarga, Humnabad passes through Bagalkote.

The state highway passing through Bagalkot connects NH 169 (formerly called NH-13) running from Solapur to Mangalore at about 40 km from Bagalkote near Alamatti dam. It is connected to Belgaum by road and connected to Hubli. World class State Highway Belgaum to Raichur passes through Bagalkot.

Railway Bagalkote is connected by a broad gauge railway line (Gadag-Hotgi line) to Bijapur on the South Western Railway (SWR) towards the north and to Gadag junction on the South Western Railway towards the south. Bagalkote is connected with direct trains to Bijapur, Solapur, Gadag, Dharwad, Bellary, Mysore, Bengaluru, Hubli, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

Trains from Bagalkote:
Bagalkot is under South Western Railway (SWR)

Following is the complete list of trains running in Solapur Gadag Branch line

14805/14806 Bengaluru <—> Barmer AC Express via (Hubli, Gadag, Bijapur, Solapur, Ahmedabad) (Weekly)

16201/16202 Mysore <—> Shirdi Sainagar Express (via Bengaluru, Bellary, Gadag, Bijapur, Solapur) (Weekly)

16535/16536 Mysore <—> Solapur Gol Gumbaz Express (via Bengaluru, Hubli, Gadag, Bijapur) (Daily)

17307/17308 Mysore <—> Bagalkote Basava Express (via Bengaluru, Guntakal, Gulbarga, Solapur, Bijapur) (Daily)

16587/16588 Bengaluru <—> Bikaner Express (via Hubli, Gadag, Bijapur, Solapur, Pune, Kalyan Jn, Vapi, Surat, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Abu Road, Jodhpur) (Bi-Weekly)

17319/17320 Hubli <-> Secunderabad Express (via Gadag, Bijapur, Solapur-Hotgi, Gulbarga, Wadi) (Daily)

17321/17322 Hubli <-> Mumbai LTT Express (via Gadag, Bijapur, Solapur, Pune) (Weekly)

11423/11424 Solapur <—> Hubli Intercity Express (via Gadag, Bijapur) (Daily)

06919/06920 Hubli <—> Bijapur Passenger (via Gadag, Bijapur) (Daily)

57643/57644 Solapur<-> Gadag Passenger (via Bijapur) (Daily)

57641/57642 Solapur <-> Gadag Passenger (via Bijapur) (Daily)

56903/56904 Dharwad <-> Solapur Passenger (via Hubli, Gadag, Bijapur) (Daily)

56905/56906 Hubli <-> Solapur Passenger (via Gadag, Bijapur) (Daily)

References

1. Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Bagalkote
2. "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
3. "BAGALKOT DISTRICT 2001 CENSUS PROVISIONAL STATISTICS". Retrieved 16 December 2010.

External links

• Bagalkot news
• Bagalkot-Kudachi new railway line
• Bagalkot district Official site
• Bagalkote City Municipal Council