Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh

History and etymology

The district is named after its headquarter town Belha Pratapgarh, commonly known as Pratapgarh. Raja Pratap Singh, a local raja between 1628–1682, located his capital at Rampur near the old town of Aror. There he built a garh (fort) and called it Pratapgarh after himself. Subsequently, the area around the fort became known as Pratapgarh. When the district was constituted in 1858, its headquarters was established at Belha, which came to be known as Belha Pratapgarh, the name Belha presumably being derived from the temple of Belha Bhawani on the bank of river Sai. It is popularly known as "Belha Mai" – meaning Mother Goddess Belha.

Several human skeletons along some animal bones and a number of a small stones implements, belonging probably to the Neolithic, have been unearthed in Archaeological exploration at Sarai Nahar in Kunda Tehsil. It is the only site in the entire valley of Ganga which has yielded human skeleton of such an early age as also the Stone Age implements. On the left bank of river Sai there stand a ruined "Kot" representing a Buddhist Stupa. Town Bihar has been conjectured that the remain are probably on an ancient Buddhist monastery which gave its name Bihar. Bihar signifies Vihar or majesties. The name itself as Buddhist.

Shiv Mandir

Shiv Mandir is located in the front of Amsm office,Pratpgarh,Pratpgarh City,230002.

This Temple is lord Shiv Temple.

Geography

Sai and the Ganges are the main rivers flowing through Pratapgarh district. The district lies between the parallels of 25°34′ and 26°11′ north latitude and between the meridians of 81°19′ and 82°27′ east longitude extending for some 110 kilometres (68 mi) from west to east. It is bounded on the north by the district of Sultanpur, on the south by Allahabad, on the east by Jaunpur, on the west by Fatehpur and north-west by Raebareli. In the south-west the Ganges forms the boundary of the district for about 50 kilometres (31 mi). Separating it from Fatehpur and Allahabad and in the extreme north-east the Gomti forms the boundary for about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi). According to the Central Statistical Organization (Central Statistics Office), India, the district has an area of 3,730 square kilometres (1,440 sq mi).

Economy

In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Pratapgarh one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the 34 districts in Uttar Pradesh currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).

Primarily, an agragrian district, for a while now, Pratapgarh has risen in ranks as the top producer of Aonla or Amla fruit. It is a multi-purpose fruit, is extremely rich in vitamin C, helps cure gastro-intestinal disorders, is said to encourage youth and liveliness and is exported all over India and possibly throughout the world in form of sweets and medicines.

Demographics

As of 2011 Pratapgarh district's population is 2,331,000. This gives it a ranking of 109th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 854 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,210/sq mi) . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 16.2%. Pratapgarh has a sex ratio of 994 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 73.1%.

Notable people

Transport

The Pratapgarh Railway junction handles 42 trains every day.

The daily passenger trains link Pratapgarh with Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh, along with Amethi, Gorakhpur, Kanpur, Agra, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Howrah, Allahabad, Varanasi, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jammutawi, Haridwar, Dehradun, Jhansi, Moradabad, Bareli, Patna, Gaya, Jabalpur, Nagpur, Puri, and Delhi. There is also a tri-weekly train to Bhopal, Pratapgarh–Bhopal Express, which is a super-fast train. Another super-fast train, the bi-weekly Udyognagri Express, connects the city with Mumbai, the metro city and capital of Maharashtra. There is also a Delhi–Varanasi garib rath express at midnight.

Members of Parliament

Member of the Legislative Assembly

Famous Temples

Schools and college

¤ B.B.S.Inter College Barna Lalgopalganj Kunda Pratapgarh

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