Amravati

This article is about the city in Maharashtra. For ancient town in Andhra Pradesh, see Amravati in Andhra Pradesh, or for other meanings of the word, see Amaravati.

Amravati Amravati
Location of Amravati
Population  (2008)
• Total	678,192
Website	amravati.nic.in

Amravati (also known as Amaravati, Amrawati or Amraoti) (Marathi: अमरावती) is a city in the state of Maharashtra in India and the headquatres of the Amravati district. The city boasts of historical temples of Goddess Amba, Lord Shri Krishna and Shri Venkateshwara.

Amravati is also the headquarter of "Amravati Division" which is one of the six divisions of the state of Maharashtra (Vidarbha region). Following four districts come under Amravati Division :
1. Akola, 2. Yavatmal, 3. Buldhana and 4. Washim.

Geography

Amravati is located at 20.93°N 77.75°E / 20.93; 77.75. It has an average elevation of 343 metres (1125 feet). It lies 156 km (97 miles) west of Nagpur, and serves as the administrative center of Amravati District and of Amravati Division. Alike many small cities in India, Amravati is growing rapidly in terms of living standards. New flyovers and roads are being built, new traffic signals are being setup to renovate the city under IRDP (Integrated Road Development Programme) which is implemented by Government of Maharashtra.

The town is located near the passes through the hills that separate the cotton-growing regions of the Purna basin to the West and the Wardha basin to the East. Amravati is a growing industrial center, with Cotton mills as an important industry. The town is expanding toward Badnera, 10 km to the south, which is the location of the railway junction where the branch railway line serving Amravati joins the main Mumbai - Bhusawal - Wardha - Nagpur - Howrah rail route. National Highway 6 from Hazira (Surat) to Kolkatta passes through the city, which is part of Asian Highway 46.

It is also home to "Shivtekdi", a popular hilltop place with hundreds of people jogging in that area. Efforts are being done to revamp the "Maaltekdi", to make it a healthy destination for all early exercisers.

Climate

Rainfall in Amravati

Rainfall in Amravati

Amravati has a tropical wet and dry climate with hot, dry summers from March to June, the monsoon season from July to October and warm winters from November to March. The highest and lowest temperatures ever recorded was 46.7^oC on 25 May 1954 and 5.0^oC on 9 February 1887 respectively.

Climate Table

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Mean daily maximum temperature (°C)	29	32	36	40	42	37	31	30	31	33	30	28
Mean daily minimum temperature (°C)MG	15	17	21	25	27	25	23	23		20	17	15
Mean total rainfall (mm)	13	16	9	8	13	155	248	173	165	44	21	9
Source: Government of Maharashtra

Amravati has also some rich areas that mainly includes Balaji plots,which is situated at the heart of city.This area is mainly famous for rich "Marwaries".The cost of lands in this area is comparatively high than other area. Other prominent area is Camp

Demographics

As of 2001 India Census, Amravati, as a district, had a population of 26,06,063. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. The population of the City now has now reached up to 678,192 . Amravati has an average literacy rate of 83%, much higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 89% of the males and 76% of females literate. 12% of the population is under 6 years of age. 43% of the total population is below poverty line, which makes the city one of the most prosperous in the State and also in the country.

Spirituality

Sanskriti Bhavan

Sanskriti Bhavan

The Temple of Goddess Amba is a famous example of spiritual architecture in the Vidharbha Region. There's a legend that when Lord Krishna ran away with Goddess Rukhamini from her wedding ceremony, he used a tunnel laying from Ambadevi temple to Koundinyapur (another spiritual place near Amravati). This tunnel is still in existence but is now closed. Many research teams over the years have tried to investigate about the length of the tunnel but all their efforts were in vain. In Navaratri, there's a fair which goes on for 9 days where people from nearby towns and villages participate and dance Garba/Dandiya until late in the evening. The city is also known for the Sai Temple along with Bhaktidham situated in Sai Nagar. Other major Indian festivals like Diwali and Holi are also celebrated with lots of enthusiasm.

History

Amravati means ‘abode of immortals’. Amravati was the capital of Berar, which was part of present-day Vidharbha. Berar was part of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka's empire. In 1833 Berar was handed over to the British East India Company. It was divided into two districts, South Berar or Balaghat and North Berar. In 1956, with the reorganisation of the states, Amravati was transferred from Madhya Pradesh to Bombay state, and in 1960 with the creation of Maharashtra, Amravati became one of its districts.

Freedom fighter Bhagat Singh was hiding for 3 days in Amravati during his underground tenure and he frequently visited Hanuman Akhada (Gym) during that time. There were many other freedom fighters from the city, who laid their lives seeking Indian Independence. This place is also quite famous for being land of social activists as well as political icons like Dr. Punjabrao Deshmukh, Mr. Gulabrao Honade and many more.

In old times Amravati was business centre and to protect business from robbers and dacoit the tatabandi was built around the city, called old city now.the Old Amravati has 5 gates and 3 windows.

Education

Polytechnic Badnera

Polytechnic Badnera

At the heart of the city is the oldest and famous government institute known as the Govt. Vidarbha Institute Of Science And Humanities, formerly known as Vidarbha Mahavidyalaya, before which was known as King Edward College. It is the only government college serving Amravati with maximum branches for Humanities at the undergraduate and post-graduate level. The college has several renowned alumni. The institute has over 500 teaching and non-teaching staff, the maximum in any college under Amravati University.

Renowned educationalist and former Agricultural Minister of India, Dr Punjabrao Deshmukh is the founder of Vidharbha’s largest Shivaji Education society. More than 265 educational institutes are under the management of Shivaji Education Society, providing great contribution in the field of education especially in rural area.

Amravati has emerged as a major educational center in Central India offering many majors including medical and engineering courses. It has renowned colleges like Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University, Government College of Pharmacy, Government College of Engineering, Amravati, Government Polytechnic Amravati. V.Y.W.S.'s Prof. Ram Meghe Institute of Technology & Research is located at Badnera. It has a C-DAC center with Super Computer in it. New engineering colleges sprang up in past few years including HVPM's Engg. College and the Sipna College of Engg. and Technology. There are some excellent high schools in Amravati namely Shri Ramkrishna Krida Vidyalaya, Shri Samarth High School, Bhawarilal Samra English High School, School of Scholars, Holy Cross, Dnyanmata High School Amravati, Narayan Das Laddha High School,, Shri Ganeshdasji Rathi Vidhyalaya, Saraswati Vidhyalaya, Takhatmal English High School, Deepa English Primary School, Manibai Gujrathi High School, Pragati Vidhyalaya, New High School, Latebai School, Mohanlal Samra Primary & Montsary School, Adarsha Prarthmik Shala, Vanita Samaj, Golden Kids English High School, DRS Kids School and St. Francis High School, Amravati. These schools are the pioneers in providing quality English and Marathi Medium education. Fulor is a famous 35 years old art institute in Sangani Nagar. A couple of medium and high schools now have CBSE pattern along with Navodaya Vidyalay, conveying the modern outlook of the residents leading the way in this is Abyasa English School. The Management of Abyasa English School has also decided to start ICSE affiliated school, which will be called as Amravati Public School. The plan is in its initial stage.

Old Amravati

Amravati was once surrounded by four gates of Jawahar Gate, Kholapuri Gate, Nagpuri Gate and Amba Gate. The famous jewellery market (also known as Sarafa Bazaar) is also located inside Jawahar Gate with famous jewellery.

Governance

The current Member of Legislative Assembly is Rajendra Shekhawat of the Indian National Congress (INC). He is the son of the current President of India.

The current Member of Parliament is Anand Adsul of the Shivsena. The current Mayor is Mr. Ashok Dongre of the Indian National Congress (INC), while Chetan Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is the Deputy Mayor. In addition, Amravati is the hometown of a number of prominent politicians. The current President of India, Pratibha Patil belongs to Amravati. The current Governor of Kerela, R. S. Gavai also belongs to Amravati. Both have represented the Amravati Lok Sabha constituency in the past. There is a school named Rajeshwari Vidya Mandir.

Transport

Road

Amravati City Bus

The NH6, which runs through City, is an important National Highway, which runs from Hazira (Surat) to Kolkata. NH6 is a part of Asian Highway 46. Maharashtra state transport buses are most commonly used by people to travel to rural parts of the region. They are the cheapest means of transport. These bus frequency is extremely good.

Railway

Amravati is situated on the branch line from Badnera on Bhusawal - Nagpur section of Mumbai (CSTM) - Howrah main railway line of Central Railways.

President Pratibha Patil had laid foundation stone for New Amravati model railway station building, which has been laid on 7 September 2008. Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav announced the decision to set up a new divisional railway office in Amravati which will be housed in the model railway station building. This will be the sixth divisional railway office of Central Railways, the other five divisions being in Mumbai, Nagpur, Solapur, Bhusawal and Pune.

Also three new trains, Amravati-Nagpur Intercity Express, Amravati-Mumbai Superfast Express and Amravati-Surat Fast Passenger train have been started from Amravati.

Air

Amravati has an aerodrome which is about 15 km off NH-6 towards Akola. It is in the area called Belora. The aerodrome is not used for commercial purposes. It is used only by the politicians and other people with private jets. It has a 1.5 km runway and also has a helipad. The overall facility is not worth much talking about. The control tower lies in shabby state. There are talks that Amravati would be getting an International Airport but there is not a surety whether this aerodrome would be the one. Amravati has also Akoli railway station which is under construction.

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See also

• Regions and Divisions of Maharashtra
• Vidarbha

External links

• A Map of Amravati marked in Google Maps
• Collectorate of Amravati (Official website) - http://amravati.nic.in/
• Gazette published in 1968 - http://www.maharashtra.gov.in/english/gazetteer/AMRAVATI/home.html
• Amravati Information In Marathi - Ambaai.org
• Amravati District Statics