Belgaum

Belgaum district is a district in the state of Karnataka, India. The city of Belgaum is the district headquarters in North Karnataka. History Of Belgaum District : The ancient name of the town of Belgaum was Venugrama, meaning Bamboo Village. It is also called as Malnad Pradesh. The most ancient place in the district is Halsi; and this, according to inscriptions on copper plates discovered in its neighborhood, was once the capital of a dynasty of nine Kadamba kings. It appears that from the middle of the 6th century to about 760 the area was held by the Chalukyas, who were succeeded by the Rashtrakutas. After the break-up of the Rashtrakuta power a portion of it survived in the Rattas (875-1250), who from 1210 onward made Venugrama their capital. Inscriptions give evidence of a long struggle between the Rattas and the Kadambas of Goa, who succeeded in the latter years of the 12th century in acquiring and holding part of the district. By 1208, however, the Kadambas had been overthrown by the Rattas, who in their turn succumbed to the Yadavas of Devagiri in 1250. After the overthrow of the Yadavas by the Delhi Sultanate (1320), Belgaum was for a short time under the rule of the latter; but only a few years later the part south of the Ghataprabha River was subject to the Hindu rajas of Vijayanagara. In 1347 the northern part was conquered by the Bahmani Sultanate, which in 1473 took the town of Belgaum and conquered the southern part also. When Aurangzeb overthrew the Bijapura sultans in 1686, Belgaum passed to the Mughals. In 1776 the country was overrun by Hyder Ali of Mysore, but was taken by the Madhavrao Peshwa with British assistance. In 1818 it was handed over to the British East India Company. Administrative Divisions Of Belgaum District : Administration of Belgaum District has been divided into 10 talukas. Chikkodi taluka is the largest with an area of 1,995.70 km² and Raybag taluka is the smallest with an area of 958.8 km². The district comprises three revenue sub-divisions and six police sub-divisions. Apart from the Belgaum City Corporation, there are 17 municipalities, 20 towns, 485 gram panchayats, 1,138 habitated villages and 26 non-habitated villages. Belgaum is also the headquarters of the Belgaum Revenue Division. The Talukas are Belgaum, Chikodi, Gokak, Hukeri, Khanapur, Ramdurg, Raybag, Saundatti, Athani, BailHongal. Belgaum: The Vadgoan and Madhavpur suburbs of Belgaum were important urban centres between 400 BC and 300 AD. The present city was built in the 12th century AD by the Ratta dynasty who were based at nearby Saundatti. The fort of Belgaum was built in 1204 by a Ratta officer named Bichiraja. Belgaum served as the capital of that dynasty between 1210 and 1250, before the Rattas were defeated by the Yadava Dynasty of Devagiri. Belgaum was chosen as the venue of the 39th session of Indian National Congress in December 1924 under the Presidentship of Mahatma Gandhiji. The city served as a major military installation for the British Raj, primarily due to its proximity to Goa, which was then a Portuguese territory. Once the British left India, the Indian Government continued and still continues to have Armed forces installations in Belgaum. In 1961, the Indian government, under the Prime Ministership of Nehru used forces from Belgaum to end Portuguese rule of Goa.When India became independent in 1947, Belgaum and its district became part of Bombay State. In 1956, the Indian states were reorganised along linguistic lines by the States Reorganisation Act, and Belgaum District was transferred to Mysore State, which was renamed Karnataka in 1972. In 2006, the Government of Karnataka announced that Belgaum would be made the state's second capital and that the city would be a permanent venue for the annual 15-day session of the state legislature. Chikkodi: Around 200–300 years ago, Chikkodi was called as chikk-kodi (small village) where as the nearby Hirekodi (big village) was bigger than Chikkodi. Over time, Chikkodi experienced growth due to its famous beatle leaves & came to lie on a major road. Chikkodi is now being carved into an Educational District because of having number of colleges and schools Gokak is a taluka headquarters in the Belgaum District of Karnataka state, India. It is located around 70 km from Belgaum at the confluence of two rivers, the Ghataprabha and the Markandeya.The river Ghataprabha rushes forth in a majestic manner on the north side of the city. Before she passes through Gokak city, she dashes down through a cleft of 167 ft, to form a famous Gokak Falls. Her waters have been harnessed and hydroelectric power is generated to run the well-known Gokak Mills since long. The hanging bridge across the river adds to the dreamy charm of the beautiful picture painted by Mother Nature. Another dancing river Markendeya joins river Ghataprabha to form “Holy Sangam” on north-west side of the Gokak city. The river Markandeya, near village Godachinmalaki, dashes down through 43 ft step wise hill plates to form another beautiful Godachinmalaki Falls. Gokak is a place of philosophical and historical significance. It was founded in 1853. There was a dispute and a battle as well in between Rani Abbakka and Gokak Kotawals who ruled the town in 16th century. A fort which is in ruins can still be seen at the western side of the city. The Mallikarjun temple, also known affectionately as the "Maliksaab Temple", stands atop a hill, also called the Malik-saab hill. The tomb of the Raja of Kittur Mallasarja is at the nearby Duradundeshwar temple in Arabhavi Math. During the British rule in India.The town is growing rapidly in terms of industries, business, as well as the fields of education, arts, literature and folk-art.Gokak is also renowned for its sweets, which are known all over India, such as karadantu. Hukkeri is a name which is derived from two words 'hoovina' + 'kere' means it was a place where plenty of flowers were grown and were supplied to Adilshah of Bijapur.Hukkeri has good schools in different medium like Kannada, Urdu, and English. It has Arts, Commerce, Science. It has nearby Engineering and Diploma colleges in Nidasoshi.Sankeshwar is a business city comes under Hukkeri Taluk, which is known as it is on National Highway. Khanapur is a Town Council in Belgaum district in the Indian state . It is about 26 km from Belgaum. The town is governed by the Khanapur Municipal Council. Khanapur taluka falls under Belgaum District. The town is on the Belgaum - Panaji National Highway 4A. Khanapur is well connected by train and road to important cities in Karnataka, Goa, and Maharashtra. Marathi, Kannada and konkani are the main languages spoken in this town. Khanapur is famous for its pottery industry which is run by khadi village gramodyog commission on the banks of Malaprabha River also a tourist spot named Chouda Musi a small British era bridge constructed over a small dam.Khanapur town's economy is agricultural based and is famous for cultivation of crops like sugarcane, rice, nachani (millet) etc. and fruits like chikoo, guava jackfruit etc. It is also famous for food items such as churmure (puffed rice), jaggery etc. Ramdurg : It is believed that Rama stayed in this place during his exile, hence the name came . The princely state of Ramdurg was one of the non-salute princely states of British India, under the Bombay Presidency, later the Deccan States Agency, founded in 1799. The Hindu rulers, of the Konkanasth dynasty, used the title of Raja. Ramdurg measured 438 square kilometers in area. According to the 1901 census, the population was 37,848. Ramdurg acceded to the Dominion of India on March 8, 1948 and is currently a part of Karnataka state.Ramdurg is known for its hills, sugar factories, river, trekking etc. Raybag is a panchayat town in Belgaum district in the Indian state of Karnataka.It has an average elevation of 590 metres (1935 feet). This place is underdeveloped and is famous for its rich agriculture produce of banana and sugarcane.It has very old railway station which was made by Britishers to keep control on this territory which they used for military administrating office. Savadatti is one of the oldest towns in Belgaum district in the south Indian state of Karnataka. It is a celebrated pilgrimage centre located 78 kilometres from Belgaum. Savadatti is also the name of the taluk (sub-district), which was previously named Parasgad. The historical name of the Savadatti was Sugandavarti. It was the capital of the Ratta dynasty (from 875-1230), until the capital shifted to Belgaum.There are several ancient temples in Saudatti. Athani is a town in Belgaum district of Karnataka, India. It is 150 km away from Belgaum city and 75 km from Bijapur. The main profession here is agriculture. The river Krishna flows through Athani Taluk. Athani Taluk has a total area of 1995.7 km2, 74% is cultivated. This includes 89 inhabited villages and hamlets with rural population of 461400 souls as per 2001 census. The taluk is bounded by Sangli district of Maharashtra. Geologically the area is covered by Deccan Trap formation. The average annual rainfall is 582 mm. The two rivers that flow here are, Krishna and Agrani. Agrani is beside the Tanvashi village. The gram devata of Athani is the Siddeswara. Bailhongal Taluka is located towards the northeast part of Belgaum. Taluka Head Quarter is about 45 km from the District Headquarters. Previously taluk was known as Sampgaon.The total geographical area of the taluka is 1122.40 km². There are 126 revenue villages and 14 hamlets with a total population of 356,400 souls, according to the 2001 census. There are important pilgrim places in the taluka. These include Bhartinand Swamiji Math Inchal, Sogal Someshwar Devastana, Hafiz Bari Dargah, a Jamia Masjid. Also historical places like Kittur where freedom fighters like Rani Chennamma and Sangolli Rayanna lived and devoted their lives to country for freedom purpose. Major portion of the agriculture land is covered under the command area of Malaprabha irrigation project. There are so many institutes which are serving as knowledge caterers to so many youths around this Taluk. The adjacent Talukas are Saundatti, Gokak, Belgaum.