Gondia district

Gondia district (Marathi: गोंदिया जिल्हा), also known as Gondiya district, is an administrative district in the state of Maharashtra in India. The district headquarters are located at Gondia (Gondiya). The district occupies an area of 5,431 km² and has a population of 1,200,707 of which 11.95% were urban (as of 2001). The district is part of Nagpur Division.

History

The region to the south of the Godavari was inhabited by the aborigines, who are called Rakshasas in the Ramayana where the region is mentioned. Initially the district was included in the seventh century in the territories of the Haihaya Rajput kings of Chhattisgarh whose kingdom was known as Maha Kosala. Gondia or Gondiya was a part of Bhandara retains some recollection of Hindu kings who ruled from Nagardhan. The 12th century saw the rule of Ponwars who were subsequently ousted by Gond chiefs who asserted their independence of the Ratanpur dynasty. This was followed by Raghoji Bhonsle of Vidarbha who established himself as the king of Vidarbha in 1743. In 1755, Janoji was declared as the sovereign of the territory, after the death of his father Raghoji Bhonsle. The two brothers Mudhoji and Rupaji of Raghoji Bhonsle of Hingani-Beradi were contemporaries of Shahaji, the father of Chhatrapati Shivaji and one of the ancestors of the Bhonsles of Nagpur who rehabilitated the village of Beradi was probably the contemporary of Maloji, the grandfather of Chhatrapati Shivaji. After the death of Sambhaji, during the Mughal-Maratha conflict, Parasoji rendered invaluable help to Rajaram who had succeeded to the throne of Chhatrapati. The territories of Vidarbha and Berar from which he had exacted tribute were given to his charge under a grant made in 1699 A.D.

Gondia

Gondia also spelt as Gondiya is a city in the state of Maharashtra in Central India, and is the administrative headquarters of the Gondia District. Gondia is also known as Rice City due to the abundance of rice mills in the area. Gondia is very close to the state of Madhya Pradesh, and is considered the gateway to Maharashtra from Central and Eastern India.There are large number of rice mills and some small scale tobacco industries.

In ancient time, this region was ruled over by Gond kings. The main business at that time was to collect lak (sealing wax) from Palas tree and gum from Babul tree, gum is called as gond in Hindi, therefore the name Gondia is tagged to the place.

Climate

Transport

Rail

Gondia railway station is an important junction and has heavy passenger and goods traffic. It is an A-Grade station on Howrah-Mumbai route. The station has seven platforms. All platforms have adequately been provided with amenities such as potable water, tea stalls, benches and waiting sheds. There is a fruit stall and a book stall too. The station is also equipped with A/C waiting rooms for passengers travelling by upper accommodation classes and a waiting hall for passengers travelling by lower accommodation classes.

Sarus crane

The sarus crane (Grus antigone) is a large non-migratory crane found in parts of the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Australia. The tallest of the flying birds, standing at a height of up to 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in), they are conspicuous and iconic species of open wetlands. The sarus crane is easily distinguished from other cranes in the region by the overall grey colour and the contrasting red head and upper neck. They forage on marshes and shallow wetlands for roots, tubers, insects, crustaceans and small vertebrate prey. Like other cranes, they form long-lasting pair-bonds and maintain territories within which they perform territorial and courtship displays that include loud trumpeting, leaps and dance-like movements. In India they are considered symbols of marital fidelity, believed to mate for life and pine the loss of their mates even to the point of starving to death. The main breeding season is during the rainy season, when the pair builds an enormous nest "island", a circular platform of reeds and grasses nearly two metres in diameter and high enough to stay above the shallow water surrounding it. Sarus crane numbers have declined greatly in the last century and it has been estimated that the current population is a tenth or less (perhaps 2.5%) of the numbers that existed in the 1850s. The stronghold of the species is in India, where it is traditionally revered and lives in agricultural lands in close proximity to humans. Elsewhere, the species has been extirpated in many parts of its former range.