Social,
Environmental & Economic Sustainability
Our analysis of the rank of the district
Backwardness : 321
Sex Ratio Rank : 465
(Rank one is least sex ratio - Cenus 2001)
HIV Category District : A
(HIV Sentinel Surveillance 2004 - 2006)
Disability : 411 (Census 2001)
Literacy Ratio : 465 (Census 2001)
Minority : Does not figure in MCD
Water : Flouride in Groundwater above permissible limits
Brief About Koppal District
Koppal, a newborn district of Karnataka state, carved out
of Raichur District, came into existance on 01-04-1998. It is
situated between 15* 09' 00" to 16* 03' 30" North Latitude
and 75* 47' 30" to 76* 48' 10" East Longitude. It consists
of four talukas viz : Koppal, Gangavathi, Kushtagi & Yelburga.
Koppal district is surrounded by Raichur district in the east,
Gadag district in the West, Koppal district in the north, Bellary
district in the south. Koppal district headquarters is closest
to the world heritage Hampi.
The administrative blocks in the district
are as below
1. No. of Talukas : 4
2. No. of Hoblis : 20
3. No. of Inhabited villages : 596
4. No. of Un-Inhabited Villages : 41
5. No. of City & Muncipal Corporation/Councils/Town Panchayaths
: 4
6. No. of Gram Panchayaths : 134
Salient Features of the District
SOIL
Koppal district is having partly red sandy and black
cotton soil suitable for agriculture and horticulture crops. The
taluk is having few rocky mountains with exrophytic vegetation.
RIVERS
The Tungabhadra river is formed by union of two rivers,
viz., the Tunga and the Bhadra, both of which rise at Gangamula
in the Varaha Parvata of the Western Ghats. This is also a perennial
river, very deep in certain places and almost unfordable even
in the dry seoson. This river enters the district near Kesalapur
village at the south-western tip of Koppal Taluk. The general
slope of the land in the district being north-west to south-east,
the Tungabhadra has a large number of rivulets and streams serving
as tributaries. But none of these streams is of any great importance
by itself and they generally go dry during the summer. There is
Thungabhadra reservoir at Munirabad which is in the border of
koppal taluk. The Tungabhadra river also is reputed as one of
the important rivers of South India.
CLIMATE & RAINFALL
The climate of the district is very hot and dry. Hot
season starts from middle of the February to end of May. Southwest
maonoon ranges from June to end of September. Post monsoon is
furing the October and November. Cold season is from December
to middle of February. The average rainfall of the district is
572 mm and average rainy days are 46.
POPULATION
The total population of Koppal district is 11.93 lakhs
(as per 2001 census) among which 9.95 lakhs from rural area and
1.98 lakhs from Urban area. The district is having sex ratio of
982 per 1000 males. The leteracy level of the distrit is 62.39%.
Population Density is 216 per Sq.Km.
OCCUPATION
The working population of Koppal district is 46.46%
of the total population. The main workers population comprises
of 35.37% of the total population and 11.08% is the marginal workers.
Of the total working population 22.5%, 15.14% are cultivators
and agricultural workers respectively. The workers population
in the district indicates that cultivators and agricultural labours
dominate dominate the total working population with 37.69%. The
non-working population of the district is 53.54%.
Area and Land Utilisation Pattern
The total geographical area of Koppal district is 552495
hectares out of which forest area is 29451 hectares. Land not
available for cultivation is 55497 hectares. Area sown is 396627
hectares.
Brief History of Koppal
The history of Koppal can be traced back to the kingdoms
of Shathavahanas, Gangas, Hoysalas and Chalukya Dynasties. The name
of the district i.e. "KOPPAL" is found in the poetic work
of the great poet Kavirajamarga (During King Nrupathunga's time
of 814-878 A.D.) as "VIDITHA MAHA KOPANA NAGARA". During
Ashoka's period, the Jainism gained greater momentum in this region.
Therefore, it was called "Jainkashi". In twelth century
A.D. Veerashaivaism of Social Reformer Basaveshwara became popular.
The present Gavi Math of Koppal has great attraction.
Anegundi of Gangavathi Taluk was the first capital
of great Vijayanagara Dynasty. The old palace and fort still exist
where annual festival called "Anegundi Utsava" is being
celebrated in a befitting manner every year. The other important
historical places of Koppal district are Itagi, Kukanoor, Madinoor,
Indrakeela Parvatha, Kanakagiri, Pura, Chikkabenakal, Hirebenakal
& Huligi.
Before Independence, Koppal was under the Nizam
of Hyderabad. India got Independence on 15th August 1947, since
Koppal was part of Hyderabad region, the people of the region
had to struggle further to attain Independence from the clutches
of Hyderabad Nizam. On 18th September, 1948, the Hyderabad-Karnataka
got independence from Nizam. Since then until 01-04-1998, Koppal
District was in Raichur District of Gulbarga Revenue Division.
On 01-04-1998, Koppal district consisting of four taluks viz.
Koppal, Gangavathi, Kushtagi & Yelburga came into being.
District Administration
District Administration may be defined as the management
of public affairs within a territory demarcated for the purpose.
The district has always been an important administrative unit
in India.
The functions of the district administration may be grouped for
purposes of convenience , into a number of fairly broad categories.
The first group relates to the public safety,
the protection of the citizen and all of his rights. It includes
the maintenance of law and order and the administration of civil
and criminal justice.
The second group may be called the revenue and
excise group, which is concerned with the assessment and collection
of taxes and duties of different kinds. It includes land revenue,
irrigation cess, income-tax, agricultural-income tax, sales tax,
entertainment tax, stamp duty, court fees, registration fees,
excise duties - both Central and State - of various kinds, taxes
on motor vehicles and others. Under this group may also be included
recovery of loans which are advanced to cultivators, control regulations
and deriving of revenue from liquor, drugs, etc, control and maintaince
of government treasuries, land reforms, land acquisition, maintenance
of land records, and including also the programme of consolidation
of agricultural holdings.
The third group consists of agriculture in all
its aspects, animal husbandry, irrigation, communication and industries.
These form part of the economic group of administrative functions.
Then there is another group, which generally
relates to the welfare and development functions, some of which
are also economic. These include community developement, co-operatives,
public health, education, social welfare, panchayath-raj and others.
Food and Civil supplies stand in a category by
themselves.
Another duty cast upon the district administration
is of dealing with calamities like floods, famines, fires, earthquakes
and the like.
The district administration is also concerned
with the conduct of all elections to the parliament, to the state
legislature and to the local bodies as also with the conduct of
population census.
The next group with which the district administartion
is concerned is local self-government, which includes institutions
like muncipalities, taluka development boards and village panchayaths.
Finally, the district administration also exercises
certain other executive functions of government which are not
defined as such. This power to assume and exercise the executive
authority of government becomes vitally important in periods of
crisis endangering the life and security of the community. Though
the list is not exhaustive, it demonstrates, to a certain extent,
the sheer variety of functions which the district administration
is called upton to undertake.
The Deputy Commissioner is the head of district
administration who is of I.A.S. cadre. The main functions of the
Deputy Commissioner, in general, may be defined as executive and
his/her duties may be broadly classified as : (1) Revenue (2)
Law and Order (3) Elections (4) Coordination (5) Public weal in
general. In the general pettern of the district administration,
he is the custodian of Government property in land-including trees
and water - wherever situated and, at the same time, the guardian
of the interests of members of the public in land, insofar as
the interests of Government in land have been conceded to them.
Places of Interest
ANEGUNDI
is in Gangavathi Taluk and is one of the most ancient
places in the district, meaning in Kannada "elephant pit"
said to have been the place where the elephants of the Vijayanagara
kings were kept, is situated on the left bank of the river Tungabhadra,
just opposite the ruined capital of the Vijayanagara empire. Anegundi
has been identified with a part of Kishkindha, the kingdom of
Vali and Sugreva of the Ramayana. The picture at the left side
shows one of the ancient palaces in ANEGUNDI and at the right
side picture shows the Anegundi Fort Entrance Gate. Both Hampi
and Anegundi were destroyed by the confederacy of Muslim kings
after the great battle of Rakshasa-Tangadgi in 1565. Tippu Sultan
sacked the town of Anegundi in 1776.
ITAGI in Yelburga taluk, is about three miles
from the south of the Bannikoppa railway station on the Gadag-Koppal
line. This place is famous for the Mahadeva temple, which is one
of the finest of the later Chalukyan temples. The temple, which
faces east consists of a shrine with an ante-chamber, a closed
hall with porches on either side of it towards the north and the
south, and the pillared hall which is open at the sides. The pillared
hall was originally supported by 68 pillars. Of these, 26 are
large ones, standing on the floor and forming the main support
of the roof. The remaining, which are shorter, stand on the stone
bench surrounding the hall and carry the sloping eaves. The large
columns are of different designs, but are arranged symmetrically
with regard to the shape and pattern of each. The four central
ones, very rich in design, have angular carvings arranged vertically
both in the shafts and capitals.
The inner hall, which is closed, has, beside
the entrance from the outer hall, has also doorways towards the
north and the south, which are richly adorned with sculpture.
The top of the shikhara is now missing; but it was divided into
three storeys which are quite distinct. The small niches, which
decorate the centre of each storey rising one above the other,
are exceedingly handsome. The three principal niches on the shrine
walls, bold accentuated by their deep projecting cornices are
now empty, their images having disappeared.
The temple was built in 1112 A.D by mahadeva,
a General (Dandanayaka) of the Western Chalukya king Tribhuvanamalla
Vikramaditya VI and praises the temple as 'Devalaya Chakravarti'.
This temple can be said to be one of the best in the country both
in magnificence of its architectural style and luxuriant decorative
detail.
KINNAL, in Koppal taluk, about
eight miles from Koppal, is noted for manufacture of toys and
images by Chitragars. Weaving, preparing of combs from horns and
pottery are the other industries of this place.
KANAKAGIRI, in Gangavathi
taluk, is an ancient place situated on the Gangavati-Lingasugur
road, about 13 miles from Gangavati. Kanakagiri means a "Hill
of God" and its old name was Swarnagiri with the same meaning.
This place was probably the head quarters of the southern viceroyalty
of the Mauryas. It is said that Kanaka Muni, a saint, performed
penance at this place. The place has several temples built by
the Naiks of Kanakgiri, the chief among them being the Kanakachalapathi
temple, which is a large one and is of considerable architectural
charm; it is a fine specimen of soutn Indian architecture of the
Vijayanagara times and has spacious halls and massive pillars.
The gopuras and walls have well-executed sculpture. There are
in this temple elegantly made statues of Rajas and Ranis in black
polished stone and several large wooden statues and plaster models
of the mythological figures. On the ourskirts of the town, there
is a fine and well-designed royal bath constructed by Venkatappa
Naik. According to a popular saying current in the area, "people
with eyes must see Kanakagiri and those with legs, Hampi",
which means that the Kanakagiri temples are a delightful feast
for the eyes and that one must be prepared to go avout rirelessly
to see the sprawling ruined capital of Vijayanagara (Hampi). An
annual jatra (Fair) associated with the Kanakachalapathi temple,
which is held in the month of Phalguna, is largely attended.
KOPPAL, is the District head
quarters and is situated on the left bank of Hirehalla, a tributary
of the Tungabhadra, and is on the Guntakal-Hubli railway line.
Koppal is situated at the foot of a rock, the later being crowned
by a fort. There is another range of hills to the west, the highest
spur of which is called Palkigundu, 2,399 ft. in height. There
is another spur on the east, called Gavimatha, (shown at the right
side) which is about 50 ft. above the surrounding land. There
is a third spur to the south; its height above sea level is 1,980
ft. and is called Bahadur Bande. The fort rock is in the middle.
The Gavimath spur contains four caves and a modern temple, with
Lingayat Gurus. There are also some jain samadhis opposite one
of these caves. The hill commands a beautiful view. ( Right side
picture shows the Gavimatha situated on hill ) The annual Gavisiddeshwara
Jatra (Fair) held here about the month of January is the biggest
in the District.
To the west of Palkigundu, there is a hillock
called the Malimallappa hill, on the top of which are a number
of dolmens. Some of these dolmens, which are locally called Moriyara-angadi
or Moriyas shops, are intact, while others are disturbed. The
fields between this hill and the Palkigundu hill are called Pandavara
vathara
There have been found two Ashokan edicts, belonging
to the 'Minor' series and agreeing with the northern version,
on the Gavimatha and Palkigundu hills, one on each. The one on
the Gavimatha hill is complete and legible, while that on the
Palkigundu is so worn out that only a few letters are legible.
( Left side picture shows the Malemallappa temple on Malemallappa
hill )
KOPPAL FORT
is another important object of historical interest at Koppal.
It is not known definitely by whom it was built. But it was acquired
by Tippu Sultan in 1786 AD from a Paleyagar and rebuilt into one
of the strongesxt forts with the help of French engineers. In
may 1790, it was besieged by the forces of the British and the
Nizam. ( Right side picture shows the Koppal Fort ) Sir John Malcolm,
who participated in this siege, has described it as without exception
the strongest place. The fortifications consists of two forts,
The upper fort is situated on a lofty and almost isolated summit
in a gorge on the eastern side of a cluster of tocky hills which
occupy an area of several square miles. The fort is about 400
feet above the plains.
KUKANOOR, in Yelburga taluk,
is a small town lying seven miles due north of Bannikoppa station
on the Guntakal-Hubli railway line. The town, though now small,
was an important place in the early and mediaeval days and is
rich in antiquarian remains of the later Chalukyan style of architecture
and these buildings range from the 8th to the 13th century A.D.
and illustrate the building tendencies of the age. The group of
temples that represents the early Chalukyan school is called teh
Navalinga group. Two other important temples are those of Kalleshvara
and Mallikarjuna. The Kalleshwara temple is a fine example of
the Chalukyan style and is in good condition. The original form
of the Mallikarjuna temple, however, cannot be fully made out;
the shrine and the mantapa also have been altered and built over
in recent years. The Kalleshwara temple contains one Kannada inscription,
while the other has three, one of them recording the date of construction
of the temple in the 12th century A.D. But the most important
temple from the relegious point of view is that of Mahamaya; (left
side picture shows Mahamaya temple) it is in the same enclosure
in which the Navalinga temple is situated, a building of considerable
dimensions but devoid of architectural merits.
MUNIRABAD,
in Koppal taluk, about eight kilo meters from Hospet, on the Hubli-Guntakal
railway line and about 32 kilometers from Koppal District headquarters.
It has become an important place now, especially due to Tungabhadra
dam ( shown in right side picture ). The Left Bank Canal from
here, which passes through the Koppal, Gangavathi taluks, irrigates
a large extent of agricultural lands in the district.
It is humming with industrial activities also with a sugar factory,
Iron, Chemicals and fertilizers factory. The vast water-spread
of the Tungabhadra reservoir here presents a fascinating spectacle
and is a source of attraction for the tourists. . There are also
a few well-furnished modern guest houses at the place, as also
well maintained flower gardens. Besides a Japanese-type ornamental
garden known as Pampa Vana (as shown in pictures) which is the
first of its kind in the state, and it is also a source of attraction
for tourists.
An inscription dated in the year 1099 A.D. found
here mentions that this place was gifted to one Chaturvedi Bhatta,
by the Chalukya king Vikramaditya VI. The former constructed an
irrigation canal from the Tungabhadra river. Huligi, is the old
name of this place called Vyagrapuri in Sanskrit. It has a temple
dedicted to Huligemma, which appears to have been built originally
in the 13th century. There is a Dhwajasthamba, which is of a height
of about 25 ft., in front of the temple. Annually, a jatra (Fair)is
held under the auspices of the Huligemma temple.
PURA, in
Kushtagi taluk, about the five miles from Tavargera, is noted
for its fine and spacious temple of Someshwara which has Koti
Lingas , where annually a big jatra(Fair) is held in the month
of Shravana.
