Sonipat


Sonipat is a city and a Municipal Corporation in Haryana state of India. It comes under the National Capital Region and is around from Delhi. It is also around 214 km southwest of Chandigarh, the state capital. The Yamuna River runs along the eastern boundary.
On 22 December 1972, Sonipat has created a full-fledged district. It lies on Delhi Western Peripheral Expressway, Eastern Peripheral Expressway and Grand Trunk Road as well as the planned Delhi–Sonipat–Panipat Regional Rapid Transit System and it is also connected by the under implementation Delhi Metro extension of Yellow line to be completed in Phase IV by March 2022.

Etymology

According to legend, Sonipat was earlier known as Sonprastha, which later on became Swarnprastha. Later, the name Swarnprastha changed into Swarnpath, and then to its current form, Sonipat.

Ancient history

Reference to the city comes in the epic Mahabharata as Swarnprastha. It was one of the five Prastha demanded by Pandavas as the price of peace from Duryodhan in lieu of the kingdom Hastinapur. The other four Prastha were Panprastha, Baghprastha, Tilprastha and Indraprastha.

Geography and topography

Sonipat is located at.

Climate

Demographics

As of 2011 Indian Census, Sonipat city had a total population of 278,149, of which 148,364 were males and 129,785 were females. The population within the age group of 0 to 6 years was 32,333. The total number of literates in Sonipat was 210,112, which constituted 75.5% of the population with male literacy of 79.7% and female literacy of 70.8%. The effective literacy rate of 7+ population of Sonipat was 85.5%, of which the male literacy rate was 90.8% and the female literacy rate was 79.5%. The Scheduled Castes population was 42,013. Sonipat had 55,599 households in 2011.
The urban agglomeration, which includes suburbs outside of the city's jurisdiction, had a total population of 289,333.

Places of interest

Khwaja Khizr Tomb

The Khwaja Khizr Tomb situated in Jatwara houses the remains of the saint and son of Darya Khan who lived during the rule of Ibrahim Lodhi. The structure was built between 1522 and 1525 AD. The tomb stands on an elevated platform and is one of the few monuments where red sandstone along with ‘kankar’ blocks have been used. The ceiling is decorative and made of multicolor floral designs. The cenotaph chamber is surrounded by a dome-shaped structure that rests on a small drum of octagonal shape. Now the site is under the protection of Archaeological Survey of India and surrounded by of gardens.

Mughal architecture

There are several Mughal buildings on the outskirts of the city, including the Mosque of Abdullah Nasir-ud-din, who was a descendant from Mushid of Iran.

Yamuna River

The main water system in the district is the Yamuna River and the irrigation canals flowing out of it. The river flows besides the rural belt in the eastern side of district. It also acts as a natural boundary between the states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Food

Sonipat is famous for its monsoon time sweet dish ghevar which has its roots of origin here.

Economy

Industrial estates

There are six HSIIDC industrial estates namely Sonepat city, Barhi, Kundli, Murthal, Rai and Samalkha. The development of Sonepat Industrial area in the city started in the 1950s with Atlas Cycle. Since then, many small and big industries have been established here. Atlas, E.C.E. or the Birla Factory, OSRAM India.

Agriculture

Despite recent industrial development, Haryana is primarily an agricultural state. The main crops are wheat, rice, sugarcane, cotton, oilseeds, pulses, barley, maize, millet, etc. Presently, rice and sugarcane cultivation is undertaken in the Khadar area and oilseeds, horticultural plants, vegetables and flowers, is cultivated in the upland plains of district. The main sources of irrigation are tube wells and canals. There are two main types of crops: Rabi and Kharif. The major Kharif crops of Haryana are rice, jowar, bajra, maize, cotton, jute, sugarcane, Baby corn, Sweet corn, sesame and groundnuts. For these crops the ground is prepared in April and May and the seeds are sown at the commencement of rains in June. The crops are ready for harvesting by the beginning of November. The major Rabi crops are wheat, tobacco, pulses, linseed, rapeseed and mustard. The ground is prepared by the end of October or the beginning of November and the crops are harvested by March. Dairy farming forms an essential part of the rural economy. Animal husbandry has been taken up as an integral component of diversified agriculture.

Education

Rajiv Gandhi Education City

The Rajiv Gandhi Education City, Sonipat at Kundli is project by Government of Haryana to develop a hub of higher education institutes in 5000 acres of land. Indian Institute of Technology Sonipat has already taken possession of 50 acres of land offered for the extension of its Delhi campus. Many universities have started their projects to establish their campus.

Universities

The Sports Authority of India has established the Northern Regional Center at Sonipat to provide world-class facilities for athletes.
In July 1973 the government established the Motilal Nehru School of Sports, Rai, Sonipat to provide education facilities with extra emphasis on sports. It trains athletes in hockey, basketball, lawn tennis, horse riding, gymnastics, swimming, rifle shooting, volleyball, boxing, cricket and football.

Bus Port

proposed first Bus Port in the pattern of Airport on GT Road in Sonipat. It will be the joint venture of Government of Haryana and NHAI.

Sonipat Lok Sabha

is one of the 10 Lok Sabha constituencies in Haryana state in northern India.*Ramesh Chander Kaushik is Member of Parliament from Sonipat Seat

Notable people