Churu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Churu | |
  Churu
|
|
| State - District(s) |
Rajasthan - Churu |
| Coordinates | |
| Area - Elevation |
- 315 m |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Population (2001) - Density |
97,627 - |
| Codes - Postal - Telephone - Vehicle |
- 331001 - +1562 - |
Churu (Hindi: चूरु) is a town in the desert region of Rajasthan, India. It is presently the administrative headquarters of Churu District. It lies in the Thar Desert on the National Highway-65 connecting Pali to Ambala. It is famous for the shifting sand dunes of the Thar Desert and beautiful grand havelis with marvelous fresco paintings, namely Kanhaiya lal Bagla ki Haweli and Surana Haweli, with hundreds of small windows. It also has some fine Chhatris. Nearby the town is a religious seat of the Nath sect of Sadhus where there are life-size Marble statue of their deities and a place for prayers. There stands a Dharam Stup, a symbol of religious equality. At the centre of the town is a fort built about 400 years ago.
Contents |
[edit] History
The city of Churu was founded in 1620 by a Jat chieftain Churru.[1] [2] It was part of Jangladesh prior to annexation by Rathores.[3] Churu was ruled by Thakur Maldeo, the grandson of the famous Rao Kandhal and uncle of Rao Bika, the Rathore Rajputs of Bikaner. In 1871 Churu fall to Bikaner. In this battle between the forces of Churu and Bikaner when all the copper and brass had been exhausted, Churu Thakur asked his womenfolk to part off their silver ornaments and with this metal, shells for the cannons were made and used in the battle.Maharaj Randhir Singh who belongs from the royal family of Churu at present he is living at "CHURU HOUSE" Bikaner. The famous temple of Salasar Balaji is situated in the Churu district.
[edit] Economy
The economy of the town and surrounding area is mainly based on agriculture and animal husbandry. The oilseeds, especially mustard seed, is the predominant crop in recently developed small, well-irrigated fields. Wheat, kharif pulses, bajra (pearl millet), and gwar are other produces.
Churu is the main mandi (market) for agricultural produce of the area. The town has a Krishi Upaj Mandi Samiti (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) . The Food Corporation of India has its warehouses in Churu. The town is the main supply point for surrounding villages.
There is no large or medium size industry in the Bhinmal industrial area. The main small-scale industries are granite slabs and tiles, cutting and polishing, and mustard seed crushing.
[edit] Infrastructure
Transport- Churu is on Rewari - Bikaner section of Northern Railway. The name of railway station is Churu Junction. The railway tracks are meter gauge. There are plans to convert these to broad gauge. Churu is connected to all major cities by all weather roads.
Electricity- There is one sub grid station of 220 KV at Churu itself. The town receives power from Power Grid Corporation of India's grid station in Hissar Haryana. Almost all villages of the Churu sub division are electrified.
Water- The town gets drinking water from local wells which is hard and salty. The town area drinking water supply is managed by PHED (water dept. of Govt. of Rajasthan). The Govt. is trying to get drinking water for the area from Indira Gandhi Canal. The main source of irrigation for farmers continues to be rain water and wells at a few places.
Accommodation- There are a few hotels in the town. Some well known hotels are: Rathore Lodge, Hotel Natraj,. There is a Government Rest house & Circuit House too run by Public Works Department(PWD).
Education- The town has a Post-graduate College called Lohia College affiliated University of Bikaner. There are several higher secondary and primary and middle schools in Churu.
Telecommunications- All the basic phone and cellphone service provider companies have their network in Churu. Internet and fax services is available at Public booths.
Hospitals- Churu town has good medical facilities .The town has a government D B hospital and a few private hospitals. There is an Aryuvedic hospital too.
Sports- The town has a Stadium. It has indoor & outdoor games facilities. The yearly state level tournaments can be held here.
Banking Many nationalised Banks State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur , Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, Rajasthan Bank & some other banks have their brances here. Some co-operative banks also have their branches in the town. They are: Churu Central Cooperative Bank and Bhumi Vikas Bank.
Library The town has a public libraries managed by the Government
[edit] Religion
There are many temples in the city mostly dedicated to Hindu deities – Hanuman, Bhagwan Ram, Krishana, Satyanarain, Durga Mata, Santoshi Mata Local Deities Gogaji, Ramdevji, Karni Mataji, Shitala Mata and a few Mosques as well as a Digambar Jain Mandir.
- Digambar Jain Temple
- Upahshara Jatiji
- Hanuman Balaji temple
- Ganesh Temple
- Ram Mandir
- Punchmukhi Balaji
- Shaniji
- Gogaji
- Shitala Mata
Others
- Bhaninath Muth
- Dharam Stup [All religion Tower Temple].
[edit] Geography
Churu is located at [4]. It has an average elevation of 315 metres (1033 feet).
[edit] Demographics
As of 2001 India censusGRIndia, Churu had a population of 97,627. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Churu has an average literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 72% and, female literacy is 51%. In Churu, 17% of the population is under 6 years of age.
[edit] Marwaris and Havelis
The famous wealthy Marwari merchants of the town, having business connections all over India, added to its splendour by building beautiful majestic havelis, made of lime and brick and decorated them by the best of the frescoes on the facade as well as inside of the rooms. The best of the masons and 'Chitera' or painters were employed to decorate these buildings. Initially, the Chiteras practised dry and wet methods using mineral and vegetable colours. Later on, around in 1860's they made brighter and colorful paintings with the help of chemical colours. Some merchants, the Mantries, Suranas & Kotharis got few rooms painted in gold with extensive mirror work. The prosperity of Churu reached its zenith in 18th century when the atmosphere of peace and security prevailed and the caravans passed through. Consequently, the business of wool, silk, opium and spices flourished. The merchants moved away to the British India and onwards to Calcutta and other business centers in central India. They made a lot of money using their unique business acumen and decided to raise the palatial houses for their families in Churu. There is yet another haveli whose creation does not lie in grand plans but a small plan blown out of proportion. This haveli commonly known as 'Jahaz Kothi' (jahaz literally meaning ship; but in hindi airplanes are also populary referred by this term). The builder of this kothi, Malchand Nagwan, wanted his home to be a little different so wished to build a small air plane on his terrace, but the constructer being a great fan of the man wanted big things for his big man so instead of modesty he chose flamboynace- and today there hangs an airplane of the size of a helicopter on this kothi! And thus the name'Jahaz Kothi', a kothi known more by its design than by the name of its owners and builders. The Agarwals, Lakhotia, Bagla, Poddar, Kothari, Banthia, Surana, Heerawat, Jain, Sharma, Vyas, Bohra, are the some of the surnames of the people from the town. Churu is an important town in the history.
Many people from Churu are now settled in Mumbai, Kolkatta and are engaged in trade, building , construction and export-import and other businesses. Some well known business houese are Surana group, Bagla group business houses,. Some people from Churu presently reside in Bangalore, and Ahmedabad too. They keep regular contact with Churu through social and religious functions.
Churu constituency elects one member to the Vidhan Sabha ( Rajasthan State Assembly) & one to LokSabha (Indian Parliament)
[edit] Monuments
- Fort Churu
- Ghantaghar
- Dharam Stup
[edit] Climate
The Churu city is situated at 26° 36'N 75° 27'E. This City shows maximum range of temperature in any given 12 month and often comes into news for extreme temperatures in winters and summers; with lowest rain. The recorded minimum and maximum temperatures are -6 °C (21 F) and 52 °C (125 F) respectively.
[edit] See also
[edit] Famous persons from Churu District
- Narendra Budania - Member of Parliament elected from Churu in 1985, 1996 and 1998.
- Swami Gopal Das - freedom fighter
- Bimal Jalan
- Devendra Jhajharia - India's first ever gold medalist at the Paralympics
- Swami Keshwanand - freedom fighter
- Seth Sagarmaljee Mantri
- Lakshmi Mittal - the "Steel King" was born at Sadulpur in Churu District.
- Om Prakash Ramgariya
- Jai Singh Rathore General Secretary, Rajasthan PCC
- Karni Singh Rathore KIRTI CHAKRA receipant
- Mohar Singh Rathore - a Gandhian social & Polital activist
- Daulatram Saran - freedom fighter
- Prof. Dasharatha Sharma
- Prahlad Rai Sharma
- Vidyavachaspati Pandit Vidyadhar Shastri
- Mukun Singh writer of Dingl VELI
- Seth Ridhkaran Surana
[edit] References
- ^ Churu article in Encylcopædia Britannica
- ^ Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 10, p. 335
- ^ James Todd: Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, 1928
- ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Churu
[edit] External links
| State of Rajasthan Rajasthan Topics |
|
|---|---|
| Capital | Jaipur |
| Divisions | Ajmer | Bharatpur | Bikaner | Jaipur | Jodhpur | Kota | Udaipur |
| Districts | Ajmer | Alwar | Banswara | Baran | Barmer | Bhilwara | Bikaner | Bharatpur | Bundi | Chittorgarh | Churu | Dausa | Dholpur | Dungarpur | Ganganagar | Hanumangarh | Jaipur | Jaisalmer | Jalore | Jhalawar | Jhunjhunu | Jodhpur | Karauli | Kota | Nagaur | Pali | Rajsamand | Sawai Madhopur | Sikar | Sirohi | Tonk | Udaipur |
| Major cities | Alwar • Bhilwara • Bikaner • Jaipur • Jaisalmer • Jodhpur • Udaipur |
