Kapsi is a large

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

and local

marketplace A marketplace or market place is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a '' souk'' (from the Arabic), ' ...

in the

Kanker district Uttar Bastar Kanker District is located in the southern region of the state of Chhattisgarh, India within the longitudes 20.6-20.24 and latitudes 80.48-81.48. The total area of the district is 6432 square kilometers. The population is 748,941. The ...

Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh (, ) is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Prade ...

state 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, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The village holds significance as a model village under two distinct schemes of the

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 ...

, namely the

Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana ( hi, सांसद आदर्श ग्राम योजना , abbr.: SAGY) is a rural development programme broadly focusing upon the development in the villages which includes social development, cultural dev ...

and the National Rurban Mission. It is situated on Chhattisgarh State Highway 25 roughly south-west of the district headquarters Kanker and north-east of the

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 ...

headquarters Pakhanjur. Owing to its sizeable tribal population, it is defined as a Scheduled Area under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of India.

Geography

Kapsi is situated in the western part of the

in the Paralkot region, bordering the state of

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

. It is also called the gateway of Paralkot. Geographically, it lies in the northern lowlands of the Bastar plateau and is a part of historical

Dandakaranya Dandakaranya is a historical region in India, mentioned in the Ramayana. It is identified with a territory roughly equivalent to the Bastar division in the Chhattisgarh state in the central-east part of India. It covers about of land, which inc ...

region.http://14.139.60.153/bitstream/123456789/3847/1/BASTAR%20DEVELOPMENT%20PLAN-SN1027.pdf The elevation of the village ranges from 310 to 330 m above sea level. Location of Kapsi in Kanker

A local water body known as the Devda

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion. Devda Ravine Kapsi

With its dense green cover, undulating terrain, hillocks, and stream courses, the region harbours habitats for diverse flora and fauna. The Kapsi Forest Range headquarters under the West Bhanupratappur Division is responsible for the safeguard of forests and conservation of biodiversity in the area. Kapsi Forest Range Signboard

Civic administration

From the administrative perspective, the village has a unique and rather complex setup. For planning and development under the

Panchayati Raj The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical menti ...

system of local self-governance, Kapsi is divided into two distinct

gram panchayat Gram Panchayat () is a basic village-governing institute in Indian villages. It is a democratic structure at the grass-roots level in India. It is a political institute, acting as cabinet of the village. The Gram Sabha work as the general bod ...

s (village councils) namely, Chhote Kapsi (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...

: ) and Bade Kapsi (

: ). The portion that lies to the east of the Devda ravine is known as Chhote (smaller) Kapsi while that to the west is known as Bade (larger) Kapsi. Ironically, Chhote Kapsi is larger of the two, both in terms of area and population, and is the commercial centre. It is also noteworthy that, while the Chhote Kapsi gram panchayat falls under the direct jurisdiction of Pakhanjur tehsil, the Bade Kapsi gram panchayat forms a part of the newly established (in June, 2021) Badgaon up-tehsil. Both Pakhanjur and Badgaon in-turn fall within the purview of the Kapsi forest range. At the

block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...

level, both the gram panchayats are placed under the administrative jurisdiction of the Koyalibeda Janapad Panchayat. Bade Kapsi SH 25

Rurban Cluster

The two constituent gram panchayats of Kapsi i.e., Chhote Kapsi and Bade Kapsi, along with the neighbouring smaller gram panchayats of Aalor, Bapu Nagar and Harangarh form the Bade Kapsi Rurban Cluster. The aim of the project is to enhance the standard of living of the residents by providing better basic and social amenities. The integrated cluster action plan (ICAP) was approved in 2018 under the phase II of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban Mission by the Govt. of India. The vision of the cluster is to retain the dominant agrarian culture besides borrowing urban features such as developing skilled labour force and specializing into value addition based livelihood intensive activities such as maize processing.

Sansad Adarsh Gram

Chhote Kapsi is the first village in the Kanker parliamentary constituency to be identified for development under the ambitious

of the Government of India. The inaugural ceremony was flagged off at a public event on 27 March 2015, by then

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 ...

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 ...

(MP) Shri

Vikram Usendi Vikram Usendi is an Indian politician and MLA representing the Antagarh Assembly constituency in Chhattisgarh. He was also a former Member of 16th Lok Sabha representing Kanker of Chhattisgarh, State President of Bharatiya Janata Party Chhatt ...

, in presence of government officials and public representatives from the district. The primary objective of Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana among other things, is to develop model villages to provide better standards of living and quality of life for inclusive growth of the rural population through: * Improved basic amenities * Higher productivity * Enhanced human development * Better livelihood opportunities * Reduced disparities * Access to rights and entitlements * Wider social mobilization * Enriched social capital.

Demography

According to

2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

, the Kapsi rural agglomeration had a population of 4,179. * Chhote Kapsi had a

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 3050. The village had a sex ratio of 992 females per 1,000 males and 11.54% of the population were under six years of age. Effective literacy rate was 83.91% i.e., higher than Chhattisgarh state average of 70.28%. Male literacy was 88.54% and female

literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

was 79.27%. * Bade Kapsi had a population of 1129. The village had a

sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species devia ...

of 1034 females per 1,000 males and 14.70% of the population were under six years of age. Effective literacy rate was 58.05% i.e., lower than Chhattisgarh state average of 70.28%. Male literacy was 64.63% and female literacy was 51.64%.

Economy

The economy of Kapsi is chiefly agrarian. Large scale cultivation of paddy and maize are undertaken throughout Rabi and Kharif crop seasons.

Fish farming upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland Fish farming or ...

and

dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or ...

are other major primary sector activities practised by the populace. Under the aegis of Department of Fisheries, Govt. Of Chhattisgarh, the Bade Kapsi Rurban Cluster has become an important centre for

pisciculture upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland Fish farming or ...

in the state, even exporting to the neighbouring states of

and

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

Sericulture Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, ''Bombyx mori'' (the caterpillar of the domestic silkmoth) is the most widely used and intensively studie ...

and

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

are also gradually gaining ground, albeit practised by a few. Other forms of livelihood include peasantry, trade, small scale businesses, and local government jobs. The Netaji Market along with the adjacent smaller Atal Market in Chhote Kapsi is the center of all commercial activities for the village. A new market in Bade Kapsi, also known as the Gandhi Market, is quickly taking shape to cater to the growing demand of commercial spaces. Banking services are provided by the following public-sector banks:

Education

For primary and secondary education, Kapsi has a number of Hindi as well as English medium schools, run by the government and private institutions. The quality of education in these schools is generally good with a fair emphasis on extracurricular activities, though the infrastructure is just about satisfactory given the rural setting. The colleges in the district impart basic post-secondary higher education. For good quality and specialized higher education, people are entirely dependent on larger cities such as

Bhilai Bhilai is a city in Durg district of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Chhattisgarh, in eastern central India. With population exceeding 1 million, it is the second-largest urban area in Chhattisgarh after Raipur. Bhil ...

Durg Durg is a city in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, east of the Shivnath River and is part of the Durg-Bhilai urban agglomeration. With an urban population of 1,064,077, Durg-Bhilai is the second largest urban area in Chhattisgarh after Raipur ...

and

Raipur Raipur ( ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Raipur is also the administrative headquarters of Raipur district and Raipur division, and the largest city of the state. It was a part of Madhya Pradesh before the state of Chh ...

Healthcare

As a result of insufficient healthcare facilities, majority of the residents rely on home-made remedies and

quackery Quackery, often synonymous with health fraud, is the promotion of fraudulent or ignorant medical practices. A quack is a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, ...

as first aid. Apart from this, a government run Primary Health Centre (PHC) and a handful of privately run

health facilities A health facility is, in general, any location where healthcare is provided. Health facilities range from small clinics and doctor's offices to urgent care centers and large hospitals with elaborate emergency rooms and trauma centers. The numbe ...

provide

primary healthcare Primary health care, or PHC, refers to "essential health care" that is based on scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology. This makes universal health care accessible to all individuals and families in a community. PHC in ...

. Higher

healthcare Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

needs are referred to cities such as

Dhamtari Dhamtari is a municipal corporation and headquarters of the Dhamtari district in the state of Chhattisgarh, India, which is part of the Mahasamund Lok Sabha constituency formed on 6July 1998.. The district is home to 3.13 percent of Chhattisga ...

and

Utilities

Electricity

The electricity distribution and bill collection in Kapsi is the responsibility of Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Limited (CSPDCL). The company operates a feeder substation and distribution center at Bade Kapsi.

Telephone and internet

State owned

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited Bharat, or Bharath, may refer to: * Bharat (term), the name for India in various Indian languages ** Bharata Khanda, the Sanskrit name for the Indian subcontinent (or South Asia) * Bharata, the name of several legendary figures or groups: ** Bha ...

(BSNL) provides wired landline, 2G/ 3G cellular telephony and fibre broadband internet services in Kapsi.

Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited 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 ...

(Jio) has started providing 4G LTE cellular services from November 2021. A non-functional cellular tower erected by the now defunct

Reliance Communications Reliance Communications Limited (RCOM) was an Indian mobile network provider headquartered in Navi Mumbai that offered voice and 2G and 3G and 4G data services. In February 2019, the company filed for bankruptcy as it was unable to sell asse ...

Limited (RCOM) of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group also exists. Both the BSNL and RCOM facilities were vandalized and set on fire by Maoist rebels in an attack in December 2008. The BSNL services were reinstated within a few weeks after the incident whereas the RCOM service remained suspended and was subsequently withdrawn.

Transport

Road

Kapsi is situated on Chhattisgarh State Highway 25 and is served only by road transport. It is well connected to all nearby major towns and cities by buses operated at regular intervals. In addition, inexpensive shared transportation (

Mahindra Bolero The Mahindra Bolero is a SUV produced by Mahindra & Mahindra. Design The basic design is based on the Mahindra Armada Grand. The first-generation Bolero was equipped with a Peugeot IDI engine which produced , although turbocharged versions ...

, Force Cruiser,

Tata Ace Tata Ace are models of mini trucks manufactured by Tata Motors. It was launched in 2005. History In December 2000, Girish Wagh was given a brief by Ravi Kant (Indian executive), Ravi Kant to create a novel lightweight truck line that would add ...

, etc.) are available throughout the day for local commute. Chhattisgarh SH 25 Near Kapsi

The approximate distance of Kapsi from the regional major towns and cities by road is as follows:

Rail

Kapsi is not connected directly to the network of

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 ...

. The nearest local railway station is Keoti (KETI), at a distance of from Kapsi, on the

Dalli Rajhara–Jagdalpur line The proposed Dalli Rajhara–Jagdalpur rail line, on paper for almost three decades, once completed, would connect Dalli Rajhara to Jagdalpur, both towns being in Chhattisgarh state in India. It would also connect Raipur, the capital city of Chh ...

. Daily

DEMU A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...

services connect this station to Raipur via Durg. The nearest long-haul railway station is Durg Jn. (DURG), away on the

Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line The Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line (also known as Mumbai–Kolkata line) is a railway line in India connecting Kolkata and Mumbai via Nagpur. The railway line was opened to traffic in 1900. Sections The trunk line has been treated in more deta ...

. There has been demands from various quarters to conduct the survey of the proposed Bhanupratappur-

Gadchiroli Gadchiroli ( �əɖt͡ʃiɾoliː is a city and a municipal council in Gadchiroli district in the state of Maharashtra, central India. It is located on eastern side of Maharashtra, and is the administrative headquarters of the district. Gadchi ...

railway line via Durgukondal, Kapsi and Pakhanjur. If the demands are met, it would provide a much needed impetus to the development of this area. This proposed line would serve as an alternative route between

Nagpur Nagpur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nag ...

and

Vishakhapatnam , image_alt = , image_caption = From top, left to right: Visakhapatnam aerial view, Vizag seaport, Simhachalam Temple, Aerial view of Rushikonda Beach, Beach road, Novotel Visakhapatnam, INS Kursura submarine museum, ...

, one of the busiest freight corridors in the country.

Air

The nearest domestic airport from Kapsi is

Swami Vivekananda Airport Swami Vivekananda International Airport (referred as VARP until February 2018), formerly known as Mana Airport, is a major airport serving the state of Chhattisgarh, India. It is the busiest airport in Central India and the busiest in Chhattis ...

Naya Raipur Naya Raipur, officially known as Atal Nagar-Nava Raipur, is a planned city and fully Greenfield city in Indian state of Chhattisgarh. It is planned to replace Raipur as the capital city of Chhattisgarh. The Government of Chhattisgarh, the stat ...

, approximately away.

Tourism

Kherkatta Dam, officially known as Paralkot Reservoir (

: ) near Kapsi is the largest dam of the Kanker district. It is a popular local tourist spot and sees a large influx of visitors especially during the monsoon rains when water overflows from the high spillway. Paralkot Reservoir Impoundment

References

{{Reflist Cities and towns in Kanker district