Ambikapur, India

Ambikapur امبكاپر
City
Ambikapur Location in Chhattisgarh, India
Coordinates:
Country	India
State	Chhattisgarh
District	Surguja
Area
• City	1,983 km2 (766 sq mi)
Elevation	623 m (2,044 ft)
Population (2010)
• City	214,575
• Density	110/km2 (280/sq mi)
• Metro	243,173
Languages
• Official	Hindi, Chhattisgarhi, Surgujiha
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	497001
Area code(s)	7774
Vehicle registration	CG 15 or MP 27
Website	surguja.nic.in

Ambikapur is a city and Surguja district headquarters. The district is one of the oldest districts of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, in east-central India. Ambikapur is also the divisional headquarters of Surguja Division which consists of the five districts of Surguja, Korea, Balrampur, Surajpur and Jashpur.

Ambikapur was the capital of the Princely state of Surguja before Indian Independence. The name of the city is derived from the Hindu goddess Ambika (Mahamaya) Devi, who is the central figure of worship in the area. Ambikapur is one of the largest cities in Chhattisgarh.

Geography

Ambikapur is located at . It has an average elevation of 623 metres (2078 feet). The district is spread over a forest-rich area of 22,237 km². Most of the district's terrain is forested and hilly. Natural resources include bauxite, forest products and paddy crops.

Tourism

Major tourist attractions include:

• Mahamaya Temple
• Tiger Point Waterfall and a Buddha Temple,
• Fish point,
• Chendra waterfall (picnic spot),
• Ramgarh in Surajpur District,
• Kudargarh in Surajpur District (Bagheshwari Devi Temple)
• Bhaiyathan in Surajpur District (Patal Bhairav Mandir)
• Dipadih (Ancient Sculptors),
• Rakasganda,
• Sitabengara,
• Tattapani (hot spring)
• Semarsot.
• Maa Vaneshwari Devi temple,

Climate

Climate data for Ambikapur
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	23.5 (74.3)	26.9 (80.4)	32.0 (89.6)	36.9 (98.4)	39.5 (103.1)	35.5 (95.9)	29.7 (85.5)	29.3 (84.7)	29.8 (85.6)	29.4 (84.9)	26.5 (79.7)	23.7 (74.7)	30.23 (86.4)
Average low °C (°F)	8.7 (47.7)	11.4 (52.5)	15.7 (60.3)	20.9 (69.6)	24.7 (76.5)	24.8 (76.6)	23.2 (73.8)	22.9 (73.2)	22.1 (71.8)	18.1 (64.6)	12.2 (54)	8.5 (47.3)	17.77 (63.99)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	22.8 (0.898)	22.7 (0.894)	24.7 (0.972)	13.4 (0.528)	19.4 (0.764)	212.4 (8.362)	428.0 (16.85)	383.2 (15.087)	225.4 (8.874)	55.6 (2.189)	8.9 (0.35)	6.3 (0.248)	1,422.8 (56.016)
Average rainy days	3.1	3.7	3.4	2.8	3.3	13.4	23.3	22.5	15.4	5.3	1.0	1.2	98.4
Source: World Meteorological Organization

Land

The land is classified into six categories. About 41.67% is under agriculture, while about 5.70% remains fallow. A further 11.44% of the land could be brought under cultivation by improvements in farming techniques and reclamation of marginal areas. A further 1.27% is barren and uncultivated while 33.09% is forest cover and 6.83% is covered by buildings, roads and other infrastructure.

This distribution of cultivated land reflects the patterns and intensity of early agricultural practices and the extent of the population, combined with physical factors. Areas with a high concentration of cultivated land are generally those with longer histories of settlement and agricultural use. In the Ambikapur block 74.51% of the total geographical area is cultivated.

Demographics

See also: List of cities in Chhattisgarh

As per the 2011 census, Ambikapur municipal corporation had a population of 214,575 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 243,173. The municipality had a sex ratio of 920 females per 1,000 males and 11.3% of the population was under six years old. Effective literacy was 88.20%; male literacy was 92.73% and female literacy was 83.29%.

Ambikapur is inhabited by people from across India. Moderate weather makes it an attractive place for settlement. Unlike the capital, the district population comprises aboriginal populations including the Pandos and Korwas, who still live in rural areas.

Ambikapur is home to a large number of Tibetan migrants who took refuge in India after the Chinese annexation of Tibet in 1959.

Transport

Ambikapur Railway Station Front

Rail

Ambikapur is connected to the Anuppur railway junction, a bordering town in Madhya Pradesh, by a broad gauge railway. Trains reach Anuppur, Katni, Satna, Jabalpur, Durg, Bhopal and the state capital Raipur. More destinations, such as New Delhi, can be reached from Anuppur railway junction.

Jabalpur - Ambikapur Express, Ambikapur – Shahdol, Ambikapur – Surajpur – Anuppur – Bilaspur – Raipur – Durg Express and Bhopal – Chirmiri Passenger run from major cities Bhopal, Gwalior, Katni, Raipur and Jabalpur. Shahdol-Ambikapur passenger leaves Anuppur station at 14:00 hrs and reaches Ambikapur at 19:00 hrs. Ambikapur - Durg Express/Ambikapur-Anuppur-Uslapur-Raipur-Bhilai-Durg Passenger-cum-Express is another train that departs Ambikapur station at 21:15 hrs and reaches Durg at 9:20 hrs.

Road

Ambikapur is well connected by road to other major cities of Chhattisgarh such as Raipur, Bilaspur, Durg, Bhilai, Korba and Raigarh. Daily bus services also runs for Varanasi, Renukoot in U.P (170 km), Raipur (345 km) and Gadhwa road in Jharkhand (160 km). Bus services from Anuppur to Ambikapur operate via Manendragarh and Surajpur. The bus journeys from Bilaspur and Anuppur take between five and six hours.

Air

Darima airstrip is located 12 km from the city. The nearest airport with regularly scheduled flights to Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh state.

Media and communications

State-owned All India Radio has a local station in Ambikapur.

Web portals

Website name	URL	Notes
Official Government Portal for the district of Surguja	http://cg.nic.in/surguja//	Official government website for the district. Land records and other e-governance projects are available from here.
QuickSearch	http://www.myquicksearch.in	Local provider of business directory service for Ambikapur
District Court Surguja	http://ecourts.gov.in/surguja	Official website of the district court of Surguja

Education

File:Holy Cross ayaz.jpg

Holy Cross Convent School Ambikapur

Surguja University, Ambikapur established on 2 September 2008 has the following departments: Environmental Sciences, Farm-Forestry, Biotechnology, Pharmacy, Law and Legal Studies, Functional Hindi, Computer Science.

The town has a Post Graduation College, a Women's College, an agriculture college, a Government Engineering college, a Polytechnic college and several public schools along with private colleges. IT education institutes are also established here. Recently a Sainik school (23rd in India) was started there.

Holy Cross Women College is the largest residential academic institute in Chhattisgarh. Ambikapur's PG college is also one of the largest in the country in terms of the number of students enrolled.

DPS, Carmel Convent, Oriental Public School, and Saraswati Vidyalaya are the other schools in Ambikapur.

Localities

• Shivdhari Colony
• Joda Pipal
• Khairbar Road,Ghutrapara
• Chandani Chowk
• Pt. Rewati Raman Mishra Marg
• Deviganj Road
• Kharsia Naka (Bharat Mata Chowk)
• Gandhi Nagar
• Lakrapara
• Muktipara
• Indranagar
• Navapara
• Rasulpur
• Sadar road
• Babupara
• Gudari Bazar
• Deviganj Road
• Bramha Road
• Ram Mandir Road
• Dutta Colony
• Rawat Residency
• Vasundhara Colony
• Mathpara
• Kedarpur
• Sattipara
• Rajendra Nagar Colony
• Darripara
• Mayapur
• Fundurdihari
• Bouripara
• Chopra Colony
• B.T.I. colony
• Namna kala
• Thangan Para
• Godhanpur
• School Road
• Parradand or Mominpura
• Ramanujganj Naka
• Patpariya
• Gangapur
• Bhathupara
• Kundala City
• Patel Para
• Sanjay Park
• Shankar ghat
• Marine Drive
• shantipara
• Laxmipur

External links

• Ambikapur Palace