Chandrapur

This article is about the municipal corporation in Maharashtra, India. For its namesake district, see Chandrapur district.

Not to be confused with Chandrapura or Chandrapore.

Chandrapur चंद्रपुर Chanda
District HQ/ Municipal Corporation
Country	India
State	Maharashtra
District	Chandrapur
Named for	Chandrapur Fort
Government
• Type	Municipal Corporation
• Body	CMC
• Mayor	Mrs. Rakhi Kancharlawar
• Municipal Commissioner	Mr. Sudhir Shambharkar
Area
• Total	77 km2 (30 sq mi)
• Rank	25th
Elevation	188 m (617 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	320,379
• Rank	B-grade
• Density	1,321/km2 (3,420/sq mi)
Demonym	Chandrapurkar
Language
• Official	Marathi
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	442401-04
Telephone code	(+91), 7172
Vehicle registration	MH 34
Website	http://chanda.nic.in/

Chandrapur (formerly Chanda) (meaning Moon) is a city and a Municipal Corporation in Chandrapur district in Maharashtra state, India. It is also the headquarters of Chandrapur district.

The city of Chandrapur has ancient temples of the goddess Kalikankalini a form of goddess Mahakali and of Anchaleshwar, a form of the god Shiva. The city was founded by Gond King Khandakya BallalShah in the 13th century and is situated at the confluence of Irai and Zarpat rivers. The region is very rich in mineral wealth such as coal and limestone. Many cement factories are located in this region. Due to large number of coal mines present around the city, the city is also known as Black Gold city.

History

On the death of king Surja (alias Ser Sah) of Gond in the 13th century A.D., his son Khandkya Ballal came to the throne. This prince had tumours all over his body. He was looked after by his wise and beautiful wife. When no remedy could heal Khandkya she induced him to leave Sirpur and reside on the northern bank of the Wardha, where he erected a fort named Ballalpur. One day, as the legend goes, while the king was hunting north-west of Ballalpur he grew thirsty and rode up to the dry bed of the Jharpat river in search of water. He discovered water trickling from a hole, and after drinking, washed his face, hands and feet. That night he slept soundly for the first time in his life. Next morning the queen was delighted to see that many of the tumours on her husband's body had disappeared. On enquiry the wonderful cure was ascribed to the water of Jharpat where the King drank water and washed his face. The queen requested Khandkya to take her to the spot where he had quenched his thirst. Both proceeded to the Jharpat and in a little while the hole was found. On clearing the grass and sand there were seen five footprints of a cow in the solid rock, each filled with water. The water source at the spot was inexhaustible. The place was holy-the Tirtha of Acalesvar of the Treta Yuga fame. When the King bathed in the water all the tumours on his body vanished.

That night the royal party encamped near the place, and in the visions of sleep Acalesvar appeared to the King, and spoke comforting words. On hearing the dream the queen advised the erection of a temple over the healing waters, and the King, approving of the idea, sent his officers to collect skilled architects for the work. He took great interest in its progress. One morning, after his daily visit, while he was riding he saw a hare darting out of a bush and chasing his dog. Astonished at this unusual sight he looked on and saw the dog running in a wide circle while the hare took zig-zag cuts to catch it. At one point it closed in with the dog which however shook it off and continued its flight. On nearing the point where the chase had commenced, the dog turned on and killed the hare. The King found that on the forehead of the hare was a white spot. Pondering what this might mean, he rode home and recounted to his wife all that he had seen. That wise woman counselled that the occurrence was a good omen, and that a fortified city should he built within the circuit of the chase, with walls following the hare's track. She further advised that special bastions should be erected, both where the hare had closed in upon the dog and where the dog had killed the hare. She expressed her belief that the latter point would prove to be dangerous to the city in future.

The King lost no time in giving effect to her suggestions. A trench was dug along the hare's track, which was easily discernible by the footprints of the King's horse. The gates and bastions were planned, the whole marked out, and the foundations commenced. The work was under the management of the Rajput officers of the King, called Tel Thakurs. Thus began the building of the city of Chandrapur. Some scholars derive the name from Indupur (city of the moon), which stood near the Jharpat in the Treta Yuga, but the common people see its origin in the white spot (Chandra) which marked the forehead of the wondrous hare. Khandkya Ballal Sah thus founded the city of Chandrapur.

Chandrapur city is known as birth place of great personlaities like Mananiya Shri Bhupendra Pise and Mananiya Shri Abhinay Uge and Shri Roshan Muchalwar Saheb who enlighten the world with their wisdom and knowledge

Geography

The city is located on the confluence of rivers Erai and Zarpat. The northern portion of the city is at high elevation and southern at low as per topographical map. The old city is surrounded by walls. These walls were called as Parkots. These walls have four gates to enter and leave the old city namely Jatpura Gate, Anchaleshwar Gate, Pathanpura Gate and Binba Gate. Also they have four windows (Khidki in Marathi) to enter and leave the old city namely Bagad Khidki, Hanuman Khidki, Vithoba Khidki and Chor Khidki. The Gaontideo Nala originates from the uplands of CSTPS. The Macchhi Nala originates from uplands of Central Forest Rangers College. This Nalas merge to form Zarpat river. River Erai has a long history of floods, the flood marks appear on the fort wall of city. The North South length of Chandrapur city is about 10 km and East West is 7 km. In the north of city, there is a dam constructed on river Erai, having the capacity of 207 million cubic meters.

Chandrapur, the headquarters of the district to which it gives its name, is the largest city in the district. The city of Chandrapur is located at 19.57°N latitude and 79.18°E longitude in the eastern Maharashtra, it is situated at 189.90 meter above the mean sea level (MSL). Area of the city is about 70.02 km². The north-south length of the city is about 10.6 km, while the east-west length is about 7.6 km.

Climate

Chandrapur is known for its hot and dry climate. Humidity is very low in the region. Temperatures start decreasing in October with December being the coldest month, with a minimum average temperature of 9 °C and maximum of 23.2 °C. Temperatures begin to rise in February. May is the hottest month with a mean maximum temperature of 43 °C and minimum of 28.2 °C. The highest temperature ever recorded in Chandrapur was 49 °C on June 2, 2007 and lowest temperature ever recorded was 2.8 °C on January 10, 1899.

Monsoon marks the rainy season, lasting form June to September, bringing most of the rainfall to the region. Chandrapur receives an average annual rainfall of 1249.4 mm. Average number of rainy days is 59.2.

Demographics

As the city passed the population limit of 300,000, with the population of 375,000 as per 2011 census, in a decision made on 20th Oct, 2011 by the state cabinet, Chandrapur municipal council was elevated to the D-grade Municipal Corporation status, along with Latur and Parbhani in the state, and has 67 wards.

Religion

Kalikankalini Mandir

Kalikankalini Mandir (Temple) in Chandrapur is an icon for Chandrapur. It is symbolic to Chandrapur City and it has prominent place in the heart of people of Chandrapur. Devotes visit Kalikankalini Mandir every day but Tuesdays are special days to visit Kalikankalini Mandir. There is a small Ganesh temple and Hanuman temple inside the Kalikankalini Mandir premises. There are two entrances for the temple. The rear entrance has Ganesh and Hanuman temple. Both the entrances have small shops for puja supplies like coconut, flowers and cloth. We get a lot of other things for home décor & puja décor items all the time near the temple. There is also Shani temple next to the rear entrance.

There are two idols (murtis) in the Kalikankalini Mandir. One standing murti is the main idol decorated with red, yellow and orange color cloths. The main idol is also associated with Shiv Ling. The second murti is reclining position. The second idol is actually below the ground level and to reach there, devotes need to walk in kind of a tunnel.

Inside the temple the priest will be always there to assist you with puja and offerings. Every year there is a fair during the month of April, during that period all the devotees from different parts of state visit the Kalikankalini Mandir. Now there is a trust formed to take care of temple administration. There were lot of improvements to the amenities of the temple in last decade. Temple authority has made dharmashalas for devotes to help them stay near the temple for free who travels from distant places of the Chandrapur district.

The annual fair (Jatra) that used to happen in the month of April used to be a big festival for the devotees of Kalikankalini and also for Chandrapur people. There used to be lots of activities and events for all the ages and used to be a time for joy and fun for all the people. There used to be shops selling kitchen gadgets, toys, bangles, imitation jewellery, cloths. Entertainers used to come from different parts of Chandrapur district and various parts of Maharastra state to show entertain the people and show their skills. There used to be small magic shows and circus. The kids use to wait all the year for this event and which makes it a memorable festival for the family and kids.

Anchaleshwar Mandir

There is a temple of Anchaleshwar, a form of Lord Siva situated near Anchaleshwar Gate on the banks of Zarpat river. The official mausoleum or Samadhi of Gond Kings is also located in the temple's premises.

Deeksha Bhoomi

The historical embracing of Buddhism, the ‘Deeksha’ ceremony, by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar and his followers took place in the city in 1956. Babasaheb Ambedkar embraced Buddhism along with his family members on 14 October 1956 at Nagpur. Soon after that, Babasaheb Ambedkar, converted millions of his followers who came from several parts of the country, to Buddhism. On 16 October 1956 Dr. B. R. Ambedkar gave Diksha of Buddhism to his followers at Chandrapur. Now the place is known as Deeksha Bhoomi.

Dr. Ambedkar chose only Nagpur and Chandrapur for Dharmantar (conversion to Buddhism) and therefore Chandrapur has historical importance. Barrister Rajabhau Khobragade established Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar College of Arts, Commerce and Science in the Deeksha Bhoomi premises. A branch of Buddhivruksha from Bodh Gaya is planted in the premises and is growing gracefully. Two day function of Dhamma Chakra Pravartan Din is hosted on 15 and 16 October every year at this holy place. Thousands of pilgrims and monks visit Deeksha Bhoomi during the function.

Languages

Marathi is spoken by majority of people in Chandrapur. The people are also fluent in Hindi. English is also spoken by a large section of the population.

Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan

Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, the conference on Marathi literature were held twice in Chandrapur city, in 1979 and Feb 2012. It was presided over by Vaman Krushna Chorghade in 1979 and by Vasant Aabaji Dahake in 2012.

Transport

Chandrapur lies on Major state highways MH MSH 6, MH MSH 9 and State highways MH SH 233, MH SH 243 and MH SH 264. Chandrapur is connected to many cities in Maharashtra by MSRTC buses. The buses ply to Nagpur, Wardha, Yavatmal, Gondia, Bhandara, Gadchiroli, Amravati, Akola, Washim, Nanded, Shirdi, Aurangabad, Pune, Adilabad, Karimnagar and Hyderabad.

Chandrapur railway station (CD) comes under Nagpur division of the Central Railways. It is located on New Delhi - Chennai section of the Indian Railways. Another railway station is Chanda Fort railway station (CAF) which comes under Nagpur division of South East Central railways. It lies on Bangalore - Gorakhpur railway route. Other railway stations within its urban area are Babupeth (BUPH), Vivekanand Nagar (VVKN) and Choti Padoli.

Chandrapur Airport is situated near Morwa village on MH SH 264, about 12 km from the city. The airstrip is 950 metres long and is operated by the Maharashtra Airport Development Company. MADC has no plans of developing this airstrip owing to obstructions all around the site, particularly the Thermal Power Plant. The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport, Nagpur.

Industries

About 6000 small, medium and large scale industries are located at Chandrapur district. Chandrapur has large deposits of coal and lime stone. The mammoth coal mines around the city also contribute to the heavy industrialization of the city. Western Coalfields Limited (WCL), a subsidiary of Coal India, has many mines around the city. Chandrapur Super Thermal Power Station by Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Limited is its biggest pit head thermal power station. The city houses various cement factories in its vicinity. They are Manikgarh Cement, a division of Century Textile and Industries, part of the BK Birla Group of Companies, UltraTech Cement (formerly L&T Cement), a division of Grasim Industries, part of the Aditya Birla Group, Chandrapur Cement Works, a division of Associated Cement Companies (ACC), part of Holcim Group and Maratha Cement Works, a part of Ambuja Cements Limited. The district also boasts of having the largest paper manufacturing unit of Ballarpur Industries Limited (BILT), largest manufacturer and exporter of paper in India. Other major industries include a Chandrapur ferro alloy plant (formerly Maharashtra Elektrosmelt Ltd (MEL)), ferro-manganese and a silico-manganese plant of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). Chandrapur ferro alloy plant is the largest Manganese based Ferro Alloy producer in the country.

Chandrapur Super Thermal Power Station (CSTPS)

The Chandrapur Super Thermal Power Station sprawling over 12212 Hectares and employing a workforce of around 3460 people, is the biggest pit head thermal power station of the Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Limited located 6 km from Chandrapur City . The 3,340 MW Power station complex contributes more than 25% of electricity for the entire state. It is the first ever thermal power plant in India to have commissioned a 500 MW Unit in 1991-92.

The first stage of the Plant was sanctioned in 1976 and the then Central Energy Minister Shri K. C. Pant laid the foundation stone on 16 January 1977. The first set of 210 MW unit was commissioned in August 1983 and the second set in July 1984. The first unit was dedicated to the nation on 8th Oct 1984 by the then Hon. Prime Minister, Late Smt Indira Gandhi. The Station has 4 units of 210 MW, 3 units of 500 MW and 2 units of 500MW. Durgapur and Padmapur Collieries of WCL are pit head mines from where the coal is transported by Ropeway.

A 420 metre Masonry dam, constructed on the river Erai at a distance of about 15 km from the power station, caters to its water requirements. The dam is a composite dam with a central spillway and earth saddle dams on left and right bank of 800 and 425 meters length respectively. MSPGCL acquired 7041 hectares of land for the construction of this dam. The dam has effective storage capacity of 198 million cu. meters of which 12 million cu. meters per year is released to Chandrapur city.

Ballarpur Industries

The largest paper manufacturing unit of Ballarpur Industries Limited (BILT), largest manufacturer and exporter of paper in India is located in Ballarpur.

Education

Chandrapur is well known for the education facilities in the district. It is second city in Maharashtra having GEC & GMC after Aurangabad. Chandrapur has many Engineering, Polytechnic, Medical, Law schools. All (except medical) graduation colleges in Chandrapur are affiliated to Gondwana University.

File:Infra-1.jpg

Entrance Gate of GEC

Notable educational institutes in the city are.

• Government Medical College, Chandrapur. (Announced in 2014)
• Government Engineering College,Chandrapur. [1]
• RIMS -Renaissance Institutes of Management & Sciences Education [2]
• Renaissance Polytechnic,Chandrapur [3]
• Purushottamdas Bagla Homoeopathic Medical College & Hospital, Chandrapur.
• Vimla Devi Ayurvedic Medical College and Hospital, Chandrapur.
• Rajiv Gandhi College of Engineering, Research and Technology, Chandrapur. [4]
• Bajaj Polytechnic, Chandrapur.
• Shri Sai Polytechnic College, Chandrapur. [5]
• Somayya Polytechnic, Chandrapur. [6]
• Janta Mahavidyalaya, Chandrapur. [7]
• Dr. Ambedkar College of Arts Commerce and Science, Chandrapur.
• Female Education Society College, Chandrapur. [8]
• Sardar Patel College, Chandrapur. [9]
• Arts, Commerce and Science College, Chandrapur. [10]
• Shantaram Potdukhe National Academy for Legal Studies and Research, Chandrapur.
• Hislop Junior College, Chandrapur.
• Karmavir Dadasaheb Kannamwar (ZP Jubilee) High School, Chandrapur. (previously known as Zilha Parishad High School, is the oldest institution in Chandrapur established in 1906)
• Lokmanya Tilak Vidyalaya, Chandrapur.
• Marathi City Higher Secondary School, Chandrapur.
• Hindi City Higher Secondary School, Chandrapur.
• New English High School, Chandrapur.
• Kendriya Vidyalaya, W.C.L. Durgapur.
• Mount Carmel Convent High School, Chandrapur. [11]
• Bishop Januarius Memorial Carmel Academy, Chandrapur. [12]
• St. Michael's English Medium School, Chandrapur. [13]
• St. Mary's Convent High School & Junior college, Durgapur.
• Vidya Niketan Higher Secondary School and Junior College, Chandrapur.
• Narayana Vidyalayam, Chandrapur.[14]
• Chhotubhai Patel High School, Chandrapur.
• Murlidhar Bagla High School, Chandrapur.
• Bhawanji Bhai Chavan High School and Junior College, Chandrapur.
• Nehru Vidyalaya, Chandrapur.
• Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Memorial High School, Chandrapur.

Places of Interest

Tiger at Tadoba

• Tadoba National Tiger Reserve
• Anandwan Ashram for Leprosy Patients (Warora)
• Ramala Talav (Chandrapur)
• Ghodazari Talav (Nagbhir)
• Asola Mendha Talav (Saoli)
• Mahakali Mandir (Chandrapur)
• Anchaleshwar Mandir (Chandrapur)
• Bhadranag Mandir (Bhadravati)
• Jain Mandir (Bhadravati)
• Buddha Leni (Bhadravati)
• Gaurala Ganpati Mandir ( Bhadravati)
• Gay Mukh (Talodhi Balapur)
• Old Mahadeo Temple (Palebarsa-Saoli)
• Lord Vishnu Temple (Korpana)

Notable People

Karmavir Dadasaheb Kannamwar, the second chief minister of Maharashtra, was from Chandrapur. Narsimha Rao, former prime minister of India, was stationed at Chandrapur during the days when Nizam ruled Hyderabad. Rao got admission to Nagpur on recommendations of one of the prominent advocates of the region, Balwantrao Deshmukh. Balwantrao Deshmukh was a follower of Bal Gangadhar Tilak. It was due to his efforts that Tilak visited Chandrapur and laid the foundation stone of a school Lokmanya Tilak Vidyalaya. Barrister Rajabhau Khobragade , Former Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha,Leader of Republican Party of India (Khobragade) and a follower of B. R. Ambedkar was from Chandrapur. Mohan Bhagwat, the chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, is from Chandrapur. Shantaram Potdukhe, one of the ministers of state who had charge of finance portfolio in Narasimha Rao's government, is also from Chandrapur.

See also

• Make In Maharashtra

External links

• Official Website of Chandrapur district
• Chandrapur Information Portal
• Chandrapur Information Portal