Tourism in Chhattisgarh
Major tourist centers
in the state are Amarkantak, Banjari Baba, Bhoramdev,
Champaranya, Chitrakoot, Dudhadharimath, Indrawati National
Park, Kangerghati National Park, Jagdalpur, Bastar, Danteswari
Temple, and many more.
| State
Capital |
Raipur |
| Population
(2001) |
20,795,956 |
| Area
|
135,191
sq km |
| Females
per 1000 males (2001) |
990 |
| Literacy
rate (2001) |
65.18
% |
| Ratioof
urban population (2001) |
20.08% |
| Principal
Language |
Hindi |
On November 1, 2000,
India gave birth to a new state-Chhattisgarh. The
new state is carved out of India’s largest state of Madhya
Pradesh with an area of 443,000 square kilometers. Though
Chhattisgarh with an area of 135,191 square kilometers
accounts for only 30 per cent of the total area of Chhattisgarh,
it is still a considerable size, which is equivalent to
almost sixteen times the size of Kerala.
The demand for the
new state can be traced to a meeting of the Raipur district
Congress in 1924 when the idea of a separate entity of
Chhattisgarh was mooted. The leaders who took part in
that meeting were of the view that the region of Chhattisgarh
was culturally and historically distinct from the rest
of Madhya Pradesh.
The political leaders
are hailing the creation of the new state of Chhattisgarh
as a right direction towards bringing prosperity and stability
of both the states concerned- Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
However concerns are being voiced from some quarters that
the bifurcation of the largest state of Madhya Pradesh
may lead to opening of floodgates of similar more demands
from separatist groups cultural and historical uniqueness.
India’s latest state
will have its Capital at Raipur and the High Court at
Bilaspur. The Capital may be shifted later to Nandghat,
about midway between Raipur and Bilaspur on the banks
of the Shivnad River.
Bastar, Bilaspur,
Dantewara, Dhamtari, Durg, Janjgir, Jashpur, Kanker, Kavardha,
Korba, Mahasamund, Raigarh, Raipur, Rajnandgaon, Sarguja
and West Sarguja are the sixteen districts of Chhattisgarh.
Of the 320 MLAs in Madhya Pradesh, 90 belong to the districts
of Chhattisgarh. They will become the members of the Legislative
Assembly of the new state. Lok sabha will see 11 members
from the state while Rajya Sabha will have five members
from the same state.
The newly formed
state is richly endowed with natural resources.
Its forest revenue, which alone accounts for 44% of the
total state’s forest revenue, has been the main source
of income of Madhya Pradesh. It has rich deposits of limestone,
iron-ore, copper-ore, rock phosphate, manganese ore, bauxite,
coal, asbestos and mica that contribute to around 48%
of Madhya Pradesh’s revenue from minerals.
Agriculture is the
main activity for the population of 1,76,00,000 of this
landlocked state enveloped by Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh,
Orissa, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and of course Madhya Pradesh.
80% of the population is engaged in agriculture, which
is one crop a year. Known as the Rice Bowl of India, the
region of Chhattisgarh supplies food grain to 600 rice
mills.
However, in spite
of its abundant natural resources and manpower pool, Chhattisgarh
remains a poverty stricken and socially backward region.
A cursory look at some parameters will reveal this fact.
Take literacy rate, as high as 81.3 per cent of the population
above 19 years of the district of Bastar is illiterate.
The rest of the state is slightly better in this respect.
49% of the households do not have drinking water.
68% of the households
do not have an electricity connection (though it produces
more power than it consumes; Chhattisgarh contributes
35.66% of total power generated in Madhya Pradesh). Infant
mortality is high: 84 deaths per thousand live births
against the national average of 71%. 41% of the women
worked as laborers in the grueling activities (the national
average is just 22.3). About half of its female population
gets married between the ages of 15 and 19.
Now with a new government
in place for Chhattisgarh, there are valid reasons to
hope that the general condition of the state will improve,
if not dramatically.
Economy
The mineral rich
State is economically very poor. It will have to depend
on the neighboring states of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.
Agriculturally it is a very productive area. Called the
country's Rice Bowl, it supplies food grain to almost
600 rice mills. With substantial deposits of limestone,
iron-ore, copper ore, rock phosphate, manganese ore, bauxite,
coal, asbestos and mica.
Chhattisgarh is one
of the mineral rich State of India. Chhattisgarh contains
about 525 million tons of dolomite reserves, accounting
for 24 per cent of the country's share. It has healthy
bauxite reserves of an estimated 73 million tons, an impressive
reserve of iron ore at about 2,000 million tons and coal
at 29,000 million tons. Tin ore reserves exceed 27,000
million tons.
The mineral revenue
that will accrue to Chhattisgarh will exceed Rs 600 crore
annually. Deobogh in Raipur district contains deposits
of diamonds. Prospecting of diamonds has begun here and
when extraction starts in about two years' time, it is
expected to generate an additional RS 2,000 crore a year
for the state. Chhattisgarh also accounts for more than
70 per cent of India's total production of tendu leaves
that are used for making bidis.
But despite the
high levels of productivity with natural and mineral resources,
Chhattisgarh has remained backward because the money earned
is not ploughed back into the region. Poverty pervades
the 16 districts comprising the region. As a result, the
region has for long nursed a grudge against the rest of
Madhya Pradesh which has treated Chhattisgarh like a colony.
Hotels
of Chhattisgarh
The State has hotels
of star and non-star category catering to the needs of
the tourists visiting Chhasttisgarh. Besides it has resorts,
restaurants and cafés, which cater to the needs of all
segments of travelers.
