Bellary district

Bellary, officially known as Ballari[2] (pronounced [ˈbəɭɭari]), is a major district in Karnataka. It is located at north-eastern part of Karnataka. This district belongs to Hyderabad-Karnataka. This district was one of the biggest districts in Karnataka until the Vijayanagara district was carved out of Bellary district in 2020.

Bellary district
District of Karnataka
Ballari district
Location in Karnataka, India
Coordinates: 15.1500°N 76.9333°E / 15.1500; 76.9333
Country India
StateKarnataka
RegionDeccan
MPY. Devendrappa
HeadquartersBellary
TalukasBellary, Kampli,Sanduru, Siruguppa, Kurugodu
Government
 • TypeZilla Panchayat of Bellary District
 • Deputy CommissionerS.S. Nakul, IAS
Area
 • Total4,252 km2 (1,642 sq mi)
Elevation
449 m (1,473 ft)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total1,400,970
 • Density330/km2 (850/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Bellaryan
Language
 • OfficialKannada
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
583101
Telephone codeBellary:08392
Vehicle registrationKA 34
Websiteballari.nic.in/en/

This district has the highest deposits of iron ore in India.

Historical sites, farm land and rich minerals characterize Bellary district. Recently making headlines with mining industry, Bellary, the district's capital, is known as Steel City and Gani Nadu (City of Mining).

History
Main article: History of Bellary

Earlier Bellary district was part of Madras presidency. The area was severely affected by the Great Famine of 1876–78. After Indian independence, when the Indian states were reorganized along linguistic lines, Bellary became part of the Hyderabad-Karnataka region of the state of Karnataka, now renamed as Kalyana-Karnataka. In 2020, Vijayanagara district was separated from Bellary.

Geography

Bellary district is spread from southwest to northeast and is situated on the eastern side of Karnataka state. The district is 15° 30’ and 15°50’ north latitude and 75° 40’ and 77° 11’ east longitude. The geographical area is 8447 km².

This district is bounded by Raichur District on the north, Koppal District, Vijayanagara district on the west, Chitradurga District and Davanagere District on the south, and Anantapur District and Kurnool District of Andhra Pradesh on the east.

The normal rainfall is 639  mm.

Administration

Bellary comes under the administrative control of Gulbarga division and development jurisdiction of H.K.D.B, Gulbarga.

The revenue division, Bellary division has 5 taluks. There are 9 hoblies, one Corporation, one City Municipal Council, two town municipality, six town panchayats, 542 revenue villages, and 436 thandas/habitations.

According to the 2011 census Bellary district has a population of 2,532,383,[4] roughly equal to the nation of Kuwait[5] or the US state of Nevada.[6] This gives it a ranking of 168th in India (out of a total of 640).[4] The district has a population density of 300 inhabitants per square kilometer (780/sq mi).[4] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 24.92%.[4] Bellary has a sex ratio of 978 females for every 1000 males,[4] and a literacy rate of 67.85%.[4]

Assembly and Parliament constituencies

The district consists of one Lok Sabha constituency (Bellary, reserved for STs) and five Karnataka Legislative Assembly constituencies. These are

91. Kampli (ST)

92. Siruguppa (ST)

93. Bellary (ST)

94. Bellary city

95. Sandur (ST)

The Assembly constituency of Siruguppa is part of the parliamentary constituency of Koppal.

Economy

The major occupation of this district is agriculture and 75% of its total labour force is dependent on agriculture for its livelihood. The important crops grown are cotton, jowar, groundnuts, rice, sunflowers and cereals. The net irrigated area is 37% of the net area sown.

As of 1998, the main source of irrigation is Tungabhadra Dam (presently in Vijayanagara district). The canal network accounts for 64% of the district's irrigated area. Important rivers are Tungabhadra, Hagari and Chikkahagari. The western taluks of the district have been plagued by low rainfall for successive years. However, during the current and preceding years, heavy rains have created havoc in the district leaving many in the lurch.

Industries

Bellary district is rich in natural resources that need to be tapped to a great extent for the overall development of the district. This district is endowed with rich mineral resources. It has both metallic and non-metallic minerals. The metallic minerals include iron ore, manganese ore, gold, copper and lead. The non-metallic minerals include andalusite, asbestos, corundum, clay, dolomite, limestone, limekankan, molding sand, quartz, soap stone, granite and red ochre. The metallic minerals are abundant is only two talukas, Sanduru and Bellary in the order of mining activity intensity. The annual production of Iron ore is anywhere between 2.75 and 4.5 million tonnes, and manganese ore between 0.13 million tonnes to 0.30 million tonnes (1991).The real estate prices have already started to shoot as more and more industries are finding their way into this city. Bellary to its credit has the second largest single rock mountain in the world.[3]

Mining

Bellary district has 25% of India's iron ore reserves. Till 1994 handful of mining companies operated here including state-owned NMDC. Later Govt issued mining licenses to many private operators. Mining Industry boomed with a surge in Iron Ore prices due to demand from emerging China. Mining license allocation policy from Central govt was based on Political Nepotism rather than merit. Flawed mining policy leads to widespread illegal mining. Since the year 2000 money from illegal money flowed into electoral politics of Karnataka State. This led to the emergence of powerful Reddy Brothers to state politics. Reddy brothers fueled money from illegal mining into politics, thereby King Makers of Karnataka State politics. Ombudsman's report on mining in Karnataka state found that the promoters of privately owned mining companies in the Bellary region paid off politicians, and then joined politics themselves, rising to positions in the Karnataka state government. These mining businessmen-turned-politicians exerted so much influence over the local officials that the Indian media began describing Bellary as a "new republic".[4][5]

Despite the availability of minerals in large quantities, this district is considered to be an industrially backward district. There are 23 units of large and medium scale industries in this district with an investment of Rs.447.76 crores employing around 9,222 persons At present it occupies ninth place in the state. Sathavahana Ispat Ltd. is the first Pig Iron plant set up in the region to utilize the abundant iron ore reserves available, Kirloskar was the next to follow with their Pig Iron plant. However, with the commissioning of Jindal Vijayanagar Steel Limited at Hosapete, the industry scenario of this district underwent sea changes. It is understood that Mukand Steels and Kalyani Steels have started industries in this area. The inflow of investment into these industries would be around Rs.30,000 Crores. The district will, therefore, come under heavy pressure on basic infrastructure such as power, communication, health, education, and police stations which again invite heavy investment to create the needed infrastructure. Urgent action is needed to pool the resources under various sectors such as District Sector, State sector, Border Area Development, HKDB etc., and prepare a perspective plan to the emerging challenges. However, the mining industry in Bellary has caused devastating environmental damage and subsequent socioeconomic crises. Therefore courts in Karnataka have ordered the reclamation of the region.[6]

Demographics
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901512,624—    
1911507,800−0.09%
1921440,660−1.41%
1931493,701+1.14%
1941544,113+0.98%
1951656,079+1.89%
1961786,556+1.83%
1971976,972+2.19%
19811,305,624+2.94%
19911,656,000+2.41%
20012,027,140+2.04%
20112,452,595+1.92%
source:[7]

According to the 2011 census Bellary district has a population of 2,452,595,[8] roughly equal to the nation of Kuwait[9] or the US state of Nevada.[10] This gives it a ranking of 168th in India (out of a total of 640).[8] The district has a population density of 300 inhabitants per square kilometre (780/sq mi) .[8] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 24.92%.[8] Bellary has a sex ratio of 978 females for every 1000 males,[8] and a literacy rate of 67.85%.[8] Scheduled castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 21.1% and 18.4% of the population respectively. Most of the tribals in Bellary district belong to the Boya or Valmiki community, which is listed as a Scheduled Tribe in the state.

As of the 2011 census, 71.95% of the population speaks Kannada, 11.33% Urdu, 9.68% Telugu, 3.05% Lambadi, 1.43% Hindi and 1.04% Tamil as their first language.[8]

Tourism

Connectivity
Ballari railway station

By Air: The nearest airport is Vidyanagar Airport.The airport is connected with Banglore and Hyderbad daily. A new airport is under construction in Bellary city outscrits.

By Rail: The district has two main junctions at Bellary Railway Station and Hospete Railway Station.The two junctions are connected with major junctions in both North and South India.

By Road: The district has main National Highway 67.The district is connected with Bidar-SRI Rangapatna Highway. Nekrtc play buses in bellary.

Politics

The most prominent Bellary politician is G. Janardhana Reddy, a mining baron and BJP member. He was a former minister in the BS Yeddyurappa government. He was sentenced to jail for 3 years over a scam in which he was illegally mining iron ore. He has ₹1000 crore assets.

B Sriramulu - BJP vice president of Karnataka and current Health minister

Allum Veerabhadrappa - MLC and Former KPCC President

M. P. Prakash - former Deputy CM of Karnataka

G. Somashekara Reddy - MLA, Bellary City

G. Karunakara Reddy: Former Minister and MLA Harapanahalli

Anand singh: Hospet MLA and former minister

E Tukram: Sandur MLA and former minister

B Nagendra: Bellary Rural MLA

P.T. Paramaeshwar Naik: Former minister and current MLA, Hoovinahadagali

K. C. Kondaiah: Former MP and MLC

Y. Devendrappa: MP Bellary (ST)

Somalingappa: MLA Sirguppa

LBP Bheemanaik: MLA Hagaribommanahalli

Demand for a separate district

People of Hospet, lead by Forest Minister and Ballari in-charge MLA Anand Singh, demanded bifurcation of Bellary district into Vijayanagar and Bellary districts. In November 2020, the cabinet approved the division of the district into Bellary and Vijayanagara district. Bellary district consists of Bellary, Kampli, Sandur, Siruguppa and Kurugodu taluks while Vijayanagara district consists of Hospet, Harappanahalli, Huvina Hadagali, Kottur, Hagaribommanahalli and Kudligi taluks.[11]

See also

References
  1. "Cabinet approves boundaries of Vijayanagara district". The Hindu. 28 November 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  2. "Bangalore, 11 other cities will get new names | Bengaluru News - Times of India". The Times of India. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  3. "Bellary Karnataka state report_2012.pdf" (PDF). mospi.nic.in. 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  4. India mining scandal: G Janardhana Reddy remanded
  5. Why mining in India is a source of corruption?
  6. "A ravaged earth and the long wait for relief". Deccan Herald. 8 November 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  7. Decadal Variation In Population Since 1901
  8. "District Census 2011". Census2011.co.in. 2011. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  9. US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Retrieved 1 October 2011. Kuwait 2,595,62
  10. "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2011. Nevada 2,700,551
  11. "Cabinet approves boundaries of Vijayanagara district". The Hindu. 28 November 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
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