Bagalkot

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Bagalkote
—  town  —
Bagalkote Location of Bagalkote in Karnataka and India
Coordinates	16°10′54″N 75°41′45″E / 16.1817°N 75.6958°E / 16.1817; 75.6958Coordinates: 16°10′54″N 75°41′45″E / 16.1817°N 75.6958°E / 16.1817; 75.6958
Country	India
Region	Bayaluseeme
State	Karnataka
District(s)	Bagalkot District
District Collector
Population • Density	112,068 (2011[update]) • 2,323 /km2 (6,017 /sq mi)
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	48.25 km2 (19 sq mi) • 770 metres (2,530 ft)
Codes • Pincode • 587101-105 • Telephone • +08354 • Vehicle • KA-29,KA48

Bagalkot or Bagalkote is a town in the Indian state of Karnataka. Bagalkot 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 gifted 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.

Today, Bagalkot is divided into two parts - the new Bagalkot or Navanagar and the old Bagalkot 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

Bagalkot is located at 16°11′N 75°42′E / 16.18°N 75.7°E / 16.18; 75.7.^[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 institutions, including Basaveshwara Vidya Vardhaka Sangha and Sakri sangha. Many colleges are affiliated with Karnatak University, Dharawad, Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Karnataka. Basaveshvara Engineering College was established in 1963 in an engineering college in the city. S Nijalingappa Medical College in Bagalkot is affiliated with Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bangalore.

The University of Horticultural Sciences (UHS) is headquartered in Navanagar, Bagalkot with its constituent colleges spread across the state. For list of schools in Bagalkot 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.^{[citation needed]} 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 because of security reaons.

Demographics

As of 2011^[update] Census of India,^[2] Bagalkot had a population of 97,377 with males constituting 52% of the population and females 48%. Bagalkot 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

Bagalkot is well connected by road and railway routes. The National Highway NH-218 from Hubli to Humnabad passes through Bagalkot.

The state highway passing through Bagalkot connects NH-13 at about 40 km from Bagalkot. It is connected to Belgaum by road and connected to Hubli. World class State Highway Belgaum to Raichur passes through Bagalkot.

Railway

Bagalkot 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. Bagalkot is connected with direct trains to Bijapur, Solapur, Gadag, Dharwad, Bellary, Yeshwantpur (Bengaluru), Hubli and Ahmedabad.

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

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

References

External links

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