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Raichur
Raichur Location of Raichur in Karnataka and India
Coordinates	16°12′N 77°22′E / 16.2°N 77.37°E / 16.2; 77.37Coordinates: 16°12′N 77°22′E / 16.2°N 77.37°E / 16.2; 77.37
Country	India
Region	Bayaluseeme
State	Karnataka
District(s)	Raichur district
MLA	Syed Yasin
Population	205,634 (2001[update])
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 407 metres (1,335 ft)
Codes • Pincode • 584101 • Telephone • +91 8532 • Vehicle • KA-36
Website	www.raichur.nic.in

Raichur (Kannada: ರಾಯಚೂರು, rāyachūru), is a city municipality in the district of Raichur in the Indian state of Karnataka. Raichur, on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, is the headquarters of Raichur district. It was in the princely state of Mysore during the rule of Tipu Sultan^{[citation needed]}. It is located 409 km from the state capital, Bangalore.

History[link]

Raichur has a rich history, having been a part of various empires, such as the Bahmanis and Vijayanagara. The city is famous for its imposing Raichur Fort.^[1] Here, stone inscriptions have been found in Persian and Arabic which belonged to the bastion of the fort, referring to its construction in 1294.^[2] Among the ruins of the immense fort are many irrigation tanks and old temples.

Interesting details of the battle between Sri Krishnadevaraya and Adil Shah are given in The Battle of Raichur.

Raichur is very rich from the epigraphical point of view. It has already yielded hundreds of inscriptions, ranging from the Mauryan period up to the end of the Muslim period. The inscriptions are in a variety of languages such as Sanskrit, Prakrit, Kannada, Arabic, and Persian and belonging to almost all the dynasties that ruled over the Dekkan. The most important places from this point of view are Maski, Koppal, Kuknur, Mudgal and Raichur.

Climate[link]

The climate of the district is characterised by dryness for the major part of the year and a very hot summer. The low and highly variable rainfall renders the district liable to drought. The year may be divided broadly into four seasons. The hot season begins by about the middle of February and extends to the end of May The South-west monsoon is from June to end of September. October and November are the post monsoon or retreating monsoon months and the period from December to the middle of February is the cold season.

The only meteorological observatory in the district is at Raichur. The data of this observatory may be taken as representative of the conditions in the district. December is the coldest month with the mean daily maximum temperature at 29.3 Degree C. (84.8 F) and the mean daily minimum at 17.7C (63.9F) The nights are generally cool in the season, but day temperatures sometimes reach 35 to 38 Degree C.The period from about the middle of February to May is one of continuous rise in temperatures, May is the hottest month, the mean daily maximum temperature being 39.8 (103.7 F) The heat is oppressive till the onset of the south-west monsoon by about the first week of June. Thereafter the weather becomes slightly cooler and continues to be so till the end of the South-west monsoon season. Day temperatures show a slight increase in October. From November, both day and night temperatures gradually decrease till December.

The highest maximum temperature ever recorded at Raichur was 45.6 C (114.1F) on 23rd May 1928 and the lowest minimum was 10.0 C (50.0F) on 14th January 1899 and 13th December 1945.

Geography[link]

Raichur is located at 16°12′N 77°22′E / 16.2°N 77.37°E / 16.2; 77.37.^[3] It has an average elevation of 407 metres (1335 ft).

Demographics[link]

As of the 2001 India census,^[4] Raichur had a population of 205,634. Males constituted 51 % of the population and females 49 %. <--!Raichur has an average literacy rate of 63 %, higher than the national average of 62 %: male literacy is 58 %, and female literacy is 62 %.--> In Raichur, 13 % of the population was under 6 years of age.

The main language is Kannada, but Telugu, Urdu, and Hindi are also widely spoken.

Economy[link]

One of the most visited places in Raichur is the Raichur Thermal Power Station in Shakthinagar. It has 8 units, producing 210 MW each, employing ISO 14001, an internationally accepted specification for environmental management systems (EMS).

Cuisine[link]

Biryani, Puri, Vagrani with mirchi

Transport[link]

Raichur is well connected by road and rail to Bangalore, Mumbai,Hyderabad and other major cities. The airport^[5] is under construction near a village called Yermarus (Around 10kms from Raichur).

Local transport[link]

Auto rickshaws are available for getting around the city at fairly reasonable rates. NEKRTC city buses circulate within the city and also travel to the nearby towns and villages.

Long-distance bus routes[link]

Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) runs a bus service to other cities and villages. There are also various private bus services. There are many private services running Volvo buses between Bangalore and Raichur, and between Hyderabad and Raichur.

Railways[link]

Raichur is served by a major rail line and is well connected by trains to all major parts of India such as Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Trivandrum, Kanyakumari, Pune, Bhubaneswar, Bhopal and Agra.

Monuments[link]

Anegundi, 135 km from Raichur, has some splendid temples from the Vijayanagar era such as the Ranganatha Temple and the Huchchappayana Matha. The Pampa Sarovara, the Kamal Mahal and Nava Brindavana entomb the mortal remains of famous saints.

View of Raichur city and lake Aam Talab

Notable personalities[link]

• Abdul Samad Siddiqui: Prominent Educationist and Former Member of Parliament(Rajya Sabha).
• Syed Yasin : MLA Raichur and Son-in-Law C. K. Jaffer Sheriff

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Raichur

• Raichur City Official Website
• Weather in Raichur

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B. S. Yeddyurappa
B.S. Yeddyurappa
25th Chief Minister of Karnataka
In office 30 May, 2008 – 31 July, 2011
Preceded by	President's rule
Succeeded by	D.V.Sadananda Gowda
Constituency	Shikaripur
24th Chief Minister of Karnataka
In office November 12, 2007 – November 19, 2007
Preceded by	H. D. Kumaraswamy
Succeeded by	President's rule
Personal details
Born	(1943-02-27) 27 February 1943 (age 69) Bookanakere, Mandya
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Spouse(s)	Late Mythradevi
Religion	Hinduism
Website	http://yeddyurappa.in
As of May 28, 2008 Source: [1]

Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yeddyurappa (Kannada: ಬೂಕನಕೆರೆ ಸಿದ್ಧಲಿಂಗಪ್ಪ ಯಡಿಯೂರಪ್ಪ, Born 27 February 1943^[1]) is an Indian politician and was the 25th Chief Minister of Karnataka. He is a popular leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and represents Shikaripura in the Karnataka legislative assembly. He became the Chief Minister of Karnataka after the BJP's hisctoric victory in the 2008 Karnataka Assembly election. He is the first person from the BJP to become the Chief Minister of a South Indian state.^[2] Yeddyurappa is a popular leader of the dominant Lingayat Community and is regarded as one of the very few leaders in Karnataka with a mass following^{[citation needed]}.

Personal life[link]

Yeddyurappa was born on 27 February 1943 in a village called Bookanakere in K.R.Pet taluk of Mandya district.^[3][4] His parents were Siddalingappa and Puttathayamma. They belonged to the Lingayat community. He was named after the presiding deity of a Shaivite temple built by the great saint Siddalingeshwara at Yediyur in Tumkur district.^[5] His mother died when he was four.^[2] He completed his Pre-University College education from PES college, Mandya.

In 1965, he was appointed as a first-division clerk in the social welfare department but instead shifted to Shikaripura where he joined as a clerk at Veerabhadra Shastri's Shankar rice mill. In 1967, Yeddyurappa married Mythradevi, the daughter of the rice mill owner.^[6] He later set up a hardware shop in Shimoga. Yeddyurappa has two sons, Raghavendra and Vijayendra and three daughters, Arunadevi, Padmavati and Umadevi.^[7] In 2004, his wife died due to cardiac arrest.^[8] In 2007, he changed the spelling of his name to its current spelling from the earlier "Yediyurappa" following the advice of his astrologers.^[9]

Political career[link]

Yeddyurappa's stint in public life began when he was appointed as Karyavaha (Secretary) of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's Shikaripur unit in 1970. In 1972, he was elected to the Shikaripura Town Municipality and was also appointed as the President of the Taluk unit of the Jana Sangh.^[7] In 1975, he was elected President of the Town Municipality of Shikaripura. He was imprisoned during the Emergency in India and lodged in the Bellary and Shimoga jails. In 1980, he was appointed President of the Shikaripura taluk unit of the BJP and later went on to become the president of BJP's Shimoga district unit in 1985. In 1988, he became the State President of the BJP in Karnataka. He was first elected to the lower house of the Karnataka Legislature in 1983 and has since represented the Shikaripura constituency six times. He has been a member of the Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Twelfth and Thirteenth Legislative Assemblies (lower house) of Karnataka. Following the 1994 state assembly elections, he became the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. In 1999, he lost the elections but was nominated by the BJP to become a member of the legislative council (upper house) of Karnataka.^[1] Again, He was re-elected in 2004 and became the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly during the chief ministership of Dharam Singh.

His first stint in power was when he helped Janata Dal (Secular) leader H. D. Kumaraswamy to bring down the coalition government headed by Dharam Singh and form an alternative government with BJP. An agreement was made between the JD(S) and BJP, which specified that H. D. Kumaraswamy would be the Chief Minister for the first 20 months, after which Yeddyurappa would become the Chief Minister for the remaining 20 months. Yeddyurappa became the Deputy Chief Minister as well as the finance minister in Kumaraswamy's Government. He was credited with presenting good Budgets and for initiating various welfare programs such as Bhagyalakshmi scheme, Bicycles for students, Ban on arrack and Farm loan waiver.

However in October 2007, when it was Yeddyurappa's turn to become Chief Minister, Kumaraswamy relinquish his post. This forced Yeddyurappa and all the ministers from his party to resign and on 5 October, the BJP formally withdrew the support to the Kumaraswamy government. Karnataka came under President's rule which was revoked on 7th November as the JD(S) and the BJP decided to bury their differences and this paved the way for Yeddyurappa to become the Chief Minister of Karnataka. Yeddyurappa was sworn in as the 25th Chief Minister of Karnataka on 12 November 2007. However, JD(S) refused to support his government over disagreement on sharing of ministries which resulted in his resignation as Chief Minister on 19th November 2007.

In Karnataka's 2008 Assembly elections, Yeddyurappa contested from Shikaripura against former Chief Minister S. Bangarappa of the Samajwadi Party. The Indian National Congress and JD(S) backed Bangarappa, but despite this, Yeddyurappa won the seat by a of more than 45,000 votes. He also led the BJP to a historic victory in the state and Karnataka became the gateway for the BJP in south India. He took the oath of office as Chief Minister on 30th May 2008.^[10]

His Government undertook many developmental works and also initiated various welfare schemes. The Global Investors Meet in 2010 brought in commitments for investment of Rs. 5 Lakh Crore. He also, gave much preferance to Kannada culture and language and also conducted a successful "Vishwa Kannada Sammelana" in 2011. Yeddyurappa gave a huge boost to friendly ties with neighbouring states when he invited Tamil Nadu Chief minister Karunanidhi for unveiling the statue of Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar in Bangalore followed by the unveiling of the statue of Kannada poet Sarvajna in Chennai. In December 2008, Yeddyurappa was conferred an Honorary Doctorate by Saginaw Valley State University, USA.^[11][12][13]

Although he was a popular leader, he had to face numerous revolts from with his party over his style of functioning^{[citation needed]}. He was also criticised for generously giving away huge sums of public money to religious institutions and temples, which however earned for him the support of the seers and the devout.

In November 2010, Allegations surfaced against Yeddyurappa that he had used his position as Chief Minister to favour his sons in the allotment of prime land in Bangalore.^[14] In response, on 5 February 2011, Yeddyurappa publicly declared his assets, and then challenged the opposition parties to find any "black money".^[15] However, the Karnataka Lokayukta ^[16] investigating the illegal mining case submitted its report ^[17] indicting Yeddyurappa for illegally profiteering from land deals in Bangalore and Shimoga,^[18] and also in connection with the illegal iron ore export scam in Bellary, Tumkur and Chitradurga districts of Karnataka.^[19] Following much pressure from the BJP central leadership,^[20] he announced his decision to quit.^[21] Finally, He resigned on 31st July 2011.^[22]

Exonerated involvement in mining scam[link]

Allegations were made against him that he had used his official position to favour his sons in the allotment of land in Bangalore. One acre of land at Rachenahalli in Bangalore was purchased by his family for Rs 40 lakh (approx US$ 95,000) and was re-sold to a mining company for Rs. 20 crore ($ 4.8 million), resulting a significant profit. ^{[23][24][25][26][27][28] [29]} To refute the charges, Yeddyurappa declared his assets estimated at Rs. 11 crore ^[30] – including 2.5 kg of gold and 76 kg of silver – to show that neither he nor his family members were involved in any financial irregularities. His assets were declared to be Rs. 1.82 crore in 2008, indicating a 500 % increase in two years. ^[30][31]

Political drama continued in the State after he challenged his rival H.D.Kumaraswamy to swear in front of Lord Manjunatha at Dharmasthala over the graft issue when Kumaraswamy claimed that the Chief minister had tried to buy peace with him. Although Kumaraswamy accepted the challenge, the whole Dharmasthala show down turned out to be a flop show^{[32][33][34][35]} after Yeddyurappa backed of following the advice of his party national president, Nitin Gadkari, who was concerned with the mixing of temples with politics. ^[36]

In January 2011, two lawyers of the Karnataka High Court Sirajin Basha and K N Balraj approached the Governor seeking his permission to prosecute Chief minister Yeddyurappa and the Governor H.R. Bhardwaj sanctioned their request. ^[37]

The Lokayukta report submitted on 27 July 2011 stated that there is sufficient evidence to indict Yeddyurappa and recommended his prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act over various land deals.^[38] In addition, it also stated that there is evidence to prove that he had granted illegal mining licenses to mining companies and benefited through them. ^[39]

The Lokayuta Report caused demands from within his party for his resignation, which he initially resisted.^[20][40] However, Following the submission of the Lokayukta report, he resigned on 31st July 2011. ^[41]

After accepting the Lokayukta report, Governor Bhardwaj again approved the prosecution of Yeddyurappa ^[42] and the Karnataka High Court also allowed the police to question him. ^[43][44]

Yeddyurappa was arrested^[45] on the evening of 15th Oct 2011, hours after an arrest warrant in two cases of corruption for illegally denotifying land in and around Bangalore.^[46][47] Later, He was granted bail on 8th November 2011 after spending 23 days in jail.^[48]

However in March 2012,the High Court of Karnataka quashed the FIR registered against him regarding the Mining scam. A division bench comprising Justices Bhakstavatsala and Govindaraju passed the order stating that "Suspicion cannot be a ground to tarnish the image and reputation of a person who is holding a Constitutional post. Even during the course of argument, a specific question was put to Lokayukta counsel to produce any material to connect the petitioner for alleged offences, but he was mum and did not indicate any favours shown by Yeddyurappa as the chief minister to any mining company".^[49] In May 2012, the Supreme Court, temporarily stayed the case on this matter and ordered an official CBI enquiry, to be completed within three months.^[50]

See also[link]

• List of Chief Ministers of Karnataka
• List of politicians in India charged with corruption

References[link]

External links[link]

• Yeddyurappa's personal Website