Lakhimpur Kheri District

Lakhimpur Kheri

लखीमपुर खीरी ज़िला
لکھیم پور کھیری ضلع
Sugar Bowl of India
—  district  —
Lakhimpur Kheri
Location of Lakhimpur Kheri
in Uttar Pradesh and India
Coordinates
Country India
State Uttar Pradesh
District(s) Kheri
Population

• Density

 3,200,138 (2001)

• 417 /km2 (1,080 /sq mi)
Time zone IST (UTC+05:30)
Area

• Elevation

 7,680 square kilometres (2,970 sq mi)

• 147 metres (482 ft)
Climate

Temperature
• Summer
• Winter

 Cfa (Köppen)

•      43 °C (109 °F)
•      4 °C (39 °F)
Website http://kheri.nic.in/

Lakhimpur Kheri (Hindi: लखीमपुर खीरी ज़िला, Urdu: لکھیم پور کھیری ضلع) is a district of Uttar Pradesh in the Lucknow division. It is located in India along the border with Nepal. The headquarters of the Lakhimpur Kheri District are situated in the city of Lakhimpur.[1]

Lakhimpur Kheri district is a part of Lucknow division and is the largest district in terms of area in the state (Total Area = 7680 sqr km).[2] According to Government of India, the district Lakhimpur Kheri is one of the Minority Concentrated District in India on the basis of the 2001 census data on population, socio-economic indicators and basic amenities indicators.[3]

Lakhimpur Kheri is famous for Dudhwa National Park,[2] the only national park in Uttar Pradesh.[4] It is home to a large number of rare and endangered species including tiger, leopard, swamp deer, hispid hare, Bengal florican, etc.[5] Being a Terai district it is rich in natural resources with lush green scenery and many rivers.

Lakhimpur is ranked at number 422 following Srinagar and Pilibhit in the Rank of Cities on Sanitation 2009–2010[6] with a rating of 16.968 points for sanitation, as per a study conducted by ministry of urban development.

Contents

Origin of name

Etymologically Lakhimpur is the transformed version of its original name Luxmipur.[7] In ancient days the district was covered by the Khair trees (Acacia catechu Willd). Kheri is a town near Lakhimpur 1.24 miles (2.0 km). The name Kheri represents the Khair trees.

History

Traditions point to the inclusion of this tract in the realm of the Lunar race of Hastināpur, and several places are associated with episodes in the Mahabharata. The early history is, however entirely unknown. The northern part was held by Rājputs in the tenth century, and tradition relates that they dispossessed the Pāsīs (A Hindu Cast)and other aboriginal tribes. Musalmān rule spread slowly to this remote and in hospitable tract; and it was probably not before the fourteenth century that a chain of forts was constructed along the northern frontier to prevent the incursions of the sarkār of KHAIRĀBĀD in the Sūbah of Oudh. The later history is merely that of the rise and decline of individual families, and is purely local importance. When ROHILKHAND was ceded to the British in 1801 part of this District was included in the cession, but it was restored to Oudh (See Awadh) after the Anglo- Nepalese War of 1814-16. On the annexation of Oudh in 1856 the west of the present area was formed in to a District called Muhamdī (Now Mohmmadi) and the cast into Mallānpur, which also included part of Sitāpur. A year later Muhamdī became one of the chief center of disaffection in northern Oudh. The refugees from Shāhjahānpur reached Muhāmdi on June2, and two days later that place was abandoned; but the whole party, with few exceptions, were shot down on the way to Sītapur, and the survivors died or were murdered later at Lucknow. The British officials at Mallānpur, with a few who had fled from Sītapur, escaped to Nepāl, where most of them died. No real attempt to recover the District was made till October, 1858, but peace was restored before the end of that year. The head-quarters of the single District then formed were moved to Lakhimpur shortly afterwards.[8][9]

Geography

It shares its boundaries with[10] –

Its main rivers are Sharda, Ghagra, Koriyala, Ull, Sarayan, Chauka, Gomti, Kathana, Saryu and Mohana.

Government and politics

President Zila Parishad

Member of Legislative Council

Member of Legislative Assembly, Lakhimpur

Member of Legislative Assembly, Haidrabad Gola Gokarannath

Member of Legislative Assembly, Nighasan

Member of Legislative Assembly, Dhaurahara

Member of Legislative Assembly, Srinagar

Members of Parliament, Kheri

Members of Parliament, Dhaurahra

Indian general election, 2009

In the 2009 Parliamentary Elections, Zafar Ali Naqvi of Indian National Congress has closely defeated Iliyas Azmi of Bahujan Samaj Party, with a margin of 8,780 securing a total of 1,84,980 votes from Kheri (Lok Sabha constituency).[14]

Congress youth icon and former Union Minister of State for Steel Jitin Prasada won from Dhaurahra (Lok Sabha constituency) where he secured a historic win by a margin of 184,509 votes on the Indian National Congress ticket.[15] On 28 May 2009, Jitin Prasada was sworn in as Minister of State to the Union Government of India, in the Council of Ministers of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Jitin is the Minister of State in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (India).

Economy

In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Lakhimpur Kheri one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640).[16] It is one of the 34 districts in Uttar Pradesh currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[16]

Agriculture

Known for its sugar cane industry, it satisfies a huge part of the world's sugar demands. Some of the biggest sugar mills are in the district.[17] Bajaj sugar mill in Gola Gokarnath[18] and Bajaj sugar mill in Palia Kalanand DSCL sugar mills (Ajbapur),kumbhi sugar mills kumbhi, (Mohammdi) are the four largest sugar mills in Asia. Balrampur Industries also runs its sugar mills from Lakhimpur. Lakhimpur is also famous for cottage industries of incense sticks.

Industry

The main industry which dominates Lakhimpur Kheri is the sugar industry. It houses various sugar industries ranging from small plants to big integrated sugar mills.There are many private, government and co-operative sugar mills in the region. Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) is setting up a steel processing unit in Behjam, Lakhimpur at an estimated cost of Rs 85 crore.[19][20] The processing unit will have an installed capacity of 100,000 tonnes per annum and produce TMT (thermo mechanically treated) bars from input material sourced from SAIL’s integrated steel plants.

Education

Education is available at the Junior and Senior Basic Schools, Senior Secondary Schools and college level.

St. Don Bosco's College is a prominent missionary institute for learning. The alumni of the school are the flag-bearers of Lakhimpur across the nation. Other schools and colleges are Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Saraswati Vidya Mandir Inter College, Government Inter College, Govt Girls' Inter college, B.P.S. Public School, Dharm Sabha Inter college, Arya Kanya, St. John's School in Gola Gokarannath, Lucknow Public School, Yuvraj Dutt College, C.B. Singh Gaur Memorial School, Cane Growers Inter College, Greenfield Academy, Children's Academy, Ajmani International School, Kunwar Khuswaqt Rai, Adarsh Vidya Mandir, Saraswati Vidya Mandir, Paul International School, City Montessori Kheri and Lucknow Public School.

Statistics

Climate

The climate is hot throughout the year except the rainy seasons. In winter, nights are very cold. Fog is very common in this season.[10]

Religion

Based on data collected from Census of India, 2001 –

Faith Followers in Lakhimpur Kheri[21]
Religion Percent
Hinduism
  
 77.41%
Islam
  
 19.1%
Sikhism
  
 2.63%
Other
  
 0.86%
Based on 2001 census

Peace and love had always been prevalent in the area, while religion is the part of personal faith.

Scheduled castes include Chamar at 11%, Pasi at 11% and Dhobi at 2%; scheduled tribes include the Tharu at less than 1%.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census Lakhimpur Kheri District has a population of 4,013,634 ,[22] roughly equal to the nation of Liberia[23] or the US state of Oregon.[24] This gives it a ranking of 56th in India (out of a total of 640).[22] The district has a population density of 523 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,350 /sq mi) .[22] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 25.14 %.[22] Kheri has a sex ratio of 887 females for every 1000 males,[22] and a literacy rate of 62.71 %.[22]

Languages

Languages spoken here include Awadhi, a vernacular in the Hindi-Urdu continuum spoken by over 38 million people, mainly in the Awadh region.[25]

Tourism

Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (DTR) has two core areas, Dudhwa National Park[26] and Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary, which were merged in 1987. Dudhwa National Park is known as the first National Park of the state after the formation of Uttarakhand.

It is home to a large number of rare and endangered species including Tiger, Leopard cat, Rhinoceros (one-horned), Hispid hare, Elephants, Black deer, Swamp deer, etc.

A bird watchers' haven, Dudhwa is noted for its avian variety – about 400 species. Its swamps and several lakes attract varieties of waterfowl. Being close to the Himalayan foothills, Dudhwa also gets its regular winter visitors – the migratory water birds. The Banke Tal is perhaps the most popular spot for bird watchers. There are egrets, cormorants, herons and several species of duck, geese and teal.

Conservation History

The visit of Sir D.B. Brandis in 1860 to the area culminated in a 303 square miles (780 km2) forest area of the present day Dudhwa National Park being brought under the control of Government in 1861 for preservation.[27] In Kheri District all the Sal and miscellaneous forests and grasslands in Kharigarh Pargana, between the Mohana and Suheli rivers, were included in the then North Kheri Forest Division. More areas were reserved for protection between 1867 and 1879 and added to the Division. The area of the Division was legally constituted as Reserved Forests in 1937.

The Sonaripur Sanctuary, comprising 15.7 km2, was created in 1958 to specifically protect swamp deer (Cervus duvaceli duvaceli). The area was too small and was later enlarged to 212 km2 and renamed as Dudhwa Sanctuary in 1968. Later, more area was added to the Sanctuary and in 1977, it was declared Dudhwa National Park. The total area of the Park was 616 km2 of which 490 km2 was the core zone and the balance of 124 km2 was a buffer zone.

The area was established in 1958 as a wildlife sanctuary. On 1 February 1977 wildlife sanctury became a national park and after 11 years in 1988 it was established as a tiger reserve. Dudhwa Tiger Reserve lies on the India-Nepal border in the foothills of the Himalaya. Dudhwa Tiger Reserve was created in the year 1987–88 comprising Dudhwa National Park and Kishanpur Sanctuary (203.41 km2). With an addition of 66 km2 to the buffer zone in 1997, the present area of the Tiger Reserve is 884 km2. Distance from Lakhimpur railway station to Dudhwa is about 100 km by road.

Sharda Dam and Deer Park are other major attractions of Lakhimpur.

Hotels

Hotel Address Telephone #
Hotel Pratham Hospital Road +91.5872.276509
+91.9236560853
+91.9235617394
Hotel Surabhi Near Mishrana Police Chauki +91.5872.254435
+91.5872.258011
Hotel Ashirwad Bus Station Road
Near Heeralal Dharamshala		 +91.5872.259373
+91.5872.273632
+91.9935811644
Hotel Saluja Railway Crossing
Sitapur Road		 +91.5872.273072
+91.5872.273524

Restaurants

Restaurant Address
Shivam Restaurant Hamdard Chauraha, Main Road
Green Vegitaria Naurangabad Road

Entertainment

Cinema halls in the Lakhimpur City –

Historical places

Naseeruddin Memorial Hall

East India Company built Willoughby Memorial Hall in 1924 in the memory of Sir Robert William Douglas Willoughby, Deputy Commissioner of Kheri. On 26 April 1936, Willoughby Memorial Library was established. Freedom Fighter Naseeruddin Mauzi Nagar and Rajnarayan Mishra shot the Deputy Commissioner and they were later hanged by the colonial rulers during freedom struggle. Willoughby Memorial Hall was recently renamed as Naseeruddin Memorial Hall.

Eid Gaah, Kheri

The Eid Gaah is a beautiful mosque near the railway tracks between Lakhimpur and Kheri. It is a picturesque site and an architectural beauty.

Shiv Temple Gola Gokaran Nath

Shiv Temple of Gola Gokaran Nath is a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.[28] The Gola Gokaran Nath is also called Choti Kashi. It is the belief of the people that Lord Shiva was pleased with the penance (Tapasya) of Rawana (King of Lanka) and offered him a boon. Rawana requested the Lord Shiva to go to Lanka with him and leave Himalya forever. The Lord Shiva agreed to go on condition that he should not be placed anywhere on the way to Lanka. If he were placed anywhere, he would settle at that place. Rawana agreed and started his journey to Lanka with the Lord on his head. When Rawana reached the Gola Gokaran Nath (then called Gollihara) he felt the need to urinate (a call of nature). Rawana offered some gold coins to a shepherd (who was none other than Lord Ganesha send by deities) for placing the Lord Shiva on his head until he returned. The shepherd (Lord Ganesha) placed him on the land. Rawana failed to lift him up despite all his efforts. He pressed him on his head with his thumb in full anger. The impression of Rawana's thumb is still present on the Shivling. In the month of Chatra (April) a great fair is organised for one month known as Cheti-Mela.

Frog Temple

The unique Frog Temple lies at Oel town, 12 km from Lakhimpur on the route from Lakhimpur to Sitapur. It is the only one of its kind in India based on Manduk Tantra. It was built by the former king of Oel State (Lakhimpur Kheri district) between 1860 and 1870. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva. This temple is built at the back of a large frog. The Temple is constructed within an octagonal lotus. The Shivling installed in the temple was brought from the Banasur Prati Narmdeshwar Narmada Kund. The main gate of the temple opens in the east and another gate is in the south. The architecture of this temple is based on Tantra Vidya.

Shiv Temple Lilauti Nath

It is believed that the holy Shivling of this place was founded by the Asvasthama son of Guru Dronacharya in the Mahabharata period. The Lilauti Nath temple was reconstructed by the former kings of Mahewa estate (Lakhimpur Kheri district). This temple is also dedicated to Lord Shiva. The Shivling installed here is rare of its kind. It changes several colours in a day. It is said that every morning when the door of the temple is opened the Shivling is found in a worshipped position with the flowers and other worship items. It is the belief of the people that Asvasthama is immortal and worships here every day before opening the door. A great fair is organised in the Shrawan month (July) every day and each Amawasya of every month....

Shiv Temple Devkali

It is said that Janmejayi son of king Prikshit organised famous Nag Yagya at this place. It is believed that snakes do not enter houses where the holy soil of this temple is present. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is also believed that the Devakali, daughter of Lord Brahama (Founder of the world) did a hard penance (Tapsya) at this place. After the name of Lord Brahama's daughter this place is known as Devakali.

Transport

Lakhimpur city is 124 km. from the state capital Lucknow. It can be easily reached by train (meter gauge) or UPSRTC Bus services.

By Road: Delhi – Muradabad – Bareilly – Shahjahanpur – Gola Gokaran Nath – Lakhimpur (425 km approx)
By Train: Delhi – Muradabad – Bareilly and then Bareilly City – Pilibhit – Mailani – Gola Gokaran Nath – Lakhimpur
By Train: Delhi – Lucknow and Lucknow – Sitapur – Lakhimpur
By Train: Delhi – Muradabad – Bareilly – Shahjahanpur (NR) and then by road to Lakhimpur via:Gola Gokaran Nath 102 km

By Road: Lucknow – Sitapur – Lakhimpur 135 km
By Train: Lucknow – Sitapur – Lakhimpur (NER)

Zafar Ali Naqvi and Jitin Prasada promised of getting the meter gauge[29] railway track of the district converted to broad gauge during 2009 Parliamentary elections. Once this is accompilshed, it would make Lakhimpur easily accessible from Delhi and other major cities in India.

Railway Budget 2010 (Gauge conversion – Lakhimpur)[30]
Snippet from Railway Budget presented by Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee in the Parliament on 24 February 2010 –

On the basis of requests received from the Hon’ble Members, State Government and others, the following surveys are proposed to be taken up:
Lucknow-Sitapur-Lakhimpur-Pilibhit

Communication and Radio Stations

Communication Networks

All prominent tele-communication network provider in India offers their services in Lakhimpur Kheri. The city of Lakhimpur falls under Uttar Pradesh East telecom Circle. Calls from city of Lakhimpur to neighbouring districts including rest of the area in the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand telecom circle are considered to be local.

GSM Service Providers GSM Service Providers Broadband Service Providers
Idea Cellular(Escotel)
Reliance India Mobile
BSNL Broadband
Cellone
Tata Indicom[31]
Airtel Broadband
Airtel
BSNL WLL
Sify iWay
Vodafone-IN (Hutch)
Aircel
Radio Services

Radio is one of the mode of entertainment in Lakhimpur. Radio services available are –

Service Provider Frequency
AKASHVANI
100.4 MHz
Big 92.7 FM, Bareilly station
92.7 MHz
Radio mantra
91.9 MHz

Notable residents

Many famous people in the past and present have been born in Lakhimpur, resident in the city or connected to it in some way. The following is a list of the more notable ones:

Sister cities

Sitapur district

See also

References

  1. ^ http://kheri.nic.in/
  2. ^ a b http://kheri.nic.in/dudwa/dudwa.htm
  3. ^ http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=28770
  4. ^ http://www.indiawildliferesorts.com/national-parks-in-uttar-pradesh.html
  5. ^ http://www.up-tourism.com/destination/dudhwa/intro.htm
  6. ^ www.urbanindia.nic.in/programme/uwss/rank_cities_0910.pdf
  7. ^ http://kheri.nic.in//
  8. ^ The Imperial Gazetteer of India Vol XV, Karachi To Kotayam
  9. ^ http://www.archive.org/stream/imperialgazettee15greauoft/imperialgazettee15greauoft_djvu.txt
  10. ^ a b http://kheri.nic.in/Forms/profile.htm
  11. ^ http://www.indianexpress.com/news/SP-retains-both-seats-in-UP-Assembly-by-polls/715233/
  12. ^ http://india.gov.in/govt/loksabhampdetail.php?mpcode=4279
  13. ^ http://india.gov.in/govt/loksabhampbiodata.php?mpcode=4065
  14. ^ http://www.indiaelections.co.in/lok-sabha-constituencies/uttar-pradesh/kheri/
  15. ^ http://www.indiaelections.co.in/lok-sabha-constituencies/uttar-pradesh/dhaurahra/
  16. ^ a b Ministry of Panchayati Raj (8 September 2009). "A Note on the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme". National Institute of Rural Development. http://www.nird.org.in/brgf/doc/brgf_BackgroundNote.pdf. Retrieved 27 September 2011. 
  17. ^ http://business.mapsofindia.com/sugar-industry/uttarpradesh.html
  18. ^ http://www.bajajhindustan.com/home.htm
  19. ^ http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/sail-to-setsteel-processing-unit-at-lakhimpur-kheri_367503.html
  20. ^ http://jpcindiansteel.nic.in/newsdetail.asp?mdate=2%2F24%2F2009
  21. ^ "Religion in Lakhimpur Kheri". a study done by Bharat Sanchar Nigam. http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Dist_File/datasheet-0923.pdf. Retrieved 19 May 2009. 
  22. ^ a b c d e f "District Census 2011". Census2011.co.in. 2011. http://www.census2011.co.in/district.php. Retrieved 30 September 2011. 
  23. ^ US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2119rank.html. Retrieved 1 October 2011. "Liberia 3,786,764 July 2011 est." 
  24. ^ "2010 Resident Population Data". U.S. Census Bureau. http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/apportionment-pop-text.php. Retrieved 30 September 2011. "Oregon 3,831,074" 
  25. ^ M. Paul Lewis, ed (2009). "Awadhi: A language of India". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (16th edition ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=awa. Retrieved 28 September 2011. 
  26. ^ Nature's strongholds: the world's great wildlife reserves – Page 211, ISBN 0-691-12219-9, 9780691122199
  27. ^ http://projecttiger.nic.in/dudhwa.htm
  28. ^ http://kheri.nic.in/HistoricPlaces/historical_places.htm
  29. ^ http://www.indianexpress.com/news/beat-this-dynasty-vermas-eye-10th-ls-win/456036/0
  30. ^ http://pib.nic.in/archieve/railbudget/rbudget2010/RBspeechEng.pdf
  31. ^ "Tata Indicom services in Lakhimpur". tataindicom.com. http://www.tataindicom.com/t-onthego-ptb-locations.aspx. Retrieved 28 April 2009. 
  32. ^ http://www.fatheroflions.org/ArjanSingh.html
  33. ^ http://www.wwfindia.org/news_facts/index.cfm?uNewsID=1160
  34. ^ http://india.gov.in/myindia/images/ps_awards.pdf
  35. ^ http://www.india-today.com/itoday/20051205/educaton.html
  36. ^ http://india.gov.in/myindia/padmashri_awards_list1.php?start=400
  37. ^ http://www.sanushukla.weebly.com/

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