Being an important regional centre and a city with a history stretching back more than a thousand years, Raipur has attracted people from different parts of Madhya Pradesh and neighbouring states. The population includes local ethnic Chhattisgarhis, North Indians, South Indians, and a few people from the North East. Local ethnic Chhattisgarhi comprises Kalar, Kurmi, Swarnkar, Teli, Koshta and Satnami communities. The city is also inhabited by the trading communities like Jayaswals, Baniyas, Agarwals, Jains, Gujaratis, and Marwaris. Due to close proximity with Odisha there are large numbers of Oriya speaking population found in the city as well as in the state. The city is also home to an immigrant population that includes Sindhis and the Sikhs. It also has a sizable Bengali, Telugu, Malayalee and Maharashtrian population. Majority of the population in Raipur is Hindu. Muslims and Christians are minorities. Muslims primarily reside in such areas as Moudhapara (occupied by the immigrants from UP and Bihar), Baijnathpara, Chota Para, Momin Para (Shia Islam community) and Byron Bazaar (which is named after a Briton who is supposed to have formed the place; Byron Bazar was once mostly inhabited by the Muslims from the “Madras Paltan” i.e. those serving in the British Army (Madras Regiment), and had occupied Byron Bazaar as a result of their regiment getting disbanded). The Christian population is scattered around the city. This city is also populated by the people of Kanwar and Gond community.
Naya Raipur (New Raipur) is the new capital city of Chhattisgarh. Located between National Highways NH-6 and NH-43. It is 17 km away in the south-east direction from the current capital Raipur. Swami Vivekananda Airport separates the old and new cities. Naya Raipur is serving as the administrative capital of the State and also cater to the infrastructural needs of industry and trade in the region. Naya Raipur spreads over an area of about 8000 hectares. It includes 41 villages out of which 27 villages form the core of the Naya Raipur. The population of just one village has been displaced in this renovation of villages for the construction of Naya Raipur. About half of the total acquired land is being used for afforestation, roads, parks, public conveniences, water facilities-canals, green belts etc. 23 percent of the land would be reserved for educational institutions, government offices and public auditoriums etc. 30 percent of the land will be used for residential and economical purposes. Naya Raipur is India’s fourth planned capital city after Gandhinagar in Gujarat; Chandigarh serting both Punjab and Harayana; and Bhubaneshwar in Odisha. The ongoing project is likely to cost anywhere between Rs 1,500 and 2,000 crore. The city is expected to house about 4.5 lakh people within a decade and provisions, in the form of future infrastructure upgradation, have been made for its expansion
The traditional face of city has changed with Raipur becoming an important regional commercial and industrial destination for the coal, power, Plywood,steel and aluminium industries. Raipur is Largest market of Steel in India. Raipur is among the richest cities and India’s biggest iron market; there are about 200 steel rolling mills, 195 sponge iron plants, more than 6 steel plants,more than 60 Plywood Factories 500 agro-industries and more than 35 ferro-alloy plants. There are more than 800 rice milling plants, and all major and local cement manufacturing companies(Century Cement, Ambuja, Grasim, Lafarg) have a presence in the city. Raipur also has a big chemical plant which produces formalin and distributes throughout the country. Raipur has a Wagon repair shop, where wagons of goods trains are repaired.A heavy machinery plant of Jindal group is situated in raipur. Sponge iron plants of major steel companies including Monnet, JAYASWAL NECO STEEL PLANT are situated in raipur.L.P.G BOTTLING Plants of Bharat Petrolium and Hindustan Petrolium are also present in the city. The Industrial Areas of Raipur are:Urla and Siltara(heavy and medium scale industries), Bhanpur,Birgaon,Gondwara(medium and small scale industries).A world class engineering consulting group “Spongytech consulting Engineers Private limited” head office in Raipur.
In the 4th century AD the king Samudragupta had conquered this region and established his domination till fifth–sixth century when this part had come under the rule of Sarabhpuri kings. For some period in the fifth–sixth century, Nala kings dominated this area. Later on Somavanshi kings had taken the control over this region and ruled with Sirpur (“City of Wealth”) as their capital. Mahashivgupt Balarjun was the mightiest emperor of this dynasty. His mother, the widow queen of Harshgupta of the Somavansh, Rani Vasata built the famous brick temple of Lakshman. The Kalchuri kings of Tumman ruled this part for a long time making Ratanpur as capital. The old inscriptions of Ratanpur, Rajim and Khallari refer to the reign of Kalchuri kings. It is believed that the King Ramachandra of this dynasty established the city of Raipur and subsequently made it the capital of his kingdom.
Another story about Raipur is that King Ramachandra’s son Brahmdeo Rai had established Raipur. His capital was Khalwatika (now Khallari). The newly constructed city was named after Brahmdeo Rai as ‘Raipur’. It was during his time in 1402 that Hajiraj Naik the temple of Hatkeshwar Mahadev was constructed in the banks of river Kharun. The decline of this dynasty’s rule came with the death of King Amarsingh Deo. This region had become the domain of Bhosle kings after the Amarsingh Deo’s death. With the death of Raghuji the III, the territory was assumed by the British government from Bhonsla’a of Nagpur and Chhatisgarh was declared a separate commissionery with its headquarters at Raipur in 1854. After independence Raipur district was included in Central Provinces and Berar.
Raipur is situated on the Howrah-Nagpur-Mumbai line of the Indian Railways (via Bhusawal, Nagpur, Bilaspur, Kharagpur) and is connected with some major cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Saugor, Katni, Itarsi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kota, Ahmedabad, Jaipur e.t.c. Raipur still lacks direct rail connectivity with Indore Junction, Ujjain, Ratlam Junction, Kolhapur, Jodhpur etc. A branch line from Raipur to Vizianagaram via Titlagarh originates from here and maximum export of Chattisgrah viaVishakhapatnam by this Rly Line. Also there is a narrow gauge line connecting Raipur to Rajim and Dhamtari via Abhanpur. This narrow gauge line is being converted into broad gauge line and realigned to serve the city of Naya Raipur as well.
Swami Vivekananda Airport or (Mana Airport) is the city’s airport located 15 km away from the center. A Four Lane road is proposed on V.I.P. road which will connect airport to city more efficiently. The New Airport Terminal is proposed to avoid crowd hassle in old mana airport. The airport has seen a surge in traffic post after 2006 and presently connects Raipur to most of the major airports of India & operates 38 flights Daily. Raipur Airport is the second most busiest airport in central India after Nagpur and the second most busiest airport in eastern India after Kolkata.
Raipur district is important in historical and archeological point of view. This district was once part of southern Kosal and considered to be under Mourya Kingdom. Raipur city had been the capital of the Haihaya Dynasty Kalchuri kings, controlling the traditional forts of the Chhattisgarh for a long time. The town of Raipur has been in existence since the 9th century; the old site and ruins of the fort can be seen in the southern part of the city. Satawahana kings ruled this part till the 2nd–3rd century.
Raipur has a tropical wet and dry climate, temperatures remain moderate throughout the year, except from March to June, which can be extremely hot. The temperature in April–May sometimes rises above 48 °C (118 °F).These summer months also have dry and hot winds. The city receives about 1,300 millimetres (51 in) of rain, mostly in the monsoon season from late June to early October. Winters last from November to January and are mild, although lows can fall to 5 °C (41 °F).
Raipur is located near the centre of a large plain, sometimes referred as the “rice bowl of India”, where hundreds of varieties of rice are grown. The Mahanadi River flows to the east of the city of Raipur, and the southern side has dense forests. The Maikal Hills rise on the north-west of Raipur; on the north, the land rises and merges with the Chota Nagpur Plateau, which extends north-east across Jharkhand state. On the south of Raipur lies the Deccan Plateau.
A City bus service is provided by Raipur City Bus Limited (RCBL) for the intra-city travel. Raipur Municipal Corporation launched the Raipur City Bus service on 25 Feb 2008. The company runs 40 buses out of which 32 are low floor Tata Starbus. Paratransit modes in the form of auto-rickshaws and tuk-tuk are available all over the city. 100 new city buses under JNNURM Have been inducted by RNNTL,Which serve the Raipur andalso connect Naya Raipur.
Historically, when Raipur was a part of Madhya Pradesh, it was the second major commercial centre in Madhya Pradesh after Indore. Traditionally, Raipur’s economy has been based on agricultural-processing, Steel, Cement, Alloy, Poha and Rice. The city is located centrally in the state of Chhattisgarh, and now serves as a regional hub for trade and commerce for a variety of local agricultural and forest products.
Raipur /’ra?p??r/ ) is the capital city of the state of Chhattisgarh, India. The city is the administrative headquarters of Raipur District. It was formerly a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Chhattisgarh was formed on November 1, 2000. At the time of the 2011 census, the population of the Municipal Corporation area was 1,010,087.
As of the 2011 census, Raipur Municipal Corporation had a population of 1,010,087 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 1,122,555. The Municipal Corporation had a sex ratio of 946 females per 1,000 males and 12.3% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 86.90%; male literacy was 92.39% and female literacy was 81.10%.
Statue of Swami Vivekananda at Vivekananda Sarovar Vivekananda Sarovar (Burha Talab) – It is a very old lake which is as old as the city. A 37 ft high statue of Swami Vivekananda has been build in between the lake. This statue has been added in Limca Book of Records for being the ‘largest model for a statue’. The lake has color-light fountains
Suburbs Rly Station Of Raipur 1. Saraswati Nagae National Institute of Technology Raipur 2. Pandhri City Station {Nerro Gauge} 3. Sarona AIIMS Raipur & {Tatibandh} 4. W.R.S. Colony {KhamTarai} 5. Urkura 6. Mandhar {Siltara} & {Vidhan Sabha} 7. Mandir Hasoud 8. Naya Raipur {Proposed Rly Station & Logiostic Hub By CONCORE }
Purkhauti Muktangan Museum – This is being developed by Government of Chhattisgarh, Culture Department under Ministry of Tourism. It is spread over 18 hectares exhibiting entire Natural Resources with existing infrastructures, industries, places of tourists attraction, etc. including the VISION 2020
Being an important regional centre and a city with a history stretching back more than a thousand years, Raipur has attracted people from different parts of Madhya Pradesh and neighbouring states. The population includes local ethnic Chhattisgarhis, North Indians, South Indians, and a few people from the North East. Local ethnic Chhattisgarhi comprises Kalar, Kurmi, Swarnkar, Teli, Koshta and Satnami communities. The city is also inhabited by the trading communities like Jayaswals, Baniyas, Agarwals, Jains, Gujaratis, and Marwaris. Due to close proximity with Odisha there are large numbers of Oriya speaking population found in the city as well as in the state. The city is also home to an immigrant population that includes Sindhis and the Sikhs. It also has a sizable Bengali, Telugu, Malayalee and Maharashtrian population. Majority of the population in Raipur is Hindu. Muslims and Christians are minorities. Muslims primarily reside in such areas as Moudhapara (occupied by the immigrants from UP and Bihar), Baijnathpara, Chota Para, Momin Para (Shia Islam community) and Byron Bazaar (which is named after a Briton who is supposed to have formed the place; Byron Bazar was once mostly inhabited by the Muslims from the “Madras Paltan” i.e. those serving in the British Army (Madras Regiment), and had occupied Byron Bazaar as a result of their regiment getting disbanded). The Christian population is scattered around the city. This city is also populated by the people of Kanwar and Gond community.
Naya Raipur (New Raipur) is the new capital city of Chhattisgarh. Located between National Highways NH-6 and NH-43. It is 17 km away in the south-east direction from the current capital Raipur. Swami Vivekananda Airport separates the old and new cities. Naya Raipur is serving as the administrative capital of the State and also cater to the infrastructural needs of industry and trade in the region. Naya Raipur spreads over an area of about 8000 hectares. It includes 41 villages out of which 27 villages form the core of the Naya Raipur. The population of just one village has been displaced in this renovation of villages for the construction of Naya Raipur. About half of the total acquired land is being used for afforestation, roads, parks, public conveniences, water facilities-canals, green belts etc. 23 percent of the land would be reserved for educational institutions, government offices and public auditoriums etc. 30 percent of the land will be used for residential and economical purposes. Naya Raipur is India’s fourth planned capital city after Gandhinagar in Gujarat; Chandigarh serting both Punjab and Harayana; and Bhubaneshwar in Odisha. The ongoing project is likely to cost anywhere between Rs 1,500 and 2,000 crore. The city is expected to house about 4.5 lakh people within a decade and provisions, in the form of future infrastructure upgradation, have been made for its expansion
The traditional face of city has changed with Raipur becoming an important regional commercial and industrial destination for the coal, power, Plywood,steel and aluminium industries. Raipur is Largest market of Steel in India. Raipur is among the richest cities and India’s biggest iron market; there are about 200 steel rolling mills, 195 sponge iron plants, more than 6 steel plants,more than 60 Plywood Factories 500 agro-industries and more than 35 ferro-alloy plants. There are more than 800 rice milling plants, and all major and local cement manufacturing companies(Century Cement, Ambuja, Grasim, Lafarg) have a presence in the city. Raipur also has a big chemical plant which produces formalin and distributes throughout the country. Raipur has a Wagon repair shop, where wagons of goods trains are repaired.A heavy machinery plant of Jindal group is situated in raipur. Sponge iron plants of major steel companies including Monnet, JAYASWAL NECO STEEL PLANT are situated in raipur.L.P.G BOTTLING Plants of Bharat Petrolium and Hindustan Petrolium are also present in the city. The Industrial Areas of Raipur are:Urla and Siltara(heavy and medium scale industries), Bhanpur,Birgaon,Gondwara(medium and small scale industries).A world class engineering consulting group “Spongytech consulting Engineers Private limited” head office in Raipur.