M. S. Bidve Engineering College, Latur

Latur(लातूर) is a city in Indian state of Maharashtra, and is one of the largest cities of the Marathwada region. It is the administrative headquarters of Latur district and Latur Taluka. The city is a tourist hub surrounded by many historical monuments, including Udgir Fort and Kharosa Caves. The people in Latur are called Laturkar. The most spoken language in Latur is Marathi. The city's quality of education attracts students from all over Maharashtra. It is a drought prone area with acute water shortage in its city and rural areas. The economy is agriculture intensive and amounts in highest farmer suicide rates in India. Industrial development is minimal in the district. Latur is 43 kilometers from the epicenter of the devastating 1993 Latur earthquake.

History

Latur has an ancient history, which probably dates to the Rashtrakuta period. It was home to a branch of Rashtrakutas which ruled the Deccan from 753 to 973 AD. The first Rashtrakuta king, Dantidurga, was from Lattaluru, the ancient name for Latur. Ratnapur is also mentioned as an historic name for Latur.

The King Amoghavarsha of Rashtrakutas developed the Latur city. The Rashtrakutas who succeeded the Chalukyas of Badami in 753 AD called themselves the residents of Lattaluru.

It was, over the centuries, variously ruled by the Satavahanas, the Sakas, the Chalukyas, the Yadavas of Deogiri, the Delhi Sultans, the Bahamani rulers of South India, Adilshahi, and the Mughals.

In Latur's Papvinashak Temple a 12th-century inscription of King Someshvara III was found. According to that inscription, 500 scholars were living in Lattlaur (Latur) at that time and that Latur was the city of King Someshwar.

In the 19th century, Latur became part of the Princely state of Hyderabad. In 1905 it was merged with surrounding areas and renamed Latur tehsil, becoming part of Osmanabad district. Before 1948, Latur was a part of Hyderabad State under Nizam. The chief of the Razakar's, Qasim Rizwi, was from Latur.

After Indian independence and the Indian annexation of Hyderabad, Osmanabad became part of Bombay Province. In 1960, with the creation of Maharashtra, Latur became part of one of its districts. On August 16, 1982, a separate Latur district was carved out of Osmanabad district.

Geography and climate

Latur is situated 636 metres above mean sea level, on the Balaghat plateau, near the Maharashtra– Karnataka state boundary. It receives its drinking water from the nearby Manjira River, which suffered from environmental degradation and silting in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. As a result of this and lack of implementation of a water management strategy, during the drought of the 2010s the city ran out of water.

Temperature: Temperatures in Latur range from , with the most comfortable time to visit in the winter, which is October to February. The highest temperature ever recorded was . The lowest recorded temperature was . In the cold season the district is sometimes affected by cold waves in association with the eastward passage of western disturbances across north India, when the minimum temperature may drop down to about .

Rainfall: Most of the rainfall occurs in the monsoon season from June to September. Rainfall varies from per month. Average annual rainfall is .

Recently, Latur has been bearing the brunt of climate change. Extreme weather episodes, including torrential rainfall and even hailstorms in summers, have been showing up in Latur for over a decade now.

Latur earthquake of 1993

On 30 September 1993, at 3:53 a.m. local time, Latur was almost completely destroyed by a devastating intraplate earthquake that affected the southern Marathwada region of Maharashtra state in central-western part of India—including Latur, Beed, Osmanabad, and adjoining districts about south-east of Mumbai—and resulted in a huge loss of life. The earthquake measured only 6.3 on the Richter magnitude scale, but its focus was relatively shallow, at around deep. Consequently, the resultant shock waves, being unattenuated, caused more damage. The quake caused around 10,000 deaths and 30,000 were injured, mainly due to the poor construction of stone houses and huts which collapsed on people who were fast asleep. After the earthquake, seismic zones were reclassified, and building codes and standards revised, all over India.

Demographics

Latur's population, as of the 2011 census, is 396,955.

Most residents of the city speak Marathi (62% per district census, urban areas), with Urdu (18%) and Hindi (9%) also being widely spoken.

Administration and politics

Local administration

Latur has an earlier Municipal Council, which was established in 1952. Latur Municipal Corporation (LMC) is the local civil body. It is divided into five zones. The Municipal Corporation area is about . It was elevated to the status of Municipal Corporation by the State Government in 2011.

The Urban Development Dept., Govt. of Maharashtra expressed its desire vide letter dated 30/10/2006 to notify fringe area of Latur and appoint CIDCO as its Special Planning Authority. CIDCO has submitted its proposal to notify the fringe area measuring approx. 26541.00 ha. inclusive of urbanisable zone of about 16696 ha. Govt. has appointed CIDCO as Special Planning Authority. The notified area covers 40 villages on the fringe of Latur Municipal Corporation. It is envisaged in the project not to acquire 100% land but to adopt minimum land acquisition model for development of infrastructure and growth corridors.

The city is divided in 70 electoral wards called as ''Prabhag'' and each ward is represented by a Corporator (called as ''Nagarsevak'') elected by the people from each ward. LMC is responsible for providing basic amenities such as drinking water, drainage facility, road, street lights, healthcare facilities and primary schools. LMC collects its revenue from the urban taxes which are imposed on citizens. The administration is headed by the Commissioner of Municipal Corporation; an I.A.S. Officer, assisted by the other officers of different departments.

State and central administration

Latur contributes one seat to the Lok Sabha. The seat is currently held by Sudhakar Shringare, MP, of the BJP. It also holds one seat for the Assembly - Latur Indian National Congress. In latest constituency arrangements made by Election Commission of India, Latur will contribute one Loksabha seat, and two state assembly seats, i.e. Latur City and Latur Rural.

Prominent politicians from Latur

Latur is called the "city of politicians".

Keshavrao Sonawane was the first minister from Latur region who was in the cabinet of Maharashtra Chief Minister Yashwantrao Chavan and later in the cabinet of Vasantrao Naik, as cooperatives minister, 1962–1967.

The city is the birthplace of other politicians, such as Shivraj Patil and Diliprao Deshmukh

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