Almora district

Almora district

Almora 

Almora district  is a district of Uttarakhand state, India. The headquarters is at Almora. Almora is a district in the Kumaun division of Uttarakhand in India. Almora is known for its cultural heritage, handicrafts, cuisine and wildlife.

History

The ancient town of Almora, before its establishment was under the possession of Katyuri king Baichaldeo. He donated major part of this land to a Gujrati Brahmin Sri Chand Tiwari. Later on when Chand kingdom was founded in Baramandal, the town of Almora was founded at this centrally located place in 1568 by Kalyan Chand.[citation needed] In the days of the Chand Kings it was called Rajapur. The name 'Rajpur' is also mentioned on a number of ancient copper plates.In the 1960s Bageshwar district, Pithoragarh district and Champawat district had not yet been formed and were part of Almora district.

Geography

The town of Almora is situated over a horse saddle shaped ridge of a mountain. The eastern portion of the ridge is known as Talifat and the western one is known as Selifat. The market is at the top of the ridge where these two, Talifat and Selifat jointly terminate. The market is 1.25 miles (2.01 km) long and is covered with stone slabs. The place of the present cantonment was formerly known as Lalmandi. Presently where the collectorate exists, the 'Malla Mahal' (Upper Court) of Chanda kings was located. The site of present District Hospital used to be 'Talla Mahal' (Lower Court) of Chand rulers. Simalkhet is a village situated in the border of Almora and Chamoli. People of this village can speak both kumauni and garhwali languages.[citation needed] On the top of a hill there is a temple called Bhairav Gadi. Gori River flows through Almora District.

Administrative subdivisions

District of Almora is divided into nine tehsils namely: Almora, Bhikiyasain, Chaukhutiya, Dwarahat, Jainti, Ranikhet, Someshwar, and Sult.

Culture and literature

Almora was also the site of the dance academy set up by Udai Shankar, danseuse, in 1938 - several well-known Indian and French dancers trained here. The Almora dance academy was housed in Pine Lodge on the outskirts of the town (Ranidhara). The site has views of the Himalayas and the city.

Transport

Nearest Airport is Pantnagar (Nainital): 127 km. Pithoragarh airport 125 km

Train

Nearest Railway Station is located at Kathgodam, 90 km, from where direct trains are available for Delhi, Lucknow and Agra. Some of the major trains from Kathgodam are:

1. Sampark Kranti Exp (5035/506)
2. Howrah Express (3019/3020)
3. Ranikhet Express (5013/5014)
4. Rampur Passenger (1/2 R.K. Passenger and 3/4 R.K. Passenger)
5. Naintial Express (5308/5307)
6. Garib Rath ( weekly)

Road

Almora is well connected by road to important centres in the region. Nh 87 passes throgh to almora is known as karnaprayag national highway . Some distances:

1. Delhi (378 km)
2. Lucknow (454 km)
3. Nainital (63 km) (via Ranikhet 103 km)
4. Kathgodam (86 km)
5. Haldwani 91 km
6. Ramnagar 120 km(via Nainital)
7. 150 km Bageshwar 74 km .92 km via kausani
8. Rudrapur 130 km
9. Ranikhet 45 km
10. Dwarahat 68 km
11. Pithoragarh 120 km
12. Bareilly 191 km
13. Dehradun 394 km

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Almora district has a population of 621,927, roughly equal to the nation of Montenegro or the US state of Vermont. This gives it a ranking of 517th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of 198 inhabitants per square kilometre (510 /sq mi) . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was -1.73 %. Almora has a sex ratio of 1142 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 81.06%. Hindus 621,203, Muslims 7,283 (1.15%), Christians 959.Most of the population lives near the main market of almora that forms nearly 45% of the population. In 2012 Almora city census 1,00,000 and area of city is 20.2 km.

Notable personalities

1. Har govind vallabh pant 1885-1957 mp freedom fighter and founder of first political group-kumon parishad
2. Manohar Shyam Joshi (1933–2006) Writer. Born in Almora.
3. Sumitra Nandan Pant Writer. Born in Almora.
4. Bhairab Dutt Pande Former Cabinet Secretary of India and Governor of West Bengal, Punjab is a resident of Almora
5. Prasoon Joshi Writer, lyricist`
6. Murli Manohar Joshi (Former Human Resource Development Minister of India)
7. Bharat Ratna "Govind Ballabh Pant" ( First chief minister of U.P).
8. Mahendra Singh Dhoni born in Almora.

-wikipedia

Almora district map

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