Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh


Ambikapur is a city and headquarter of Surguja district of Chhattisgarh. This city is one of the oldest city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, in east-central India. Ambikapur is also the divisional headquarters of Surguja Division which consists of the five districts of Surguja, Koriya, Balrampur, Surajpur and Jashpur.
Ambikapur was the capital of the Princely state of Surguja before Indian Independence. The name of the city is derived from the Hindu goddess Ambika Devi, who is the central figure of worship in the area. Ambikapur is the 8th largest city in Chhattisgarh. This city is also Cleanest cities of India

Geography

Ambikapur is located at. It has an average elevation of 623 metres. The district is spread over a forest-rich area of 22,237 km². Most of the district's terrain is forested and hilly. Natural resources include bauxite, forest products and paddy crops.

Tourism

Major tourist attractions include:


Land

The land is classified into six categories. About 41.67% is under agriculture, while about 5.70% remains fallow. A further 11.44% of the land could be brought under cultivation by improvements in farming techniques and reclamation of marginal areas. A further 1.27% is barren and uncultivated while 33.09% is forest cover and 6.83% is covered by buildings, roads and other infrastructure.
This distribution of cultivated land reflects the patterns and intensity of early agricultural practices and the extent of the population, combined with physical factors. Areas with a high concentration of cultivated land are generally those with longer histories of settlement and agricultural use. In the Ambikapur block 74.51% of the total geographical area is cultivated.

Demographics

, Ambikapur municipal corporation had a population of 264,575 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 343,173. The municipality had a sex ratio of 920 females per 1,000 males and 11.3% of the population was under six years old. Effective literacy was 88.20%; male literacy was 92.73% and female literacy was 83.29%.
Ambikapur is inhabited by people from across India. Moderate weather makes it an attractive place for settlement. Unlike the capital, the district population comprises aboriginal populations including the Pandos and Korwas, who still live in rural areas.
Ambikapur is home to a large number of Tibetan migrants who took refuge in India after the Chinese annexation of Tibet in 1959.

Transport

Rail

is connected to the Anuppur railway junction, a bordering town in Madhya Pradesh, by a broad gauge railway. Trains reach Ambikapur from Katni, Satna, Jabalpur, Durg, Bhopal and the state capital Raipur. More destinations, such as New Delhi, can be reached from Anuppur railway junction.
Jabalpur - Ambikapur Express, Ambikapur – Shahdol, Ambikapur – Surajpur – Anuppur – Bilaspur – Raipur – Durg Express and Bhopal – Chirmiri Passenger run from major cities Bhopal, Gwalior, Katni, Raipur and Jabalpur.

Road

Ambikapur is well connected by road to other major cities of Chhattisgarh such as Raipur, Bilaspur, Durg, Bhilai, Korba and Raigarh. Daily bus services also runs for Varanasi, Renukoot in U.P, Raipur and Garhwa in Jharkhand. Bus services from Anuppur to Ambikapur operate via Manendragarh and Surajpur. The bus journeys from Bilaspur and Anuppur take between five and six hours.

Media and communications

State-owned All India Radio has a local station in Ambikapur.

Web portals

Website nameURLNotes
Official Government Portal for the district of SurgujaOfficial government website for the district. Land records and other e-governance projects are available from here.
District Court Surgujahttps://web.archive.org/web/20140914121349/http://ecourts.gov.in/surgujaOfficial website of the district court of Surguja
Official website of Nagar Nigam Ambikapurhttp://nagarnigamambikapur.co.in/Official website of Nagar Nigam Ambikapur

University