Gondia district

In the 7th century, the modern-day district was part of the territories of the Haihaya Rajput kings of Chhattisgarh whose kingdom was known as Maha Kosala. Gondia or Gondiya was a part of Bhandara which retains some recollection of Hindu kings who ruled from Nagardhan. The 12th century saw the rule of Panwars (Rajput) who were subsequently ousted by Gond chiefs who asserted their independence of the Ratanpur dynasty.

This was followed by Raghoji Bhonsle of Vidarbha who established himself as the king of Vidarbha in 1743. In 1755, Janoji was declared as the sovereign of the territory, after the death of his father Raghoji Bhonsle. The two brothers Mudhoji and Rupaji of Raghoji Bhonsle of Hingani-Beradi were contemporaries of Shahaji, the father of Chhatrapati Shivaji and one of the ancestors of the Bhonsles of Nagpur who rehabilitated the village of Beradi was probably the contemporary of Maloji, the grandfather of Chhatrapati Shivaji. After the death of Sambhaji, during the Mughal–Maratha Wars, Parasoji rendered invaluable help to Rajaram I who had succeeded to the throne of Chhatrapati. The territories of Vidarbha and Berar from which he had exacted tribute were given to his charge under a grant made in 1699 A.D.

In 1707 after the death of Aurangzeb when Shahu was released by Muhammad Azam, Parasoji Bhonsle was the first of the Maratha nobles to join him in west Khandesh.

The 17th century saw the invasion of the Peshwas who were instrumental in making the district a part of Berar. The Peshwas were succeeded by the Nizams during the 1850s; the Nizam ceded Berar to the British East India Company. In 1903 the Nizam leased Berar to the British Government of India. It was transferred to the Central Provinces. In 1956, with the re-organization of states, Bhandara was transferred from Madhya Pradesh to Bombay Province and in 1960 with the formation of Maharashtra; it became a district of the state and was carved out of Bhandara district in 1999.

The district is divided into four sub-divisions, each of which is further divided into talukas. These are:

• Gondia sub-division: Gondia.
• Deori: Deori, Amgaon, and Salekasa talukas
• Tirora sub-division: Tirora and Goregaon talukas
• Arjuni Morgaon sub-division: Arjuni Morgaon and Sadak Arjuni talukas

The district also includes of 556 gram panchayats (village councils), 8 panchayat samitis and 954 revenue village. The Eight municipalities in this district are Gondia, Tirora, Arjuni Morgaon, Deori, Amgaon, Goregaon, Sadak Arjuni, Salekasa.

The district has four Vidhan Sabha (legislative assembly) constituencies: Arjuni Morgaon (Scheduled castes), Gondiya, Tirora and Amgaon (Scheduled tribes). While the first three are part of Bhandara-Gondiya Lok Sabha constituency, the last one is part of Gadchiroli-Chimur (ST) Lok Sabha constituency.[2]

According to the 2011 census Gondia district has a population of 1,322,507,[3] roughly equal to the nation of Mauritius[4] or the US state of New Hampshire.[5] This gives it a ranking of 369th in India (out of a total of 640).[3] The district has a population density of 253 inhabitants per square kilometre (660/sq mi).[3] Its population growth rate during 2001–2011 was 10.13%.[3] Gondiya has a sex ratio of 996 females for every 1,000 males,[3] and a literacy rate of 85.41%.[3]

At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 73.31% of the population in the district spoke Marathi, 20.74% Hindi, 3.46% Gondi 0.77%, Sindhi and 0.68% Bengali as their first language.[6]

Gondia average temperature

Gondia experiences extreme variations in temperature with very hot summers and very cold winters and has an average relative humidity of 62 percent. Average recorded rainfall is more than 1,200 mm (47 in) in each rainy season (June to September).

The hottest month is May when daytime high temperatures will generally average 42 °C (108 °F). During the same month, nightly minimum temperatures average around 28 °C (82 °F). In recent times the highest-recorded temperature in May has been 48 °C (118 °F), and the lowest May temperature has been 20 °C (68 °F).

The coolest months are December and January when temperatures will reach highs of around 29 °C (84 °F) and lows of 13 °C (55 °F). The highest-recorded temperature in January was 38 °C (100 °F) and the lowest was 0 °C (32 °F).

Gondia is also known as "rice City", as it is a rice-producing district and has about 250 rice mills in its vicinity. It is also a major trading place. The Mumbai–Nagpur–Kolkata Road is the only national highway passing through the district, covering a total distance of 99.37 km (62 mi). Gondia has bus connectivity to Jabalpur, Nagpur, Raipur and Hyderabad.

In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Gondia one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640).[8] It is one of the twelve districts in Maharashtra currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[8]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gondia district.

• Gondia district website
• www.gondiainfo.com