Amravati (pronunciation ( help· info)) is the second largest city in the

Vidarbha Vidarbha (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, �id̪əɾbʱə is a geographical region in the east of the Indian state of Maharashtra and a Proposed states and union territories of India#Maharashtra, proposed state of central India, comprising th ...

region and ninth largest city in Maharashtra, India. It is administrative headquarters of Amravati district and Amravati division which includes Akola, Buldhana, Washim and Yavatmal districts. It is one of the Maharashtra's nominated city under Smart Cities Mission. In 1983, Amravati city became

's second Municipal corporation. Located about 663 (412 mi) kilometers east of the state capital Mumbai and 152 (94 mi) kilometers west of Nagpur, Amravati is the second largest city of the Vidarbha region after Nagpur.

Geography

Amravati is located at . It has an average elevation of 343 meters (1125 feet). It lies west of Nagpur and serves as the administrative centre of Amravati District and of Amravati Division. The city is located near the passes through the hills that separate the cotton-growing regions of the Purna basin to the West and the Wardha basin to the East.

Chikhaldara Chikhaldara is a hill station and a municipal council in Amravati district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Chikaldhara, literally translates from Marathi to mud stream/falls (''chikal'' + ''dhara''). Hindus claim that this place was feature ...

is about 80 km from Amravati city which is the only hill station in the Vidarbha region. The land area of the city is around .

Climate

Amravati has a tropical wet and dry climate with hot, dry summers and mild to cool winters. Summer lasts from March to June, monsoon season from July to October, and winter from November to March. The highest and lowest temperatures ever recorded were 49.1 °C on 25 May 2013 and 5.0 °C on 9 February 1887 respectively.

Demographics

The population of Amravati city in 2011 was 646,801; of which males and females are 330,544 and 316,257 respectively. The sex ratio of Amravati city is 957 per 1000 males. The population in the age range of 0–6 years was 62,497. The effective literacy rate (population over 7 years of age) was 93.03%.

Religion

Hinduism is the major religion in Amravati with 63% followers, with Islam having 22% and Buddhism having 14% followers.

Government and politics

Amravati Municipal Corporation is the local authority in the city. It is headed by a mayor who is assisted by a deputy mayor elected for a tenure of three years. It was established on 15 August 1983. The area governed by the Municipal Corporation at that time was 121.65 km² comprising the erstwhile Municipal Councils of Amravati and Badnera along with eighteen revenue villages.

Tourist attractions

Some tourist destinations located on or near Amravati include: *Ambadevi Temple *Ekviradevi Temple *Chatri Lake *Wadali Lake *Bamboo Udyan *

* Melghat Tiger Reserve

Transport

Road

The star city bus services are run by the Amravati Municipal Corporation. Private auto rickshaws and cycle rickshaws are also popular. Amravati has also started a Women's Special City bus which is a first in the Vidarbha region. The

Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation abbreviated as (MSRTC, or simply ST), is the state run bus service of Maharashtra, India which serves routes to towns and cities within Maharashtra as well as to its adjoining states. It has a flee ...

(MSRTC) provides transport services for intercity and interstate travel. Many private operators also ply on the highly traveled Amravati – Pune and Amravati – Indore routes. Bus services to cities like Nagpur, Yavatmal, Bhopal, Harda, Indore, Raipur, Jabalpur, Mumbai, Pune, Akola, Dharni, Nanded, Aurangabad, Jalna, Burhanpur, Parbhani, Solapur, Khandwa, Gondia, Shirdi, Hyderabad, Paratwada (Achalpur) and Kolhapur are also available. National Highway 6 (old numbering), which runs from Hazira (

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...

) to Kolkata, passes through Amravati. New Star City Buses are launched in the city replacing the old city buses.

Railway

Amravati has three railway stations: * Amravati railway station, situated in the heart of the city is a terminus. The railway line could not be extended beyond it. Therefore, a new station was constructed outside the city when a new railway line was laid to connect Badnera junction to Narkhed on the Nagpur-Itarsi main railway line. Amravati railway station is situated on the branch line from

Badnera Badnera is a town in Amravati district in the Indian 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 sub ...

on Nagpur-Bhusawal section of Howrah-Nagpur-Mumbai line of Central Railways. * New Amravati railway station building was inaugurated on 10 December 2011. Amravati railway station provides multiple shuttle services to Badnera throughout the day. *

Badnera Junction railway station Badnera railway station serves Badnera, an area in Amravati city in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is a junction station on the Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line. There is a broad gauge line to Narkhed. Today, Badnera is a part of Amravati Mu ...

serves the area of Badnera in Amravati. It is a junction station on the Howrah-Nagpur-Mumbai line. There is a broad gauge line to Narkhed.

Airport

Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Airport Amravati, located at Bellora, 15 kilometers from NH-6 towards Yavatmal, is operated by the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC). Presently it has no commercial scheduled flights. The Nagpur Flying Club has applied to DGCA for permission to shift its flying operations to Amravati airport. It also has a helipad facility. MADC is acquiring about 400 Hectares of land for developing the airport and related facilities at an estimated cost of Rs. 2.25 billion.

Education

Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Memorial Medical College Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Memorial Medical College or Bhausaheb Deshmukh Memorial Medical College is a medical college located in Amravati, Maharashtra. The institute has 150 undergraduate seats for MBBS. The institute is named after Panjabrao D ...

Dr. Punjabrao Deshmukh Polytechnic College Dr. Punjabrao Deshmukh Polytechnic College is a polytechnic college in Amravati, Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupy ...

* Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University * Government College of Engineering, Amravati * Shivaji Education Society

Sports

Territorial Army Parade Ground

Territorial Army Parade Ground is a multi-purpose stadium in the city, formerly known as the Reforms Club Ground. 1958 First recorded Cricket match was held in 1958. The ground is owned and managed by the Territorial Army, a part-time branch of the Indian Army. The ground is mainly used for organizing football and cricket matches and other sports.
The stadium hosted one

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy (also known as Mastercard Ranji Trophy for sponsorship reasons) is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between multiple teams representing regional and state cricket associations. Board of Control for Cr ...

match in 1976 when the Vidarbha cricket team played against the Rajasthan cricket team.

Hanuman Vyayam Prasarak Mandal Ground

In Hanuman Vyayam Prasarak Mandal a

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 ...

ground is present that held a single first-class match when Vidarbha cricket team played Rajasthan cricket team in the 1980/81

, which resulted in a Rajasthan victory by 7 wickets.

Notable people

* Suresh Bhat * Mohan Choti * Bhagwan Dada *

Sunil Deshmukh Sunil Panjabrao Deshmukh (born 28 May 1958) is the Member of Legislative Assembly from the constituency of Amravati, Maharashtra, India. He is a member of Indian National Congress (INC). In 2009, he was expelled from the Indian National Congre ...

* Bharat Ganeshpure * Gajanan Jagirdar * Moropant Vishvanath Joshi * Waman Gopal Joshi *

Vikas Mahatme Dr. Vikas Mahatme (born 11 December 1957) is Padmashri Awarded Indian ophthalmologist, social entrepreneur, visionary and a former member of the Parliament in Rajya Sabha. Born in Amravati, he comes from Nagpur in the state of Maharashtra. He i ...

* Pratibha Patil * Shripad Balwant Tambe * Shiv Thakare *

Prabhakar Vaidya Prabhakar Vaidya is an Indian physical educationist, academic and the honorary secretary of '' Hanuman Vyayam Prasarak Mandal'', a century-old organization and a national institution working towards modernizing the traditional systems of Sports ...

Punjabrao Deshmukh Panjabrao Shamrao Deshmukh (27 December 1898 – 10 April 1965), also known as Bhausaheb Deshmukh was a social activist and a leader to farmers in India. He was the Minister of Agriculture in the first cabinet of Jawaharlal Nehru in 1952. Early ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Talukas in Maharashtra Cities in Maharashtra