Chikmagalur district


Chikmagalur or Chikkamagaluru, is a district in the state of Karnataka. Coffee was first cultivated in India in Chikmagalur. The mountains in Chikmagalur which are a part of the Western Ghats are the source of rivers like Tunga and Bhadra. Mullayanagiri, which is the highest peak in Karnataka is located in the district. It is also a tourist's paradise containing hill stations like Kemmanagundi and Kudremukh and waterfalls like Manikyadhara, Hebbe, Kallathigiri. Chikmagalur district has a rich history as is seen in the Hoysala temple at Amrithapura. Wildlife enthusiasts would be interested in the Kudremukh National Park and Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary present in this district.
Keresanthe Sri Mahalakshmi Temple Keresanthe Kadur is a religious center for devotes.

Etymology

Chikmagalur district gets its name from its headquarters of Chikmagalur town. It is alternatively spelt as Chikkamagaluru or Chikmagalur. Chikmagalur literally means "The town of the younger daughter" in the Kannada language. The town is said to have been given as a dowry to the younger daughter of Rukmangada, the legendary chief of Sakkarepatna and hence the name. As one can guess, there is indeed a town called Hiremagaluru which means "The town of the elder daughter" which is about 5 km from Chikmagalur town.

History

Chikmagalur is the region where the Hoysala rulers started and spent the early days of their dynasty. According to a legend, it was at Sosevur, now identified with Angadi in Mudigere Taluk that Sala, the founder of the Hoysala dynasty, killed the legendary tiger, immortalised in the Hoysala crest. It is known that Veera Ballala II, the great king of Hoysala empire, has built the Amriteshwara temple at Amrithapura in Tarikere Taluk.
Coffee was introduced into India through the Chikmagalur district when the first coffee crop was grown in the baba budan giri range during 1670 AD. According to the article Origins of Coffee, the saint Baba Budan on his pilgrimage to Mecca travelled through the seaport of Mocha, Yemen where he discovered coffee. To introduce its taste to India, he wrapped seven coffee beans around his belly and got them out of Arabia. On his return home, he planted the beans in the hills of Chikmagalur.
In recent history, Chikmagalur was the centre of global attention in the year 1978 when the former Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi contested for elections here and got elected to Lok Sabha, the Indian Parliament.

Geography

Chikmagalur, the headquarters of Chikmagalur district, is from the state capital of Bangalore, and is surrounded by the Chandra Drona hills and dense forests. The district is between 12° 54´ 42´´ and 13° 53´ 53´´ North latitude and between 75° 04´ 46´´ and 76° 21´ 50´´ east longitude. Its greatest length from east to west is about 138.4 kilometers and from north to south 88.5 kilometers. The district receives normal average rainfall of 1925 mm. The highest point in the district is Mullayanagiri, 1,926 m above sea level which is also the highest point in the state of Karnataka. 30% of the district is covered with forests. The district borders Shimoga to the north, Davanagere to the north-east, Chitradurga and Tumkur districts to the east, Hassan to the south, Dakshina Kannada to the south-west and Udupi to the west. The rivers Bhadra, Tunga, Hemavathi, Netravati, and Vedavathi flow all year round. The district is rich in iron, magnetite and granite deposits. Black soil is found around Baba Budan Giri Hills whereas Red and Gravel soil are found in the southern parts of the district.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, Chikmagalur district has a population of 1,137,961, roughly equal to the nation of Cyprus or the US state of Rhode Island. This gives it a ranking of 408th in India. The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was −0.28%. Chikmagalur has a sex ratio of 1005 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 79.24%.
81% of the population resides in rural area with the remaining 19% being the urban population. Among taluks, Sringeri taluk has the least population whereas Chikmagalur taluk has the highest population.
Kannada is the language spoken in this district.

Administration

Chikmagalur district falls under the Mysore Division of Karnataka. It is divided into two Revenue Sub-divisions, Chikmagalur Sub-Division and Tarikere Sub-Division. Chikmagalur Sub-Division comprises the taluks of Chikmagalur, Koppa, Mudigere and Sringeri whereas the Tarikere Sub-Division comprises the taluks of Tarikere, Kadur, Ajjampura and Narasimharajapura. The Deputy Commissioner is the functional head of the district. Each Sub-Division has Assistant Commissioners and each Taluk has Tahsildars who work under the control and supervision of the Deputy Commissioner. The current administrative setup of the district can be viewed here .

Economy

Agriculture is the economical back bone of the Chikmagalur district with coffee cultivation forming the major part of it. Agricultural production in the district is spread over three seasons — namely Kharif, Rabi and Summer. Important crops grown are cereals, i.e. rice, ragi, jowar, maize and minor millets, pulses like red gram, horse gram, green gram, avrekai, black gram and Bengal gram. Oil seeds like groundnut, sesamum, sunflower, castor and commercial crops like sugarcane, cotton, and tobacco are also grown here.
The Coffee Board located in Chikmagalur town is the government authority that oversees the production and marketing of coffee cultivated in the district. Coffee is cultivated in Chikmagalur district in an area of around 85,465 hectares with Arabica being the dominant variety grown in upper hills and Robusta being the major variety in the low level hills. There are around 15000 coffee growers in this district with 96% of them being small growers with holdings of less than or equal to 4 hectares. The average production is 55,000 MT: 35,000 MT of Arabica and 20,000 MT of Robusta. The average productivity per hectare is 810 kg for Arabica and 1110 kg of Robusta, which are higher than the national average.

Industries

Chikmagalur district unfortunately has not made good progress in terms of Industrial Development. Inadequate infrastructure, poor roads, poor rail network and investors preferring non-industrial ventures over industrial ones are quoted as some of the reasons for the backwardness of Industrial Development in this district.
There is only one Large Scale industry in this district, i.e. M/s Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd. in Kudremukh area of Mudigere Taluk. KIOCL was established in 1976 to develop the Kudremukh mine and to produce 7.5 million tonnes of concentrate per year. The facilities were commissioned in 1980 and the first shipment of concentrate was made in October 1981. A pelletisation plant with a capacity of 3 million tonnes per year was commissioned in 1987 for production of high quality blast furnace and direct reduction grade pellets for export. KIOCL received a massive setback when its mining licence expired and operations were stopped by the Supreme Court with effect from 31 December 2005. With many of the employees losing their jobs and the social backlash that may result thereof, efforts are being made to generate jobs for these workers in other areas.
There is only one medium-scale industry, i.e. M/s Vignyan Industries Ltd. located in Tarikere town. A subsidiary of BEML, it produces steel castings.
There are two industrial estates in Chikmagalur district, one located near Chikmagalur town and the other near Birur in Kadur Taluk. The Chikmagalur Industrial Estate is spread over of land where the one at Birur is spread over. Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board is also developing an Industrial Area of over near Amble village of Chikmagalur taluk.

Education

According to 2011 census, the percentage literacy rate of Chikmagalur district is 79.25% with 85.41% of males and 73.16% of females being literate. The literacy rate of Chikmagalur is higher than the average literacy rate of Karnataka state which is 75.36%. Sringeri Taluk has the highest literacy rate of 92.68% and Kadur Taluk with 74.33% being the least literate one.
As of 2011, there are 13 degree colleges offering graduate education in Chikmagalur district which are affiliated to Kuvempu University. Chikmagalur taluk has the maximum 4 graduate colleges whereas kadur has 2 and Koppa, Mudigere, Narasimharajapura and Sringeri taluks have only 1 graduate college each.

Primary and secondary education

As of 2001, there are 1620 primary schools and 235 secondary schools in Chikmagalur district. Chikmagalur taluk with 414 primary schools has the most primary schools with Sringeri Taluk having the fewest at 80 primary schools. Kadur Taluk with 74 secondary schools has the most secondary schools with Sringeri Taluk having the fewest at 9 secondary schools.

Higher secondary education

As of 2001, there are 46 colleges offering Higher Secondary education in Chikmagalur district. Kadur Taluk with 12 Higher-Secondary colleges has the most number of Higher-secondary colleges with Sringeri Taluk having the least number of 2 Higher-secondary colleges.

Pre-University College

A new medical college has been sanctioned to Chikmagalur city but the construction work has not yet been started. The only source of medical education in the Chikmagalur district is Arror Laxminarayan Rao Memorial Ayurvedic Medical college in Koppa. This college offers the Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery degree.

Transport

Road

Chikmagalur district is known for not well maintained roads. The poor state of the roads has hampered development of this district to some extent; more so because of the absence of even a good rail network in this district. The total length of roads in this district is 7264 km. There are only three National Highways that pass through this district. The National Highway NH-206 passes through the towns of Kadur, Tarikere and NH-173 passes through Kadur - Chikkamagaluru - Mudigere connecting Mangaluru via charmadi ghat. There is a proposal to upgrade.

Rail

Chikmagalur, Kadur and Tarikere taluks have railway lines passing through them. The total length of railway line passing through the district is 136 Kadur is the main big Junction of Chikmagalur District. A new railway line connecting Chikmagalur to the main HubliBangalore trunk line was newly inaugurated and the commencment of the new line connecting Chikmagalur to the BangaloreMangalore trunk line has already been started.

Air

Chikmagalur district has a small airport near Gowdanahalli village about from Chikmagalur town. Its suitable for small charted planes. Airports at Mangalore and Bangalore can be used as an alternative.

Tourist spots

Hill stations