Braj Bhasha (the local dialect).
The city also lies within the cultural region of
Braj
Braj, also known as Vraj, Vraja, Brij or Brijbhoomi, is a region in India on both sides of the Yamuna river with its centre at Mathura- Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh state encompassing the area which also includes Palwal and Ballabhgarh in Harya ...
.
Government and politics
Actress turned political leader,
Hema Malini
Hema Malini (born 16 October 1948) is an Indian actress, director, producer, and politician. She is primarily known for her work in Hindi films. Known for starring in both comic and dramatic roles, she is one of the most popular and successful ...
is the sitting MP of holy constituency Mathura in Uttar Pradesh.
Transportation
Rail
Mathura Junction railway station
Mathura Junction railway station is an important station on Agra–Delhi chord of Delhi–Mumbai and Delhi–Chennai lines. It is located in Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is one of the important North-Central Ra ...
is situated on the major Delhi-Mumbai rail route. Both Central Railway and Western Railway routes pass through Mathura. Trains from NCR (north-central railway) to ER (eastern railway) also pass through the Mathura junction.
Mathura Cantt railway station
Mathura Cantonment railway station is a small railway station in Mathura district, Uttar Pradesh. Its code is MRT. It serves the Mathura cantonment area of Mathura city. The station has two platforms, not well-sheltered. It lacks many faciliti ...
is a major route for eastern and central railway.
Important trains that originate/terminate at Mathura are:
*
12177/Howrah – Mathura Chambal Express.
Road
Mathura is well-connected by road to the rest of India.
National Highway NH-19(previously
NH-2) from Delhi to Kolkata, with diversion for Chennai also passes through Mathura.
Yamuna Expressway
Yamuna Expressway is a 6- lane wide (expandable to 8) and 165.5 km long access-controlled expressway in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is presently India's 3rd longest expressway since February 2017. It was built to de-congest the old ...
from Greater-Noida to Agra (165 km 6 lane access controlled express highway) also passes through, providing good connectivity to Noida, Agra, Kanpur and Lucknow.
Tram
A
tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
network has been proposed in the city, which would make Mathura the second only city in India (besides
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 ...
) to have a functional tram transport. In 2017, the local MLA
Shrikant Sharma
Shrikant Sharma is an Indian politician and a member of the 17th & 18th Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly from Mathura Constituency in Mathura district. He was also sworn in as a minister in Yogi Adityanath cabinet where he held the portfoli ...
announced that the trams will be operational in Mathura and
Vrindavan
Vrindavan (; ), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance in Hinduism as Krishna spent most of his childho ...
by 2018.
Air
Currently the city has no airport. The nearest airports are the
Agra Airport (about 60 km away) and the
Delhi Airport
Indira Gandhi International Airport is the primary international airport serving Delhi, the capital of India, and the National Capital Region (NCR). The airport, spread over an area of , is situated in Palam, Delhi, southwest of the New De ...
(about 160 km away) with major national and international air routes.The under-construction
Jewar Airport
Noida International Airport is an international airport being constructed near Jewar in Gautam Buddha Nagar District, Uttar Pradesh in India. Once completed, it is planned to be India's largest airport. The Noida International Airport Limit ...
in
Greater Noida
Greater Noida is a planned city located in Gautam Buddha Nagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city was created as an extension to Noida area under the ''UP Industrial Area Development Act, 1976''. Situated south-east of t ...
is approximately 75 km from Mathura and is expected to be country's largest airport when fully operational. Land has been earmarked, and construction is in progress near the
Yamuna Expressway
Yamuna Expressway is a 6- lane wide (expandable to 8) and 165.5 km long access-controlled expressway in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is presently India's 3rd longest expressway since February 2017. It was built to de-congest the old ...
, with plans to open in the next five years with regular flights to major national and international air routes in future.
In 2012, the then civil aviation minister
Ajit Singh suggested Mathura's name for the site of a new greenfield international airport to the then chief minister of
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 ...
,
Akhilesh Yadav Akhilesh is a given name. Notable people with the name include:
* Akhilesh Das (1961–2017), educationist, professor, Indian politician and philanthropist
* Akhilesh K. Gaharwar (born 1982), Indian academic and Professor at Texas A&M University
* ...
. Mathura's name came to note when a group of ministers terminated the plan of building
Taj International Airport
Noida International Airport is an international airport being constructed near Jewar in Gautam Buddha Nagar District, Uttar Pradesh in India. Once completed, it is planned to be India's largest airport. The Noida International Airport Limit ...
at Agra.
Strategic importance
I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to:
France
* 1st Army Corps (France)
* I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French A ...
(Strike Formation) within the
Indian Army
The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
's
Central Command is based in Mathura, hosting Strike I Corps headquarters in a large classified area in the outskirts of the city known as Mathura Cantonment (Central Command is headquartered in
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 ...
). It hosts Strike Infantry units, air defence units, armoured divisions, engineer brigades, artillery Units, and classified units of
Strategic Forces Command. The I Corps is primarily responsible for the western borders of India. In 2007 during Exercise Ashwamedha, all the armoured, artillery, and infantry divisions performed a simulation of an overall NBC (nuclear-chemical-biological) environment. The aim was to show operational ability in high intensity, short duration and 'sudden' battle
Industries
Mathura Refinery located in the city is one of the biggest oil refineries of Asia with a refining capacity of 8.0 million
tonne
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...
s per year.
This oil refinery of
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. is a technologically advanced oil refinery and provides local employment opportunities as well. Its main focus is to meet the demands from the
NCR.
The refinery had undertaken projects to upgrade its diesel and gasoline units to bring Sulphur levels down by nearly 80 percent
Media and communications
The city has a local 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 ...
.
Educational institutions
*
GLA University
*
Sachdeva Institute of Technology
Sachdeva Institute of Technology is an educational institute in India. There are four major schools in the organization: SIT- Sachdeva Institute of Technology, SP - Sachdeva Polytechnic, SIE - Sachdeva Institute of Education, SIS - and Sachdeva ...
*
Sanskriti University
*
U.P. Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Veterinary Science University and Cattle Research Institute
See also
*
Mathur (disambiguation)
*
Brij Bhoomi
Braj, also known as Vraj, Vraja, Brij or Brijbhoomi, is a region in India on both sides of the Yamuna river with its centre at Mathura-Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh state encompassing the area which also includes Palwal and Ballabhgarh in Haryan ...
*
Gokul
Gokul is a town in the Mathura district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Mathura. According to Bhagavata Purana, Krishna spent his childhood in Gokul.
Geography
The town has an average elevation of .
Demo ...
*
Kankali Tila
''Kankali Tila'' (also Kankali mound or Jaini mound) is a mound located at Mathura in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The name of the mound is derived from a modern temple of Hindu goddess Kankali. The famous Jain stupa was excavated here ...
*
Nandgaon
*
Goverdhan
Govardhan also called Giriraj, is a key pilgrimage centre in India and a municipal town; a nagar panchayat; seat of a MLA Member of Legislative Assembly of Uttar Pradesh; a Tehsil, in Mathura district in the India in state of Uttar Pradesh. ...
*
Sonkh
Saunkh, often spelled as Sonkh, is a town and a Nagar Panchayat in Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India.
Archaeology
The site is well-known for archaeological excavations led by Herbert Härtel in 1969-70. Numerous artefacts recovered from ...
References
Citations
Sources
* Mathura-The Cultural Heritage. Edited by Doris Meth Srinivasan, published in 1989 by AIIS/Manohar.
* Konow, Sten. Editor. 1929. ''Kharoshthī Inscriptions with Exception of those of Ashoka''. Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol. II, Part I. Reprint: Indological Book House, Varanasi, 1969.
* Mukherjee, B. N. 1981. ''Mathurā and its Society: The Śaka-Pahlava Phase''. Firma K. L. M. Private Limited, Calcutta.
* Sharma, R. C. 1976. ''Mathura Museum and Art''. 2nd revised and enlarged edition. Government Museum, Mathura.
* Growse, F. S. 1882. " Mathura A District Memoir.
* Drake-Brockman, D. L. 1911. "Muttra A Gaztteer".
''The Jain stûpa and other antiquities of Mathura'' by Smith, Vincent Arthur, 1848–1920. (1901)
1018: Mahmud Ghazni’s invasion of Mathura*
*
External links
{{Authority control
Hindu holy cities
Hindu pilgrimage sites in India
Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India
Cities and towns in Mathura district
Former capital cities in India
Cities in Uttar Pradesh
Locations in Hindu mythology
Holy cities
Ancient Indian cities
Hindu pilgrimages
Krishna temples
Hinduism
Krishna
Religious tourism in India