This article is about the city in Maharashtra. For ancient town in Andhra Pradesh, see Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh, or for other meanings of the word, see Amaravati (disambiguation).

Amravati
Amba Nagari
—  city  —
TOP: Irwin Square. Middle-Left: Y-Bridge. Bottom: Sanskriti Bhavan, . TOP: Irwin Square. Middle-Left: Y-Bridge. Bottom: Sanskriti Bhavan, .
Amravati Location of Amravati in Maharashtra and India
Coordinates	20°55′33″N 77°45′53″E / 20.92583°N 77.76472°E / 20.92583; 77.76472Coordinates: 20°55′33″N 77°45′53″E / 20.92583°N 77.76472°E / 20.92583; 77.76472
Country	India
State	Maharashtra
District(s)	Amravati
Founded	1097 AD[1]
Mayor	Vandana Kangale
Deputy Mayor	Nandkishore Varhade
Municipal Commissioner	Naveen Sona
Population • Density • Metro	646,801 (2011[update]) • 2,395 /km2 (6,203 /sq mi) • 646,801
Literacy • Male • Female	93.03%  • 95.52%% • 90.44%%
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	270 square kilometres (100 sq mi) • 343 metres (1,125 ft)
Codes • Pincode • 444 60x • Telephone • +91-721 • Vehicle • MH 27
Website	amravati.nic.in

Amravati  pronunciation (help·info) is a city in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is the seventh most populous metropolitan area in Maharashtra. It is also the administrative headquarters of the Amravati district. Among the historical landmarks in the city are the temples of Amba, Shri Krishna and Shri Venkateshwara.

Amravati is also the headquarters of the "Amravati Division" which is one of the six divisions of the state of Maharashtra (Amravati and Nagpur divisions together form Vidarbha region). Apart from Amravati district itself, following four districts also come under Amravati Division:^[2] Akola, Yavatmal, Buldhana and Washim.

Amravati Municipal Corporation, established in 1983, is the first Municipal Corporation in India, which has introduced privatization of octroi.

Geography[link]

Amravati is located at 20°56′N 77°45′E / 20.93°N 77.75°E / 20.93; 77.75.^[3] It has an average elevation of 343 metres (1125 feet). It lies 156 km (97 mi) west of Nagpur, and serves as the administrative center of Amravati District and of Amravati Division. The town is located near the passes through the hills that separate the cotton-growing regions of the Purna basin to the West and the Wardha basin to the East. There are two lakes in the eastern part of the city, Chhatri Talao & Wadali Talao. Pohara & Chirodi hills are to the east of the city. The Maltekdi hill is inside the city, it is 60 meters high.

Climate[link]

Amravati has a tropical wet and dry climate with hot, dry summers and mild to cool winters. Summer lasts from March to June, monsoon season from July to October and winter from November to March.

The highest and lowest temperatures ever recorded was 46.7 °C on 25 May 1954 and 5.0 °C on 9 February 1887 respectively.

Demographics[link]

As per provisional reports of census,^[4] India, population of Amravati in 2011 is 646,801; of which male and female are 330,544 and 316,257 respectively. The sex ratio of Amravati city is 957 per 1000 males.

In education section, total literates in Amravati city are 543,568 of which 284,490 are males while 259,078 are females. Average literacy rate of Amravati city is 93.03 percent of which male and female literacy was 95.52 and 90.44 percent.

Total children (0–6) in Amravati city are 62,497 as per figure from Census India report on 2011. There were 32,713 boys while 29,784 are girls. Child sex ratio of girls is 910 per 1000 boys.

Governance[link]

The current legislative member representing Amravati is Rajendra Shekhawat of the Indian National Congress (INC). He is the son of the current President of India, Pratibha Patil.^[5]

The current Member of Parliament for Amravati is Anand Adsul of the Shivsena.^[6] The current Amvarati mayor is Vandana Kangale of the Indian National Congress Party (INC), while Nandkishor Vharade of the Indian Nationalist Congress (NCP) is the Deputy Mayor.

Amravati is also the hometown of a number of politicians. The current President of India, Pratibha Patil originated from Amravati. The current Governor of Kerela, R. S. Gavai also came from Amravati. Both have represented the Amravati Lok Sabha constituency in the past.^{[citation needed]}

Amravati Municipal Corporation[link]

The Amravati Municipal Corporation is headed by a Mayor who is assisted by the Deputy Mayor.^[7] Before March 1999 they had an office term of only one year, which has now been raised to 3 years. They carry out the work through various committees such as Standing Committee, Law Committee, Education Committee, Women and Child Welfare Committee, City Development Committee and Four Zonal Committees for the four zones. Amravati Municipal Corporation was established on 15 August 1983. In August 1983 the area occupied by the Municipal Corporation was 121.65 km². The AMC comprises area of erstwhile Municipal Council, Amravati, and area of erstwhile Municipal Council, Badnera along with eighteen revenue villages namely Navsari, Tarkheda, Shegaon, Rahatgaon, Mhasala, Wadali, Benoda, Jewad, Vadad, Nimbhora (K), Saturna, Akoli, Waruda, Kasbe, Badnera Mahajanpura, Gambhirpura and Amravati Peth. Now the total area of the city is 270 km² of which 181 km² falls under municipal limits and about 89 km² falls out off the municipal limits.

Culture and religion[link]

Amba mata

The Temple of Goddess Amba is an example of religious architecture in the Vidharbha Region. There's a legend that when Lord Krishna ran away with Goddess Rukhamini from her wedding ceremony, he used a tunnel laying from Ambadevi temple to Koundinyapur (another spiritual place near Amravati). This tunnel is still in existence but is now closed. Many research teams over the years have tried to estimate the length of the tunnel but their efforts have been in vain.

During the festival of Navratri (literally: nine nights), a Mela lasting nine days is organized, people from nearby towns and villages participate and dance Garba/Dandiya until late in the evening. The city is also known for the Sai Temple and Bhaktidham situated in Sai Nagar. The Shree Swami Samarth temple is situated in Rahatgaon. Other major Indian festivals like Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Azha, Dipawali, Holi and Makarsankranti are also celebrated with lots of enthusiasm.

Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, the conference on Marathi Literature were held twice in Amravati city. It was presided by Keshav Jagannath Purohit in 1989.

The 11th Annual Pakshi Mitra Sammelan was held at Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University. It was presided over by the ornithologist, Raju Kasambe.

History[link]

The ancient name of Amravati is "Udumbravati", in prakrut, "Umbravati". The variant 'Amravati' is the presently accepted name. It is said that Amravati is named for its ancient Ambadevi temple. A mention of Amravati can be found on a stone inscription on the base of the marble statue of God Adinath (Jain God) Rhishabhnath. The statues date back to the year 1097. Govind Maha Prabhu visited Amravati in the 13th century, when Wharad was under the rule of Deogiri's Hindu King (Yadav). In 14th century, there was famine (drought) in Amravati, people abandoned Amravati and left for Gujrat and Malva. Some locals returned after several years, this resulted in a scanty population. In 16th century, Magar Aurangpura (today, 'Sabanpura') was alloted for Jama Masjid by Mughal Aurangzeb. This indicates the existence of a Muslim population. In 1722, Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj presented Amravati and Badnera to Shri Ranoji Bhosle, eventually, Amravati was known as Bhosle ki Amravati. The city was reconstructed and developed by Ranoji Bhosle after the treaty of Devgaon and Anjangaon Surji and victory over Gavilgad (Fort of Chikhaldara). The British general and author Wellesly camped in Amravati, the place is still known as the 'camp', by Amravati people. Amravati city was founded towards the end of the 18th century. The Union state of Nijam and Bosale ruled Amravati. They appointed a revenue officer but neglected defense. The Gavilgad fort was conquered by the British on 15 December 1803. Under to the Deogaon treaty, Warhad was presented as a token of the friendship to the Nijam.

Warhad was ruled by the Nijams thereafter. Around 1805, the Pendharies attacked Amravati city.

The Sahukars (hedgers) and Merchants of Amravati saved Amravati by presenting seven lakh rupees to Chittu Pendhari. The Nijam ruled for a more than half century. From 1859 to 1871, many government buildings were constructed by the British. The Railway Station was constructed in 1859; the Commissioner Bungalow in 1860, the Small Causes Court in 1886, (today, the S.D.O. OFFICE), the Tahsil Office & the Main Post Office were built in 1871. The Central Jail, Collector's Office, the Rest House and Cotton Market were also built. During 1896, Shri Dadasaheb Khaparde, Shri Ranganath Pant Mudhodker, Sir Moropant Joshi, Shri Pralhad Pant Jog were prominent men in Amravati. The 13th Congress Conference was held at Amravati on 27–29 Dec' 1897 due to their efforts. Shri Lokmanya Tilak and Shri Mahatma Gandhi visited Amravati in 1928. The Municipal A.V. High School was inaugurated at the hands of Shri Subhash Chandra Bose. Amravati housed the head office of 'Savinay Awagya Andolan '(The Civil Disobedience Movement). On 26 April 1930, water was taken from 'Dahihanda' for the famous 'Namak Satyagrah', Dr. Soman brought sea water from Mumbai for the occasion. About ten thousand people prepared salt under the leadership of Shri Vir Vamanrao Joshi.

Udumbaravati is the ancient name of Amravati. It was due to the presence of a large number of Audumber trees in the region. Umbravati, Umravati& Amravati are derivatives of Udumbaravati. The city grew rapidly at the end of the 18th century due to growth in businesses.

In 1853, the present day territory of Amravati district, as a part of the Berar Province was assigned to the British East India Company, following a treaty with the Nizam of Hyderabad. After the Company took over the administration of the province, it was divided into two districts. The present day territory of the district became part of North Berar district, with headquarters at Buldana. Later, the province was reconstituted and the territory of the present district became part of East Berar district, with headquarters at Amraoti. In 1864, Yavatmal District (initially known as Southeast Berar district and later Wun district) was separated. In 1867, Ellichpur District was separated but in August, 1905, when the whole province was reorganized into six districts, it was again merged into the district. In 1903, it became part of the newly constituted province of Central Provinces and Berar. In 1956, Amravati district became part of Bombay State and after its bifurcation in 1960, it became part of Maharashtra state.

First in Amravati – who & what

• The first Public (Sarvajanik) Ganesh Festival was celebrated under the leadership of Shri Dadasaheb Khaparde in 1900 at Indrabhavan Theatre.
• The first Commissioner of Amravati was T.H.Bullok.
• The first march (Morcha) was arranged in the leadership of Shri Dada Jog.
• The first Police Station was established in the year 1877, it was inside the walled city then and place was near the Laxmi – Narayan Temple.
• The first person to get re-married was Shri Bhaskar Thatte, at the hands of Shri Balasaheb Bedekar.
• The first Circus visited Amravati in the year 1905–06. It was camped at Neharu Ground.
• The first person to be jailed for singing Vande Mataram was Shri. Jairam Patil, in the year 1907.
• Shri Jainarayan Vyas, in the year 1925, started the first Ice Factory at Ramvilas Garden.
• The Amravati – Narkhed Railway was sanctioned for at Shimla on 12 May 1928 but is yet incomplete.
• The first woman to face a political arrest was Mrs. Parvatibai Patwardhan in 1930.
• Shri Hambarde arranged the first wrestling championship. The famous Gama Pahelwan had come to take part. Hordes of people had come to watch him. But his opponent Ganga Singh Pahelwan did not turn up.
• Electric Supply to Amravati was started by the Amravati Electric Company. The Company was formed in 1928. This company first started the streetlights.
• The Varhad Untouchable's Convention was held in 1927 at Saban Pura, Amravati. Its Chairperson was Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar.
• The Amravati Zilla Parishad was constituted on 1 May 1962.
• The 62nd Marathi Sahitya Sammelan was held at Amravati for the first time in the year 1989. It was on dates 21,22,23 January 1989. It was chaired by Shri. K.J.Purohit (Shantaram). The venue was H.V.P. M. Amravati Campus. It was sponsored by H.V.P.M.Amravati and the City Library.
• The first people to represent an Indian delegation to Britain were Shri Ranganath pant Mudholkar & Shri Moropant Joshi, Moropant Joshi was 29 years of age at the time.
• The first trust in Amravati was founded from the donation of Pralhadpant Jog, a famous Lawyer. The chairperson was Shri Dadasaheb Khaparde. The property of Jog trust was located at today’s Joshi Hall, New High School and city Library it was named as Jog Square after him.
• Indrabhavan Theatre was the first theater in Amravati. Initially used to stage plays and folk art form, was later converted to a cinema hall.
• Gandhi chouk was named so for the first time, on 9 October 1920 on the occasion of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi's Birthday.
• Sir Moropant Joshi, a resident of Amravati, was the first Indian to have held the post of a Minister in the British Government. He was the Home minister from 1920 to 1925.
• The first multiplex in Amravati is E orbit Multiplex

Miscellanea

• Shri Hanuman Vyayam Prasarak Mandal is a well known sports institute of Amravati.
• The Vidarbha Sahitya Sangha was founded in Amravati on 14 January 1923.
• Amravati is the only city in Maharashtra of which History from 11th Century is available.
• The first Finance Minister of independent India Shri Chintamanrao Alias C.D.Deshmukh was an Amravatian.
• A member of Hanuman Vyayam Prasarak Mandal Shri Rajesh Muralidhar Mahatme (25 years) was the first person to enter the "Limca book of records” for his feat of cycling for 24 hours without a pause.

Other historical facts

Amravati, in Sanskrit, literally means ‘abode of immortals’. Amravati was the capital of Berar, which was part of present-day Vidharbha. Berar was part of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka's empire. In 1833, Berar was handed over to the British East India Company. It was divided into two districts, South Berar or Balaghat and North Berar. In 1956, due to the reorganization of the states, Amravati was transferred from Madhya Pradesh to Bombay state. Later in 1960, with the creation of Maharashtra, Amravati became one of its districts.

Indian independence freedom fighters such as Rao Bahadur Raghunath Narasinha Mudholkar, Dadasaheb Khaparde, Moropant Vishvanath Joshi came from the city.

In 1897, the Indian National Congress assembled at Amraoti. It was headed by Chettur Sankaran Nair . In an address he referred to the high-handedness of foreign administration, called for reforms and asked for self-government for India with Dominion Status.^[8]

Freedom fighter Bhagat Singh hid for 3 days in Amravati during his underground stint. He is known to have frequently visited the Hanuman Akhada (Gym) in this time. Amravati is famous for its social activists as well as political icons^{[citation needed]} like Panjabrao Deshmukh, Gulabrao Honade, Sane etc.

Notable people[link]

Saints[link]

• Shri Sant Gadge Maharaj
• Rashtra Sant Tukdoji Maharaj
• Paramhanse Adkoji Maharaj
• Pardhnyachakshu Shri Gulabrao Maharaj
• Shri Atchut Maharaj

Freedom fighters and patriots[link]

• Shri. Balasaheb Marathe (Founder Editor Dainik Hindusthan) ^[9]
• Shri. Narsinghdasji Agrawal (Advocate)
• Shri. Jagannath Sitaram Akarte (Advocate and freedom fighter)
• Shri. Chandrabhanji Shivramaji Nagpure
• Shri Ramdayal Ayodhyaprasad Gupta
• Shri Kunjbihariji Gowardhandsji Kedia(Agrawal) (Sawlapur)
• Shri Dadasaheb Khaparde
• Veer Vamanrao Joshi
• Umarlalji Kedia
• Rao Bahadur Raghunath Narasinha Mudholkar
• Barrister Moropant Vishvanath Joshi
• Mirza Azizullah Baig
• Shri Gulabrao Honade (Dadasaheb Honade)
• Shri Sukhdevroji Fogoji Tidke (Krantiveer)
• Shri Motiramji Bhomaji Holey
• Shri Brijmohanji Gopicharanji Gupta
• Shri Gopicharanji Bhagwandasji Gupta

Social and political activists[link]

• Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh
• Brijlal Biyani
• Padmashri Shivajirao Patwardhan
• Barrister Ramrao Madhavrao Deshmukh
• Ramkrushna Suryabhan Gawai (Dadasaheb gawai)
• Shri B. T. Deshmukh
• Shrimati Pratibha Devisingh Patil
• Shrimati Usha Tai Chowdhary
• Sanjay Vinayakrao Khodke
• Sau.Sulabhatai Khodke
• Sau. Sunanda Santosh Gupta
• Dr. Sunil Deshmukh
• Santosh B Gupta
• Harshavardhan Pratapsingh Deshmukh
• Raosaheb Devisijgh Shekhavat
• Dr. Anil Bonde
• Ravikumar Rana
• Yashomati Thakur
• Shri. Dr. Arun Marathe (Social Activist, Editor Dainik Hindustan) ^[10]

Ashokbhai joshi journalist ( electronic media )

Artists[link]

• Shri Gopal Nilkanth Dandekar [Famous Marathi writer, born at Paratwada in Amravati Dist.]
• Shri Suresh Bhat (was popularly known as "Gazal Samrat" or emperor of Gazals)
• Shri Pradeep Choudhary (Mrular and Painter from J J School of Arts, Mumbai)
• Shri Dhananjaysingh Varma (Painter from J J School of Arts, Mumbai)
• Shri Bharat Ganeshpure (A very Famous Marathi movie actor, born at Daryapur,who have acted in various marathi movies)

Education[link]

Schools[link]

Amravati is served by the following private schools in addition to the public schools operated by Amravati Municipal Corporation.

These schools are affiliated to Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE).

Navodaya Vidyalaya, Abyasa English School and Indo Public School follow CBSE pattern of learning. The Management of Abyasa English School has also decided to start an ICSE affiliated school, which will be known as Amravati Public School. The plan is in its initial stage.

Colleges[link]

At the heart of the city is the well known government institute: The Govt. Vidarbha Institute Of Science And Humanities, formerly Vidarbha Mahavidyalaya. It started out as King Edward College. It is the only college serving Amravati with maximum branches for humanities at the undergraduate and post-graduate level. The college has several renowned alumni. The institute has over 500 teaching and non-teaching staff, the maximum in any college under Amravati University.^[11]

Renowned educationalist and former Agricultural Minister of India, Dr. Punjabrao Deshmukh is the founder of Vidharbha’s largest Shivaji Education Society. More than 265 educational institutes operate under the management of Shivaji Education Society, providing great contribution in the field of education especially in rural areas.

Amravati is a major educational center in Central India. Major colleges affiliated to Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University^[12] include

• Government College of Pharmacy
• Government College of Engineering, Amravati^[13]
• Government Polytechnic Amravati
• P. R. Patil Group of Educational Institutes
• T.S.H.M.C HOMOEOPATHIC MEDICAL COLLEGE AMRAVATI
• Smt. Kesharbai Lahoti Mahavidyalaya
• V.Y.W.S.'s Prof. Ram Meghe Institute of Technology & Research^[14]
• Prof Ram Meghe College of Engineering and Management.

The only College affiliated to Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University which received Autonomous status as well as College with Potential of Excellence is

• Degree College of Physical Education, Shree H.V.P. Mandal, Amravati^[15]

Shree H.V.P. Mandal, Amravati^[16] was established in 1914 and is serving as a sports institution. Its members are known to have participated in the Indian independence movement. It has diversified its activities to the field of Ayurveda, education (in tribal areas), Engineering and Technology.

New engineering colleges have sprung up in past few years including H.V.P.Mandal's College of Engg. & Technology and the Sipna College of Engg. and Technology. Specially P. R Patil Educational Institutes have made a great impact in last 3 years to the education of Amravati.

Old Amravati[link]

Amravati was once surrounded by four gates: Jawahar Gate, Kholapuri Gate, Nagpuri Gate and Amba Gate. The jewellery market (also known as Sarafa Bazaar) is located inside Jawahar Gate with renowned shops like Mangalam, Gogate Saraf, Soni jewellers, etc. There are two main parts inside the Fort wall, Bhaji Bazar and Budhwara, famous for Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations ( The festival of Lord Ganesha ). The two well known ganesh mandals of Bhaji Bazar are Chhatrapati Shivaji Mandal and Sarvajanik Mandal. In Budhwara, the Famous mandals are Azad Hind Mandal and Nilkanth Mandal. Mandals are committees which organize various programs during the ten days Ganesh Chaturthi. There are well known temples located in old Amravati, examples include the Balkrishna temple, Someshwar Temple, Murlidhar and Bhrahmachari Maharaj Temple (Renovated by the Deodia family in 1938). The Laxmi Narayan Temple, Jain Shwetamber Temple, Kala Maroti Temple are all in Bhaji bazar. The Nilkanth Temple, Shri Krishna temple, Ekvira Devi temple, are in Budhwara. The Amba Devi and Ekvira Devi temple are at the Amba Gate.

Transport[link]

Road[link]

Two wheelers and city buses run by the Amravati Municipal Corporation are the major forms of transport within the city. Auto rickshaws and cycle rickshaws are also popular. The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) provides transport services for intercity and interstate travel. Many private operators also ply on the highly traveled Amravati – Pune and Amravati – Indore route. Bus services to cities like Nagpur, Bhopal, Indore, Raipur, Jabalpur, Mumbai, Pune, Akola, Nanded, Aurangabad, Parbhani are also available.

The NH6, which runs from Hazira (Surat) to Kolkata, passes through Amravati.

Railway[link]

Amravati is situated on the branch line from Badnera on Bhusawal – Nagpur section of Mumbai (CSTM) – Howrah main railway line of Central Railways.

President Pratibha Patil laid the foundation stone for the New Amravati Model Railway Station building on 7 September 2008. It was inaugurated on 10 December 2011. The new train Amravati-Tirupati Express was flagged off on the same date. Former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav announced the decision to set up a new divisional railway office in Amravati which will be housed in the model railway station building.^{[citation needed]} This will be the sixth divisional railway office of Central Railways, the other five divisions being in Mumbai, Nagpur, Solapur, Bhusawal and Pune.^[17]

Amravati railway station provides multiple shuttle services to Badnera throughout the day. Along with this, following trains originate from here.

• Amravati – Jabalpur Super Fast Express
• Amravati – Nagpur Intercity Express
• Amravati – Mumbai Superfast Express
• Amravati – Surat Fast Passenger
• Amravati – Nagpur Passenger
• Amravati – Bhusaval Passenger
• Amravati – Tirupati Superfast Express
• Amravati – Pune Express (Bi-weekly) via Akola, Purna and Latur

Air[link]

Amravati Airport, located at Belora, 15 kilometers off NH-6 towards Akola, is operated by the Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC). Presently it has no commercial scheduled flights. The Nagpur Flying Club has applied to DGCA for permission to shift its flying operations to Amravati airport. ^[18] It also has a helipad facility. MADC is acquiring about 400 Hectares of land for developing the airport and related facilities at an estimated cost of Rs. 225 Crores.^[19]

Growth[link]

Like many other small cities, Amravati is ramping up its infrastructure. New flyovers and roads are being built under the Integrated Road Development Programme (IRDP) of the Government of Maharashtra.^{[citation needed]}

The city is rapidly expanding towards Badnera, 10 km to the south, an important railway junction where the branch railway line serving Amravati joins the main Mumbai – Bhusawal – Wardha – Nagpur – Howrah rail route.

Amravati is growing as an industrial center, with cotton mills leading the way. Amravati district is home to Vidarbha Sugar Mills Ltd., Kurha. It is the sole surviving sugar factory in Amravati region.

Indiabulls is developing a 2640MW Thermal Power Plant at Nandgaon Peth/Sawardi MIDC. Once finished, it will be India's third largest.

Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) plans to make air defense missiles at a proposed site at Nandgaon Peth/Sawardi MIDC.

Communications[link]

Landline services in the city are currently provided by 2 operators, viz. BSNL& Reliance Communications. WLL services are currently offered by Tata Teleservices, BSNL and Reliance Communications. The current GSM mobile operators in the city are namely, Airtel, Tata DoCoMo GSM, Vodafone, Idea Cellular, BSNL, Reliance Communications and Uninor. Operators providing CDMA and EVDO services in the city are Reliance Communications, MTS, BSNL and TATA DOCOMO CDMA.3G network provider are BSNL 3G, Tata DoCoMo 3G Vodafone India 3G and Idea Cellular 3G.BSNL and MTS are also providing EVDO coverage on their CDMA network. In recent years internet penetration in the city has seen enormous growth. Hence, broadband internet services are gaining increasing popularity as against the traditional and now obsolete, Dial-up internet service. The current Internet Service Providers in the city are BSNL, Tata Indicom and Reliance Communications.FM of Drgapur,Badnera Amravati at 90.4 MHz named Sadhana FM. Also AIR FM radio station which is now broadcasting test signals is soon to be working on 101.5 MHz.You can listen Trial session of Amravati FM in 1 pm to 3 pm daily

Entertainment, recreation and retail infrastructure[link]

Shopping centers like Best Price (Walmart-Bharti Venture), Big-Bazaar, D-Mart, N-Mart and ITC Choupal Sagar have cropped up in recent years. This has happened as a result of increase in the standard of living and due to a drastic increase in the city's Gross domestic product (by purchasing power parity).

Lifestyle brands have a retail presence in the city. Additionally other retail brands like Adidas, Reebok, Levi Strauss, John Players, Raymond, Titan Watches & Eye-wear operate stores.

The city has many single screen Film theaters. The city has Multiplexes such as E-orbit (Big Bazar) and Rajesh (Jaistambh).

Places of interest[link]

• Chikhaldara
• Chattri Talav
• Malkhed
• Morshi Dam
• ShivTekdi
• Wadali
• Salbardi

Public spaces[link]

• Rajkamal Square
• Malkhed lake (malkhed)
• Eorbit(Sai Nagar)
• Maltekdi(Shivtekdi)
• Vadali Lake(Vadali)
• Chatri Lake(Dastur Nagar)
• Rathi Nagar (ESKON Temple)

See also[link]

• Amravati Division
• Regions and Divisions of Maharashtra
• Vidarbha

References[link]

External links[link]

• A Map of Amravati marked in Google Maps
• Official website
• Gazette published in 1968
• Amravati Information In Marathi
• Amravati District Statics
• Amravati City: Beautiful N Calm
• kamdhenu.org

	Achalpur	Chandurbazar	Morshi
	Bhatukali, Daryapur		Teosa
		Amravati    East
	Karanja, Washim district	Nandgaon Khandeshwar, Yavatmal, Akola Bazar	Chandur, Maharashtra

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Rajiv Radheshyam Dixit was an Indian social activist. He started social movements in order to spread awareness on topics of Indian national interest through the Swadeshi Movement, Azadi Bachao Andolan, and various other works.^[1] He served as the National Secretary of Bharat Swabhiman Andolan he is the founder of bharat swabhimaan andolan ]^[2] He was a strong believer and preacher of Bharatiyata.^[3] He had also worked for spreading awareness about Indian history, issues in the Indian constitution and Indian economic policies.^[4]

Life[link]

Dixit was born on 30 November 1967 in Naah village, Atrauli tehsil of Aligarh district, Uttar Pradesh . Under the tutelage of his father RadheShyam Dixit, he was educated till the 12th grade in the village schooling system in Firozabad district. In 1994, he moved to Allahabad (Prayaag) for higher studies. He pursued his M.Tech degree in Satellite Telecommunications from Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and pursued his doctorate in telecommunications in France. Subsequently, he worked at CSIR as a scientist. But his passion for his motherland made him give up a paid-position for the sake of Indian culture and Swadeshi movement, serving the cause of "Rashtra Dharma". His audio cassettes on Indian Nationalism and greatness of India's past did well in 1999. He had been recording them over months traveling across India spreading his message of great optimism about India and its enormous contributions to the human civilization. He was a Brahmachari and never married. He was influenced by the ideologies of Indian revolutionaries like Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh and Udham Singh. Later in life, he began to appreciate the early works of Mahatma Gandhi. His life was dedicated to not just ideas with high ideals, but also causes like stopping alcohol and "gutka" production, cow-butchering and social injustices. On the 9th of January 2009, he became one of the founders of "Bharat Swabhiman" movement. He died on 30 November 2010, while in Bhilai in Chattisgarh. The circumstances around his death are uncertain and the cause of his death is unknown. In his memory, the constructed Bharat Swabhiman building in Haridwar has been named "Rajiv Bhawan". He refused to take any modern medicine on his death bed, insisting instead on Ayurvedic medicine.

Work[link]

Dixit suggested that the Indian supreme court should declare money held by Indians in Swiss banks as national property so that foreign banks would have to legally hand over this money to India.^[5]

He fought various MNCs like Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Unilever, and Colgate as he considered that these companies are draining wealth in their country making India poorer.^[6]

Initiated and supported movements[link]

• Dixit supported the movement of opening a chain of Swadeshi General Stores, where only Indian-made goods are sold.

He believed in swadeshi. He initiated movements like the Swadeshi Movement and Azadi Bachao Andolan and became their spokeperson.^[7] He addressed a rally of over 50,000 people under the leadership of Swadeshi Jagaran Manch in New Delhi.^[8] He also took leadership of the programme held at Calcutta which was supported and promoted by various organizations and prominent personalities and was celebrated all over India on the eve of the 150th Anniversary of the 1857 war of Indian Independence.^[8]

• He demanded decentralization of taxation system, saying that the current system is the core reason for the corruption in bureaucracy. He said that 80% of taxes is being used to pay the politicians and bureaucrats and just 20% for development purposes for the people. He compared the current budget system of the Indian government to the earlier British budget system in India, presenting statistics to show that they are the same. Recently he was working with Swami Ramdev in Bharat Swabhiman Trust as national secretary.^[9]

• He also doubted the terrorist attack on the United States Twin Towers, claiming that it was stage managed by U.S. Government itself, and supported the claims of the Lone Lantern Society of the U.S.^[10]

• He also said that "liberalization, privatization and globalization, the three evil faces staring at us today, have pushed us towards a suicidal state."^[1]

• He argued that modern thinkers have neglected agricultural sectors and farmers have been left to feed themselves and commit suicide.^[1] Expressing his views on the Indian judiciary and legal system, he said that India is still following the laws and acts enacted during the British era and had not taken the burden of changing them as per the requirement of Indian people.^[2]

• He accused the current Indian Government (Congress person Mr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India) of being an agent for USA. He claimed a huge stock of radio-active elements is buried in Indian sea below Setu Samudram, also known as Sri Ram Setu. These radio-active elements could be used to produce electricity and Nuclear weapons for coming 150 years. He also accused that Indian government is trying to break that bridge, which is more than 700,000 years old. ^[1]

Sudden death[link]

Dixit was in Bhilai to deliver lecture as a part of his Bharat Swabhiman Yatra, where he died on 30th November 2010. His death was unexpected. The cause of death is still unknown, though it was initially believed that he died of a cardiac arrest.

References[link]

External links[link]

• [1] Media silent on the death of Rajiv Dixit
• [2] Rajiv Dixit and his Articles (New Website)
• Rajiv Dixit and his Articles
• mp3-of-rajiv-dixit-lectures
• Complete Mp3 Lectures on History of Ancient & Modern India
• [3]
• Swabhiman Yatra Videos