Bhilwara (/blˈvɑːrə/ ) is a city and administrative headquarters in Bhilwara district of the Mewar region of Rajasthan, India. It has been termed as 'Textile city'.[3]

Bhilwara
Textile city
Bhilwara tehsil in Bhilwara district, Rajasthan, India
Bhilwara tehsil in Bhilwara district, Rajasthan, India
Nickname(s): 
Textile City of Rajasthan, Manchester of Rajasthan
Bhilwara is located in Rajasthan
Bhilwara
Bhilwara
Location in Rajasthan, India
Bhilwara is located in India
Bhilwara
Bhilwara
Bhilwara (India)
Coordinates: 25°21′N 74°38′E / 25.35°N 74.63°E / 25.35; 74.63
Country India
StateRajasthan
DistrictBhilwara
Government
 • TypeMayor
 • BodyBhilwara Municipal Corporation
 • MayorShri Rakesh Pathak BJP
Area
 • Total
73 km2 (28 sq mi)
Elevation
421 m (1,381 ft)
Population
 (2024)[1]
 • Total
709,483
 • Density9,700/km2 (25,000/sq mi)
Languages
 • OfficialHindi, Rajasthani
 • RegionalMewari
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
311001
ISO 3166 codeRJ-IN
Vehicle registrationRJ-06
Sex ratio1000/973 /
Websitebhilwara.rajasthan.gov.in

History

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Stone Age tools dating from 5,012 to 200,000 years were found in Bundi and Bhilwara districts of the state.[4]

According to substantiation, the present Bhilwara city had a mint where coins known as 'Bhiladi' were minted and from this denomination was derived the name of the district. And another tall story goes like this the original Adivasi tribe known as Bheel helped Maharana Pratap in the war against Mughal Empire king Akbar lived in Bhilwara region that's this area came to be known as Bheel+Bada (Bheel's area) Bhilwara. Over the years it has emerged as one of the major cities of Rajasthan. Nowadays, Bhilwara is better known as the textile city in the country.

The oldest part of this town was set up in the middle of the 11th century by building a Krishna Radha mandir (temple) that still exists and is known as the Bada Mandir. The area that is now known as Purana Bhilwara (Patwari Mohalla, Junawas, Manikya Nagar Malikhera). In Ancient History, there is also a reference to Arjuna having fought here during the Mahabharata period.

Historical records show that a town named Mandal close to Bhilwara served as the military camp for the Mughals when they conquered Chittaurgarh. The ruins of their campsite can still be seen today. A watch tower that was built on a small mound in Mandal is now a Devi temple.

Geography

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Bhilwara is located at 25°21′35″N 74°39′10″E / 25.359854°N 74.652791°E / 25.359854; 74.652791.[5] It has an average elevation of 421 metres (1381 feet). It falls between the districts of Ajmer (in the north) and Chittorgarh and Udaipur (in the south). Major rivers flowing through the district are Banas, Bedach, Kothari, Khari, Mansi, Menali, Chandrabhaga, and Nagdi.

There is no natural lake in the district but there is a number of ponds and dams so the district is the most irrigated in the state of Rajasthan. It has a small man-made pond Mansarovar Jheel(Pond) near Azad Nagar which is a famous attraction and gets crowded on weekends.

Climate

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Climate data for Bhilwara (1991–2020, extremes 1962–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 32.0
(89.6)
36.7
(98.1)
41.2
(106.2)
44.8
(112.6)
47.8
(118.0)
47.0
(116.6)
42.5
(108.5)
39.2
(102.6)
40.5
(104.9)
41.5
(106.7)
36.0
(96.8)
33.3
(91.9)
47.8
(118.0)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 23.8
(74.8)
27.5
(81.5)
33.2
(91.8)
38.2
(100.8)
41.5
(106.7)
40.3
(104.5)
34.0
(93.2)
31.2
(88.2)
32.4
(90.3)
34.3
(93.7)
30.4
(86.7)
25.4
(77.7)
32.7
(90.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 6.9
(44.4)
9.1
(48.4)
15.6
(60.1)
20.6
(69.1)
25.3
(77.5)
26.1
(79.0)
24.1
(75.4)
22.8
(73.0)
21.9
(71.4)
18.2
(64.8)
12.3
(54.1)
8.2
(46.8)
17.4
(63.3)
Record low °C (°F) −0.3
(31.5)
1.7
(35.1)
6.3
(43.3)
11.8
(53.2)
16.9
(62.4)
16.5
(61.7)
15.0
(59.0)
16.0
(60.8)
15.5
(59.9)
10.0
(50.0)
5.0
(41.0)
−1.0
(30.2)
−1.0
(30.2)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 6.4
(0.25)
1.2
(0.05)
2.0
(0.08)
6.1
(0.24)
4.4
(0.17)
50.4
(1.98)
205.1
(8.07)
199.2
(7.84)
82.6
(3.25)
3.7
(0.15)
1.3
(0.05)
2.2
(0.09)
564.5
(22.22)
Average rainy days 0.5 0.1 0.2 0.5 0.6 3.1 7.2 8.1 4.4 0.2 0.2 0.2 25.4
Average relative humidity (%) (at 17:30 IST) 39 28 28 19 21 38 62 69 55 36 39 40 42
Source: India Meteorological Department[6][7][8]all-time extreme temperature[9]

Demographics

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Historical population
YearPop.±%
1941 10,300—    
1951 29,700+188.3%
1961 43,500+46.5%
1971 82,100+88.7%
1981 122,300+49.0%
1991 184,000+50.4%
2001 280,128+52.2%
2011 359,483+28.3%
Source: [10][11]
Religions in Bhilwara City
Hinduism
79.50%
Islam
14.23%
Jainism
5.47%
Sikh
0.33%
Others
0.13%
Distribution of religions
Includes Christians (0.33%).

As of 2011 India census,[12] Bhilwara has a population of 359,483. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. About 13% of the population is under 6 years of age. Hindus constitute the majority of the population with around 79.50% followers with Muslims (at 14.23%) and Jains ( 5.47%) occupying second and third respectively [citation needed]

Economy

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Bhilwara is renowned in the world for its textile industry. The major industry is textiles, with more than 850 manufacturing units in the town. The main textile product is the synthetic fabric used in trousers. It began with a spinning and knitting company named Mewar Textile Mills, owned by industrialist Shri Sampatmal Lodha, started in 1938. Thereafter Shri Laxmi Niwas Jhunjhunwala started his first unit for synthetic textiles in 1961 at Bhilwara. Today the fabric manufactured in Bhilwara is exported to many countries around the world.

Bhilwara is known as the textile city of India. The city has a strong presence in the textile industry, with several textile mills and factories located in and around the city. The city is known for its production of high-quality cotton, silk, and woolen fabrics, which are exported to various parts of the world. Apart from textiles, the city is also known for its mining and agriculture industries.

Infrastructure

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Road connectivity

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National Highway No. 48 part of the Golden Quadrilateral (six-lane) and another National Highway No. 76 part of the East-West Corridor (four lane) pass through the district. The total length is 120  km.

National Highway No. 758 (Kota-Ladpura-Bhilwara-Gangapur-Rajsamand-Udaipur) passes through the district. The length of this highway is 146  km and other NH 148D (Bhim-Gulabpura-Uniara).

The total road length in the district was 3,883  km on 31 March 2000.

With a government bus depot in the heart of the city, Bhilwara is connected to all the important cities of Rajasthan and other states. Many private service providers are available. Bhilwara is well connected by road to the capital city Jaipur and the distance is 253 kilometres.[13]

Rail transport

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The city is served by Bhilwara railway station. A broad gauge railway line connecting Ajmer, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Kota, Indore Junction, Ujjain, Delhi, Bharatpur, Agra, Gwalior, Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad, Patna, Kolkata, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Mavli Jn., Ratlam, Vadodara, Surat, Mumbai and Hyderabad passes through the district. Kota (160  km) is the convenient railway station to provide connectivity to the southern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Ajmer (130  km) is one of the major nearby railway stations/junctions for connectivity to other major cities like Delhi and Ahmedabad.

Air transport

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The nearest airport is at Dabok - Udaipur (165  km) — approximately 2.5 hours, by road. The other nearest airport is at Jaipur (251  km) which takes about 4 hours by road.

Recently, a new Airport has started named Kishangarh Airport near Ajmer (130 km) which is around 2Hrs, by road.

Culture

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Great Indian miniature artist Badri Lal Chitrakar highlights the city on international maps for Indian miniature art. He was given several awards including the Shilp Guru/Master Craftsperson award by the vice-president of India on 9 September 2006. Bhilwara is famous for its 'Fad Paintings' which are depictions of traditional stories on cloth using naturally available colours. Bhilwara's Phad Artist Shree Lal Joshi contributed greatly to making and saving Phad Painting to whole of India.

Attractions in Bhilwara include the Badnore Fort, Harni Mahadev Temple, Smriti van, Mansarovar Lake, Joganiya Mata Temple, Kyara Ke Balaji, Sanganer Fort, Meja dam, and Pur Udan Chatri.[14] Bhilwara has a rich cultural heritage, with several festivals and fairs celebrated throughout the year. The city's most famous festival is the Gangaur festival, which is celebrated in the months of March and April. The festival is dedicated to the Hindu goddess Parvati and is celebrated with great pomp and show.

Overall, Bhilwara is a city that is steeped in history, culture, and tradition. Its textile industry, tourist attractions, and educational institutions make it an important city in Rajasthan and in India as a whole.

Education

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Bhilwara has an autonomous engineering college of the Government of Rajasthan known as MLV Textile and Engineering College, which offers courses in engineering, including textile engineering and one Private University named Sangam University. There is also a medical college, Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia Medical College.[15] Bhilwara has several schools and colleges, including engineering and medical colleges. The city is also known for its coaching centers, which provide coaching for various competitive exams like IIT-JEE, NEET, CA/CS/CMA.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Bhilwara City" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 January 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  2. ^ Bhilwara-Rajasthan. "Location & Area". bhilwara.rajasthan.gov.in. Archived from the original on 20 November 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  3. ^ "Iranians spontaneously created 'walls of kindness' to help the homeless. Shubham Ojha is a famous personality from Bhilwara". BBC Trending. No. What's popular and why. BBC UK. BBC. 20 December 2015. Archived from the original on 31 December 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  4. ^ Pillai, Geetha Sunil (28 February 2017), "Stone age tools dating back 2,00,000 years found in Rajasthan", The Times of India, archived from the original on 17 April 2019, retrieved 23 August 2018
  5. ^ "Maps, Weather, and Airports for Bhilwara, India". www.fallingrain.com. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2006.
  6. ^ "Climatological Tables of Observatories in India 1991-2020" (PDF). India Meteorological Department. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  7. ^ "Station: Bhilwara Climatological Table 1981–2010" (PDF). Climatological Normals 1981–2010. India Meteorological Department. January 2015. pp. 133–134. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  8. ^ "Extremes of Temperature & Rainfall for Indian Stations (Up to 2012)" (PDF). India Meteorological Department. December 2016. p. M176. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  9. ^ "Extreme Temperatures Around the World". Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  10. ^ "Historical Census of India". Archived from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  11. ^ "Major Agglomerations of the World - Population Statistics and Maps". www.citypopulation.de. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  12. ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
  13. ^ "Jaipur and Bhilwara By Road, Distance Between Jaipur and Bhilwara, Distance By Road From Jaipur and Bhilwara with Travel Time, Bhilwara Distance from Jaipur, Driving Direction Calculator from Jaipur and bhilwara". www.roaddistance.in. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  14. ^ Sengar, Resham. "Exploring the hidden treasures of Bhilwara in Rajasthan". Times of India Travel. Archived from the original on 28 August 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  15. ^ "Churu Medical College named after Deendayal, to start from Aug 28". The Times of India. 21 April 2018. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
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