Shahdol is named after the headquarters town
Shahdol which is located on the Bilaspur-Katni Section of the
South-Eastern Railways. The etymology of the name as ascertained
from the local residents points to its derivation from the name
of the one Shahdolwa Ahir of Sohagpur village. The progenitor
of the Ex-Illakadar family of Sohagpur, Jamni Bhan was the second
son of Maharaja Virbhan Singh of Bagelkhand. He decided to settle
at Sohagpur and assured maximum facilities to settler around,
and also declared that places settled by clearing forests will
be named after the pioneer settlers. Shahdolwa Ahir is believed
to have settled the former village of Shahdolwa, about 2.5 Km.
from the headquarters of Sohagpur after this declaration. Later
on, the place used to be the camp site for the Maharaja of Rewa
and British officers on tour. More villages were grouped into
the village of Shahdol as it grew to a town. The District Headquarters
was shifted from Umaria to Shahdol after the merger of princely
states took place in 1948.
With lush green forests, natural wealth of Coal,
Minerals and with primitive tribal population, the district Shahdol
is situated among the range of Vindhyachal and heading fast in
development track. The district has vast reserves of Coal mines.
Location
Shahdol District is situated in the North-Eastern
part of the Madhya Pradesh provinces of India. Because of the
division of the district on 15-8-2003, the area of the district
remains 5671 Sq. Kms. It is surrounded by Anuppur in the East,
Mandla and Bilaspur in the South, Satna & Sidhi in the North and
Umaria in the West. The district extends 110 Kms. from East to
West and 170 Kms. from North to South. This district is situated
between 22o38' N latitude to 24o20'N latitude and 30o28' E Longitude
to 82o12' E longitude.
Topography
The District is located in the north-eastern
part of the Deccan Plateau. It lies at the trijunction of Maikal
Ranges of the Satpura Mountain, the foot of the Kymore Range of
the Vindhya Mountain and a mass of parallel hills which extend
over the Chhota Nagpur plateau in Bihar. In between these hill
ranges lies the narrow valley of the Son and its tributaries.
Since the Kymore Range extends along the Son just across the northern
boundary, the District may be divided into three physiographic
divisions.
They are :-
1. The Maikal Range
2. The Hills of Eastern Plateau, and
3. The Upper Son Valley
Geographical Scenario
District Shahdol is predominantly hilly district.
It is pituresque with certain pockets and belt of SAL and mixed
forests. Total Geographical area of the district is 5671 Sq. Km.
Adjacents to the District Shahdol are the boarding districts Dindori,
Jabalpur, Satna, Sidhi, Umaria, Anuppur and Rewa.
Population of the District
The population of District Shahdol is 13,23,054
out of which 6,81,962 are males and 6,41,092 are females.
A new district Umaria was formed out of District Shahdol, in the
year 1998-99. After the new setup of the two districts, the population
of District Shahdol is 13,23,054, out of which 6,81,962 are males
and 6,41,092 are females.
Again a new district Anuppur was formed out of District Shahdol
in year 2003. After the new district formation, the population
of District Shahdol is 9,08,148, out of which 4,64,784 are males
and 4,43,364 are females.
