Mahasamund


Mahasamund City is a city in Mahasamund District in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. It is the one of the important and 12 th biggest city of the State. The city is divided into 30 wards and four zones and it is the biggest city in the Trans-Mahanadi area. It is also the administrative headquarters of the Mahasamund District and part of the proposed new Mahasamund Municipal Corporation The present mayor is Prakash Chandrakar.

Etymology

Mahasamund was believed to be named after great ruler of Gupta dynasty Samudragupta. During his mission in Dakshin Koshal Samudragupta with his army stationed on the bank of river Mahanadi. Thus the name Mahasamund emerged.

Geography

Mahasamund is located at. It has an average elevation of 318 metres. Mahasamund is 56 km south-east of Raipur on the junction of National Highway 6 and National Highway 217 close to the Mahanadi River. Mahasamund city is an important station on the Raipur-Vizag rail route. Mahasamund and Raipur is the only district headquarter city which is close to the new Chhattisgarh capital, Naya Raipur.

Demographics

Indian census, Mahasamund has a population of 85,650. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Mahasamund has an average literacy rate of 70%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 79%, and female literacy is 61%. 14% of the population is under 6 years of age. The estimated population in 2014 is above one lakh.

Transport

Mahasamund is 55 km from Raipur, 105 km from Dhamtari, 30 km from Rajim, 160 km from Bilaspur, 95 km from Durg, 85 km from Bhilai, 115 km from Saraipali, 180 km from Bargarh, and 250 km from Sambalpur.

Bus

bus terminal in Mahasamund is well connected to its nearby cities. There are regular bus services to Raipur, Bilaspur, DurgSaraipali, Baloda Bazar Bemetara, Simga, Rajim, Nershinghnath Sarangarh, Gariyaband, Khariar Road, Nuapada, Berhampur, Asika, and Bhawanipatna.

Rail

Mahasamund has two railway stations: the Mahasamund railway station and the Belsonda station. The Mahasamund railway station is an important station on the East Coast Railway zone. Dualling of the railway track from Raipur Mahasamund to Titilagarh is completed and electric engine starts running in the year 2019. The Rail Ministry sanctioned a new railway manager division headquarters at Mahasamund.
Mahasamund railway station is situated on the Raipur Vishakhapatnam railway line. There are regular trains for Bhubaneswar, Puri, Vishakhapatnam, Durg, Raipur, Bilaspur, Korba, Nagpur, Mumbai, Delhi, Bhopal, Titilagarh, Sambalpur, Bhawanipatna, Ahmedabad, Gandhidham, New Delhi, Tirupati, Shirdi, Vijayawada, Agra, Itarsi, Bhusawal, Nanded, Jodhpur, Katni, Sagar, Shahdol, Anuppur.

Air

is just 40 km south-east from Mahasamund.

Roads

Mahasamund is well connected to major Indian cities through National Highway 6 and National Highway 217. The construction of improving National Highway 6 to a four-lane road from Mahasamund to Odisha is in progress.

City bus

The state government approved a city bus project in Mahasamund city. Under Jnurm scheme government sanctioned 9 low floor city bus for Mahasamund city.

Entertainment

Mahasamund has two cinemas, Vithoba Cineplex and ShriRam Talkies. Recently the construction of the three-screen INOX multiplex is in process.

Education

Mahasamund City is the educational hub for the nearby areas. Some of the leading institutes are
The economy of Mahasamund is based on agriculture and mining. Rice is the main crop grown here. The black stone of this area is mined for tiles; Mahasamund also has many stone-cutting factories. The industrial area of Birkoni and Belsonda is just 10 and 05 km respectively.

Banks

Mahasamund is home to branches of all the major public and private sector banks in India. These include Axis Bank, State Bank of India Main Branch, Collectorate Road Branch, Station, Station Road Branch, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, Bank Of Maharashtra, Allahabad Bank, Vijaya Bank, Bank of India, Union Bank, Uco Bank, Punjab National Bank, Dena Bank, Central Bank, Laxmi Vilas Bank and Canara Bank Bank of Baroda Bandhan Bank Indian Bank as well as around 30 ATMs located all around the city.

Culture and religion

About 90 percent population of the city follow Hinduism. People from all over India have settled here.

Politics

Mahasamund is the very high profile and one of the 11 parliament constituency in the state of Chhattisgarh. This constituency is the seat of former Union Minister Vidya Charan Shukla who contested 12 lok sabha elections in which he won 11 and 1 loss against first Chief Minister Ajit Jogi. In the 2014 general election Ajit Jogi lost the election against BJP candidate Chandu lal Sahu.
The assembly segments are Mahasamund, Saraipali, Basna, Khallari, Bindranawagarh, Rajim, Dhamtari, and Kurud.
The Member of legislative Assembly from Mahasamund constituency is Dr. Vimal Chopra.

Tourism

Tourist sites in and around Mahasamund include Sirpur, the ancient capital of South Kosal and famous for its Lakshman temple, Buddha Vihar and many archaeological sites. The state government has decided to develop this area as a World Heritage site. Other nearby tourist sites include Kodar Dam, Rajim Kumbh, Rajiv Lochan Temple, and Khallari Temple. The birthplace of Mahaprabhu Vallabhacharya is in nearby Champaran.

Localities