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About Vidarbha
Vidarbha is in the eastern region of Maharashtra state, India (Formerly it was known as Berar) consisting of two divisions the Nagpur Division and the Amravati Division and it occupies about 31% of total land area and holds 21% of total population of Maharashtra. It borders the state of Madhya Pradesh to the north, Chattisgarh to the east, Andhra Pradesh to the south and Marathwada & Khandesh regions of Maharashtra to the west. Situated in central India, Vidarbha has its own rich cultural & historical background distinct from restof Maharashtra. Nagpur is the largest city in Vidarbha and Amravati the second largest while Akola stands 3rd followed by Chandrapur, Yavatmal, Wardha and Gondia.
The region is famous as orange & cotton growing belt. Two-thirds of Maharashtra's mineral resources & three quarters of total forest resource are found in Vidarbha and is power surplus region. Vidarbha is generally calmer during communal troubles as compared to rest of India; but it is less economically prosperous compared to the rest of Maharashtra.
Since early 1960’s there have been calls for a separate state of Vidarbha, due to the continuous neglect from the Government of Maharashtra towards this region. The living conditions of farmers in this region are poor compared to India as a whole. Though rich in minerals, coal, forests and mountains, this region is always underdeveloped because of its continuous dominance by the political leadership from the other parts of the state, especially Western Maharashtra.
History of Vidarbha
Nagpur was the Capital of the Devgadh Sarkar of Subah Berar & Gondwana and the Vidarbha region known as Gulshan-e-Berar in Muedveal period since khilji dynasty to mughal period according Aine-Akbari and Alimgeer Namah report the berar is hole Fourteen sarkar of Vidarhbha region and Sawai Shiri Shrimant Santaji Bhonsle Depute Sena Sahibe -E-Subah of berar and gondwana. He was father Inlaw of Aurangzeb Grand son Bedar Bakht Mirza s/oMirza Mohammed Azam Shah Emperor of India, Buland Bakht the king of Gondwana in 1681 deputed by Aurangzeb Alamgeer Emperor of India after Sultan Chand Shah, son of Buland Bakht. After the death of Sultanchand Shah, Raghuji Bhonsle "I" was appointed Military officer for collection of revenue and chauth for Sultan Chand Shah’s family in 1732. Then Bhonsle dynasty of Marathas who in the mid eighteenth century created an independent Hindu princely state that covered much of east-central India. After their defeat in the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1818, the Bhonsle dominions were reduced to the Nagpur division. In 1853 the last Maharaja of Nagpur died without a male heir and subsequently Nagpur division was incorporated into mainstream British India. Nagpur division became a part of the British Raj's Central Provinces in 1861.
Amravati division, formerly known as Berar, was administered by the Nizam of Hyderabad until 1853. In that year, citing misgovernance by the Nizam, the British colonial administration took direct control over the province. Berar was added to the Central Provinces in 1903.
During India's independence struggle Nagpur hosted the sessions of Indian National Congress several times. Sevagram was arguably the capital of nationalistic India during the Gandhian era.
After India's independence in 1947, Central Provinces and Berar became the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. In 1956 Vidarbha was transferred to Bombay state along with all Marathi-speaking areas. In 1960 Bombay state was split along linguistic lines into the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. Marathi-speaking Vidarbha became part of the state of Maharashtra.
Geography
Geographically Vidarbha lies on the northern part of Deccan Plateau. The Satpura Range lies to the north of Vidarbha region in Madhya Pradesh. The Melghat area of Amravati district is on southern offshoot of the Satpura Range. Large, basaltic rock formation exists throughout Vidarbha caused by the Deccan lava trap. Gondia district is unique in Maharashtra in the sense that the entire area of the district is occupied by metamorphic rock and alluvium. Buldhana has the Lonar crater created by impact of meteorite or comet. The eastern districts of Gondia, Bhandara, Gadchirolli and Nagpur fall in earthquake zone 1, which is considered safest in India, while other districts fall in zone 2.
Wainganga is the largest river in the region. Other major rivers that drain Vidarbha region are the Wardha, and Kanhan rivers which are all tributaries of Godavari River. In north, five small rivers, Khapra, Sipna, Gadga and Dolar along with Purna, are the tributaries of Tapti River. Penganga River is another big river which originates in Buldhana district and flows through Washim district.
Administration & Politics
Vidarbha comprises of two divisions, Amravati & Nagpur. It has 11 districts namely, Amravati, Akola, Bhandara, Buldana, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Gondia, Nagpur, Wardha, Washim, Yavatma.
Each district has a collector's office which is responsible for day-to-day administration. The District Collector is a Central Indian Government appointee who is in charge of the governance of a district in a state. Nagpur, the largest city in Vidarbha, has a special civic body, the Nagpur Improvement Trust, which along with Nagpur Municipal Corporation is responsible for overall development and planning activity. Other significant cities like Amravati, Akola and Chandrapur too have their own municipal corporation. The corporators (representatives) in these civic bodies are elected adult franchise. Other rural areas have a panchayat raj system.
Vidarbha is represented at national level by 10 Lok sabha seats and is represented at state level by 62 assembly seats. Vidarbha has total population of about 2,06,30,000 according to the GOI 2001 census.
Economy
Vidarbha's economy is primarily agricultural and also the region is rich in forest and mineral wealth. From a business point of view, Chandrapur, Amravati and Nagpur are important cities of Vidarbha. Nagpur is a central hub for business. Amravati is well known for film distributors and its cloth markets. Chandrapur has a thermal power station which is one of the biggest in India and some other heavy industries such as BILT (Paper Industry) MEL, Steel industries, Cement industries and coal mines.
An International cargo hub, (MIHAN), is being developed at Nagpur. MIHAN will be used for handling heavy cargo coming from South-East Asia and Middle-East Asia. The project will also include a Rs. 10,000 crore Special Economic Zone (SEZ) for Information Technology (IT) companies. This will be the biggest development project in India so far.
Agriculture
The main cash crops of the region are cotton, oranges and soya beans. Amravati is the largest Orange growing district. Traditional crops are sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra) and rice. Yavatmal is the largest cotton growing district. Gondia is the largest rice growing district. Gondia is a Rice city.
Mineral wealth
The Chandrapur, Gondia, Gadchiroli, Bhandara and Nagpur Districts form the main mineral belt, with coal and manganese as the major minerals. Chandrapur district alone contributes 29% of all mineral output of Maharashtra. Iron ore and limestone are identified as potential mining resources.
Industry
Butibori Industrial Area MIDC outside Nagpur is one of the largest industrial areas in . MIHAN an international cargo hub project is currently underway at Nagpur. The project aims to exploit the central location of Nagpur and convert the present airport into a major freight hub with integrated road and rail connectivity along with a Special Economic Zone. Ballarpur Industries, India's largest manufacturer and exporter of paper is located in Chandrapur district.
Tata group had started the country's first textile mill at Nagpur, formally known as Central India Spinning and Weaving Company Ltd. The company was popularly known as "Empress Mills" as it was inaugurated on 1 January 1877, the day queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India.
Tourisim
Kanha Tiger Reserve (outside province)
Entrance of Anand Sagar, Shegaon, Holy place for Hindus and a famous picnic spot in Vidarbha.
Vidarbha has lush green deciduous forests which are home to a variety of flora and fauna. These attract a large number of visitors each year. All of Maharashtra's tiger reserves are located in Vidarbha, Melghat Tiger Reserve in Amravati district, Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in Chandrapur district and Pench Tiger Reserve in Nagpur district. The Nagzira wild life sanctuary and Navegoan Bandh National Park (bird sanctuary) of Gondia District are also very popular. The eastern region of the Vidarbha is poorer in natural resources in comparison with the west, it contains Maharashtra's oldest National Park created in 1955, the Tadoba Tiger Reserve spanning 575.78 km2.
Tadoba, aside from around 50 tigers, Tadoba Tiger Reserve is home to rare Indian wildlife like leopards, sloth bears, gaur, wild dogs, hyenas, civet and jungle cats, and many species of Indian deer like sambar, cheetal, nilgai, and barking deer. The Tadoba Lake sustains the Marsh Crocodile, which were once common all over Maharashtra. Tadoba is also an ornithologist's paradise with a varied diversity of aquatic birdlife.
Thickly clad hills form the northern and western boundary of the Tiger Reserve. To the southwest is a huge lake which acts as a buffer between the park's forest and the extensive farmland which extends up to Irai Lake.
Adjacent to the core forested hills is the Chichghat valley which hosts the forest lodge. The Tadoba Tiger Reserve is an undisturbed forest not crowded by too many tourists. Tadoba Tiger Reserve is at three-hour road journey from the city of Nagpur.
Culture & People
Situated in central India, Vidarbha has a rich cultural and historical background distinct from rest of Maharashtra. Even though Marathi culture is most dominant, Vidarbha has been a melting pot of Telugu speaking people from south, Hindi speaking central India and tribal people of Chattisgarh. Vidarbha is famous for the Varhādi dialect of Marathi language spoken in the rest of Maharashtra. The Gadchiroli district of Vidarbha has large population of tribal people. Hindu festivals like Holi, Diwali and Dasara are celebrated throughout the region. There are many prominent cultural and literary societies working in Vidarbha, Vidarbha Sahitya Sangh (for development of Marathi), Vidarbha Rashtrabhasha Prachar Samiti (promotion and spreading Hindi) and Vidarbha Hindi Sahitya Sammelan (for promoting Hindi). The Nagpur central museum (estb 1863) maintains collections that are mainly from Vidarbha.
Sports
Cricket is the favorite sports as in rest of India and Nagpur's Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground (VCA) hosts international cricket matches. Vidarbha Cricket Team also plays in Ranji Trophy.
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