Harihar

Harihar
ಹರಿಹರ
Harihara
city

Harihar

Location in Karnataka, India

Coordinates: 14°30′25″N 75°48′00″E / 14.507°N 75.8°ECoordinates: 14°30′25″N 75°48′00″E / 14.507°N 75.8°E
Country  India
State Karnataka
District Davanagere district
Government
 • Body Harihar City Municipal Council
Area
 • Total 7.8 km2 (3.0 sq mi)
Elevation 539 m (1,768 ft)
Population (2011)[1]
 • Total 145,000
 • Density 19,000/km2 (48,000/sq mi)
Languages
 • Official Kannada
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 577 601
Telephone code (91) 08192
Vehicle registration KA-17
Civic agency Harihar City Municipal Council
Distance from Davangere 14 kilometres (8.7 mi)
Distance from Bangalore 275 kilometres (171 mi)
Website hariharcity.gov.in

Harihar ([hʌrihər] also called Harihara) is a city located in Davanagere District in the Indian state of Karnataka.It is also the administrative headquarters of the Harihar Taluk.Harihar also spelled Hari-hara, in Hinduism,is a syncretic deity, combining the two major gods, Vishnu (Hari) and Siva (Hara). Images of Harihara (also known as Sambhu-Visnu and Sankara-Narayana, variants of the names of the two gods) began to appear in the classical period after sectarian movements, which elevated one god as supreme over the others, had waned sufficiently for efforts at compromise to be attempted.The region of Harihar had been under the control of the Hoysalas from the 11th to 13th centuries AD. Harihar is famous for a Harihareshwara temple, which is also known as "Dakshina Kashi".

Harihara is situated on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, 275 kilometres north of Bangalore. The neighboring city Davangere is 14 km; Harihar is connected by road and railway, and is located on national Highway 4 (Puna – Bangalore). It has a very pleasant climate through the year. Both Harihar and Davangere cities are referred as twin cities like Hubli and Dharwad.

History

There is famous temple built in the 12th century during Hoysala's time called Harihareshwara temple (Guharanya Kshetra), from which the city derives its name, which is also known as "Dakshina Kashi".

The god Harihareshwara is a combination of god Shiva and Vishnu. There is a story behind avatara of this god. In ancient days this place was known as 'Guharanya'. A dense jungle and habitat of a demon Guhasura. He had a boon that no human or Rakshasa or god can kill him. And he started harassing people around this place. Then Vishnu and Shiva came together in a new avatara called Hari – Hara (Harihara) and killed demon Guhasura. That is how this place has got the name Harihar. Every year the Car festival is celebrated. Harihar also has a famous Ragavendra Mutt located on the banks of Tungabandra.

The harihar serves as a major industrial base also. It is served by the Kirloskar industry and at present Aditya Birla Group's Grasim Industries, Synthite, Shamanur Sugar's and more. Kirloskar Engineering company has closed down, resulting in a loss of nearly 15,000 jobs. As Harihar is geographically located in the center of Karnataka, it was proposed to be made the capital of the state. However, Bangalore was chosen as the capital. The major lifeline of this small town is the Tungabhadra river, which continues to be exploited and polluted as a result of heavy industrialization.

Attractions

Harihareshwara Temple at Harihar

Harihar is popular for temples.

Education

Harihareshwara Temple mandapa at Harihar

Harihar is a developing city as private sector has a faster growth than the government sector. Harihar is one of the modern cities & looks like district comparing to other towns. Mysore Kirloskar Education Trust(MKET) being one of the oldest educational institution here in this town, provides excellent education to the students. Here is a list of school's and colleges in Harihar town.

Education has mainly been dominated by the Mysore Kirloskar Education Trust and Sri Shaila Jagadguru Vagish Panditaradhya (SJVP) group of Schools, Colleges and has been source for quality outgoing students, although new ones are being added up.

Every year when 10th (SSLC) and 12th (PUC) results announced most of the top rank students will be from the MKET Schools/Colleges, St. Mary's School or Birla Schools or Colleges. So every year there will be positive competition among these Education Institutions which will generate good results in the students education.

Harihar also has one ITI college which will provide industrial training to the students in the Carpentery, Fittings and joints, Electrical, and Turners.

SJVP College is another oldest Education Institution of Harihar which provides education for both boys & girls from School level to degree level. This Education Institution provides Science, Arts and Commerce courses in PUC level, Bsc, BA, Bcom, Msc, MA and Mcom in Degree level. Even BEd, MEd, TCH can also be done in this institution.

Apart from the above-mentioned Schools and Colleges there are many new Schools and Colleges have been opened in the past 5 years. There is a plan to open an orphanage by St. Aloysius group of Institutions.

In Harihar,there is an absence of Engineering and Diploma Institutions which is very important in modern day living. Presently students of Harihar have to travel 14 kilometers to Davangere city or to Ranebennur town which is 28 kilometers from Harihar to study Engineering or Diploma courses. Karnataka government has to plan about introducing Engineering and Diploma colleges here so that the students can avail the benefit of studying Engineering and other Technical Education in their own town.

Geography

Harihar is located at 14°31′N 75°48′E / 14.52°N 75.8°E.[2] It has an average elevation of 540 metres (1771 feet).

Urban population, 1.45 Lakhs (2011)
Num of properties, 47,098
City area, 10.8 km²
Length of roads, 101.05 km
Total Water Supply, 62,00,000 LD
Per Capita Water Supply, 80 LPCD
Summer temp, 32 °C to 40 °C
Winter temp, 18 °C to 22 °C

Demographics

Population growth 
CensusPop. %±
197133,888
—
198152,33454.4%
199166,64727.3%
200175,04212.6%
201177,4473.2%

As of 2011 India census,[1] Harihar had a population of 1.45 lakhs. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. In Harihar, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Connectivity

Situated exactly in the middle of Karnataka, Harihar has a good connectivity from South and North of Karnataka.

By Air - The nearest airport is at Hubli 131 km from Harihar. From there one can take flights to Bangalore and Mumbai. The nearest International airport is 275 km away in Bangalore, from where one can take flights for most of the important cities in India. Harihar also has a private airport owned by Aditya Birla Group in their campus and often used by politicians and famous personalities.

By Railway - Harihar is well connected with most of the major cities like New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai through regular trains. Harihar has two Railway Stations viz., 1. Harihar; and 2. Amaravati Colony Junction. These stations connect Harihar to Bangalore Pune Railway lines and to Hospet and Bellary via Kottur.

By road 
With NH4 (Part of Golden Quadrilateral) passing close by there is a good network of roads that connects Harihar to other important cities of the region.
Buses 
It is a 3 hours drive from Hubli (131 km) and 6 hours drive from Bangalore (278 km). Most of the buses which ply from/to North Karnataka to/from South Karnataka (if not all) go via this place. The town is 14 km from Davanagere city, was earlier a part of Chitradurga district (78 km). This town is also near to Hampi, a historical place and Tungabhadra Dam, Hospet. Most of the buses plying from North Karnataka to Dharmasthala, Shimoga, Mysore go via Harihar. Private travels include:
Trains 
Good Train facility, again connecting Hubli - Bangalore route. Intercity express "Rani Chennamma Express" and Janashatabdi Express are the major trains which people there rely upon and commonly commute in. Other trains include Hubli-Bangalore Fast Passenger which is by all means the convenient train to go to Bangalore (departs from Harihar at 8:30 pm, arrives at Bangalore at 7:10 a m) or to come to Harihar (departs from Bangalore at 11:00 pm and arrives at Harihar at 7:00 am). Another train which has come to light recently is the Dharwar-Mysore express train which departs from Harihar at 10:45 pm.

There is a direct weekly train from New Delhi to Mysore (via Harihar). Train Name - Swarna Jayanthi Express is one of the longest connectivity so far from harihar. An interesting fact about this is Whether the train is coming from Mysore towards New Delhi or New Delhi towards Mysore, the time it passes Harihar remains same around 1:30 AM.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  2. ↑ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Harihar

External links