Sri Ganganagar


Sri Ganganagar is a planned city and the northern-most city of the Indian state of Rajasthan, near the borders of Haryana and Punjab states and the international border of India and Pakistan. It is the administrative headquarters of Sri Ganganagar district. It is named after Maharaja Shri Ganga Singh Bahadur, Maharaja of Bikaner. It is known as "the food basket of Rajasthan".

History

Sri Ganganagar was established by Maharaja Ganga Singh, near Ramanagar which was named Rami Ki Dhani after Ram Singh Saharan and now known as 'Purani Abadi' and 'Old Abadi'. Sri Ganganagar is one of the first well-planned modern cities of India, it is said to be influenced by the town planning of Paris. It is divided into residential blocks and a commercial area which includes Dhan Mandi.
Almost 70-75 percent of people's livelihood depend on farming. They grow a number of varieties of crops like wheat, rice, sugarcane and so on. These products exported to many other states like Punjab, Haryana and others.
Along with this, youngsters of Sri Ganganagar enjoy sports like kabaddi, cricket, badminton and football. They win hundreds of trophies and cups every year in state and national level tournaments.
It is at the point where the Sutlej waters enter Rajasthan or the erstwhile Bikaner State. It is said by the elders that this area first came under the erstwhile Bahawalpur state. But, due to the large open area, this was unguarded and Hindu Mal took advantage of this opportunity and changed the boundaries or the posts along the boundary. He started his journey to change posts from Suratgarh in south till Hindumalkot city in north of this district. He informed the Maharaja about his successful invasion of the area when he reached the northern part and thereafter died giving name to the city Hindumalkot.
In 1899-1900, the Bikaner State was affected by a severe famine. To resolve this issue permanently, Maharaja Ganga Singh obtained the services of AWE Standley, chief engineer, who demonstrated the feasibility of the western area of the Bikaner State being brought under irrigation from the Sutlej waters. The plan of the Sutlej Valley Project was drawn by the chief engineer of Punjab, RG Kennedy, according to which the vast area of erstwhile Bikaner State could be brought under irrigation. However, the project got delayed due to objections by the erstwhile State of Bahawalpur.
With the intervention of then Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon, in 1906, a Tripartite Conference was held and an agreement was reached and signed on 4 September 1920. The foundation stone of the Canal Head Works at Ferozepur was laid on 5 December 1925 and the work completed in 1927 by constructing of lined canal. The opening ceremony was performed on 26 October 1927 by Lord Irwin, the then Viceroy of India.
The plan for the city of Sri Ganganagar was drawn at this time. Irrigated parts of Bikaner State were brought under Sri Ganganagar district and later sub-divided into Hanumangarh district in 1994

Location and area

Sri Ganganagar District is between latitude 28.4 to 30.6 and longitude 72.2 to 75.3 The total area of Sri Ganganagar is 11,154.66 km² or 1,115,466 hectares. It is surrounded on the east by Hanumangarh District, on the south by Bikaner District and on the west by Bahawalnagar district of the Pakistani Punjab and on the north by Fazilka district of the Punjab.

Political representation

Indra Gandhi main canal is the largest canal of India, located in Ganganagar district.
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Although Ganganagar District lies in the great Thar desert, irrigation via the Gang Canal and Indira Gandhi Nahar Pariyojna has changed the flora and fauna. The district can be classified into five geographical regions:
  1. The region irrigated by the Gang canal and the Bhakra canal tributaries: the northern region, which is 3/4 of the district, resembles the fertile plains of Punjab. Some areas, like the area between the towns of Raisinghnagar and Vijaynagar, have desert-like conditions.
  2. Area irrigated by the Suratgarh branch of the IGNP canal
  3. Area irrigated by Anupgarh branch of IGNP canal: It comprises Anupgarh and Gharsana tehsils. It is the southernmost region of the district, of which much has been converted into plains, but sandy dunes can be seen.
  4. The Naali belt: This is a narrow basin of the Ghaggar river. It is the only major river of the district. It is a seasonal river, which flows in the rainy season. It enters the district near Suratgarh and flows in areas of Jaitsar, Vijaynagar and Anoopgarh, then crosses the Indo-Pakistan border.
  5. The Villages in the Area are named after the Canal/water Distributary passing nearby.Example Village-Chak 5 BB, This is the 13th Village on the BB Canal, Chak 4'E', it is the 4th Village on the E Canal/Distributary.

    Climate

The climate of Sri Ganganagar varies to extreme limits. Summer temperature reaches 50° Celsius and winter temperature dips just around 0° Celsius. The average annual rainfall is only. Average maximum temperature in summer is 50 °C and average minimum temperature in winter is -2.8 °C.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Sri Ganganagar district has a population of 1,969,520, roughly equal to the nation of Slovenia or the US state of New Mexico. This gives it a ranking of 235th in India. The district has a population density of.
Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 10.06%. Ganganagar has a sex ratio of 947 females for every 1000 males. Males constitute 52.99% of the population and females 47.01%. Ganganagar has an average literacy rate of 74.25%, higher than the national average of 73.8%: male literacy is 84.33%, and female literacy is 71.37%. In Ganganagar, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age. A majority of the population is Hindu, Jain and Sikh. The city has a very significant influence of Punjabi culture because of its proximity to the State of Punjab.

Economy

Desert land was converted to a green town by the efforts of Maharaja Ganga Singh, who brought the Gang canal. It carries the excess waters of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the region, making Ganganagar a district known as "the food basket of Rajasthan".
The economy of the city is based on agriculture; its main crops are wheat, mustard and cotton. Other crops are guar, bajra, sugar cane and grams. In recent years, farmers are diverting towards horticulture. Kinnow is a popular horticultural product; other fruits of the citrus family are also grown.
Industries in Sri Ganganagar District are based on agriculture. Major industries are cotton ginning and pressing factories, mustard oil mills, wheat flour mills, Rajasthan State Ganganagar Sugar Mills, 20 top renowned industries are Vikas WSP Limited, T.C. Fresh Kinnow Waxing, Kanda Edible Oil Unit, Ruchi Soya Industries etc. It has cotton spinning and textile factories such as JCT Mills. Most of the factories are in and around Sri Ganganagar City.

Culture

A majority of people in the district speak Bagri and Punjabi. Writers of the district have made contributions to Rajasthani literature, through Bagri.
Bagri culture dominates the district, while Punjabi culture has influence in some areas.
The embroidered odhni is a symbol of Bagri women. A long shirt and ghaghro and borlo is the traditional dress of Bagri women.
The purdah is mainly in vogue among Bagri women. Men mainly wear a pant-shirt, kurta-payjama and dhoti.
Traditional and Pop Punjabi music and Rajasthani devotional music is popular. Bollywood songs are listened to with the same enthusiasm as in other northern Indian regions.

Religion

The majority religion here is Hinduism followed by Sikhism due to its proximity with Punjab. The place has several Hindu shrines.
Sikh shrine Gurudwara Buddha Johad is located here.
Islam and Christianity have a presence with a few mosques and churches.
Migrants from other states are followers of minority religions.

Tourist attractions

The landscape of Sri Ganganagar is dotted with temples and religious places. The famous temples in Sri Ganganagar include
city

Transport

Auto rickshaws And Cycle rickshaws are majorly used for internal transport.
Sri Ganganagar is well connected with road and is linked directly to Delhi, Jaipur, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Sikar, Karnal, Haridwar, Bathinda, Ambala, Jodhpur and many other cities. Nation Highway 62 passes through Sri Ganganagar. Sri Ganganagar is directly connected to Delhi, Jaipur, Kota, Bikaner, Haridwar, Hanumangarh, Jodhpur, Ambala, Sikar, Bathinda, Firozpur, Howrah, Trivandrum, Nanded, Ahmedabad, Pune, Roorkee, Kanpur, Bangalore and some other cities via train.

Tehsils and other towns

Ganganagar tehsils

There are ten tehsils in Ganganagar district.
  1. Sri Ganganagar
  2. Karanpur
  3. Sadulshahar
  4. Padampur
  5. Raisinghnagar
  6. Suratgarh
  7. Anoopgarh
  8. Vijaynagar
  9. Gharsana
  10. Rawala

    Other major towns and villages

, Kesrisinghpur, Gajsinghpur, Suratgarh, Ramsinghpur, Jaitsar, Rawla Mandi are major towns, whereas Raghunathpura, Lalgarh Jatan, Ridmalsar, Kikarwalee, Budhajor, Binjhbayla, Rajiasar, Patroda, Sameja Kothi, Chunawadh, Birmana, Hindumalkot, Zorawar singh pur, Banda colony, Bajuwala, Birmana, Dhaban Jhallar, Khat Sajwar, Mirjawala, Netewala, Jetsar are small towns and villages.
Many towns and cities in Sri Ganganagar District are named after members of the royal family of the former Bikaner State.

Notable People