Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

🇮🇳 Kanpur, also known as Cawnpore, is a metropolitan city in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. Nestled on the banks of Ganges River, Kanpur stands as the major financial and industrial centre of North India and also the ninth-largest urban economy in India. Today it is famous for its colonial architecture, gardens, parks and fine quality leather products which are exported mainly to the West.

The city is famous for its leather and textile industries. It is the 11th most populous urban agglomeration in India. The urban district of Kanpur Nagar serves as the headquarters of the Kanpur Division, Kanpur Range and Kanpur Zone. The city is also widely regarded as the "Leather City of the World" and is predominantly nicknamed as the "Manchester of the East", for its textile industries.

It is known for its rich cultural heritage, bustling markets, vibrant nightlife, beautiful parks and gardens, delicious cuisine and much more. The city is home to historical monuments such as the Jajmau Ghat which dates back to 17th century AD.

Kanpur is also home to several historical sites such as the Bithoor Museum, Bhitargaon Temple, European Cemetry and Nanarao Park.

Kanpur also hosts various events throughout year.

It is the 12th most populous city and the 11th most populous urban agglomeration in India. Kanpur was an important British garrison town until 1947, when India gained independence. The urban district of Kanpur Nagar serves as the headquarters of the Kanpur Division, Kanpur Range and Kanpur Zone.

With the first woollen mill of India, commonly known as the Lal Imli (literally meaning "Red Tamarind", for a brand produced by the mill) by the British India Corporation established here in 1876 by Alexander MacRobert. The eastern and northern façades of the mill are reminiscent of the Palace of Westminster, due to their architecture, proximity to the Ganges river and with the north-east corner of the mill being topped by a clock tower similar to Big Ben in London. This similarity underscores the city's importance and prestige during the British times, which extends till date; making the Lal Imli — a great highlight of the city. The city is also widely regarded as the "Leather City of the World" and is predominantly nicknamed as the "Manchester of the East", for its chemical, textile and leather industries.

According to 2011 Indian census, it is the eleventh most populous urban city and the largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh while the population of city and its suburb were around 5 million making it the eighth-most populous metropolitan area in India. Furthermore, it is considered the world's most polluted city by particulate matter concentration. In 2018, Kanpur was considered by the World Health Organization as the city with the world's worst air pollution.

History In 1207, Raja Kanh Deo of the Kanhpuriya clan of Rajputs established the city of Kanhpur and made it his capital, which later came to be known as Kanpur.

1857 Uprising In the 19th century, Cawnpore was an important British garrison with barracks for 7,000 soldiers. During the First Indian War of Independence of 1857, 900 British men, women and children were besieged in the fortifications for 22 days by rebels under Nana Sahib Peshwa. They surrendered on the agreement that they would get safe passage to the nearby Satti Chaura Ghat whereupon they would board barges and be allowed to go by river to Allahabad.

Though controversy surrounds what exactly happened at the Satti Chaura Ghat, and who fired the first shot, it is known that, soon afterwards, the departing British were shot at by the sepoys and were either killed or captured. Some of the British officers later claimed that the sepoys had, on purpose, placed the boats as high in the mud as possible, to cause delay. They also claimed that Nana Sahib's camp had previously arranged for the sepoys to fire upon and to kill all of the English. Although the East India Company later accused Nana Sahib of betrayal and murder of innocent people, no evidence has ever been found to prove that Nana Sahib had planned or ordered the massacre. Some historians believe that the Satti Chaura Ghat massacre was the result of confusion and not of any plan implemented by Nana Sahib or of his associates. Lieutenant Mowbray Thomson, one of the four male survivors of the massacre, believed that the rank-and-file sepoys who spoke to him did not know of the killing to come.

Many were killed and the remaining 200 British women and children were brought back to shore and sent to a building called the Bibighar (the ladies' home). After some time, the commanders of the rebels decided to kill their hostages. The rebel soldiers refused to carry out orders and butchers from the nearby town were brought in to kill the hostages three days before the British entered the city on 18 July. The dismembered bodies were thrown into a deep well nearby. The British, under General Neill, retook the city and committed a series of retaliations against the rebel sepoys and those civilians caught in the area, including women, children and old men. The Cawnpore Massacre, as well as similar events elsewhere, were seen by the British as justification for unrestrained vengeance. "Remember Cawnpore" became a British war cry for the rest of the war.

Urban infrastructure The metropolitan region defined under JNNURM by Kanpur Nagar Nigam, includes the Kanpur Nagar Nigam area, 8 km around KNN boundary and newly included 47 villages of Unnao district on the north-eastern side, it extends to Murtaza Nagar, in the west its limit is up to Akbarpur, Kanpur Dehat Nagar Panchayat limit, on the eastern side the limit has been expanded on the road leading to Fatehpur and in extended up to. The metropolitan region area includes the area of Shuklaganj Municipal Committee (Nagar Palika), Unnao Municipal Committee (Nagar Palika), Akbarpur Village Authority (Nagar Panchayat) and Bithoor Village Authority (Nagar Panchayat) area. In 1997–98, total metropolitan region area has increased to 89131.15 hectare out of which 4,743.9 hectare (5.31%) was non-defined (prohibited area) and rest 29,683 hectare and 54,704 hectare (61.39%) was urban and rural area respectively.

Airways Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Airport or Kanpur Military Airport has direct scheduled commercial non-stop flights to New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore only. The nearest International Airport is the Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow, which is around 77.1 km from Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

Railways Kanpur Central is a major railhead and is among the busiest railway stations in the country. Rail routes connect it to all major cities in the state and the country. It is an A-1 category railway station coming under the Prayagraj railway division of North Central Railway zone of Indian Railways. Around 300 trains pass through the station daily. Other major railway stations serving the city include Kanpur Anwarganj, Govindpuri, Panki, Kalyanpur, Rawatpur, Chandari, Kanpur Bridge and Chakeri.

Transport: Road The city has had chronic problems with maintaining local roads. There are several important National Highways that pass through Kanpur.

The UPSRTC Inter State Bus Station (ISBT) of Kanpur officially named as the "Shaheed Major Salman Khan Bus Station". It is locally known as the "Jhakarkati Bus Station". It provides buses to important cities of India. Other UPSRTC controlled Important Bus stations are Chunniganj Bus Stand for Farrukhabad, Bareilly and Uttranchal routes, Naubasta Bus Stand for Hamirpur route, Fazalganj is another hub for Private carriers.

*Ring road * In 2011 it was reported by The Indian Express that "The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is all set to develop a four-lane outer ring road along the periphery of Kanpur with an aim to prevent traffic congestion in the industrial city caused by long-distance heavy vehicles. The new road, which will help the heavy vehicles to bypass the city, will be developed on Built, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis under the phase-VII of National Highways Development Programme (NHDP)"

Transport: Metro The Kanpur Metro is a mass rapid transit (MRT) system in Kanpur. The metro is owned and operated by the Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC). It consists of two lines- Orange Line and Blue Line. The priority corridor of the Orange Line, which connects IIT Kanpur to Motijheel was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi on 28 December 2021.

Education: University Prestigious public engineering institution Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur is located in Kanpur city. It was one of the first Indian Institutes of Technology established in 1959, created with the assistance of a consortium of nine US research universities as part of the Kanpur Indo-American Programme (KIAP).

Other educational institutions in the city include three state universities. Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University is one of the largest universities in northern India catering to urban and rural students offering professional and academic courses in the disciplines of Arts, Science, Commerce, Law, Engineering, Biotechnology, Computer Applications, Management and Medicine.

Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology is an agricultural university named after the Indian revolutionary Chandrashekhar Azad which caters to the needs of the farming community of 29 districts of Uttar Pradesh.

Harcourt Butler Technical University (HBTI) offers Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral programs in engineering, as well as Masters programs in Business Administration, and Computer Applications. Dr.Ambedkar Institute of Technology for Handicapped, an institution to provide technical education to specially-abled students inaugurated by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1997, is also situated in Kanpur.

There is also private universities in the city like: Rama University part of the Rama Group. There are several good private Technical and Management institutions in the city.

Medical education Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College (GSVM Medical College) is a state-run medical college in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. It was founded in 1956 and named after Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, a freedom fighter and journalist from Kanpur. Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital, which is also known as Hallet Hospital, is associated with GSVM, Kanpur.