Chhota Udaipur district

This article is about the district. For its eponymous headquarters, see Chhota Udaipur.
Chhota Udaipur district
છોટા ઉદેપુર જિલ્લો
district

Location in Gujarat
Country  India
State Gujarat
Area
 • Total 3,087 km2 (1,192 sq mi)
Population
 • Total 961,190
Languages
 • Official Gujarati, Marathi,Hindi,English
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
ISO 3166 code IN-GJ
Vehicle registration GJ
Climate Semi-Arid (BSh) (Köppen)
Avg. annual temperature 12-43 °C
Avg. summer temperature 26-43 °C
Avg. winter temperature 12-33 °C
Website gujaratindia.com

Chhota Udaipur district (also Chhota Udepur district) is a district in the state of Gujarat in India. It was carved out of the Vadodara district on 26 January 2013 with its headquarters at Chhota Udaipur town and is the 28th district of Gujarat.[1]

Establishment

The district consists of the six talukas of Chhota Udepur, Pavi Jetpur, Kawant, Naswadi, Sankheda and the newly created Bodeli taluka.[2] The district headquarters is located at Chhota Udepur.[3]

The district was created to facilitate decentralisation and ease of access to government services.[4][5] Its creation, announced in the run up to the Assembly elections in Gujarat in 2012, was also seen by the media and political analysts as a government strategy to attract tribal votes.[6]

Description

Chhota Udaipur is a tribal dominated district and the district headquarters is located 110 km away from Vadodara. It shares its borders with the state of Madhya Pradesh. Chhota Udepur is the third tribal dominated district in eastern Gujarat after the Narmada and Tapi districts.[7][8]

Chhota Udepur district has a forest area of 75,704 hectares and has deposits of dolomite, fluorite, granite and sand all of which are mined. The district is also home to a large dairy industry. The Rathwa tribals who live here produce the Pithora mural paintings by mixing colours with liquour and milk and then using it to depict intricate motifs and scenes on the walls of their village dwellings.[9]

Chhota Udepur, once a princely state of Gujarat lies in the heart of a tribal area with rich indigenous history and culture which is more representative of the region than palaces. The town is a good base from which to explore the surrounding tribal villages, particularly in the Rathwa communities. The Tribal Museum here displays a nice collection of people and culture of this place. Every Saturday there is a tribal market which is a hub for local artisans making pithoda paintings and terracotta horses.[10]

Chhota Udepur sits on the edge of a big lake, with a series of temples along the skyline. Structures from the 1920s such as the Kusum Vilas Palace (now a heritage hotel) and Prem Bhavan are also worth visiting, though they need permission from the local royal family. The Kali Niketan (Nahar Mahal) palace, built as the summer residence of the erstwhile royal family is a notable monument in Chhota Udaipur.[11] The Jain temple is an interesting example of the influence of Victorian art on local building styles, which is otherwise rare display in traditional Jain buildings eslewhere.

See also

Coordinates: 22°19′12″N 74°0′36″E / 22.32000°N 74.01000°E / 22.32000; 74.01000

References

  1. ↑ "Modi Announces Creation of New District". Outlook. September 10, 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  2. ↑ "Process to set up Chhota Udepur district begins". Times of India. 9 February 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  3. ↑ "Bandh to protest Chhota Udepur as headquarters peaceful". The Indian Express. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  4. ↑ "Narendra Modi announces new tribal district to clear his 'debt'". The Indian Express. September 11, 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  5. ↑ "Chhota Udepur is Gujarat's 28th dist". DNA. September 11, 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  6. ↑ "Gujarat CM announces Chhota Udepur district". The Pioneer. 10 September 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  7. ↑ "Modi Announces Creation of New District". Outlook. September 10, 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  8. ↑ "Gujarat gets its 28th district as Chhota Udepur". Daily Bhaskar. September 11, 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  9. ↑ "Rich in mineral resources, Chhota Udepur set to become highest revenue-earning district". The Indian Express. 30 August 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  10. ↑ http://www.gujarattourism.com/destination/details/9/158
  11. ↑ http://chhotaudepur.com
 Panchmahal district Dahod district Jhabua district, Madhya Pradesh
Vadodara district Alirajpur district, Madhya Pradesh
   Chhota Udaipur district  
Vadodara district Narmada district Nandurbar district, Maharashtra
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.