Robertsganj

Robertsganj
city
Nickname(s): Rbgnj
Robertsganj Location in Uttar Pradesh, India
Coordinates: 24°42′N 83°04′E / 24.7°N 83.07°E / 24.7; 83.07Coordinates: 24°42′N 83°04′E / 24.7°N 83.07°E / 24.7; 83.07
Country	India
State	Uttar Pradesh
District	Sonbhadra
Elevation	301 m (988 ft)
Population (2001)
• Total	32,209
Languages
• Official	Hindi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	231216
Telephone code	+91 5444

Robertsganj (Hindi: राबर्टसगंज, Urdu: رابرٹس گنج) is a city and a municipal board in Sonbhadra district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Located in the southeastern corner of the state. Robertsganj is the administrative headquarters of Sonbhadra District.The district Sonbhadra and Robertsganj as its district headquarter was created by carving off the southern part of the earlier Mirzapur district on 4 March 1989. Son, Karmnasha, Chandra Prabha, Rihand, Kanhar, Renu, Ghagar and Belan Rivers drain this area. The city is named after Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts.

Located between Vindhyan Range and Kaimur Range, this area had been the centre of activities of pre-historic man which is evident from the rock paintings (pre-historic cave art) found in abundance in this region.

Geography

Robertsganj is located at 24°42′N 83°04′E / 24.7°N 83.07°E / 24.7; 83.07.^[1] It has an average elevation of 301 metres (987 feet). Robertsganj is located in the south-eastern ranges of the Vindhyachal mountain.

Transport

Robertsganj is located about 90 km from the city of Varanasi, which is also the nearest airport. Flights are available to all major Indian cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Agra, Bangalore, Chennai, Patna, Khajuraho, Hyderabad, Gaya etc. International connections are Bangkok, Colombo, Hong Kong, Macca and Kathmandu. Robertsganj is well connected to Lucknow, Allahabad, Varanasi and Mirzapur by road. Buses are available at all hours of the day from Varanasi and it normally takes 2½ hours to cover the distance. The city is connected by rail to Delhi, Allahabad, Ranchi and Patna. Some notable trains passing through the town are Muri express (Jammu Tawi - Delhi - Tata Nagar), Jharkhand Swarna Jayanti Express/12873(Hatia - Kanpur - Delhi) and Triveni Express (Bareilly - Lucknow - Shaktinagar), Intercity Express (Singrauli - Varanasi).

The highway connecting Varanasi and Waidhan passes through the city. Though this is not a national highway it is a very busy road because of the towns Renukot, Anpara, Shaktinagar which are sufficiently commercialized areas. National Thermal Power corporation is in Shaktinagar and also National Coalfield different projects like Singrauli, Khadia, Jayant, Dudhichua, Amlori, Kakri etc. These areas have several major coal mines which cater a big part of the coal need of the state. Churk a nearby town is situated around 10 km, where Jaypee group is establishing a thermal power project.

Climate

Robertsganj has a relatively subtropical climate with high variation between summer and winter temperatures. The average temperature is 32 °C–42 °C in the summer and 2 °C–15 °C in the winter. The weather is pleasant in rainy season from July to October. The natural beauty in city's outskirt is worth watching.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census,^[2] Robertsganj had a population of 32,209. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Robertsganj has an average literacy rate of 66%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 74%, and female literacy is 58%. In Robertsganj, 16% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Actual population in 2007 must be around 90,000 (approx). Most of the population lives on farming, and owning small businesses of their own. As Robertsganj has now become the administrative headquarters, many people also are employed in government services.

Historical Places

Chandrakanta, a popular Hindi novel by Devaki Nandan Khatri is related to VIJAYGARH FORT. The princess Chandrakanta of Vijaygarh, and the prince Virendra Singh of Naugarh. Krur Singh, a member of the Vijaygarh king's court who dreams of marrying Chandrakanta and taking over the throne. When Krur Singh fails in his endeavor, he flees the kingdom and befriends Shivdutt, the powerful neighboring king of Chunargarh (a renaming of "Chunar-fort", referring to the fort in Chunar that inspired Khatri to write the novel).

• Vijaygarh Fort, Sonbhadra : Located at the distance of about 30 km from Robertsganj in south east direction in Mau Kalan village on Robertsganj-Churk road, in the Sonbhadra District. Built in 5th Century, at a height of 400 feet from the ground level by Kol Kings, the Fort is famous for its rock inscriptions, cave paintings, many statues and its perennial ponds. There are four ponds inside the premises of the fort which never dries up.

• Naugarh Fort, Sonbhadra : Naugarh Fort is a small structure situated approximately 2 km from Naugarh Township in Robertsganj. The fort was built by the Kashi Naresh. Of late, it is being used as a guest house for government officers. The fort offers panoramic views of Karmnasha River and the surrounding areas. The Naugarh Fort has some remains found around it. These remains date back to 3000 years and stand testimony to the ancient history of this site.

• Aghorigarh Fort, Sonbhadra :Located at a distance of about 10 km from Chopan, which is 35 km from Robertsganj, on Renukut (SH-5) road.The fort is surrounded by the rivers from three sides, viz., Vijul, Regu and Son.
• Sodharigarh Durg, Sonbhadra

Media

Gaon Girav & Kaimoor Times are among the few Hindi News Paper published from this district.

See also

• Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts

External links

• (24°41′11″N 83°03′56″E / 24.686426°N 83.065664°E / 24.686426; 83.065664^[3]) Geo links for Robertsganj

References