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Roorkee (Rūṛkī) is a city and 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 ...
in the Haridwar district of the 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 ...
, India. It is from Haridwar city, the district headquarter. It is spread over a flat terrain under Sivalik Hills of
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
. The city is developed on the banks of Ganges Canal, its dominant feature, which flows from north–south through middle of the city. Roorkee is home to Asia's first engineering college
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (abbreviated IIT Roorkee) is a technical university located in Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India. It is the oldest engineering institution in India, and was founded as the College of Civil Engineering in B ...
, formerly known as Thomson College of Civil Engineering. Roorkee is also known for the Roorkee Cantonment, one of the country's oldest military establishments and the headquarters of Bengal Engineer Group since 1853. A freight train ran in between Roorkee and Piran Kaliyar on 22 December 1851, this was two years before first passenger trains were started between Bombay and Thana in 1853 and 14 years after first freight trains ran in Chennai in 1837.irfca.org/docs/history/india-first-railways.html


History

Roorkee is listed in the
Ain-i-Akbari The ''Ain-i-Akbari'' ( fa, ) or the "Administration of Akbar", is a 16th-century detailed document recording the administration of the Mughal Empire under Emperor Akbar, written by his court historian, Abu'l Fazl in the Persian language. It for ...
as a
pargana Pargana ( bn, পরগনা, , hi, परगना, ur, پرگنہ) or parganah, also spelt pergunnah during the time of the Sultanate period, Mughal times and British Raj, is a former administrative unit of the Indian subcontinent and each ...
under the sarkar of
Saharanpur Saharanpur is a city and a municipal corporation in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the administrative headquarters of Saharanpur district. Saharanpur city's name was given after the Saint Shah Haroon Chishti. Saharanpur is declared a ...
, producing a revenue of 12,234 dams for the imperial treasury and supplying a force of 1200 infantry and 125 cavalry. After that it was a part of
Landhaura Landhaura is a town and a nagar panchayat in Haridwar district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. History Gujars were present in that area earlier than 16th century. They were initially employed as Chaukidars of small villages of Doab as to ...
Princely State of Pawaar
Gurjar Gurjar or Gujjar (also transliterated as ''Gujar, Gurjara and Gujjer'') is an ethnic nomadic, agricultural and pastoral community, spread mainly in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, divided internally into various clan groups. They were tra ...
's till 1824 when the Britishers occupied it by defeating the First Freedom Fighter Vijay Singh. Before 1840, the city was a tiny hamlet consisting of mud huts on the banks of the Solani rivulet.Roorkee Town2
'' The Imperial Gazetteer of India'', v. 21, ''p. 325.''
Digging work on the Upper Ganges Canal formally began in April 1842, under the aegis of Proby Cautley, a British officer. Local works were designed and overseen by the engineer
Thomas Login Thomas Login (1823–1874) was a Scottish civil engineer remembered for his road and canal works in India. Life He was born in Stromness in Orkney in 1823. He was orphaned at an early age but cared for by his older siblings. He was apprentic ...
. Soon, Roorkee developed into a town. The canal, which was formally opened on 8 April 1854, provided irrigation waters for more than in 5,000 villages.Upper Ganges Canal
'' The Imperial Gazetteer of India'', v. 12, p. 138.
Col. P.T. Cautley, an officer in the British Army, was most instrumental in constructing the canal. According to Dept. of Hydrology the canal, which is still considered as a marvel of engineering, was built in 1853. However, water was released in the canal on 8 April 1854. To look after the maintenance of the canal, the Canal Workshop and Iron Foundry were established in 1843 on the civil lines on the canal bank which is known as the Irrigation workshop nowadays. This was followed by the establishment of Civil Engineering School; classes started in 1845 to train local youth to assist in the civil-engineering work of the Upper Ganges Canal. This was to become the first engineering college established in India. On 25 November 1847, the college was formally constituted through a proposal by the Sir James Thomason, Lt. Governor of North-Western Province (1843–53). After his death in 1853, the college was rechristened as Thomason College of Civil Engineering. The college later upgraded to
University of Roorkee Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (abbreviated IIT Roorkee) is a technical university located in Roorkee, Uttarakhand, India. It is the oldest engineering institution in India, and was founded as the College of Civil Engineering in Brit ...
in 1949; on 21 September 2001, through an Act of parliament, it was made one of the
Indian Institutes of Technology The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are central government owned public technical institutes located across India. They are under the ownership of the Ministry of Education of the Government of India. They are governed by the Inst ...
, IIT Roorkee.IIT Roorkee
Official website.
In 1853 Bengal Sappers and Miners were stationed here which provided a controlling influence during the 1857 uprising. Other important events in the history of Roorkee include that under the Post Office Act of 1866, it was among the first few towns to have a post office and first telegraph office in the district. Now Roorkee has a General Post Office (GPO) and a number of post offices located in Roorkee City and Cantt. In 1886, Roorkee was placed on the Railway map of India. In 1907, first provincial trunk road Meerut-Roorkee-Dehradun was constructed. In 1920, Roorkee became the first town in
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 195 ...
to have
Hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...
. India's first aqueduct was constructed over the Solani river, near Roorkee, part of the Ganges Canal project, which itself was India's first irrigation work in North India, started by the British. In 1851, the Solani Aqueduct Railway was built by Proby Cautley in Roorkee to transport construction materials for Ganges canal. It was operated by the Bengal Sappers. A steam engine, ''Jenny Lind'', (specially shipped from England moved on rails in India), pulling a freight train ran in Roorkee on 22 December 1851, between Roorkee and Piran Kaliyar, from the city, two years before first passenger trains were started between Bombay and Thana in 1853 and 14 years after first freight trains ran in Chennai in 1837. A replica of what the locomotive is thought to have looked like is exhibited at Roorkee Railway Station. The municipality of Roorkee was created in 1868. Now it is a Municipal Corporation. It had been home to the
Bengal Sappers and Miners Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
since 1853, and two artillery units were stationed there. Today, the Roorkee Cantonment has a large army base. The Bengal Engineering Group and Centre (BEG&C), are still there today. In 1901, when the city had a population of 17,197, it was made headquarters of the Roorkee
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 adminis ...
, in
Saharanpur Saharanpur is a city and a municipal corporation in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the administrative headquarters of Saharanpur district. Saharanpur city's name was given after the Saint Shah Haroon Chishti. Saharanpur is declared a ...
district of the
United Province United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two ...
of the
British Raj 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 him ...
; the tehsil included in it 426 villages (of the ''parganas'' of Jwalapur, Manglaur and Bhagwanpur) and six towns, most important among them being
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 ri ...
and Manglaur. The Old Cemetery in the city is a protected monument, by the
Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexand ...
.


Geography

Roorkee is located at . It has an average elevation of . Roorkee is north of the Indian capital,
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 Hous ...
, between the rivers
Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
and
Yamuna The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of B ...
, close to the foothills of the
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
. It is 65 kilometres away from
Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, district and is governed by the Dehr ...
(the capital of Uttarakhand), from
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 ri ...
and away from
Muzaffarnagar Muzaffarnagar is a city under Muzaffarnagar District in the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. It is situated midway on the Delhi - Haridwar/Dehradun National Highway (NH 58) and is also well connected with the national railway network. It is ...
. Before the creation 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 ...
on 9 November 2000, Roorkee was a part of the state 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 195 ...
. The city is located in the Roorkee plain which is composed of recent alluvium with a gentle slope. As per the census 2011, this region is spread over .


Climate

Roorkee has a monsoon-influenced
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
( Köppen ''Cwa''), typical of the northern Indo-Gangetic plain. There are three seasons. A sweltering, dry “hot” season begins in mid-March and extends until mid-June with steadily increasing humidity and discomfort. From mid-June until the end of September the southwest monsoon gives the “wet” season with a total of around of rainfall or about-four-fifths of the annual total. This monsoonal rain is accompanied by hot temperatures, very warm mornings, and extremely uncomfortable humidity. From early October the “cool” season begins as the monsoon retreats, featuring warm to very warm afternoons, cool mornings, and moderate humidity. Occasionally western disturbances between January and March will bring a little rainfall during this season, although the average total from October to March is only .


Demographics

The Roorkee Tehsil is the most populous among the three Tehsils in the Haridwar District with 45% of its population categorized as urban. According to the 2011 census Roorkee city has 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 usi ...
of 345,00, within the area of 8.11 square kilometres. The average literacy rate of Roorkee is 89.48% The sex ratio of the town as-of 2011, is 863 for all age groups while between the age 0-6 it is 820.


Government and Politics

For administrative purposes, the Roorkee city is part of the Haridwar district's Roorkee Tehsil. The city falls under the Roorkee Legislative Assembly constituency, which is one of the seventy electoral
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 su ...
constituencies of Uttarakhand state in India.


Civic Administration

The governance of Roorkee city is done by the Roorkee Municipal Coorporation (RMC) which comes under Roorkee Metropolitan Region. According to the 2011 census, the RMC covers an areas of with 1.84 lakh population. The RMC is administered through the Uttar Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act 1959 which was adopted and amended by Uttarakhand. The act is administered by the Urban Development Department (UDD), Government of Uttarakhand. The council is formed every five years through ward councillors's elections and it holds the highest authority within the Urban Local Body (ULB) to make decisions. The council is headed by a Mayor, who is elected by the Ward Councillors from 40 municipal wards. A Municipal Commissioner (MC) is appointed by the state who is responsible for the operations of the ULB. The RMC is responsible for city related civic services like cleanliness of the city, solid waste management, maintenance of gardens/dividers/circles, street light, bio-medical waste, all storm water and wastewater drainage.


Politics

The RMC has 40 wards with a voter population of 14.05 lakh voters- split between nearly 7.26 lakh men and 6.79 lakh women voters. The major political parties which are active in the local elections are Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), Indian National Congress (INC), Bhartiya Lok Dal (BLD), Janta Party (JP), Lok Dal (LKD) and Samajwadi Party (SP).


Economy

Roorkee is an industrial base of Haridwar district. It is partially industrialized. Its main industries are ship parts manufacture, surveying, drawing and mechanical instruments. It has a GDP of US$ 112 million.


Languages

Major languages spoken in Roorkee are
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
72%,
Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...
3%, and English 2%.


References


External links

* * * Roorkee biggest online directory is {{Uttarakhand Cities and towns in Haridwar district Cities in Uttarakhand