Nagpur is the third largest city and winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra.[12] Nagpur is the 13th largest Indian city in terms of population.[13] According to the Oxford Economics report, Nagpur will be the fifth fastest growing city in the world from 2019-2035 with an average growth of 8.41%[14] It has been proposed as one of the Smart Cities in Maharashtra.[15]

History

Etymology

One of the earlier names of Nagpur was "Fanindrapura". It derives its origin from the 'Fana' or hood of a cobra. In fact, Nagpur's first newspaper was named 'Fanindramani', which means a jewel that is believed to be suspended over a cobra's hood. It is this jewel that lights up the darkness, hence the name of the newspaper.[24] The river Nag flows through the city. B. R. Ambedkar claimed that both the city and the river are named after "Nag people".[25] The word "pur" means "city" in many Indian languages.[26] During British rule, the name of the city was spelt and pronounced as "Nagpore".[27]

Early and medieval history

In the 18th century, this city was created by leader of Gond Dynasty named Bakht Buland Shah in the first half of the century. Human existence around present-day Nagpur can be traced back 3000 years to the 8th century BCE. Mehir burial sites at the Drugdhamna (near the Mhada colony) indicate that the megalithic culture existed around Nagpur and is still followed.[28] The first reference to the name "Nagpur" is found in a 10th-century copper-plate inscription discovered at Devali in the neighbouring Wardha district. The inscription is a record of grant of a village situated in the visaya (district) of Nagpura-Nandivardhana during the time of the Rastrakuta king Krsna III in the Saka year 862 (940 CE).[29] Towards the end of the 3rd century, King Vindhyasakti is known to have ruled the Nagpur region. In the 4th century, the Vakataka Dynasty ruled over the Nagpur region and surrounding areas and had good relations with the Gupta Empire. The Vakataka king Prithvisena I moved his capital to Nagardhan (ancient name Nandivardhana), 38 kilometres (24 mi) from Nagpur.[30] After the Vakatakas, the region came under the rule of the Hindu kingdoms of the Badami Chalukyas, the Rashtrakutas. The Paramaras of Malwa appear to have controlled the Nagpur region in the 11th century. A prashasti inscription of the Paramara king Lakshmadeva (r. c. 1086–1094) has been found at Nagpur.[31] Subsequently, the region came under the Yadavas of Devagiri. In 1296, Allauddin Khilji invaded the Yadava Kingdom after capturing Deogiri, after which the Tughlaq Dynasty came to power in 1317. In the 17th century, the Mughal Empire conquered the region, however during Mughal era, regional administration was carried out by the Gond kingdom of Deogarh-Nagpur in the Chhindwara district of the modern-day state of Madhya Pradesh.[32] In the 18th, century Bhonsles of the Maratha Empire established the Nagpur Kingdom based in the city.[33]

Modern history

After Bhakt Buland Shah, the next Raja (king) of Deogarh was Chand Sultan, who resided principally in the country below the hills, fixing his capital at Nagpur, which he turned into a walled town.[34] On Chand Sultan's death in 1739, Wali Shah, an illegitimate son of Bakht Buland, usurped the throne and Chand Sultan's widow invoked the aid of the Maratha leader Raghoji Bhosale of Berar in the interest of her sons Akbar Shah and Burhan Shah. The usurper was put to death and the rightful heirs placed on the throne. After 1743, a series of Maratha rulers came to power, starting with Raghoji Bhosale, who conquered the territories of Deogarh, Chanda and Chhattisgarh by 1751.[35]

Nagpur was burnt substantially in 1765 and again partially in 1811 by marauding Pindaris. However, the development of city of Nagpur continued.[36] In 1803 Raghoji II Bhosale joined the Peshwa against the British in the Second Anglo-Maratha War, but the British prevailed. After Raghoji II's death in 1816, his son Parsaji was deposed and murdered by Mudhoji II Bhosale. Despite the fact that he had entered into a treaty with the British in the same year, Mudhoji joined the Peshwa in the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1817 against the British but suffered a defeat at Sitabuldi in present-day Nagpur city. The fierce battle was a turning point as it laid the foundations of the downfall of the Bhosales and paved the way for the British acquisition of Nagpur city.[37] Mudhoji was deposed after a temporary restoration to the throne, after which the British placed Raghoji III Bhosale, the grandchild of Raghoji II, on the throne. During the rule of Raghoji III(which lasted till 1840), the region was administered by a British resident. In 1853, the British took control of Nagpur after Raghoji III died without leaving an heir.[38]

Map of Nagpur district with major towns and rivers

Central Provinces and Berar, 1903. Princely states are shown in yellow.

Topography

Nagpur is located at the exact centre of the Indian peninsula. The city has the Zero Mile Stone locating the geographical centre of India, which was used by the British to measure all distances within the Indian subcontinent.

The city lies on the Deccan plateau of the Indian Peninsula and has a mean altitude of 310.5 meters above sea level.[50] The underlying rock strata are covered with alluvial deposits resulting from the flood plain of the Kanhan River. In some places, these give rise to granular sandy soil. In low-lying areas, which are poorly drained, the soil is alluvial clay with poor permeability characteristics. In the eastern part of the city, crystalline metamorphic rocks such as gneiss, schist and granites are found, while in the northern part yellowish sandstones and clays of the lower Gondwana formations are found.[51]
Nagpur city is dotted with natural and artificial lakes. The largest lake is Ambazari Lake. Other natural lakes include Gorewada Lake and Telangkhedi lake. Sonegaon and Gandhisagar Lakes are artificial, created by the city's historical rulers.[52] Nag river, Pilli Nadi, and nallas form the natural drainage pattern for the city.[53] Nagpur is known for its greenery and was adjudged the cleanest and second greenest in India after Chandigarh in 2010.[54]

Climate

Nagpur has tropical savannah climate (Aw in Köppen climate classification) with dry conditions prevailing for most of the year. It receives about 163 mm of rainfall in June. The amount of rainfall is increased in July to 294 mm. Gradual decrease of rainfall has been observed from July to August (278 mm) and September (160 mm).[50] The highest recorded daily rainfall was 304 mm on 14 July 1994.[55] Summers are extremely hot, lasting from March to June, with May being the hottest month. Winter lasts from November to January, during which temperatures drop below 10 °C (50 °F).[50] The highest recorded temperature in the city was 48 °C on 19 May 2015, while the lowest was 3.9 °C on 16 January 2016.[56]

Source #2: India Meteorological Department (record high and low up to 2010)[59]

Extreme weather

The average number of heat wave days occurring in Nagpur in the Summer months of March, April & May is 0.5, 2.4 and 7.2 days respectively. May is the most uncomfortable and hottest month with, for example, 18 days of heat waves being experienced in 1973, 1988 and 2010. The summer season is characterised by other severe weather activity like thunderstorms, dust storms, hailstorms and squalls. Generally, hailstorms occur during March and dust storms during March and April. These occur infrequently (0.1 per day). Squalls occur more frequently with 0.3 per day in March and April rising to 0.8 per day in May.[50] Due to the heat waves in the city the Indian Government with the help of New York-based National Resources Defense Council has launched a heat wave program from March 2016.[60]

Local government

The Municipal Council for Nagpur was established in 1864. At that time, the area under the jurisdiction of the Nagpur Municipal Council was 15.5 km2 and the population was 82,000. The duties entrusted to the Nagpur Municipal Council were to maintain cleanliness and arrange for street lights and water supply with government assistance. The Municipal Corporation came into existence in March 1951. Nagpur is administered by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), which is a democratically elected civic governing body. The Corporation elects a Mayor who along with a Deputy Mayor heads the organisation. The Mayor carries out the activities through various committees such as the Standing Committee, health and sanitation committee, education committee, water works, public works, public health and market committee. The administrative head of the Corporation is the Municipal Commissioner, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer appointed by the state government. The Municipal Commissioner along with the Deputy Municipal Commissioners, carry out various activities related to engineering, health and sanitation, taxation and its recovery. Various departments such as public relations, library, health, finance, buildings, slums, roads, street lighting, traffic, establishment, gardens, public works, local audit, legal services, water works, education, octroi and fire services manage their specific activities. The activities of NMC are administered by its zonal offices. There are 10 zonal offices in Nagpur – Laxmi Nagar, Dharampeth, Hanuman Nagar, Dhantoli, Nehru Nagar, Gandhi Baugh, Sataranjipura, Lakkadganj, Ashi Nagar and Mangalwari. These zones are divided into 145 wards. Each ward is represented by a corporator, a majority of whom are elected in local elections.[63] NMC has various departments including healthcare, education, fire brigade etc. dedicated for each service and project of the city.[64]

Nagpur Police is headed by a Police Commissioner who is of the rank of Additional Director General of Police of Maharashtra Police. Nagpur Police is Divided into 4 Zones, each headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police,[72] while Traffic zones are divided into seven zones each headed by Inspector.[73] The State C.I.D Regional Headquarter[74] and State Reserve Police Force Campus[75] are situated in Nagpur.

Utility services

Originally, all the utility services of the city were carried out by NMC departments, but from 2008 onwards privatisation had started for major utility services.[76] The Orange City Water Private Limited (OCW), a joint venture of Veolia Water India Pvt. Ltd and Vishwaraj Infrastructure Ltd., manages the water supply for the city as well as Nagpur Municipal Corporation's Water Treatment Plants at Gorewada, all the elevated service reservoirs, ground service reservoirs, master balancing reservoirs commonly known as Water Tanks.[77] This joint venture was established in November 2011 and was awarded the contract to execute 24x7 water supply project and operational and maintenance of water works for 25 years.[78] Kanak Resources Management Ltd. has been awarded the contract for garbage collection in the city as per Nagpur Bin Free Project in 2009 by NMC.[79][80] It collects garbage from all the residents in the city and then delivers it to the Bhandewadi dumpyard in Nagpur's eastern part.[81] Similarly, in electricity supply, which was first managed by MSEB was then replaced by MSEDCL. After some years the distribution franchisee system was introduced to reduce the losses in the divisions and so Spanco was awarded the distribution franchisee for 15 years to manage three of the four divisions from Nagpur Urban circle namely, Civil Lines, Mahal and Gandhibagh on 23 February 2011 by MSEDCL.[82][83] To facilitate this system, Spanco Nagpur Discom Limited or SNDL Nagpur company was formed for the sole purpose of electricity distribution and maintenance in three divisions of the city.[84] The power distribution and maintenance for the fourth division i.e. Congress Nagar division is still being managed by MSEDCL.[85]India Post which is a governmental postal department has two head post offices and many post offices and sub-post offices at various locations in the city and are part of the logistics services in the city along with various other private operators.[86]

Health care

NMC in collaboration with Central Government, State Government, UNICEF, World Health Organization and Non-governmental organisation conducts and maintains various health schemes in the city. City health line is an initiative started by NMC dedicated to the health of citizens of Nagpur. This includes providing computerised comparative information and action in the field to Local citizens.[87] NMC runs three indoor patient hospitals including Indira Gandhi Rugnalaya at LAD square, Panchpaoli Maternity Hospital in Panchpaoli and Isolation Hospital in Immamwada. Besides, the civic body runs three big diagnostic centres at Mahal, Sadar and also at Indira Gandhi Rugnalaya. Apart from these, NMC has 57 out patient dispensaries (OPDs), including 23 health posts sanctioned under Union Government's schemes, 15 allopathy hospitals, 12 ayurvedic hospitals, three homoeopathy hospitals, three naturopathy hospitals and one unani hospital.[88] In 2013, ABP News-Ipsos declared Nagpur the country's best city for health care services.[89] The city is home to numerous hospitals, some run by the government and some private and consists of various super-specialty and multi-specialty ones. Recently various cancer specialty hospitals providing treatment till tertiary care for cancer patients have been established in the city making it a natural medical hub for nearby areas and boosting healthcare system in the city.[90][91][92] Nagpur is a health hub for Central India & caters to a large geographical area arbitrarily bounded by Delhi in the North, Kolkata in the East, Mumbai-Pune in the West and Hyderabad in the South. People from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana regularly come to Nagpur for their health needs.[93] Nagpur boasts of super-specialty physicians & surgeons[94] serving its population in both public sector government run hospitals and well equipped private hospitals catering to all strata of society.[95]AIIMS is the latest feather in the cap of Nagpur health care services which will be located near MIHAN.[96]

According to 2005 National Family Health Survey, Nagpur has a fertility rate of 1.9 which is below the replacement level.[97]:46,47 The infant mortality rate was 43 per 1,000 live births, and the mortality rate for children under five was 50 per 1,000 live births.[97]:47,48 About 57% slum and 72% non-slum children have received all the mandatory vaccines which include BCG, measles and full courses of polio and DPT.[97]:48,49 In Nagpur, 78 percent of poor children are anaemic, including 49 percent who have moderate to severe anaemia.[97]:55 About 45% of children under 5 years of age and 31% of women are underweight.[97]:54,55 The poor people from the city mostly cite the reason of lack of a nearby facility, poor quality of care and excessive waiting time for not visiting any government hospitals for treatment.[97]:61

Greater Nagpur Metropolitan Area

Nagpur is the third largest in Maharashtra in terms of population as per the 2011 census.[98]

Since the 1990s the urban agglomeration has rapidly expanded beyond the City's municipal boundaries. This growth has presented challenges for the future growth of the city and its fringes in an organised manner. With a view to achieve balanced development within the region, the Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) has been notified as the Special Planning Authority (SPA) for the Nagpur Metropolitan Area (NMA) and entrusted with preparation of a Statutory Development Plan as per provisions of the MRTP Act, 1966. The notified NMA comprises areas outside the Nagpur city and includes 721 villages under 9 tehsils of the Nagpur District spreading across an area of 3,567 km2.[99]

In 1999, the government of Maharashtra declared that the Nagpur Metropolitan Area shall comprise all of Nagpur city, Nagpur Gramin (rural areas near Nagpur), Hingna, Parseoni, Mauda and KampteeTaluka and parts of Savner, Kalmeshwar, Umred and Kuhi. The boundaries of the "Metro region" around the municipal corporation limits of the city have been defined as per the notification.

In 2002, the government extended the jurisdiction of the Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) by 25 to 40 kilometres. This new area was defined under clause 1(2) of NIT Act-1936 as "Nagpur Metropolitan Area".[100]

The ordnance factory and staff college of ordnance factory Ambajhari and National Academy of Defence Production for Group A officer of ordnance factories are in the western part of the city. Sitabuldi Fort is managed by the 118th infantry battalion of the Indian Army and citizens are allowed to visit the premises on certain days.[102]

The 'raison d'être' for Kamptee, the military cantonment, is still operational. Kamptee Cantonment houses the Officers Training Academy for National Cadets Corps, which is the only one of its kind. It is also the home of one of the oldest and most respected regiments in the Indian Army, the Brigade of the Guards. Guards, located at Kamptee, are the only group in the Indian Army which have won two PVC (Param Veer Chakra), the highest gallantry awarded to soldiers for wartime operations.[103] There are also other important units such as the Institute of Military Law and a well equipped military hospital to care for the health of the soldiers. The Army Postal Service centre is also operational in the cantonment since 1948, to provide training to personnel of Department of Post who volunteer themselves for the Army. Nagpur's National Civil Defence College provides civil defence and disaster management training to pupils from all over India and abroad.[104] Indian Air Force's giant IL-76 transport planes nicknamed "Gajraj" are also based in Nagpur.[105]

Smart city project

The Maharashtra government had appointed Larsen & Toubro (L&T) as the implementation partner to convert Orange City Nagpur into the country's first large scale, integrated, smart city. The state government had also decided to develop the city complete with five hubs, from textile centres to defence sector.[106]

Demographics

Population

As of the[update]2011 census, Nagpur municipality has a population of 2,405,665. The total population constitute, 1,225,405 males and 1,180,270 females. The total children (ages 0–6) are 247,078, of whom 128,290 are boys and 118,788 are girls. Children form 10.27% of total population of Nagpur. The total number of slums number 179,952, in which 859,487 people reside. This is around 35.73% of the total population of Nagpur. The municipality has a sex ratio of 963 females per 1,000 males and child sex ratio of 926 girls per 1,000 boys. 1,984,123 people are literate, of whom 1,036,097 are male and 948,026 are female. Average literacy rate of Nagpur city are 91.92%. Men are 94.44% and women are 89.31% literate.[9]

Religion and language

Distribution of religions
†Includes People with no particular religion.

Hinduism is majority religion in Nagpur city with 59.46% followers. Buddhism is second most popular religion in Nagpur city with 25.57% following it. In Nagpur city, Islam is followed by 11.95%, Christianity by 1.15%, Jainism by 0.90% and Sikhism by 0.68%. Around 0.10% stated 'Other Religion' and approximately 0.20% stated 'No Particular Religion'.

In Nagpur, Marathi is the official and most spoken language. Hindi and Varhadi (a dialect of Marathi) are also spoken in and around the city.Also the Marathi spoken in the city is quite distinct that from western Maharashtra. English, Hindi and Marathi are used for the transaction of business in the Legislature of the State.[108][109]

Economy

Nagpur is an emerging metropolis. In 2004, it was ranked the fastest-growing city in India in terms of the number of households with an annual income of ₹1 crore (10 million) or more.[110] Nagpur has been the main centre of commerce in the region of Vidarbha since its early days and is an important trading location. Although, Nagpur's economic importance gradually declined relative to Mumbai and Pune after the merging of Vidarbha into the Maharashtra because of a period of neglect by the state government, the city's economy later recovered.[111] During the slowdown, state and central government offices were a major source of employment.

Nagpur's economy has recovered from past slowdowns[112] and the city has attracted ₹5000 crore in investment in 2004.[113] It was ranked the 8th most competitive city in the country by the Institute for Competitiveness for the year 2017.[114] Its per capita income was ₹123,610 (US$1,700) in 2015.[115] The city is important for the banking sector as it hosts the regional office of Reserve Bank of India, which was opened on 10 September 1956. The Reserve Bank of India has two branches in Nagpur, one of which houses India's entire gold assets.[116]Sitabuldi market in central Nagpur, known as the heart of the city, is the major commercial market area.[117]

For centuries, Nagpur has been famous for its orange gardens in the country, hence the name "Orange City". Orange cultivation has been expanding and it is the biggest marketplace for oranges in the country.[108] The Maharashtra Agro Industrial Development Corporation has its multi fruit processing division called Nagpur Orange Grower's Association (NOGA) which has an installed capacity of 4,950 MT of fruits per annum.[120] Orange is also exported to various regions in the country as well to other countries.[121][122][123] Nagpur is also famous for the cotton and silk which is woven by its large Koshti population of handloom weavers which are around 5000.[108]

A Special Economic Zone (SEZ) with residential zone covering an area of 40.25 km2 on the southern end of Nagpur.

The government of Maharashtra formed a special purpose entity, Maharashtra Airport Development Company, for the development of MIHAN. The project is financed by Indian banks with a loan of ₹3,000 million along with investment from the state government and Airports Authority of India. With a projected target of serving 14 million passengers and handling 0.87 million tons of cargo, this is one of the largest aviation projects in India. The estimated capital cost of the project is ₹2581 crores (by the year 2035) and it is supposed to generate revenues ₹5280 crores.

Reliance Group has announced an Aerospace Park named Dhirubhai Ambani Aerospace Park (DAAP) in MIHAN which will be undertaken by Reliance Aerostructure Ltd.[132] The project would be the first integrated facility in aerospace structure, engine design and manufacture, fabrication and platform integration in the country.[133]

The Butibori industrial area is one of the largest in Asia in terms of area.[134] The estate's largest unit is Indo Rama Synthetics, which manufactures synthetic polyester yarn.[135] Other units in Butibori include the power transmission company Gammon India Limited (T & D),[136] Gammon India Ltd. (Infra), KEC,[137] ACE Refractories,[138] Hyundai Unitech,[139] ACC Nihon Castings Ltd[140] and Electrolux.[141]CEAT Tyres had announced its plans to invest ₹400 crore in a state-of-the-art tyre plant in Butibori, Nagpur. Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, laid the cornerstone for the plant that will be set up in three phases. In the first phase (2014– 2016), Rs. 400 crore was to be invested.[142]

The Hingna industrial estate on the western fringes of the city is made up of around 900 small and medium industrial units. The major ones among them are the tractor manufacturing plant of Mahindra and Mahindra, casting units of NECO Ltd. (the country's largest casting group),[143] units of International Combustion, Bajaj Auto group, Candico (the second largest confectionery manufacturing plant in India[144]), Bharat Containers making aluminium aerosol cans, Ajanta toothbrushes and Sanvijay Group (the largest steel rolling group of companies for long products in Central India).[145]

Owing to rich natural resources in the region, mining is a major activity. Several government organisations related to the mining industry are based in Nagpur, which includes Western Coalfields Limited (one of the eight fully owned subsidiaries of Coal India Limited), MOIL and Indian Bureau of Mines.[148]

Government Chitrakala Mahavidyalaya is also a premier institute in the city.[159] Nagpur also has a IGNOU and YCMOU regional centre.[160]

Culture

Cultural events and literature

The city contains people from other Indian states as well as people belonging to the world's major faiths, and yet is known for staying calm during communal conflicts in India.[161] Nagpur plays host to cultural events throughout the year. Cultural and literary societies in Nagpur include Vidarbha Sahitya Sangh (for development of Marathi), Vidarbha Rashtrabhasha Prachar Samiti (promotion and spreading Hindi) and VidarbhaHindi Sahitya Sammelan (for promoting Hindi). Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, the conference on Marathi Literature were held twice in Nagpur city. Nagpur is the head office of Aadim Samvidhan Sanrakshan Samiti(working for the rights of scheduled tribes)[162]

The South Central Cultural Centre also sponsors cultural events in Nagpur city, such as the Orange City Craft Mela and Folk Dance Festival, Vidarbha which is noted for its numerous folk-dances.[163] Newspapers are published from Nagpur in Marathi, English and Hindi. In addition, the Government of Maharashtra organises a week-long Kalidas Festival, a series of music and dance performances, by national level artists.[164]Nagpur Municipal Corporation in partnership with Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation organises Nagpur Mohotsav at Yeshwant Stadium, in which many distinguish artists participate.[165]

The Nagpur Central Museum (est. 1863) maintains collections are mainly for Vidarbha region.
Three brothers Ghulam Ali (Kotwal), Mohammad Saaduddin (Subedar) and Mohammad Saladuddin (Minister and Kotwal) from Jhajjar are remembered as great scholars of Urdu and Persian during the reign of Maharaja Senasaheb Subha Chhatrapati Raghuji Bapusaheb Bhonsle III. They founded 'Jhajjar Bagh' at Hansapuri (Now Mominpura). In this location, they built their residence 'Aina-e Mahal', a well and a Masjid (now Masjid Ahle Hadith). 'Jhajjar Bagh' also known as 'Subedar ka Bada' was located where nowadays Mohammad Ali Road at Mominpura, Jamia Masjid, Mohammad Ali Sarai and Furqania Madrasa are located.[166]

Religious places and festivals

Deeksha Bhoomi

Deekshabhoomi, the largest hollow stupa or the largest dome shaped monument and an important place of the Buddhist movement, is located in Nagpur.[168] Every year on the day of Vijayadashami, i.e. Dussehra, followers of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar visit Deekshabhoomi to mark the conversion ceremony of Ambedkar and his followers in Nagpur into Buddhism that took place on 14 October 1956.[169] It has been given 'A' grade tourist place status by Maharashtra Government in March 2016.[170] 14 April, which is the birthdate of Dr. Ambedkar, is celebrated as Ambedkar Jayanti.

The most famous temple in Nagpur is Tekdi Ganesh Mandir, and is said to be one of the Swayambhu ("self-manifested") temples in the city.[172] Sri Poddareshwar Ram Mandir and Shri Mahalaxmi Devi temple of Koradi are important Hindu temples.[173]

The city also contains a sizable Muslim population, and famous places of worship for Muslims include the Jama Masjid-Mominpura and Bohri Jamatkhana-Itwari. The most famous shrine (dargah) of Tajuddin Muhammad Badruddin is at Tajabad. Annual Urs is celebrated in great enthusiasm and unity on 26th of Muharram.Nagpur Is also called as Tajpur as the holy shirine of Sufi Saint Baba Tajuddin.

The St. Francis De Sales Cathedral is located in Sadar as well as the All Saints Cathedral church.[175] There are many south Indian temples in Nagpur like Sarveshwara Devalayam, where all south Indian festivals are celebrated like Sitarama Kalyanam, Radha Kalyanam Dhanurmasa celebration with Andal Kalyanam, Balaji temple in seminary hills where every year Bramhotsavam to lord Balaji and lord Kartikeya is celebrated here. There are 2 Ayyapa temples, one at Ayyapa Nagar and the other at Harihara Nagar, Raghvendraswami Mutt, Murugananda Swami Temple at Mohan Nagar, Nimishamba Devi temple Subramanyiam devastanam at Sitabuldi and many more such south Indian temples are here in Nagpur as there is quite a good populations of south Indians in Nagpur.[176]

Marbat Festival is a unique festival for Nagpur and is organised every year a day after the bullock festival of 'Pola'. The tradition of taking out the Marbat processions of 'kali' (black) and 'pivli' (yellow) Marbats (idols), started in 1880 in the eastern part of the city. A number of 'badgyas' (mascots), representing contemporary symbols of evil, comprise another feature of the annual processions. This festival dates back to the 19th century when the Bhonsla dynasty ruled.[177][178]

There is a ParsiZoroastrian Agiary (Dar-e-Meher) in Nagpur, where the Parsi New Year is celebrated by the Parsi community in Nagpur.[179]

Arts and crafts

The tradition of painting in Nagpur was patronised by the royal house of the Bhonsales as well as common people. Illustrated manuscripts of the Bhagavat, Jnaaneshwari, Shakuntala, Geetaetc and the folk patachitras related to some festivals are available besides murals. The community of artists was called chitaris (painters), and this community has today turned to sculpting.

Textile was once an important industry in Nagpur. Good quality cotton was produced in abundant quantities thanks to a suitable soil and climate. With the introduction of the railways, cotton sales and goods transport flourished. Besides cotton textiles, silk and wool weaving was also practised in the district. Silk sarees and pagota, patka, dhoti, and borders were woven with the silk thread.[180]

Cuisine

The Vidharbha region has its own distinctive cuisine known as the Varhadi cuisine or Saoji cuisine. Saoji or Savji cuisine was the main cuisine of the Savji community. This traditional food is famous for its spicy taste. The special spices used in the gravy include black pepper, dry coriander, bay leaves, grey cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and ample use of poppy seeds (khus-khus). Non-vegetarian food especially chicken and mutton are commonly eaten in Saoji joints at Nagpur. There are numerous Savji bhojanalays[181][182] in Nagpur which are so popular in Maharashtra that the renowned Indian chef Sanjeev Kapoor once featured Savji mutton on one of his TV shows and the recipe is listed on his website.[183] Nagpur is also famous for its oranges, which have some typical qualities have recently begun to attract international attention. Numerous beverages are made out of the oranges and the orange burfi is a very famous preparation.[184]

Nagpur is also world-famous for tarri poha and has many food joints, each having their own way of preparing and serving it.[185] The most famous food joint serving tarri poha is Rupam Pohewala who has a makeshift arrangement in a footpath beside Kasturchand Park in Kingsway.[186]Samosas are also famous in Nagpur and is available at many restaurants and food spots, among which Priti Corner and Samosawala near Shankar Nagar is very famous among the youth population.[187] Another famous food Patodi & Kadhi, which is served by Patodiwala's joint, near the collectors office, beside district court is loved by many people in Nagpur and is famous among the office goers.[188]

Nagpur also has a prominent "dhaba" culture due to the various important highways crossing through the city. Most of these dhabas are situated on the city outskirts along the highway and are mostly open 24/7. The dhabas cater to all the demographics from families to young professionals to students to truck drivers. The food served is mostly spicy vegetable and non-vegetable preparations along with alcohol.

One more thing that the orange city is famous for is "orange barfi" from Haldiram Sweets, Nagpur's most famous sweets store. Haldiram's sweets and namkeens are extensively given on all festival occasions such as Diwali, Holi, Rakshabandhan and Ganesh festival.

Tourism

Schematic Tourist Map of Nagpur city

Garden & Lake

Khindsi Lake : A lake view family park with boat rides and other activities, situated about 60 km away from the city.

Ambazari Lake and Garden : One of the lakes and gardens in the Nagpur city area .Newly constructed Swami Vivekanada Smarak at south east corner of lake is an attractive place.

Religious

Deekshabhoomi : Buddhist stupa in Rani Laxminagar. There is a Bodhi tree which is a sapling from the Bodhi tree of Bodh Gaya, which itself was planted by bringing a sapling from Sri Lanka. The place is historical as this is where Dr. B R Ambedkar along with his lakhs of followers chose to renounce Hinduism and adopted (took Diksha) Buddhism on 14 October 1956.

Ramtek Fort Temple : This temple is build inside fort. It is one of the oldest temple 55 km away from Nagpur.

Western India Football Association is the state governing body for football in Maharashtra, and is affiliated with the All India Football Federation, the national sports governing body. The Nagpur District Football Association is a district level football body and conducts various matches among the schools and clubs. It has its own league.[197] Lokmat NPL (Nagpur Premier League), another football tournament, is held at Nagpur annually and was started in 2010 by Lokmat Group in Yeshwant Stadium.[198] Nagpur FC and YMFC are renowned football clubs in the city. Other Clubs include, Rabbani Club, Rahul Club, City Police, South East Central Railway, Qidwai Club, SRPF, New Globe and City Club.[199] Nagpur FC has its own Football Academy in Dhanwate National College, Congress Nagar.[200]

Slum Soccer is a social initiative started by Vijay Barse for young runaways and former drug addicts to rehabilitate them through football.[201]

All India Radio is the oldest radio broadcaster in the city and has its office in the Civil Lines area. Vividh Bharati, the entertainment radio station, and Gyan Vani, the educational radio station, are the FM radio stations of All India Radio and are available in the frequency 100.6 FM & 107.8 FM respectively. Other private FM broadcasting channels with their frequencies include Radio City at 91.1 FM, Red FM at 93.5 FM, My FM at 94.3 FM, Radio Mirchi at 98.3 FM, Mirchi Love FM at 91.9 FM and Big FM at 92.7 FM.[203]

Rail

Railways started in Nagpur way back in 1867 when portion of Bombay-Bhusaval-Nagpur line was opened for traffic and train service from Nagpur to Calcutta was started in 1881.[217][218] Today, a total of 260 trains stop at Nagpur railway station. These include passenger, express, mail, Duronto, Rajdhani, Garib Rath trains. Of these 65 are daily trains and 26 terminate/originate from Nagpur. Almost 1.6 lakh passengers board/leave Nagpur Railway Station[219]Nagpur railway station, one of the oldest and busiest Stations of India was inaugurated in its present from on 15 Jan 1925 by the then Governor Sir Frank.[218] Apart from the Nagpur railway station, Ajni Railway Station and Itwari Railway Station are the important stations of the city. Other railway stations in the city include Motibagh, Kalamna and Godhani. Nagpur-Ajni rail route which is just 3 km long, is the shortest train run in Indian Railways primarily meant for crew to travel from Nagpur station to the workshop at Ajni.[220]

Nagpur Metro Rail

The Nagpur Metro Rail project was announced by the state government of Maharashtra with the expenses of INR 4,400 Cr and 3,800 Cr for its first phase which consists of two corridors – North-South corridor and East-West corridor of 39.4 km.[221][222]

The new state highway, Nagpur–Aurangabad–Mumbai express highway, built on the national highway basis is also sanctioned by the state and central government. This highway significantly reduces the distance traveled by NH 6 and NH 3 between two cities. The new proposed Mumbai Nagpur Expressway between Nagpur and Mumbai will be 800 km and projected to be cost ₹30,000 crore (US$4.2 billion).[228]

Maharashtra State road transport Corporation (MSRTC) runs cheaper transport service for intercity, interstate, and intrastate travel. It has two bus stations in Nagpur: Nagpur Bus Sthanak (CBS-1) at Ganeshpeth and MorBhawan (CBS-2) at Jhansi Rani Square, Sitabuldi. It operates 1600 daily services from CBS-1 to long and short distances within state and to places in other surrounding states. It also operates 750 daily services from CBS-2 to short distances within Vidarbha.

The civic body through its three operators (3 Red and 1 Green )piles 375 buses by which over 1.6 Lakh people among which 28000 are students.25 ethanol buses ply on city roads with 30 more on order.These buses are plying under public transport for the very first time in India.A total of 5500 trips of 123 routes are covered by city buses.A common mobility card has also been issued which will help people commute with buses and upcoming metro rail.[229] A Green Bus project featuring India's first ethanol-powered buses was established in August 2014.[230]

The Nagpur Airport has received Special Achievement Award 2012–2013 from Airports Authority of India. Nagpur became the first airport in India to commission the INDRA system and also has ADS-B system. No other airport in the country had commissioned INDRA yet.[238]

Nagpur airport became the first airport in the country to receive an ISO 27000 certificate. In fact, Nagpur is not only the first in India but also the first in world to be certified for Air navigation service provider (ANSP). There are seven airports in the world which have ISO 27000, but none of them have it for ANSP.[239]

The Government of India has identified Nagpur airport as one of the safe airports for diverted flights and emergency landing. In fact, many flights have used the airport during emergencies. This is because all international and domestic airlines had already been informed by the government to go to Nagpur during emergencies. The availability of excellent fire fighting equipment, air traffic control equipment and the latest radar, and being a city with good hospitals and hotels, made the airport a good choice during emergencies.[241]

Nagpur Airport has an annual capacity of 10 lakh passengers, but it handled 19 lakh passengers in 2016-17 and 21 lakh passengers in 2017-18 which is an increase of 14% year on year. Hence expansion of the airport was necessary.[242] The Central government then planned to upgrade the airport by investing ₹1,500 crore (US$210 million).[243] Upgrades include construction of the terminal building, some hangars, a parallel second runway of 4.5 km length and a taxiway.[242][244] For the upgradation of airport the MADC Board approved the final tender documents and invited tenders.[245]Mihan India Private Limited (MIPL) had floated request for qualification (RFQ) for development of Nagpur Airport for which initially six private companies had evinced interest which were Essel Infrastructures, GMR, IRB, GVK, Tata Realty and PNC Infratech.[246] State Cabinet then approved the proposal for privatization of airport in April 2017.[247] Security clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs for all the companies were granted except for IRB since it backed down from the deal.[248] On March 2018 Mihan India Private Limited (MIPL) floated request for proposal for the companies shortlisted through a request for qualification process held earlier.[249] GVK and GMR ultimately bid for Nagpur Airport project after several extensions.[250] GMR emerged as the highest bidder among the two and has since been awarded the Nagpur Airport project which includes upgradation, modernisation, operation and maintenance of the airport for 30 years and also to build a new terminal building. [251]