Durg

This article is about the municipality in India. For its namesake district, see Durg district.
Not to be confused with Derg.
Durg
दुर्ग
Metropolitan city
Durg
Coordinates: 21°11′N 81°17′E / 21.19°N 81.28°E / 21.19; 81.28Coordinates: 21°11′N 81°17′E / 21.19°N 81.28°E / 21.19; 81.28
Country India
State Chhattisgarh
Government
 • Type Municipal Corporation
 • Mayor Chandrika Chandrakar
Area
 • Metropolitan city 182 km2 (70 sq mi)
Elevation 289 m (948 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Metropolitan city 268,806
 • Rank 168
 • Density 1,500/km2 (3,800/sq mi)
 • Metro 10,64,077
Languages
 • Official Hindi
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 491001
Telephone code 0788
Vehicle registration CG-07
Sex ratio 982 ♂/♀
Website www.durg.gov.in

Durg is a major city in Chhattisgarh state, central India east of the Seonath River (Shivnath River) and is part of the Durg-Bhilai urban agglomeration. The city is an agricultural market and heavily engaged in milling rice and pigeon peas. Durg gained importance as an industrial centre after the establishment of a large steel plant at Bhilai. Other industries include brass working and bell-metal working, oil pressing, mining and weaving. It is the headquarters of Durg District, the third largest district of Chhattisgarh.

Geography

The city lies 317 metres (1,040 ft) above sea level and covers an area of 2,238 square kilometres (864 sq mi), of which 764 square kilometres (295 sq mi) is forest. (8.95% of the geographic area)

Durg District occupies the southwestern part of the Chhattisgarh plain and possesses belts of hilly country in the south, southwest and northwest, which are endowed with mineral resources and forests.

Roads and railways

National Highway 53 (Mumbai - Nagpur - Calcutta) is the major highway of the district. Durg Junction is one of the major railway stations in the state, which is situated on the main line of the South Eastern Railway midway between Mumbai and Calcutta. The nearest airport is at Raipur, some 60 kilometres (37 mi) away.

Physiography

The District occupies the southwestern part of the Upper Sheonath-Mahanadi valley and the bordering hills in the south and southwest. Physiographically, the District can be divided into two divisions, viz. the C.G. plain and the Southern plateau. The Chhattisgarh plain occupies the largest area in the District.

Rivers

The general slope of the district comes under Mahanadi river slope and is towards the north and north east and locally in some places towards east. The main rivers of Mahanadi are Sheonath, Kharun, Tandula, Kharkhara and Aamner. Sheonath is the main river of the district which originates from Panabaras Hill (625 M) and flows towards north-east. This river is the main tributary of Mahanadi River. The total length of the Sheonath river is 345 km. The length of Sheonath river in Durg district is 120 km. The main tributary of Sheonath river is Tandula river. This river originates from hills situated in the north of Bhanupratappur (District- Kanker). After covering a distance of 34 km this river joins Sukhanala. This river joins Sheonath river in the south-west of Durg at a distance of approximately 13 km at gram Changori. The total length of this river is 96.6 km. A dam is constructed during the period 1905 to 1921 at the joining point of Sukhanala and Tandula river.

Climate

Durg generally has a dry tropical weather which is moderate but on a warmer side in summer season. The peak temperatures are usually reached in May/June and can be as high as 45C. The onset of monsoon is usually from July and the season extends up to September, with monsoon peaking during July and August. Maximum, Average & Minimum Rain fall Of District Durg are 1477.2 mm, 1071.16 mm and 781.5 mm per year respectively.

History

In ancient times Durg was part of 'Dakshina' or 'Southern Kosala'. In the epic Ramayana, King Dasharatha Of Uttara Kosala married Kosalaya, the princess of Dakshnia Kosala. Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang visited Southern Kosala in the 7th Century and mentions that he found an Asokan tope in the capital city, indicating that the District was included in Ashoka's Empire. There is a fourth century reference to this tract, on the noted Allahabad Pillar Inscription of Samudragupta. He claims that two kingdoms, Kosala and Mahakantara, succumbed to his southern expedition.

However, the first specific reference with regard to the word "Durg" comes from around the eighth century through two stone inscriptions found in Durg and later deposited in the Raipur Museum. The first inscription mentions the name of a king Shiva Deva. The second inscription associates the name of Sivapura (the capital of Shivadeva) with that of Shiva Durga, indicating thereby that during Shivadeva's reign the town and the fort were separate. The present name "Durg" is evidently a contraction of the old shivadurga, which he built. The river on whose banks stands the present town is also called "Shiva River". With the coming of the Kalachuri dynasty of Tripuri in 1182, Durg came under their kingdom. From then on it remained under the Kalachuries, till 1742 when the Marathas deposed them.

In 1818, after the Marathas lost the IIIrd Anglo- Maratha War, the tract of Chhattisgarh passed into British hands. Caption Edmonds was the First British Officer posted in Chhattisgarh as Collector and Magistrate to carry on the administration. For the purpose of Administration Durg was attached to Bhandara District (now in Maharashtra) but in 1857 it was separated and made into a tehsil of Raipur district to which it remained attached till 1906.

In 1906 Durg was created as a separate district. The Collectorate building was built in 1907. Interestingly, cement was not used in the construction of the collectorate building, instead a mixture of limestone, gum, sand and fruit pulp was used as the binding agent. Today even though 100 years have gone by, the collectorate building stands strong as it might have been built yesterday. Soon after, 350 acres (140 ha) of land from Kasaridih Village, was acquired by the government to build official residences. It is on this land that we find today's Civil Lines, Pt. Ravishankar Shukla Stadium, Chaupati, Company Garden, New Bus Stand, Polytecnic College and the Law College. The First Collector Of Durg was Shri S. M. Chitnabees. It is in his memory that the road from Kucheri to the Railway Station has been named "Chitnabees Road". During the freedom struggle, Durg was a hot bed of nationalist activities. Almost all the prominent leaders including Mahatma Gandhi, Pt. Jawahalal Nehru and Dr. Rajendra Prasad visited Durg during the freedom struggle. Freedom fighters like Shri Ram Prasad Deshmukh & his son Shri Laxman Singh Deshmukh from village Khamtarai (Distt. Durg) participated in struggle for freedom & sent to jail many times by Britishers.

Teejan Bai is an exponent of Pandavani

in the mid 1990s, Shri Ramchandra Deshmukh played an important role in putting Chhattisgarh on the cultural map of India through directing plays such as Chadaini Gonda, Dewar Dera and Kari.

Demographics

As of 2011 India census,[1] Durg had a population of 268,679. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Durg has an average literacy rate of 72%, male literacy is 79% and, female literacy is 65%. In Durg, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

In the 2011 census Durg-Bhilainagar Urban Agglomeration had a population of 1,064,077.[2] Durg-Bhilainagar Urban Agglomeration includes: Durg (M Corp.), Bhilai Nagar (M Corp.), Dumar dih (part) (OG), Bhilai Charoda (M), Jamul (M), Kumhari (M), and Utai (NP).[3]

Durg Municipal Corporation had a total population of 268,679 in 2011, out of which 136,537 were males and 132,142 were females. Durg had a below six years population of 29,165. Durg had an effective literacy rate (7+ population) of 87.94 per cent and a sex ratio of 968.[4]

Bhilai Institute of Technology - Durg

Transport

Metro train

The metro train project is announced by state government.The train will be running between Durg-Bhilai-Naya Raipur. The survey of the metro train is completed.

Railway

Durg is well connected to all major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Kanpur, Allahabad, Agra, Patna, Bhopal, Raipur, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Nagpur, Jaipur, Jodhpur etc. Durg railway station is a major station of SECR. About 100 trains start/terminate/pass through Durg Junction. Most of the trains start/terminate/pass daily, whereas some express trains pass through Durg Junction in the scheduled day of the week only. Durg railway station is amongst the top hundred booking stations of Indian Railway.

Air

Swami Vivekanand airport is the nearest airport situated at Raipur, 55 kilometres (34 mi) from Durg.

City bus

The city bus service has been started.

Culture

Pandwani the musical narration of the epic Mahabharata, "Raut Nacha" (performed basically by Yadav caste)

Native of Motipur Village, Durg District with sacred Neem on Hareli Festival

Places to see

Hindi Bhawan is a noted ancient building now converted into a nagar nigam office.

Durg District Court building is an old building with a British architecture.

The Jain temples of Nagpura are well known for their grand construction and carvings. A naturopathy centre also runs in Nagpura where patients come from different parts of country for naturopathy treatment.

Chandi Mandir is located in the heart of Durg city and is a well known destination for pilgrims. Chandi mata is worshipped by all castes and religions of Durg and nearby places.

Notable people

Notable organisations and educational institutes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Uwasaggaharam.

Bhilai Institute of Technology- Durg, established in 1986, is the first private engineering institution in undivided Madhya Pradesh.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maitri bagh.

photo gallery

References

  1. ↑ "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.
  2. ↑ "Urban Agglomerations/Cities having population 1 lakh and above" (PDF). Provisional Population Totals, Census of India 2011. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
  3. ↑ "Constituents of urban Agglomerations Having Population 1 Lakh & above" (PDF). Provisional Population Totals, Census of India 2011. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
  4. ↑ "Cities having population 1 lakh and above" (PDF). Provisional Population Totals, Census of India 2011. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
  5. ↑ http://bamleshwari.org/

External links

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