FACT FILE DISTRICT BILASPUR HIMACHAL PRADESH MAP 2 | Page History of Bilaspur Bilaspur district comprises of the erstwhile princely state founded in the 7th century, also known as Kahlur. The ruling dynasty was Chandela Rajputs, who claimed descent from the rulers of Chanderwanshi Rajputs who reigned at Chanderi in the Bundelkhad region of present-day Guna district of Madhya Pradesh. It was Raja Bir Chand who extended the jurisdiction of kingdom Kahlur and during his 33 years of rule he subjugated about 15 neighboring princely states. He carved out a kingdom of Kahlur for himself. The Capital of ruling dynasty continued to be located at Kotkahlur till 1600 A.D. when the heir apparent Bir Chand fled to Sunhani across the river Satluj along with his mother where he settled. He kept his capital at Sunhani on the right side of river Satluj. In 1650 A.D. when Deep Chand of the same dynasty succeeded as Raja of Kahlur state, he decided to shift his capital as he developed strong disliking for the place. He sought new site for the capital and finally settled at a place on the left bank of Satluj River traditionally called “Beas Gufa” after the name of ‘Rishi Vyas’. He built a palace called ‘Dholar’ overlooking the river and founded a town on the river bank which was named after the Beas Gufa and later on called Bilaspur. The town of Bilaspur was founded in 1663 when the capital of the state was shifted from Sunhani to this place. Since then the capital continued to be Bilaspur though the original town which was established by the Chandel dynasty which has now submerged in the ‘Gobind Sagar’. The state later became a princely state of British India, and was under the authority of the British province of Punjab. In 1932, the state became part of the newly created Punjab States Agency, and in 1936 the Punjab Hill States Agency was separated from the Punjab States Agency. On 12 October 1948 the local ruler, Raja Sir Anand Chand, acceded to the Government of India. The state was taken over under central administration. By an act of Parliament Bilaspur, which was till then a separate Part C State integrates with Himachal Pradesh on 1st July,1954 and Bilaspur became the fifth district of the state. Physical Aspect The geographical area of the district is 1167 Sq. kms which cover 2.1% area of the state. The district lies between north latitude 31012’30’’ and 31035’45’’ and east longitude 76023’30’’ and 76055’40’’. It is predominately situated in the lower Satluj valley in the outer hills. Boundaries It is bounded on the north by Mandi and Hamirpur districts, on the west by Una and Hamirpur districts, on the south by Nalagarh and Arki tehsil of Solan district and towards south-west by the Roopnagar district of Punjab thereby giving it an oblong configuration. Altitude in the district vary from 1944 meters at the highest point is peak of Dhar Bahadurpur point to about 305 meters at the lowest. Hills & Ranges Bilaspur is located at altitude rages 560 meters to 1879 meters AMSL. The reason has many low hills ranges known as Dhars. There are and seven low hill ranges and deep valleys cut across the territory in the various directions. These ranges locally called Dhars and Bahadurpur is the highest in the district. Other Dhars which are known as Naina Devi, Kot, Tuini, Bandla, Jhinjiarand Ratanpur. The 3 | Page principal Dhar is Naina Devi, Kotkahlur which is situated on the north-western end of range was the ancient capital of the state. Topography Bilaspur district consists of 4 Sub Division namely Bilaspur Sadar, Ghumarwin, Jhandutta and ShriNaina Devi Ji , 4 Tehsils namely , Sadar, Ghumarwin, Jhandutta, and Shri Naina Devi Ji and 3 sub Tehsil namely Bharari, Kalol and Namhol. Number of Blocks in the district are 4 namely Sadar, Ghumarwin, Jhandutta and Shri Naina Devi ji. There are 9 Police Stations, 151Gram Panchayats and 1061 villages, 4 urban areas in the district. At present, there are four Assembly constituencies in this district-Jhandutta, Ghumarwin, Bilaspur Sadar and Shri Nain Devi Ji. River System The Bilaspur district is situated in Satluj valley in the outer hills in southwestern part of the state. The Satluj is the main river which passes through the middle of the district and divides it into almost equal parts. It enters the district near a place known ‘Kasol’ in the north east and after traversing a course of 90 kms, leaves it near Naila and entre the territory of Punjab in the southwest. Tributaries The Satluj River is joined by several tributaries from both sides. The main three tributaries are Ali Khad, Gamrola Khad and Seer Khad. First two rises from district Shimla and last from district Mandi. Other two small Khad Sukar and Saryali rise in the district Hamirpur district and joins Sheer Khad. Mani Khad and Gambhar Khad are also tributaries of river Satluj which chiefly flows from Mandi and Solan districts. District Headquarter The district with its headquarters at Bilaspur town lies at foot of Bandla hill’s and near the reservoir of Gobind Sagar on the Satluj River at an elevation of 673 meters above sea level. The New Township Bilaspur should be regarded as the first planned hill town of the country. People & Languages People: The early inhabitants of this area were Rajputs, Brahmans and Kanets. The other sections of the people are mostly Rathis, Gujjars, Jats, Chamars, Kolis, Badhis, Lohars, Julah and Doomnas etc. Rajputs claim their origin from Chandel clan. Rajputs are usually classified as Kahluriya, Mians and Chandels. The Kahluriya Mians are those whoes descended from Rajas and have adopted the same name Ajmer Chandia and Kalyan Chandia. The Chandels are other Rajputs, whose connection with the ruling family is noted in History. The main branches of the Brahmans are the Shukals and Krishans. Languages: The spoken dialect of the people is Kahluri which is on off shoot of Punjabi. Grierson calls it "Rude Punjabi" similar to that spoken in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab. Kahluri is main language spoken; Hindi and English are also widely understood. 4 | Page Places of historical Interest Fort of Kotkahlur: The fort is situated at a distance of few kms. from Ganguwal Hydro Electrical Station. Raja Bir Chand the founder ruler of this area got it constructed. The state called Kahlur till such time the seat of Government was shifted to Bilaspur. There are seven small ancient fortresses in the district at Bacchretur, Bahadurpur, Basseh, Fatehpur, Sariyun, Swarghat and Tiun. Sunhani a small village on the bank of Seer Khad is yet another place which claims the distinction of being a state headquarter for some period. Places of Tourist Interest Bhakhra Dam: The highest straight gravity dam in the world situated in Naina Devi Tehsil about 14 Kms. from Nangal town occupies the predominant position amongst the places of tourist interest. On the historic day of 17th November, 1955 late P.M. Sh. Jawahar Lal Nehru placed the foundation. The construction of dam was completed in October, 1962. The height of the dam is 226 meters; length at the top is 518 meters and width 9 meters. It has a length of 99 meters at the bottom and width 402 meters. Gobind Sagar Lake: on river Satluj has been created by the huge hydel dam at Bhakra and is named in honour of Sh. Guru Gobind Singh Ji the Tenth Sikh guru. One of the world’s highest gravity dams, the Bhakra rises 225.5 m above its lowest foundations. The area of the lake is 96.5 kms. With storage Capacity of 7.80 million acre ft. It moves the wheels of four hydroelectric power houses of Bhakra, Ganguwal and Kotla power plants with installed capacity of 1200 MW of electric power and brings lacs of hectare land under irrigation. New Bilaspur Town: After submerging the old Bilaspur town which was set up in about 1650 A.D. the new planned township has come up which is the seat of District headquarters. Kandror Bridge: (8 kilometers from Bilaspur on National Highway No. 88) a very beautiful and fascinating bridge across the Satluj river. Its construction was started in April, 1959 and was completed in 1965. The span of the bridge is about 280 meters with a breadth of about seven meters and the height above the lowest river bed is about 80 meters. It was once the highest bridge of the Asia. It has provided a link between Ghumarwin town of Bilaspur and Hamirpur district and is a marvelous engineering feat. The pillars supporting the bridge are hollowed. Namhol: is about 24 km from Bilaspur and on the Bilaspur-Shimla motor able road about 68 km from Shimla is a small hamlet. There is a Thakurdwara which was built by Raja Amar Chand in 1883 A.D. Brass idols of Ram, Lakshman, Sita and Hanuman are installed in the temple. The place is the main centre of ginger trade. There are a Police Post, a Senior Secondary School, an Ayurvedic Dispensary, a Branch Post Office, a State Bank of India and a PWD Rest House. Places of Religious Interest Shri Naina Devi Ji: It is a famous religious place. It was Raja Bir Chand who constructed the Shri Naina Devi Temple. The temple is situated on the ridge at an altitude of 3,595 feet which is visible from far and near and also from many places. Majority of the pilgrims from plains attend the temple with great devotion. Presently the government has taken the control of the temple.