Bilaspur is a city located in Bilaspur District in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Bilaspur is the administrative headquarters of the Bilaspur District and Bilaspur Division. The Chhattisgarh High Court, located at Bodri, District Bilaspur has privileged it with the title Nyayadhani (Law Capital) of the State. This city is the commercial center and business hub of the northeast Chhattisgarh region.
Bilaspur is also an important city for the Indian Railways, as it is the headquarters for South East Central Railway Zone (SECR) and the Bilaspur Railway Division. Bilaspur is also the headquarters of South Eastern Coalfields Limited. Chhattisgarh's biggest power plant operated by NTPC is in Sipat. PowerGrid in Sipat pools electricity from other power plants in region and transmits electricity to Delhi via one of longest HVDC line.
Bilaspur is known for its aromatic rice variety named 'doobraj' rice, Handloom woven colourful soft kosa silk sarees. Basic Tasar Silkworm Seed Organisation (BTSSO) () under the Central Silk Board, Government of India collects, executes the production and supply of nucleus and basic tasar seed from surrounding areas.
Indian Standard Time (IST), the time zone observed throughout India with a time offset of UTC+05:30, passes approx 30 km east of the city.
Bilaspur is one of the 100 Indian cities to be developed as a Smart city under the Smart Cities Mission.
History Historically, Bilaspur was part of Dakshina Kosala and was near capital of Malhar, Chhattisgarh (ancient Mallar), Sirpur (ancient Shripura), Tuman (ancient Tummana), and Ratanpur (ancient Ratnapura). From the 5th century onwards it was controlled by the Kalachuri dynasty of Ratanpur. Ratanpur was historical capital of Chhattisgarh state for many different dynasty. Bilaspur city, however, came into prominence around 1741, the year of the Maratha Empire rule, when a Maratha official took up his abode there to control dynasty of Ratanpur.
The management of Bilaspur district was taken over by the British East India Company in 1818 after Bhosale lost territory in Third Anglo-Maratha War. Under Bhosale of the Nagpur kingdom there were many subedars or zamindars/landlords like Akbar Khan, Vazeer Khan, Sao and others in Bilaspur.
Bilaspur district was constituted in 1861, followed by Bilaspur municipality in 1867. Famines in the Bilaspur district were recorded by the British administration in 1828–9, 1834–5, 1845–6, 1868–9 and 1899–1900. In 1868-9 and 1899–1900, the rains failed almost completely, resulting in severe distress, migration and desertion of villages. After the 1868-9 famine there was prosperity for the next 25 years; but in 1895 there was a very poor harvest, followed in 1896 by a complete failure of crops, and severe famine continued throughout 1897. In that year the mortality rate was as high as one in six people. The famine of 1897 was followed by two favorable years; but in 1899 the monsoon failed completely and the rice crop was wholly destroyed.
Guru Ghasidas (1756–1836) started a religious movement, Satnamis (meaning the worshippers of Satnam(not related to Sikhism), between 1820 and 1830 primarily around the Sonakhan forests. This religious movement preached against idol-worship, and instead stressed that God is synonymous with truth. His community was a farming community. The university at Bilaspur is named after him as Guru Ghasidas University.
Railways arrived at Bilaspur in the decade 1880–90, with the arrival of the Bengal Nagpur Railway. In 1888 Mistri Jagmal Gangji and other Mistri Railway Contractors laid the first railway tracks from Rajnandgaon to Bilaspur, and in that same year fellow Kutchi contractor Khoda Ramji and others built the line from Bilaspur to Jharsuguda, including the bridge over the Champa river.
In 1890, the present railway station and yard were constructed by the Gujarati railway contractor Jagmal Gangji. His son Mulji Jagmal Sawaria was later given the title of "Rao Sahib" by the British for his contribution to the development of the town, railways and the district. Jagmal Block and Jagmal Chowk in the city are named after Jagmal Gangji Sawaria.
In 1901, the population of Bilaspur was 18,937 and it was the eighth-largest town in the Central Provinces of British India. In 1908, weaving of tasar silk and cotton clothes were recorded as the major industries of Bilaspur.
Etymology Historical records like The Imperial Gazetteer of India Imperial Gazetteer of India, Vol 8, 1908. note that the city is said to be named after a fisherwoman by the name of "Bilasa" in the 17th century, and for a long period it consisted only of a few fishermen's huts. James Forsyth stated that Bilaspur is named after the "Palash" trees (Butea frondosa) which are found in abundance in the area.The highlands of central India, James Forsyth, 1889. In Sanskrit Bilas means playful or enjoyment and Pur means city or town. So, literally Bilaspur mean the city of enjoyment.
Geography Bilaspur is located at . It has an average elevation of 264 metres (866 ft).
Bilaspur is situated on the banks of the rain-fed Arpa River, which originates from the Maikal Range of Central India. It's a dolomite rich region surrounded by dense forests in the north and the coal mines of the Hasdeo Valley in the east.
Bilaspur District is surrounded by Gaurella-Pendra-Marwahi District in the north, Anuppur District of Madhya Pradesh, Mungeli and, Baloda Bazar-Bhata Para District in the south and Korba and Janjgir-Champa District in the east.
Major cities around Bilaspur are: Raipur and Durg-Bhilai in South-West Nagpur in West Bhopal and Jabalpur in North-West Varanasi and Prayagraj in North Ranchi and Patna in North-East Korba, Raigarh, Rourkela and Bhubaneswar in East
Climate The climate in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh has been colder than the Raipur region for the winters in December (minimum temperature 6 °C, 42 °F in the last week of December annually, while some areas have even reported temperature going down as low as 3-4 °C, 37 °F), which resembles northern Chhattisgarh. However most of the winter goes mild and pleasant. The city experiences moderate rains in the monsoon. The summers are relatively hot and dry, with maximum temperature 48+ °C, 113 °F.
Demographics India census, Bilaspur Municipal Corp had a population of 331,030. Bilaspur urban area population was estimated at 365,579. In August 2019, adjacent 18 towns and sub-urban areas were included in the Bilaspur Municipal Corporation. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Bilaspur has an average literacy rate of 91.29%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with male literacy of 92.94% and female literacy of 88.33%. 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.
According to the 2011 census, Bilaspur District, Chhattisgarh has a population of 2,662,077, roughly equal to the nation of Kuwait or the US state of Nevada. Bilaspur District ranks 152nd in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 33.21%. Bilaspur has a sex ratio of 972 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 71.59%.
The main languages spoken are Chhattisgarhi and Hindi.
Administration
Bilaspur Division
Bilaspur district is the headquarter of the Bilaspur Division of Chhattisgarh. This division consists of eight districts (as of May 2024) -
Bilaspur Korba Raigarh Janjgir-Champa Mungeli Gaurella-Pendra-Marwahi Sakti Sarangarh-Bhilaigarh
Tehsil
The Bilaspur district consists of 11 Tehsils - Bilaspur, Kota, Takhatpur, Bilha, Masturi, Ratanpur, Sipat, Belgahna, Beltara, Bodri and Sakri.
Block Samiti
Bilaspur district is divided into 4 block samitis which covers 483 Gram Panchayats and 708 villages (as of May 2024). These are -
Kota (101 Panchayat covering 162 villages). Takhatpur (117 Panchayat covering 178 villages). Belha (139 Panchayat covering 174 villages). Masturi (126 Panchayat covering 173 villages).
Bilaspur City Administration
The Bilaspur city is a Nagar Nigam and district headquarter of Bilaspur district. Bilaspur City runs under the administration of the Bilaspur Municipal Corporation (BMC). Its Nagar Nigam, Municipality, District Magistrate, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Tehsildar office and collectorate office are all situated near Nehru Chowk. It has three Nagar Palikas namely (1) Takhatpur, (2) Ratanpur, (3) Tifra. It has been categorised into seven Nagar Panchayat namely (1) Bilha (2) Kota (3) Bodri and (4) Malhar (5) Gourella (6) Sakri (7) Sirgitti.
Culture
Bilaspur is rich in its cultural heritage. Bilaspur has its own dance styles, cuisine, music and traditional folk songs. In rural areas, women wear garlands made of one rupee coins. This has gone out of fashion in recent times. The city celebrates all the major festivals of India. There are some local festivals such as the colorful Raut Nach (November), harley, and pola. The Raut Nach Mahotsav is the folk-dance festival of Bilaspur celebrated by Yaduvanshis also known as Rauts in Chhattisgarh to honor lord Krishna and to thank nature for good crop season.
There are other folk dances like Panthi, Karma, Kaksar and Padnwani (Needs to be added content).
The town has been the home of several literary, theatre, arts personalities including Makhan Lal Chaturvedi, Satyadev Dubey, Bimal Mitra, Shrikant Verma.
Utility services Over the years, Bilaspur has developed many 4 – lane and 6 – lane roads, street lighting and squares. However, the last decade has seen large-scale unregulated urbanization and residential and commercial expansion, over-straining the water resources and generally defunct civic amenities due to indifferent officials and politicians. There is a master plan for the city and surrounding areas.
Electricity is government-regulated and, as of now, no power cuts are effected, thanks to the massive expansion in energy generating capacity both by public and private companies in the energy sector.
Hospitals and health care facilities Bilaspur is home to many hospitals and nursing homes, some run by the state government and others by the private sector. City has a government medical college named Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Science which has 750 beds for patients. There is Apollo Hospitals in the private sector, which is 300 bedded specialty hospital. A new mental hospital is established in village Sendri (Ratanpur Road) which provides quality treatment. More than 25 Sanjivni express and Mahatari express are running in city. It also has private dental colleges in the city area.
Economy