About Chattisgarh Balrampur
Recently visited and stayed in Balrampur-Ambikapur of Surguja
region of Chattisgarh
About Chattisgarh state
Chattisgarh state was formed in year 2000 after splitting
from Madhya Pradesh .It was earlier an eastern part of Madhya Pradesh.
Almost 10% of tribal population of India belongs to Chattisgarh
Capital of Chattisgarh is Raipur , the city has population
of around 14 lacs. The other major cities are Durg-Bhilai,Bilaspur,Korba,Ambikapur,Jagdalpur,Rajnandgaon,Raigarh,Chirmiri
These major cities are well covered by road and rail.Rajnandgaon->Durg->Bhilai
->Raipur->Bilaspur are connected by highway(NH 6 Surat-Nagpur-Kolkatta
Highway) and railway line going towards Howrah Kolkatta. Further from Bilaspur,
Korba and Ambikapur are connected by Bilaspur-Varanasi Highway NH 343 and also
connected by Bilaspur-Ambikapur railway line
Out of the total steel production in India, 15% steel is
produced in Bhilai Steel Plant which when established in 1957 was Asia’s
largest steel plant.There are many cement factories here and lot of coal mines
near Korba. BALCO and NTPC have their setup at Korba .The coal mines in the
Korba area is largest in Asia
There are total 27 districts in Chattisgarh with Bastar the
largest district.Actually Bastar was the largest district in India but now
there are 7 districts formed in Bastar.
Rivers: Main river of Chattisgarh is Mahanadi which
originates from Sihawa mountain in Dhamtari district of north Bastar region at
an height of 600 meters.Hirakud is world’s
largest dam on Mahanadi in Sambhalpur district of Orissa Other main rivers are
Hasdeo,Sendhur, sankh, Indravati and Godavari(flowing through borders of state)
which are flowing towards west .Sankh river meets Mahanadi near Raigarh while Indravati
river meets Godavari near Telangana and Maharashtra border in Bijapur district
Forests : Bastar,Kawardha and Kanker districts are situated
in dense forests hereas towards North east, the districts of Korba,Koriya is
having rich flora and fauna
Mountain Ranges: There are several mountain ranges like
Satpudas running east-west part and from Amarkantak in MP , the Satpudas is
split into mountain range which run southwards to Bastar and join the eastern
ghat region in Orissa.
Highest mountain is Gadiya Mountain(900 meters) near kanker
and Baila Dila (869 meters) near Dantewada
The North Eastern part of Chattisgarh is Chota Nagpur
Plateau bordering Jharkhand and eastern UP
About Balrampur district
Earlier Surguja was the only one district which was split
into 3 districts namely Ramanujganj,Ambikapur and Koriya(Manendragarh)
Later the district headquarters were shifted from Ramanujganj
to balrampur and the district was renamed as Ramanujganj-Balrampur
Balrampur is the north east most part of Chattisgarh.To the
North, it is surrounded by Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh, Garwah region of
Jharkhand, to the west, it is surrounded by Shahdol and Anuppur district of MP,
to the east, it is surrounded by Albert Ekka Jari of Gumla district Jharkhand
and to South, it is surrounded by Ambikapur and Jashpur Nagar in the Surguja
district
Mountain ranges in Balrampur
Balrampur is located in the Chota Nagpur Plateau which spans
Surguja region of Chattisgarh, Daltonganj and Gumla district of Jharkhand and Mirzapur-Robertsganj
district of UP east.Mountain range in Balrampur is Ramgarh hills with an
elevation of 650 meters average
Wildlife Sanctuary:
Near Balrampur, is the Semarsot wildlife sanctuary spanning large area from Kusmi-Samri near Jharkhand border till UP border near Wadrafnagar..Animals
here include Bears,Bison, Wild Boars,Deers and also elephants are seen here.I
was staying in a school at a village Jokhapaat on top of a mountain around 625
meters. Here bears are seen the most.Most of the tribal people belong to the Korba Pahadi community
Trees
Trees here include Saalbeej and Mahua .Salbeej seeds are
collected for oil to make soap whereas flowers of Mahua are collected to make
local liquor out of it. Other than this, the forest vegetation include
Amla,Bel,Teak .Fruit here is mango, jackfruit and pears
Crops
Rice is the main crop of Chattisgarh with premium quality ‘Jiraphool’
organic rice grown here which has medicinal properties but rarely grown.The
other main crop is Potatoes,Mustard seed and wheat
Distances
Mumbai to Balrampur 1850 kms
Pune to Balrampur 1720 kms
Varanasi to Balrampur 275 kms
Varanasi to Ranchi 350 kms
Raipur to Balrampur 510 kms
Nearest railway station Ambikapur 87 kms(few trains from Raipur to Ambikapur)
Biggest railway junction nearby is Bilaspur(on railway lie to Howrah) 300 kms
By Bus
Raipur->Simga->Bilaspur->Premnagar->Korba->Surajpur->Ambikapur->Rajpur->Balrampur 510 kms
Nearest Airport : Ranchi 350 kms
Places to visit in Balrampur
Tatapani hot water springs
Semarsot wildlife sanctuary
Tropic of cancer passes near Rajpur 44 kms near Balrampur.Interestingly in this area, you will find electricity poles and trees appear tilted towards North when seen from far distance but when you come near , the poles appear straight
