Belgaum, Karnataka, India

🇮🇳 Belgaum (Bēḷagāma; Belgaon; Belagavi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located in its northern part along the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Belagavi division and Belagavi district. The Government of Karnataka has proposed making Belgaum the second capital of Karnataka alongside Bangalore, hence a second state administrative building Suvarna Vidhana Soudha was inaugurated on 11 October 2012.

Belgaum has been selected in first phase out of 20 cities, as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under PM Narendra Modi's flagship Smart Cities Mission.

History Belgaum was founded in late 12th century AD by the Ratta dynasty, who shifted from nearby Saundatti. A Ratta official named Bichiraja built Kamal Basadi, a Jain temple, dedicated to Neminatha in 1204, which came to be called Kamalabasti. Pillars found inside Belgaum fort have Kannada inscriptions in Nagari scripts, one from 1199 by Ratta King Kartaveerya IV. The city original name was Venugram, a Sanskrit word which means "village of bamboo". Alternatively, it is referred to as Venugram in early Indian texts, which means "city of bamboo".

Belgaum became a part of the Yadava dynasty kingdom (Sevunas) in early 13th century. An inscription from 1261 of King Krishna belonging to the Yadava dynasty attests to this. The region was invaded by Khalji dynasty of Delhi Sultanate in 14th century. Shortly thereafter, the Vijayanagara Empire was founded, and Belgaum came under the rule of Vijayanagara. In 1474, the Bahmani Sultanate conquered Belgaum with an army led by Mahamood Gawan.

The Belgaum fort was strengthened by the Adil Shah dynasty Sultans and they built the Safa Mosque. A Persian inscription states that the mosque was built by Asad Khan, a Bijapur Commander. In 1518, the Bahamani sultanate splintered into five small states and Belgaum became part of the Bijapur Sultanate. The Adilshahis extended their control to the port of Goa, but retreated after the arrival and wars with the Portuguese. In 1686, the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb overthrew the Bijapur sultanate and Belgaum passed nominally to the Mughals, who called it "Azamnagar". However, the Mughal empire control collapsed after the death of Aurangzeb in 1707. The Maratha confederacy took control of the area during the rule of the Peshwas. In 1776, the region was overrun by Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan after Hyder Ali's coup in the Kingdom of Mysore. The Peshwa regained Belgaum, after Tipu Sultan was defeated by the British forces. In 1818, the British annexed Belgaum and the region in the control of the Peshwa. Kitturu Chennamma (1778–1829) was the queen of the princely state of Kittur in Karnataka and in 1824 she led an unsuccessful armed rebellion against the British in response to the Doctrine of lapse.

Belgaum was chosen as the venue of the 39th session of the Indian National Congress in December 1924 under the presidency of Mahatma Gandhi. The city served as a major military installation for the British Raj, primarily due to its proximity to Goa, which was then a Portuguese territory. Once the British left India, the Indian government continued and still continues to have armed forces installations in Belgaum. In 1961, the Indian government, under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, used forces from Belgaum to end Portuguese rule of Goa.

When India became independent in 1947, Belgaum and its district were part of Bombay State. In 1956, the Indian states were reorganised along linguistic lines by the States Reorganisation Act and Belgaum including 10 taluks of Bombay State were transferred to Mysore State, which was renamed Karnataka in 1973.

In 2006, the Government of Karnataka announced that Belgaum would be made the state's second capital, and that the city would be a permanent venue for the annual 15-day winter session of the state legislature.

Geography: Topography Belgaum has an average elevation of 751 metres (2,464 feet). The city is in the north-western parts of Karnataka and lies at the border of two states, Maharashtra and Goa on the western ghats (50 km (31 mi) from the Goa state border). It is one of the oldest towns in the state, lying 502 km (312 mi) from Bangalore, 500 km (310 mi) from Mumbai, 515 km (320 mi) from Hyderabad, and 600 km (370 mi) from Mysore. The district comprises 1278 villages with an area of 31,415 km² (12,129 sq mi) and a population of around 4.8 million according to the census of 2011. Belgaum district is the biggest district of Karnataka. Situated near the foothills of the Sahyadri mountain range (Western Ghats) at an altitude of about 779 m (2,556 ft), 100 km (62 mi) from the Arabian Sea with the Markandeya river flowing nearby, Belgaum exhibits swift and kaleidoscopic changes in topography, vegetation and climate.

Economy The city's humble industrial growth begin when an entrepreneur named Babu Rao Pusalkar set up a small unit in city over a century ago and that transformed Belagavi city into foundry and hydraulics base.

Belgaum is an important source of vegetables, fruits, meat, poultry, fish, mining production, and wood (due to heavy rainfall, rivers and the abundance of water). Trading in North Karnataka is mainly with Goa and Maharashtra along with major cities like Pune, Bangalore and Mangalore. Rich deposits of Bauxite are found in Belgaum district and have led to the creation of the Indian aluminium-producing company Hindalco Industries of the Aditya Birla Group. Uranium deposits have been found at Deshnur, a small village near Bailhongal town.

A 300-acre (1.2 km²) Special Economic Zone (India's first Private Aerospace SEZ) is being set up along the Pune-Bangalore National Highway (NH-4) to cater to the precision engineering requirements of the global aerospace, automotive and industrial verticals.

Defence training centres Belgaum's salubrious climate, proximity to the coast and strategic position near Portuguese Goa commended it to the British as a suitable location for an army training centre and cantonment, which it continues to be today for the Indian Armed Forces, along with an air force station of the Indian Air Force. The British had a sizeable infantry post here, having realised the military importance of its geographical location.

Development of a rail network for movement of resources and later troops was one of the means employed by both the East India Company and the British to exert control over India. Belgaum houses the Maratha Light Infantry Regimental Centre (MLIRC). It also houses the Commando Training Wing which is a part of the Junior Leaders Wing (formerly known as Infantry School, Belgaum). This establishment is affiliated to The Infantry School, Mhow. Herein, Infantry Officers and Soldiers are trained in endurance, escape and evasion, guerrilla and commando warfare techniques and to live off the land. The commando course at Belgaum is mandatory for all Infantry Officers. Officers of Other branches of the military and even some foreign officers undertake the course, upon being nominated to do so. In between the Military Hospital and the Junior Leaders Wing lies the Belgaum Military School, established in 1945 spread over an area of 64 acres (26 ha). The School provides quality education to sons of wards of Servicemen and Ex Servicemen of the Armed Forces. Several of them go on to join the National Defence Academy.

The Indo-Tibetan Border Police, ITBP, is building a full-fledged recreation and training centre in Belgaum at Halbhavi. Belgaum provides an excellent climate for recreation and ITBP will have large family bases in Belgaum for its soldiers after high altitude stressful duty.

The Central Reserve Police Force Institute of elite central paramilitary forces is setting up a national-level training institution (for jungle warfare) at Khanapur in Belgaum. The establishment, called the CoBRA School of Jungle Warfare is already operational.

Cuisine The cuisine of Belgaum is derived from the food cultures of three regions Karnataka, Konkan and Maharashtra. Typical breakfast items include poori-bhaji, idli-dosa, uppit (upma), sheera, sabudana khichadi and sabuvada. Chapatis, rice, bhakari (jowar rotti), thalipeeth, jhunka and vegetables are eaten for lunch. Non-vegetarian preparations such as various seafoods are cooked in Goan, Maharashtrian, and North Karnataka style. Belgaum is noted for a specific kind of biryani, the Belagavi Biryani, which uses Belagavi Basmati Rice for its preparation.

Belgaum is known for kunda, a milk-based sweet. Another sweet, called maande in Marathi and

mandige in Kannada, is a prerequisite for weddings.

Transport: Road Belgaum is connected by road via national highways 4 (connecting Maharashtra (now part of the Golden Quadrilateral), Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu) and 4A (connecting Karnataka and Goa). North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) run buses to all corners of Karnataka and to neighbouring states. There are many prominent private bus companies providing services to all major destinations in Karnataka and surrounding states. KSRTC services almost all villages in Karnataka. 92% villages are served by KSRTC (6,743 out of 7,298 Villages) and 44% in other areas. KSRTC operates 6463 schedules in a day covering an effective distance of 2374,000 km with a total fleet of 7599 buses. It transports, on an average, 2457,000 passengers per day.

The North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation was established on 1 November 1997, under provision of the Road Transport Corporation Act 1950, on the auspicious day of Karnataka Rajyotsava upon bifurcation from Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation to provide adequate, efficient, economic and properly coordinated transport services to the commuters of North Western part of Karnataka. The Corporation jurisdiction covers the districts of Belgaum, Dharwad, Karwar, Bagalkot, Gadag & Haveri.

NWKRTC operates its services to all villages, which have motorable roads in its jurisdiction, and also covers intra- and inter- state transport operations.

The Government of Goa operates KADAMBA bus service from Goa to Belgaum city and some other parts of the Belgaum District.

The Government of Maharashtra also operates MSRTC buses from various parts of Maharashtra to Belgaum City and some other parts of the Belgaum District.

Transport: Air The city is served by Belgaum Airport at Sambra, which is the oldest airport in North Karnataka and lies 10 km (6.2 mi) from the city on State Highway 20. Belgaum airport is included in UDAN 3 scheme. Alliance Air, Spice Jet, Star Air, IndiGo and TruJet have flights to Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mysore, Kadapa, Tirupati, Surat, Ahmedabad, Indore, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Kolhapur, Nashik and Chennai. Flight connectivity to Jodhpur will be soon started by Star Air in the future days.

Transport: Rail Belgaum railway station is on the Indian Railways grid, being part of the South Western railways, and is well connected by rail to major destinations.

Education: VTU Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), named after Bharat Ratna Sir M Visweshwariah, is located in Machhe in Belgaum. It has more than 208 affiliated colleges. Over 67,000 students graduate from VTU every year.

Rani Channamma University Rani Channamma University was established in 2010 by upgrading the post-graduate centre of Karnatak University, Dharwad. Before the Rani Channamma University came into being in 2010, Karnatak University KRCPG Centre of Karnatak University, Dharwad was functioning at Belgaum. The Karnatak University PG Centre was established at Belgaum in the year 1982, to provide an opportunity to develop access to the students for higher education hailing from North Karnataka Region. In 1994 the PG centre was shifted to the present campus of 172 acres of land at Bhutramanahatti adjacent to the Pune-Bangalore National Highway – 4 NH 4, about 18 km from Belgaum. Karnatak University PG Centre has been declared as Rani Channamma University in the month of July 2010 with the jurisdiction of Belgaum, Vijaypur, and Bagalkot districts.

Media Newspapers include Vijaya Karnataka, Vijay Vani, Kannada Prabha, Samyukta Karnataka, Prajavani, and Kannadamma in Kannada; The Times of India and Deccan Herald in English, and Tarun Bharat,Sakaal, Pudhari in Marathi.