Gangapur, Sawai Madhopur

History

King Kushaliram Haldiya established Gangapur, originally naming it Kushalgarh (Hindi: कुशालगढ़) Gangapur took its current name because of Gangaram which was brother of Kushaliram. It is also said to be named after ancient Ganga temple in the city. In older days, Gangapur City was the cultural capital of the state of Jaipur and was known as The Jugad of the East. Its most notable native was the late Shri Jeeman Lal Shukla, who was owner and founder of Shri Madho Govind Temple (a medieval-period Radha Krishna Temple) under the reign of Jaipur Maharaja Shri Sawai Mansingh I. In his cross country voyage, Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati stayed in this temple for several days while passing on his teachings to Arya Samaj. Today, Gangapur is primarily known for being an important part of the West Central Railway.

Geography

Gangapur City is located in the eastern part of Rajasthan in Sawai Madhopur district. It is a Sub-district and a Tehsil. Measured area of city is about 12 km². It is situated 75 km from district headquarters at Sawai Madhopur and 144 km from state capital, Jaipur.

There are mountain range that passes near the city, Dhundheshwar is a waterfall situated admist the green mountain range situated approximately 5 km from heart of city and it serves as recreational spot for city and nearby villages.

Demographics

The 2011 Census of India considered Gangapur as UA (urban agglomeration) considering town Mahu Kalan part of city and put it under class I category (population of 100,000 & more) and population is 130,061. Gangapur city has a population of 119,090. Males constitute 53% of the population and females constitutes 47%.

Literacy Rates

Average literacy rate of Gangapur is 72.9%, out of which male literacy rate is 89.55% and female literacy rate is 67.54%. All the above stats are higher than the national average.

Sex Ratio

Sex ratio is 895 and child sex ratio (age 0-6 yrs) is 858.

Religions

Hinduism is majority religion in Gangapur city with 71.91% followers. Islam is second most popular religion in city of Gangapur with approximately 26.32% following it. The religion wise distribution of population is given in following table:

Climate

Gangapur City hosts to a Subtropical dry climate featuring only three typical Indian seasons Summer, Winter & Rainy season. Temperature may rise above 40^oC in summers as well as it can be low as 5^oC in winters. Average precipitation is 24.48 cm. Humidity is about 5-10% in summers and rises to about 75% in rainy seasons.

Dhundheshwar

Dhundheshwar is a waterfall situated between the green scenic beauty mountain range situated approximately 5 km from heart of city and it serves as recreational spot for city and nearby villages.

Kalyan Ji Fair

Every year besakh shukla puranmasi (Hindu calendar date) this fair is organised . This fair is organised for seven days. It is one of the most famous fairs in the city & nearby villages which is celebrated in every May. It is a good sign of brotherhood of all religions that many events are organized by the different religions. It is an enjoyable fair for kids, adults and senior citizens.

Places of Worship

Nearby Attractions

These are some visitor attractions which surround of the Gangapur city:

Railways

Gangapur City is a railway station on the Delhi-Kota-Vadodara-Mumbai railway line and it is abbreviated as GGC. Many of the major trains on this route hauls at Gangapur City Railway Station. It lies in West Central Railway Zone under Kota Division. Gangapur City is directly connected to major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Kota, Agra, Indore, Mathura, Patna, Jammu, Amritsar & Udaipur.

Station also serve as only railway source to places like Karauli, Sapotara, Bamanwas, Lalsot, Kailadevi, Piplai which don't have railway connectivity till now.

A new railway line is under construction which links Dausa and Gangapur City to connect Gangapur City to Agra - Ahmedabad Junction, to decrease travel time to cities like Jaipur, Jodhpur & Ahmedabad and provide railway connectivity to areas like Lalsot, Piplai, Bamanwas, etc. Another railway line has been proposed between Dholpur and Gangapur City which will connect Gangapur City to Delhi-Bhopal-Mumbai rail route and to provide connectivity to Karauli.

Roadways

Gangapur City has a Rajasthan roadways bus stand for Rajasthan government buses as well as a private bus stand for private owned buses. Gangapur City has regular government owned buses to cities like Jaipur, Dausa, Karauli, Dholpur, Gwalior, Ajmer, Pushkar, Hindaun, Alwar & Sawai Madhopur.

Major roads passing through Gangapur City are:

Distance of major cities from Gangapur City are:

Airways

Nearest airport is Jaipur International Airport situated at 134 km in Jaipur city. Other airport being Indira Gandhi International Airport situated at 238 km in New Delhi.

Kheer-Mohan

This is the most famous dish made only in Gangapur City. Popularity of this dish spread in many nearby areas. This famous sweet made by the pure milk and sugar. Milk is first curdled and granular by-product obtained is then formed into balls and baked till it is brown in color. Then the dish is kept in sugar syrup. This delicious sweet is certified by the National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana.

Special Aloo Sabzi & Tikkad

Residents enjoy Special Aloo Sabzi and Tikkad. Tikkad is a thick bread made of chickpea and wheat flour. The Special Aloo Sabzi is made in pure butter and its gravy is made of many spices and roasted potatoes in sliced manner are put into gravy. The sabzi is very spicy. This dish is also famous in whole district.

Till Gazak

Till Gazak is a sweet made from sesame seed. Sesame seed are first roasted and beaten up with jaggery or sugar to form layers. This sweet is very famous in whole Rajasthan.

Education

Gangapur City has emerged as a local hub for education in the Sawai Madhopur and Karauli districts. The city has many of English/Hindi medium schools to deliver the best education in science and mathematics. There are many schools which provide excellent education for engineering and medical entrance examinations. Results from previous years have glorified their names even more. Students from nearby towns and villages come to Gangapur every year for pursue their dreams.

Government Senior Secondary School (also known as the Higher Secondary School) was established in 1857 after a rebellion aimed at bringing education to the local villagers. City also has a Government Girls Senior Secondary school. City has a Kendriya Vidyalaya in Dibsya and a Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Jat Baroda. There are four colleges in the city which provide post graduation degrees in arts and sciences. There are many college offering B.Ed. and PG & UG degree and 37 ITI colleges.

Following is a list of some of the prominent school in city-

Computer Education

Following is a list of some of the prominent Computer Edcucation Institute in city-

Medical Facilities

Gangapur City has a government hospital situated in Sursagar. Hospital has all basic health facilities like operation theatre, post mortem room, maternity ward, labolatory etc. Under Rajasthan government's scheme hospital has free of cost checkup, medicine and labolatory facility available. There is a railway operated multispecialist hospital in railway colony. There are many private hospitals and nursing homes in the city. Here are some hospitals and care centres of the city.

Bank Facilities

All major Indian banks have branches in Gangapur City.

°State Bank of India

°State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur

°Allahabad Bank

°Bank of Baroda

°Punjab National Bank

°ICICI Bank

°HDFC Bank

°union Bank of India

°UCO Bank

°United Bank of India

°Central Bank of India

°Baroda Rajasthan Kshetriya Gramin Bank

°Canara Bank

°Dena Bank

°Indian Overseas Bank

°Yes Bank

°Axis Bank

Media

Dainik Bhaskar and Rajasthan Patrika are the major newspapers read in the city. They both have city newspaper for Gangapur City which is being printed in Gangapur City. Other newspaper are Dainik Navajyoti, The Times of India, Bajriya Ki Bhore, Badti Kalam, Rashtradut, Kushalgarh Ka Suraj. Chamkti Aankhe and Dainik Jagran.