Arkalgud, also known as Arakalagudu is a

panchayat town A nagar panchayat (town panchayat; ) or Notified Area Council (NAC) in India is a settlement in transition from rural to urban and therefore a form of an urban political unit comparable to a municipality. An urban centre with more than 12,000 ...

and is one among the eight taluks of

Hassan district Hassan is one of the districts of Karnataka, 31 districts of Karnataka, India. The district headquarter is Hassan, Karnataka, Hassan. It was carved out from Mysore district in the year 1866, during the Commissioner's Rule of Mysore (1831-81). ...

in the state of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

, India. It is situated 30 km from Hassan, 181 km from

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ker ...

and 195 km from

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

. The river Hemavati forms the entire northern boundary of the Taluk; river

Kaveri The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu dis ...

runs through a portion of the south. It is well connected by road to many towns and cities of Karnataka.

Hassan Junction railway station Hassan Junction railway station, also known as Hassana Junction railway station (station code: HAS). It is the main railway station in Hassan district, Karnataka. It serves Hassan city. The station consists of three platforms. Connectivity M ...

is the nearest major railway station and

Kannur International Airport Kannur International Airport is an airport serving the North Malabar region of Kerala, Kodagu and Mysore districts of Karnataka and Mahé district of Puducherry in India. It is located east of Kannur, and east of Thalassery, near the municip ...

is the nearest airport at 150 kilometres.

History

It is said that Gautama rishi performed penance to

Surya Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a m ...

(Sun God) and installed the idol of Arkeshwara, the presiding deity of the local Arkeshwara temple and the town was originally called Arkapuri (city of an image of Arkeshwara, the presiding deity). Hence the name Arkalgud came into existence. It was founded by Krishnappa Nayaka, one of the Aigur (Balam) chiefs in 1568 A.D. It was then captured by

Kanthirava Narasaraja I Kanthirava Narasaraja Wodeyar I (1615 – 31 July 1659) was the twelfth maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1638 to 1659. Accession The previous ruler, Raja Wodeyar II, Kanthirava Narasaraja Wodeyar's cousin, was poisoned on the orders of hi ...

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

in 1647 A.D., it was retaken subsequently by Keladi Shivappa Nayaka of

Ikkeri Ikkeri is a hamlet situated in Sagara taluk (township) about 6 km to the south of the town centre in Sagara, it's known for the Aghoreshvara Temple, dedicated to an avatar of Shiva. The word ''Ikkeri'' in Kannada means "two streets". Naya ...

and finally in 1694 by

Chikkadevaraja Wodeyar Devaraja Wodeyar II (22 September 1645 – 16 November 1704) was the fourteenth maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1673 to 1704. During this time, Mysore saw further significant expansion after his predecessors. During his rule, centralise ...

(1673–1704) of Mysore.

Geography and salient features

Arkalgud is located at . It has an average elevation of . It lies partly in semi-malnad and partly in maidan tract. The total geographical area of the Taluk is . It occupies sixth place in the District in terms of geographical area. The soil is red sandy derived from granites, gneiss and schists. The soil is red to brownish in colour, shallow to fairly deep shallow, loamy to sandy loamy in texture intermixed with fairly large amounts of coarse gravel and pebbles. They are well drained but poor in bases and water holding capacity. It is favourable for growing crops like paddy, sugarcane, coconut, potato, vegetables and plantation crops under irrigated conditions. It is suitable for growing ragi, millets, pulses, groundnut, potato and maize under rain-fed conditions. The river

enters at Kodavinahosahalli, a village in the south of Arkalgud and flows only through a small portion of about 24 km and enters

district. An Anicut called Krishnarajakatte has been constructed across the river in the Taluk from which two channels viz. Kattepura channel and Ramanathapura channel take off for a length of about 24 km and 30 km respectively. The Kattepura channel runs along the south bank, past Rudrapatna; and the Ramanathapura Channel along the north bank past Konnanur and Ramanathapura to Basavapatna. The river Hemavati divides Arakalgud and Hassan taluks. The river enters in Honnathapura in the western side and flows towards to east and enters

Holenarasipura Holenarasipura is a town and taluk in Hassan district of Karnataka. The town is situated on the banks of the Hemavati, one of the tributaries of the Kaveri. Demographics India census, Holenarasipura had a population of 29,938. Males constit ...

taluk. The taluk receives rainfall from south-west monsoon. It is located at around above sea level. This taluk enjoys dry and cold climate during the year as the central part of the Taluk borders the

Malenadu Malnad (; Malēnādu) is a region in the state of Karnataka in India. Malenadu covers the western and eastern slopes of the Western Ghats or Sahyadri mountain range, and is roughly 100 kilometers in width. Malnadis a region of Karnataka ...

region and south-eastern portions form the southern maidan region. One can find some low hilly regions in the taluk as well as high altitude region such as Hippi-betta (3486 ft. or 1063 meters) in the western portion of the taluk. Konanur is the largest village in the taluk Basavapatna is one of the other village of Arakalgud taluk and Lakshmikanthaswamy temple is situated and Ramanathapura temples are famous in the same taluk every year one month jatra will be celebrated here.

Demographics

India

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, Arkalgud had a population of 15,184. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Arkalgud has an average literacy rate of 65%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 57% of the males and 43% of females literate. 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Gallery

File:Hassan in karnataka.jpg, Positioning of Hassan district in Karnataka File:HASSAN DIST CRP.jpg, Hobli Map of Hassan district File:ARKALGUD POP 2001 A1.pdf, Map of Arakalgud Taluk as per 2001 Census File:ARKALGUD POP 2011.pdf, Map of Arakalgud Taluk as per 2011 Census File:ARAKALGUD TQ.pdf, Arakalgud Taluk - Hobli and Village Map File:ARAKALAGUD GP 2015 A0.pdf, Arakalgud Taluk - Grama Panchayat and Village Map File:ARAKALAGUD FLUORIDE.pdf, Arakalgud Taluk Map about Fluoride content in DWS

References

{{reflist Cities and towns in Hassan district