Kukshi

Geography

Kukshi is a part of the Nimar (Nemar) region of Madhya Pradesh. It is 350 km from Bhopal and 170 km from Indore. It lies west of the Narmada River valley and south of the Vindhyas. Kukshi is the biggest tehsil of the Dhar district. It is surrounded by the districts of Dhar to the north, Khargone (West Nimar) to the northeast, Barwani to the southeast, and Alirajpur and Jhabua to the west.

Kukshi has a subtropical climate, which is made up of a hot, dry summer (April–June) followed by monsoon season (July–September), and a cool, dry winter. The average rainfall is about 45 inches per year. The temperature varies from around 10 °C in the winter to 45 °C in the summer.

Demographics

As of 2011 India census, Kukshi had a population of 37,482. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Kukshi has an average literacy rate of 79.9%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 86.9%, and female literacy is 72.8%. In Kukshi, 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Kukshi is inhabited by people of different communities and religions. Being nearest to the Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan borders you will find inhabitants from these states, too. They are the people either in government jobs or in business. Most of the population is dependent upon farming and trading.

Economy

Kukshi is one of the biggest towns of the Dhar district and business Hub of Dhar District. It falls in the Maharashtra cotton belt providing very good business opportunities. Cotton produced in Kukshi tehsil and its villages are of international quality, having long, fine threads. The market is flourishing and changing the face of the town very quickly. Kukshi also provides a trading opportunity to Bhils who live in the surrounding areas to come for their shopping needs. The main businesses in town are jewelry, cloth, steel utensils, cement factories, tile factories, torch accumulator and torch factories, cement pipes, stone crushing, electric poles and cement barricade factory.

Kukshi has numerous educational institutes such as Sardar Patel college, Allegiance Academy, Child welfare School, Nimar Cambridge school, Datahari Public School, SSVM, Vallabhbhai Patel school, Sankalp International school, Perfect baby care,Jumbo Podar school etc. Kukshi is the best business place for Cotton and wheat.

Some famous personalities of Kukshi in different fields are :

Politics: Pratap Singh Baghel, Jamunadevi , Ranjana Baghel , Mukam singh Kirade, Surendra singh baghel, Dr. R.k.Patidar, Ramesh Dhadiwal among others

Business: Mr. Laxminarayan Gupta from TDN, Mr. Mahendra Gupta , Mr. Trilok Chandra Choudhry, Mr. Rohit Jain.

Journalism: Mr. Shankar lal Gupta, Mr. Durga Lal Malvi, Mr. Ghisalal Malviya, Mr. manohar mandloi, Mr. mahendra parsai, Mr. Devendra Jain, Mr. AKhilesh Panwar, Mr.Ashok Gupta, Mr. Arpan Jain , Mr. Krishnakant Gupta, Mr. Mukesh Gupta.

Culture

The residents of Kukshi belong to a variety of religions. Religious places are located in almost every part of city. Some of the famous and most-visited temples & mosques are:

1. Shani Mandir
2. echhapurna hanuman mandir
3. Ganesh Mandir
4. Shiv Mandir
5. Swaminarayan Mandir
6. Satyanarayan Mandir
7. Ambika Mandir
8. Aai Mata Mandir
9. Jain temples
10. Gayatri Mandir
11. Lakxmi Mandir
12. Shankar Mandir
13. Hanuman Mandir
14. Datahari Mandir
15. Sitalamata Temple
16. Ram Mandir
17. Sarkari Mandir, datahari chok
18. Ranchodray(Khak-Chok) Mandir
19. Bhilat Mandir
20. Jama Masjid rangara mohalla
21. Badpura masjid
22. Mohammadi Masjid
23. Madina Masjid
24. Baharpura Masjid
25. Bhatti Mohalla Masjid
26. Baaleshah Data's Dargaah
27. Bohra Masjid
28. Madarsa-E- Saifiyah
29. Burhani Bagh

Of these, Sarkari Mandir temple is presumed to be a very old temple and Datahari Mandir also.Its name, data+hari, indicates that this temple was built to show unity among peoples of two important religious groups then: Hindus and Muslims. Gayatri Mandir is considered as a very pleasant location in city as the temple is on an island in a pond accessed by a bridge. It is a landmark for Kukshi & a very pleasant hangout point in evening. There are seven mosques in Kukshi, the Badpura Masjid is biggest of all. The Baaleshah Data's Dargaah is the symbol of religious belief for the followers of all religions

Neighbourhoods

The neighbourhoods (Mohallas) were considered as a block for a particular community in early days.KUKSHI is composed of many neighbourhoods such as jambu gali, Sirvi mohalla, Porwal mohalla, Jain Mohalla, Patidar Mohalla, Bohra Mohalla, Saifiya Marg, Magalwariya Road, Patel Marg, Badpura Mohalla,Tilak Marg, Subhash Marg, Mali Mohalla, Islampura, Baharpura, Anand Ganj Mandi, Gayatri Colony,Avni Nagar, Jobat Colony, Bhairav Nagar, Soni Mohalla, Mangalwariya, Rangara Mohalla, Joshi Mohalla, Bohra Mohalla, Mankar Mohalla, Annapurna Colony, Ajad Colony,Burhani Colony,Taheri Colony and lakshmi Colony.

Places of interest

The nearby attractions of Kukshi are:

1. Bagh Caves
2. Tanalpur tirth
3. Bawangaja
4. Pandav
5. Koteshwar
6. Faata dam