Haldwani ( Kumaoni: ''Haldvānī'') is the largest city of

Kumaon Kumaon or Kumaun may refer to: * Kumaon division, a region in Uttarakhand, India * Kumaon Kingdom, a former country in Uttarakhand, India * Kumaon, Iran, a village in Isfahan Province, Iran * , a ship of the Royal Indian Navy during WWII See also ...

. It is also the third

most populous city The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities in all jurisdictions are classified using the same criteria. Cities may be defined as the city proper, cities proper, the extent of their urban area, or th ...

and largest commercial market in the Indian state of

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

. Haldwani is said to be the financial capital of Uttarakhand, having the most commercial, economic and industrial activities of the state. Haldwani is located in the

Nainital District Nainital district is a district in Kumaon division which is a part of Uttarakhand state in India. The headquarters is at Nainital. Nainital District is located in Kumaon Division, and is located in the lower Himalayas. Haldwani is the largest c ...

, and is one of its eight Subdivisions. The Haldwani Urban agglomeration has 232,060 people as of 2011, and is the fourth most populous UA in Uttarakhand, after

Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...

Haridwar Haridwar (; ) is a city and municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of Uttarakhand, India. With a population of 228,832 in 2011, it is the second-largest city in the state and the largest in the district. The city is situated on the righ ...

and

Roorkee Roorkee (Rūṛkī) is a city and a municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is from Haridwar city, the district headquarter. It is spread over a flat terrain under Sivalik Hills of Himalayas. The c ...

. Being situated in the immediate foothills of Kumaon Himalayas, the

Kathgodam Kathgodam is a suburb of Haldwani city in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand state of India. It used to be a part of the twin township of Haldwani-Kathgodam, and is immediately north of Haldwani. It is one of the important collection centres fo ...

neighbourhood of Haldwani is known as the "Gateway to Kumaon". Located in the Bhabhar region in the Himalayan foothills on the banks of the Gaula River, the town of Haldwani was established in 1834, as a mart for

hill people Hill people, also referred to as mountain people, is a general term for people who live in the hills and mountains. This includes all rugged land above and all land (including plateaus) above elevation. The climate is generally harsh, with s ...

who visited Bhabar during the cold season. The establishment of the Bareilly–Nainital provincial road in 1882 and the Bhojeepura–

railway line by

Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway (R&KR) was a metre gauge railway in India covering a total network of 592 miles (953 km).Indo-Gangetic Plain The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the North Indian River Plain, is a fertile plain encompassing northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, including most of northern and eastern India, around half of Pakistan, virtually all of Bangla ...

Etymology

The name "Haldwani" is an anglicised version of the Kumaoni word "Haldu-vani" (literally "forest of Haldu"), named after the tree of "Haldu" (Kadamb), known to botanists as

Haldina ''Haldina cordifolia'', syn. ''Adina cordifolia'', is a flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae, the sole species in the genus ''Haldina''. It is native to southern Asia, from India east to Yunnan and Vietnam and south to Peninsular Malaysia. I ...

cordifolia. The Haldu trees were found in abundance around the city prior to deforestation of the region for agriculture and settlement. The place was regionally known as Halduvani until George William Traill took over as Commissioner of Kumaon and renamed it to Haldwani in 1834.History
Official website.

History

The Bhabhar region, where the city is located, has historically been a part of the

Kingdom of Kumaon Kumaon Kingdom was an independent Himalayas, Himalayan kingdom in the eastern region of present-day Uttarakhand state of India. It was established around 7th century and remained an independent and sovereign kingdom until 1791. Etymology Kuma ...

. The region came under the dominion of Kumaon, when King ''Gyan Chand'' of Chand Dynasty visited

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

in the 14th century. Later, the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

tried to take over the hills, but their attempts received a setback due to the difficult terrain. In the early 1600s, the Haldwani region was sparsely populated. It was inhabited by people of a Native tribe known as the Buksa. The Terai area southward consisted of thick forests, and was used as hunting grounds by the Mughals.

Founding and 19th century

In 1816, after the British defeated

Gorkhas The Gurkhas or Gorkhas (), with endonym Gorkhali ), are soldiers native to the Indian subcontinent, Indian Subcontinent, chiefly residing within Nepal and some parts of Northeast India. The Gurkha units are composed of Nepalis and Indian Go ...

, and gained control of

by the

Treaty of Sugauli The Treaty of Sugauli (also spelled Sugowlee, Sagauli and Segqulee), the treaty that established the boundary line of Nepal, was signed on 4 March 1816 between the East India Company and Guru Gajaraj Mishra following the Anglo-Nepalese War ...

, Gardner was appointed the Commissioner of Kumaon. Later George William Traill took over as Commissioner and renamed ''Halduvani'' as Haldwani in 1834. Though British records suggest that the place was established in 1834, as a mart for hill people who visited the ''Bhabhar'' (Himalayan foothills) region, during the cold season. The township, formerly located in Mota Haldu, had only thatched houses. Brick-houses began to be built only after 1850. The first English middle school was established in 1831. During the

Indian Rebellion of 1857 The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

, Haldwani was briefly seized by the rebels of

Rohilkhand Rohilkhand (previously Rampur State) is a region in the northwestern part of Uttar Pradesh, India, that is centered on the Rampur, Bareilly and Moradabad divisions. It is part of the upper Ganges Plain, and is named after the Rohilla tribe. Th ...

, soon martial law was declared in the region by Sir Henry Ramsay (the Commissioner of Kumaon), and by 1858, the region was cleared of the rebels.History of Nainital District
''

The Imperial Gazetteer of India ''The Imperial Gazetteer of India'' was a gazetteer of the British Indian Empire, and is now a historical reference work. It was first published in 1881. Sir William Wilson Hunter made the original plans of the book, starting in 1869.< ...

'' 1909, v. 18, p. 324-325. The Rohillas, who were accused of attacking Haldwani, were hanged by the British at Phansi Gadhera in

Nainital Nainital ( Kumaoni: ''Naintāl''; ) is a city and headquarters of Nainital district of Kumaon division, Uttarakhand, India. It is the judicial capital of Uttarakhand, the High Court of the state being located there and is the headquarters o ...

. Later, Ramsay connected Nainital with Kathgodam by road in 1882. In 1883–84, the railway track was laid between

Bareilly Bareilly () is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The city ...

and Kathgodam. The first train arrived at Haldwani from

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

on 24 April 1884.Haldwani
http://www.uttaranchalonline.info . Before the formation of Nainital district in 1891, it was part of the Kumaon district, which was later renamed

Almora district Almora is a District (India), district in the Kumaon Division of Uttarakhand state, India. The headquarters is at Almora. It is 1,638 meters above sea level. The neighbouring regions are Pithoragarh district to the east, Chamoli district to the w ...

. The Town Act was implemented here in 1885 and Haldwani was declared a municipality on 1 February 1897. The Tehsil office was opened here in 1899, when it became the tehsil headquarters of the ''Bhabhar'', one of four divisions of the Nainital district, and included 4 towns and 511 villages; and had a combined population of 93,445 (1901), spread over 1,279 sq. miles.

20th and 21st centuries

Map of the United Provinces from The Imperial Gazetteer of India (1907-1909)

In 1901, with a population of 6,624, Haldwani was the headquarters of the Bhabhar region of

, in the

United Provinces of Agra and Oudh The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh was a province of India under the British Raj, which existed from 1902 to 1921; the official name was shortened by the Government of India Act 1935 to United Provinces (UP), by which the province had been ...

, and it also used to become the winter headquarters of the officers of the

Kumaon Division Kumaon (; Kumaoni: ''Kumāū''; ; historically romanized as KemāonJames Prinsep (Editor)John McClelland ) is a revenue and administrative division in the Indian State of Uttarakhand. It spans over the eastern half of the state and is bounded ...

and the

.Halwani

1909, v. 13, p. 10. The

Arya Samaj Arya Samaj ( hi, आर्य समाज, lit=Noble Society, ) is a monotheistic Indian Hindu reform movement that promotes values and practices based on the belief in the infallible authority of the Vedas. The samaj was founded by the sanny ...

Bhavan was built in 1901 and Sanatan Dharm Sabha in 1902. The Municipality of Haldwani was disestablished in 1904, and Haldwani was constituted as a

Notified area A nagar panchayat (town panchayat; ) or Notified Area Council (NAC) in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, ...

. The first Hospital of the city was opened in 1912. Haldwani hosted the second session of the Kumaon Parishad in 1918. Protests against the

Rowlatt Act The Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act of 1919, popularly known as the Rowlatt Act, was a law that applied in British India. It was a legislative council act passed by the Imperial Legislative Council in Delhi on 18 March 1919, indefinitel ...

and for Coolie-Begar Abolition were held all over the city in 1920 under the leadership of Pt. Tara Datt Gairola Raibahadur. Many processions were carried out in the city between 1930 and 1934 during the

Civil disobedience movement The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi. The twenty-four day march lasted from 12 March to 6 April 1930 as a di ...

. In 1940, at the Haldwani conference,

Badri Datt Pandey Pandit Badri Datt Pande (15 February 1882 – 13 January 1965) was an Indian historian, freedom fighter, Social Reformer and subsequently, a Member of Parliament from Almora in independent India. Along with Govind Ballabh Pant, he was one of th ...

voiced for granting special status to the mountainous regions of Kumaon in the United Provinces, thus, giving a way to the future

Uttarakhand movement The Uttarakhand movement refers to the events of statehood activism within the undivided state of Uttar Pradesh which ultimately resulted in the formation of Uttarakhand, India as a separate state. Uttarakhand became a state on 9 November 2000. ...

. Haldwani was a mid-sized town, with a population of about 25,000, in 1947, when India became Independent from the

British Rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. Haldwani became a part of the

Indian state India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

. The city was electrified in 1950. The 2nd battalion of the

Naga Regiment The Naga Regiment is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army. It is among the youngest regiments of the Indian Army - the first battalion was raised in Ranikhet, Kumaon in 1970. The regiment recruits mainly from Nagaland, in northeast India. Hi ...

, affectionately known as Head Hunters, was raised at Haldwani on 11 February 1985. Haldwani played a major role in the

. The town was spearheading the agitation, which often ended up in violence and also in police firing and brutality. Forty human skeletons and 300 'grave-like structures' were discovered in Haldwani's Golapar area on 9 May 2017 during the construction of the Haldwani ISBT. The skeletons were speculated to be the remains of the

Rohilla Rohillas are a community of Pashtun ancestry, historically found in Rohilkhand, a region in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It forms the largest Pashtun diaspora community in India, and has given its name to the Rohilkhand region. The Ro ...

chieftains from Bareilly who fought against the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

in 1857 and were killed by the British army or of those who died of

epidemics An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious d ...

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...

. However, forensic tests later revealed the skeletons to be only two years old.

Geography

Topography

Haldwani is located at , in the

Nainital district Nainital district is a district in Kumaon division which is a part of Uttarakhand state in India. The headquarters is at Nainital. Nainital District is located in Kumaon Division, and is located in the lower Himalayas. Haldwani is the largest c ...

on the right bank of the Gaula River. Geologically, Haldwani is settled on a piedmont grade (called Bhabhar) where the mountain rivers go underground to re-emerge in the

Indo-Gangetic plain The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the North Indian River Plain, is a fertile plain encompassing northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, including most of northern and eastern India, around half of Pakistan, virtually all of Bangla ...

. The Haldwani Bhabhar stretches horizontally, surrounded by the regions of

Ramnagar Ramnagar may refer to the following places: Bangladesh * Ramnagar, Bangladesh, a village in Chittagong Division * Ramnagar Union, Jessore Sadar India Jammu and Kashmir * Ramnagar, Udhampur, a town in Jammu and Kashmir ** Ramnagar Fort Udha ...

and

Tanakpur Tanakpur (Kumaoni: टनकपुर) is a city and a municipal board in Champawat district of Uttarakhand state of India. Located in the plains area in the northern part of India. The town is the gateway for Purnagiri Temple (around 24 ...

and lies between the

Shivalik hills The Sivalik Hills, also known as the Shivalik Hills and Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas that stretches over about from the Indus River eastwards close to the Brahmaputra River, spanning the northern parts of the Indi ...

to the north and the Terai region of Rudrapur to the south. The average land elevation is

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. According to the

Bureau of Indian Standards The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the National Standards Body of India under Department of Consumer affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government of India. It is established by the Bureau of Indian Standar ...

, Haldwani falls under seismic zone 4, in a scale of 2 to 5 (in order of increasing vulnerability to earthquakes). The Haldwani tehsil has an area of 958.6 square k.m, including both flat and hilly ground, and is in the Indian Standard Time Zone (UTC−5:30). When Haldwani was founded in 1837, most of the early buildings were around Mota Haldu. The city gradually developed northwards towards the present Bazaar and

Railway Station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

. The city had in the past seen haphazard development due to the absence of a development authority. Dozens of colonies were set up in the early 2000s without any regulation with narrow roads, making commuting a nightmare. The city ranked 395 in the

Swachh Survekshan 2017 ''Swachh Survekshan'' ( lit. Cleanliness survey) is an annual survey of cleanliness, hygiene and sanitation in villages, cities and towns across India. It was launched as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, which aimed to make India clean and free ...

, out of 434 cities, with a total score of 557.

Metropolitan area

Haldwani is the principal city in the Haldwani Urban Agglomeration Area, situated in the southeastern part of Uttarakhand, in the Kumaon region. Apart from the towns of Haldwani and Kathgodam, the Urban Agglomeration of Haldwani also includes eleven outgrowths (judge farm, Damua Dhunga Bandobasti, Byura, Bamori Talli Bandobasti, Amrawati Colony, Shakti Vihar, Bhatt Colony, Manpur Uttar, Haripur Sukha, Gaujajali Uttar, Kusumkhera, Bithoria No. 1, Korta, Bamori Malli and Bamori Talli Kham) and two census towns (Mukhani and Haldwani Talli). Haldwani is also a

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

, one of the eight subdivisions of the Nainital district. The tehsil of Haldwani is situated in the southern part of the Nainital district and shares its borders with the tehsils of Nainital,

Kaladhungi Kaladhungi is a town and a nagar panchayat in Nainital district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The place is located just on the foothill, a good climate but summers are hot, located 26 km west of Haldwani on the Haldwani- Ramanagar roa ...

Lalkuan Lalkuan is a Nagar Panchayat in the Nainital district of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Demographics In the 2011 India census, Lalkuan had a population of 7,644. Males constituted 55% of the population and females 45%. Lalkuan had an average l ...

and Dhari tehsils in Nainital district;

Gadarpur Gadarpur is a post independence city and a municipal board in Udham Singh Nagar district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. This city was formed with the arrival of the refugees from Pakistan at the time of partition of 1947. The refugees settl ...

Kiccha ''Kiccha'' is a 2003 Kannada political drama action film directed by P. A. Arun Prasad featuring Sudeep and Shwetha in the lead roles. It features background score and soundtrack composed by Hamsalekha and lyrics by Hamsalekha. The film releas ...

and

Sitarganj Sitarganj is a city and a municipal board in Udham Singh Nagar district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Now it is home to the Integrated Industrial Estate Sitarganj (IIE) being developed by State Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarak ...

Udham Singh Nagar district Udham Singh Nagar District (officially District of Udham Singh Nagar )is a district of Uttarakhand state in northern India. Rudrapur is the district headquarters. This district consists of nine Tehsils named Bajpur, Gadarpur, Rudrapur, Jaspur ...

and the tehsil of Poornagiri in

Champawat district Champawat district is a district of Uttarakhand state in northern India. The town of Champawat is the administrative headquarters. The district of Champawat constituted in the year 1997. The district is divided into five tehsils: Barakot, Lohagh ...

. The tehsil comprises four towns and 202 villages.

Climate

Demographics

The municipality of Haldwani has a population of 156,060 people. The region is dominated by the native

Kumaonis Kumaonis, also known as Kumaiye and Kumain (in Nepal), are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group who speak Kumaoni language as their first-language and live mostly in Kumaon region in the Indian Himalayas . Kumaoni is also used as an addr ...

and migrants of various states including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab, Bengal, hence a major population belonging to various religions and regions are present in haldwani as per provisional data released by the 2011 census. The 2017 estimate, on the other hand, predicted a population of 291,338. The population of the municipality area, combined with outgrowths was 201,461, and the

urban agglomeration An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...

of Haldwani-cum-Kathgodam had a population of 232,060, out of which males were 121,409 and females were 110,686.

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

is the majority religion in Haldwani with 57.84% followers.

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

is second most popular religion in city with approximately 41.89% following it. In Haldwani,

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

is followed by 0.89%,

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

by 2.19%,

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...

by 0.09%,and

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

by 0.09%. Around 0.01% stated 'Other Religion', approximately 0.07% stated 'No Particular Religion'.

Education

As of 2011, Haldwani has a total of 198 Government financed educational institutions, including 73 Primary Schools, 25 middle schools, 25 secondary schools and 25 senior secondary schools. Besides these, there are several institutions of higher education, including 2-degree colleges affiliated with the

Kumaun University Kumaun University is a state university headquartered in Nainital, Uttarakhand, India. In 2017, it hosted the first Kautik Student Film Festival. Campuses The university has two campuses, DSB Campus Nainital, and KU campus Bhimtal Bhim ...

and a medical college affiliated with the

Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Uttarakhand Medical Education University Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Uttarakhand Medical Education University (HNBUMU), also known H.N.B. Uttarakhand Medical Education University, is a medical education state university located at Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. It was established in 2014 b ...

. The

Government Medical College, Haldwani Government Medical College, Haldwani (formerly known as Uttarakhand Forest Hospital Trust Medical College) is a medical college in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, India. It was established in 1997. The college is affiliated with Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna ...

was established in 1997 as Uttarakhand Forest Hospital Trust Medical College, and is a residential & co-educational college recognised by the

Medical Council of India The Medical Council of India (MCI) was a statutory body for establishing uniform and high standards of medical education in India until its dissolution on 25 September 2020 when it was replaced by National Medical Commission. The Council grante ...

and

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

. The Defence Institute of Bio-Energy Research (DIBER), an Indian defence laboratory of the

Defence Research and Development Organisation The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) (IAST: ''Raksā Anūsandhān Evam Vikās Sangaṭhan'') is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India ...

(DRDO), is also located in Haldwani. It conducts research and development of bioenergy as well as the sustainable and eco-friendly high altitude agro-technologies in the Indian Himalayan Region for the use of

Indian Military The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Armed Forces are supported by th ...

. Amrapali Group of Institutes is located in Lamachaur area of Haldwani. It was established in 1999 and is currently running Engineering, Hotel Management, Computer Applications, Pharmacy, Education, Commerce and Business Management Courses. The Graphic Era University Campus is situated in the Gola Par area of Haldwani which is a special class private university. MBPG Haldwani

Haldwani is home to the

Uttarakhand Open University Uttarakhand Open University ( hi, उत्तराखण्ड मुक्त विश्वविद्यालय) is a public state open University located in the city of Haldwani in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The university was ...

, which was established by an act of

Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly The Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly, also known as the Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha, is a unicameral governing and law making body of Uttarakhand, one of the 28 states of India. It is seated at Dehradun, the winter capital, and Bhararisain, the summ ...

on 31 October 2005. The university, located in Teenpani neighbourhood of the city, is the only open university in the state. More than 140 courses are available at the university; prominent ones being journalism and mass communication, hotel management, tourism management, business management, education, , and other traditional courses. Pal College of Technology & Management is situated in Haldwani in Uttarakhand state of India. it is accredited from Other and it is affiliated to Kumaun University. PAL COLLEGE, Haldwani offers 8 courses across 6 streams namely Science, IT, Management, Education, Hotel Management, Arts and across 7 degrees like BSc, BHM, B.Ed, BBA, BCA.Hostel facility is not available for its students. Additional campus facilities such as Math Lab, Boys Hostel, Computer Lab, Library, Cls. Room, Placement, Sports, Trans., WiFi are also there.

Economy

Well connected with the Indo-Gangetic plain by road (to New Delhi, Dehradun and Lucknow) and rail (

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

DehraDun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...

, Lucknow and

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

), Haldwani is an important commercial hub. It is home to one of the largest vegetable, fruit and foodgrain markets in Kumaon. Being the gateway to most of

, it is an important revenue center of Uttarakhand based on its advantageous location as a base depot for goods in transit to the hills. The Gaula river is exploited for a large quantity of boulders, sand and gravels every year, and forms an important revenue source for both the government and local business.

Business in Haldwani

The status of Haldwani is as an economic hub can be seen in the several business outlets that run purely on trade. Whether it is perishable commodities or non-perishable ones the traders of Haldwani stock and distribute their goods all over the hilly regions. The entire hill region is dependent upon the material and supplies that are stocked and then passed on to other hill town and settlements. Naturally occurring products like organic grains, herbal, horticulture produce and other environment-friendly handicrafts would all attract revenue for the investor, the traders as also the government. Besides these, the agricultural and pharmaceutical products sector would be a great draw for the investor, industrialists, entrepreneur, business people as well as retailers and distributors. The traditional and the modern – both junction of the hills and the plains.

Investment in Haldwani

Already a major revenue earner for the state of Uttarakhand, tourism has much more scope for Haldwani and nearby locations. The concept of

rural tourism Rural tourism is a tourism that focuses on actively participating in a rural lifestyle. It can be a variant of ecotourism. Many villages can facilitate tourism because many villagers are hospitable and eager to welcome or host visitors. Agriculture ...

is fast catching up where the tourists prefer staying with the local population rather than in hotels and resorts. The comforts of home, a taste of the local cuisine as well as spending time exploring the nooks and crannies of an old world, charming hill town – all these afford the tourist with a tremendously different experience. Beside such opportunities, there are several more ways in which the tourist potential can be explored and maximized for its optimal output to help the township progress and blossom to its zenith. Businessmen, investors, resort owners as also the local community can capitalize on these fresher opportunities. There are also several openings for other business enterprises like construction material, adventure equipment, floriculture as well as medical tourism in the lap of nature. It would also prove to have great scope for all forms of educational and training institutions that would be rooted in the ancient teaching of the Gurukul system. Therefore, it would be a wise move to visit the Haldwani region and explore its vast investment potential for the future.

Government and politics

Civic Administration

Haldwani is a

municipal corporation A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally owne ...

governed by a mayor–council system. The municipal area is divided into 60 territorial constituencies known as

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

s. The Municipal Corporation is made up of a Wards Committee, where each ward has one seat. Members, known as Councillors, are elected to the Wards Committee on the basis of adult franchise for a term of five years, as provisioned by the 74th Amendment of the

Indian Constitution The Constitution of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental r ...

relating to urban local governments. The 'Nagar Nigam Haldwani' is a unicameral legislative body, comprising sixty Councillors, and the Mayor. In addition to the elected Councillors, the committee also includes fifteen councillors nominated by the state government and four additional members; the three MLAs and MP from the city. The Town Act was implemented in Haldwani in 1885 after which, it was declared a municipality on 1 February 1897. The Municipality of Haldwani was soon disestablished and Haldwani was constituted as a 'notified area' in 1904. In 1907, it got the status of town area. The Haldwani-Kathgodam Municipal Council was established on 21 September 1942, and was upgraded to a

Municipal corporation A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally owne ...

on 21 May 2011. Currently it is the third largest Municipal Corporation in the state of Uttarakhand after

and

Politics

The city is represented in the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

by a

representative Representative may refer to: Politics *Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people *House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities *Legislator, someon ...

elected from the Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar Constituency.

Ajay Bhatt Ajay V. Bhatt is an Indian-born American computer architect who defined and developed several widely used technologies, including USB (Universal Serial Bus), Platform Power Management architecture and various chipset improvements. Early life Aft ...

, from

BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

, is the current

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

from Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar. He won the

2019 Lok Sabha election General elections were held in India in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May 2019 to elect the members of the 17th Lok Sabha. Votes were counted and the result was declared on 23 May. Around 912 million people were eligible to vote, and voter ...

s by 339,000 votes against

Harish Rawat Harish Singh Rawat (born 27 April 1948) is an Indian politician who was Chief Minister of Uttarakhand from 2014 to 2017. A five-time Member of Parliament, Rawat is a leader of the Indian National Congress party. As a member of 15th Lok Sabha, ...

from the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

, . The Current MLA is Sumit Hriyesh who is from the COngress Party and was previously held by the Leader of Opposition and very Senior Legislator Late Dr Indira Hridayesh who is widely acknowledged to have developed the face of modern Haldwani which she has represented 3 times since the formation of Uttarakhand .at. Generally considered a Congress Stronghold, the Congress has registered a victory from Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar eight times since 1951. While BJP won this seat two times, other political parties had managed three victories. The city elects three members to the

. Much of the city forms part of the

Haldwani assembly constituency Haldwani Legislative Assembly constituency is one of the seventy electoral Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly constituencies of Uttarakhand state in India. It includes ward no. 1 to 33 of Haldwani Nagar Nigam of Nainital Nainital ( Kumaoni: ...

, Nagar Nigam ward no 1 to 37, although some western and southern suburbs are a part of the

(ward no. 38 to 55) and

(ward no. 56 to 60) constituencies respectively.

Transport

Haldwani is known as the Gateway to Kumaon. The most commonly used forms of transport in Haldwani include government owned services such as railways and buses. Complementing these government services are bus routes operated by KMOU (Kumaon Motor Owner's Union), as well as privately operated taxis and auto rickshaws.

Road

NH 109 cuts through Haldwani; other major roads are the Bareilly-

Bageshwar Bageshwar ( Kumaoni: ''Bāgshyār'') is a town and a municipal board in Bageshwar district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is located at a distance of 470 km from the National Capital New Delhi and 332 km from the State Capital ...

highway, Rampur Road, Haldwani-

–

Road and the Kathgodam-

Road. Haldwani is well connected to the country's capital

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

via buses run by

Uttarakhand Transport Corporation Uttarakhand Transport Corporation also referred to as UTC or Uttarakhand Roadways, is the state run bus service of Uttarakhand state of India. UTC buses serves routes to towns and cities within Uttarakhand and adjoining states and union territt ...

. All the buses leave from the Haldwani Bus Station for Delhi's

Anand Vihar ISBT Swami Vivekanand Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) popularly known as Anand Vihar ISBT, located in East Delhi is one of the three Inter State Bus Terminals in Delhi. Anand Vihar ISBT was built in 1993, but it became fully functional with effect ...

. The connectivity to state capital Dehradun is also good. There are a number of buses for Dehradun-Haldwani route. Apart from Delhi and Dehradun, regular buses are available for several hill cities like Nainital,

Almora Almora ( Kumaoni: ''Almāḍ'') is a municipal board and a cantonment town in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Almora district. Almora is located on a ridge at the southern edge of the Kumaon Hills of the ...

Ranikhet Ranikhet (Kumaoni language, Kumaoni: ) is a hill station and cantonment town, nearby Almora, Almora Town in Almora district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the home for the Military Hospital, Kumaon Regiment (KRC) and Naga Regiment and ...

and

Pithoragarh Pithoragarh ( Kumaoni: ''Pithor'garh'') is a Himalayan city with a Municipal Board in Pithoragarh district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the fourth largest city of Kumaon and the largest in Kumaon hills. It is an education hub of t ...

. A new ISBT is under construction in the Gaulapar region. The ISBT would be spread over 8 Acres, and has been termed the 'Largest ISBT in north India' by

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

. The foundation stone was laid in 2016. The construction work started in 2014, but was halted in May 2017, when a large number of human skeletons were discovered at the construction site by workers.

Rail

There are direct rail links to many parts both in and outside the state to all major junctions. All trains start from which is a terminal of North Eastern Railway's

Izzatnagar Izzatnagar is a locality in Bareilly in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The railway station it houses is one of the three Divisional Headquarters of North Eastern Railways. Izzatnagar is also the location of the Indian Veterinary Research In ...

Division and then reach and proceed towards . In 1883–84, the railway track was laid between Bareilly and Kathgodam. The first train arrived at Haldwani from Lucknow on 24 April 1884. Later, the railway line was extended to Kathgodam.

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...

is planning shorter rail track via

–

Kotdwar Kotdwar is a city, municipal corporation in Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand, India. It's just 101 km from Pauri town , the district headquarter. It is the eighth-largest city in Uttarakhand. Its old name was "Khohdwar", which means the ga ...

–

instead of the present track via Rampur–

Moradabad Moradabad () is a city, commissionary and municipal corporation in Moradabad district of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Moradabad is situated on the banks of the Ramganga river, at a distance of from the national capital, New Delhi and 344 ...

Air

The air gateway to Haldwani is the

Pantnagar Airport Pantnagar Airport is a domestic airport serving Pantnagar, located in Udham Singh Nagar district in of Uttarakhand, India. It is operated by the Airports Authority of India. It is the nearest airport to the Kumaon division and is located in t ...

located at

Pantnagar Pantnagar is a town and a university campus in Udham Singh Nagar district, Uttarakhand. Nainital, Kashipur, Rudrapur and Kiccha, Haldwani are the major cities surrounding Pantnagar. The town is home to the first agricultural university of I ...

, which is about 28 km (17 mi) south of Haldwani city, and handles the domestic flights. The

provides direct connectivity to

, the Capital of India. Government has approved

Hindon Airport Hindon Airport , also spelled Hindan Airport, is a civil enclave in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, operated by the Airports Authority of India at Hindon Air Force Station of the Indian Air Force. It is the second commercial airport in the Delhi N ...

to operate as civil Terminal. From October 2019 people of Uttarakhand can fly to Pithoragarh from Hindon Airport located in

Ghaziabad Ghaziabad () is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and a part of Delhi NCR. It is the administrative headquarters of Ghaziabad district and is the largest city in western Uttar Pradesh, with a population of 1,729,000. Ghaziabad Muni ...

. Hindon Airport is only 4 km away from

East Delhi East Delhi is an administrative district of Delhi in India. It is bounded by the Yamuna River on the west, North East Delhi to the north, Ghaziabad District of Uttar Pradesh state to the east, and Gautam Buddha Nagar District of Uttar Pradesh ...

. The new civil terminal is proposed to operate flights to eight routes, including Nasik, Pithoragarh, Kannur, Hubli, Faizabad, Shimla, Jamnagar and Kalaburgi.

Sports

Indira Gandhi International Sports Stadium Indira Gandhi International Sports Stadium is located in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, India. It has a capacity of 25,000 people and was inaugurated on 18 December 2016 by Harish Rawat, the then Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. It is spread over an ar ...

is located in Haldwani. The stadium, having a capacity of 25000 people, was inaugurated on 18 December 2016 by

, the then

Chief Minister of Uttarakhand The chief minister of Uttarakhand is the chief executive of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with the chief min ...

. It is spread over an area of 70 acres and has

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

grounds, a track for 800-metre race, a

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

field,

badminton court Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players per ...

s, a

lawn tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cove ...

court, a

boxing ring A boxing ring, often referred to simply as a ring or the squared circle, is the space in which a boxing match occurs. A modern ring consists of a square raised platform with a post at each corner. Four ropes are attached to the posts and pulled p ...

, and a

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

. Haldwani hosted a state-level football championship, and the first edition of CWE (Continental Wrestling Entertainment) pro-wrestling series, in 2016. Haldwani will be the second city after Delhi in

northern India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

to have more than one international stadium. The

Uttarakhand State Football Association The Uttarakhand State Football Association (USFA) is the governing body of football activities in the Indian state of Uttarakhand and the Uttarakhand football team. It is affiliated with the All India Football Federation. It sends state teams fo ...

has its headquarters in Haldwani.

Media and communications

Haldwani, along with other areas of the Kumaon division, is served by the

station of the

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

. The first relay centre of Akashwani FM will be set up in Haldwani city on 1,560 sqm of land. The relay centre will broadcast FM radio programmes of the All India Radio round the clock within a range of 70 km. Internet Services are provided by BSNL,

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...

Bharti Airtel Bharti Airtel Limited, commonly known as (d/b/a) Airtel, is an Indian multinational telecommunications services company based in New Delhi. It operates in 18 countries across South Asia and Africa, as well as the Channel Islands. Currently, ...

Idea Cellular Idea Cellular (commonly referred to as Idea, and stylised as ''!dea'') was an Indian mobile network operator based at Mumbai, Maharashtra. Idea was a pan-India integrated GSM operator and had 220.00 million subscribers as of June 2018. ...

and

Reliance jio Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, doing business as Jio, is an Indian telecommunications company and a subsidiary of Jio Platforms, headquartered in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It operates a national LTE network with coverage across all 2 ...

. Hello Haldwani community radio broadcasts programmes on education, agriculture, health and local traditions from the campus of

, Haldwani.Hello Haldwani community radio

Community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popular ...

Local attractions

Haldwani is a hidden paradise of Uttarakhand. Here are the best places you can explore in this otherwise undiscovered part of the mountainous state of India:

Kathgodam

In Kumaoni, Kathgodam stands for timber depot. Kathgodam may be a railway station for most tourists traveling on to other destinations, but it has an interesting history. Direct trains from cities such as Delhi, Kolkata, Jammu Tawi, Kanpur and Jaisalmer to Kathgodam provide access to travelers to the Kumaon Himalayas.

Devbhoomi Adventureland

looking for some fun places to see in Haldwani then you must explore Devbhoomi Adventureland. It is a perfect place to have a fun day trip with your families and friends. You can opt for the many adventurous rides.

Sanjay Van

Forming a part of the Tanda Region, Sanjay Van is nothing less than a paradise for nature lovers. Surrounded by thousands of trees and foliage, Sanjay Van is the best place to visit in Haldwani for a picnic with the family.

References

External links

Haldwani city guideHaldwani city guide
{{Uttarakhand Cities and towns in Nainital district Tourism in Uttarakhand Cities in Uttarakhand