Bhopal

Bhopāl (भोपाल) is a city in central India. It is the capital of the state of Madhya Pradesh. Bhopal is also the name of a district in Madhya Pradesh with Bhopal city as its headquarters. Historically, Bhopal was also the name of a state of central India.

Bhopal City

Law and Government

Bhopal is the capital city of Madhya Pradesh. The last mayor was Ms. Vibha Patel, who was removed by the state government. The new mayor is Indian National Congress's Sunil Sood.

Related Topics:
Madhya Pradesh - Indian National Congress

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Geography

Bhopal is a hilly area, located on the Malwa plateau, and the land rises towards the Vindhya Range to the south. The summers are hot and the winters cold. It rains moderately during the rainy season.

Related Topics:
Malwa - Vindhya Range

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The municipality covers 286 square kilometres It has two very beautiful lakes, collectively known as the Bhoj Wetland. These lakes are the Upper Lake (built by King Bhoj) and the Lower Lake. The catchment area of the Upper Lake is 361 km2 while that of the Lower Lake is 9.6 km2. The Upper Lake drains into the Kolans River.

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The major hills in Bhopal consists of Idgah hills and Shyamala hills in the northern region and Arera hills in the central region.

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It is well connected to the rest of the country by rail, air and road links.

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Demographics

The Old City of Bhopal is a predominantly Muslim area, but New Bhopal is a demographically cosmopolitan area. The chief languages are Hindi, Urdu and English, but there are a substantial number of Marathi speakers as well.

Related Topics:
Muslim - Hindi - Urdu - English - Marathi

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• Population: 1.4 million
• Total generation: 600 ton/day
• Waste generation per capita: 0.43 kg/person per day

Major Parks

Bhopal has many public parks. Some of the major parks are: Kamla Nehru Children's Park (B.H.E.L. Park), Chinar Park (famous for its Bougainvillea varieties and animal statues), Ekant Park, Mayur Park, The Rose Garden (Gulab Udyan), Kilol Park etc.

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Neighborhoods

Bhopal is divided into two parts - the Old City and the New Bhopal (these are not the official names). The Old City (often referred to in Bhopal as just "City") is the city built and developed by the Begums. New Bhopal was developed after Bhopal became the capital of Madhya Pradesh. It has modern residential localities like 1250 Quarters, Arera Colony, Malviya Nagar, Shivaji Nagar, Tatya Tope Nagar (T.T. Nagar), Arera Colony and the commercial township called Maharana Pratap Nagar.

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Major Industries/Products

The major industries in the city are electrical goods, cotton, chemicals (see Bhopal Disaster) and Jewellery.

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BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited), the largest engineering and manufacturing enterprise in India, has a unit in Bhopal.

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Sites of Interest

• Taj-ul-Masaajid: (The name is Masaajid and not masjid because 'masaajid' is plural of mosques and it literally means Crown Among Mosques) It is one of the largest mosques in Asia, built by Shahjehan Begum around a courtyard with a large tank in the centre and with an imposing double storeyed gate-way with 4 recessed archways and 9 imposing cusped multifoiled openings in the main prayer hall. The Quibla wall in the prayer hall is carved with 11 recessed arches, while the mimber is made of black basalt. The structure is enlivened by the limpid expanse of water in the tank outside the northern wall. The monumentality of this structure was much greater originally when it faced the towering bastions of the Fatehgarh Fort. A three-day Ijtima congregation was held here annually draws people from all over the world but has recently been shifted outside the City. Bhopal has over 400 mosques. Interestingly, Tajul Masaajid, perhaps the biggest mosque in India, faces the smallest mosque in the country that lies just on the other side of the road in the same area. The Dhai Seedhi Masjid (2-1/2 stairs mosque) was built in early 18th century when a rampart was converted into mosque.
• Islam Nagar: It has the ruins of the old city built by Dost Mohd. Khan.
• Purana Kila: Situated in the Kamala Nehru Park, it is a part of the 300-year old fort of Queen Kamalapati.
• Jama Masjid: A mosque built by Qudsia Begum in 1837. Gold spikes crown the minarets of this beautiful mosque.
• Moti Masjid: A mosque based on the Jama Masjid of Delhi built by Sikander Begum in 1860.
• Shaukat Mahal: A strange mixture of Indo-Islamic and European styles of architecture. It was designed by a Frenchman, said to be a descendant of an offshoot of the Bourbon Kings of France. Post Renaissance and Gothic styles are combined to charming effect here.
• Gohar Mahal: It is situated behind Shaukat Mahal on the banks of the Upper Lake was built by Qudsia Begum. It is magnificent expression of the fusion of Hindu and Mughal architecture.
• Sadar Manzil: It was built as a hall to be used by the Begums for public audience. Now it is used as the head-office of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation.
• Bharat Bhavan: It is the main cultural center of the city and of the most important cultural centers of India. It was designed by the famous architect Charles Correa. It has an art gallery that exhibits works of famous painters and sculptors. It has an open-air amphitheatre facing the Upper Lake and two other theatres and a tribal museum. The night-view from the amphitheatre set on the backdrop of the old city and the lake is magnificent.
• Van Vihar: It is a zoological garden situated beside the Upper Lake. It has a museum too.
• Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya: It means The Museum of Human Being. It is spread over 200 acres (0.8 km²) of undulating land on the Shamla Hills on the Upper Lake front. It is situated in a prehistoric site and may be the only museum in the world strewn with numerous prehistoric painted rock shelters. It is a post colonial museum of communities rather than objects. One can actually see how the tribals live.
• Government Archaeological Museum
• Lakshmi Narayan Temple or Birla Mandir: It is a temple devoted to Lord Vishnu and his consort Laxmi. It is situated to the south of the Lower Lake.
• Birla Museum
• Bhimbetka: It has pre-historic rock art and is a World Heritage Site.
• Sanchi: Situated at a small distance from the city of Bhopal, Sanchi houses some ancient Buddhist structures built by Emperor Ashoka.
• Bhojpur - A small village situated some 40 km from Bhopal with a huge rock temple of lord Shiva and having betwa river flowing down the valley. The temple is been managed now by archeological survey of India.

Educational Institutes

Universities

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• Barkatullah University
• Bhoj University
• Rajiv Gandhi Technical University

Colleges

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• Benazir College
• Bhopal School of Social Sciences (HabibGanj)
• Gandhi Medical College
• Government Engineering College
• Hamidia College
• Indian Institute of Forest Management
• Indian Institute of Hotel Management
• Lakshmi Narain College of Technology
• Maharani Laxmi Bai (Girls) College
• Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology
• Motilal Vigyan Mahavidyalay (Motilal Science College)
• NRI Institute of Information Science and Technology (NIIST)
• Safia College
• Dr. A. V. Baliga Institute of Russian Studies