Muzaffarnagar

Muzaffarnagar मुज़फ़्फ़रनगर
City
Muzaffarnagar Location in Uttar Pradesh, India
Coordinates: 29°28′20″N 77°42′32″E / 29.472332°N 77.708874°E / 29.472332; 77.708874Coordinates: 29°28′20″N 77°42′32″E / 29.472332°N 77.708874°E / 29.472332; 77.708874
Country	Republic of India
State	Uttar Pradesh
District	Muzaffarnagar
Named for	Muzaffar-Ali-Khan
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Body	Municipality
• D.M.	Nikhil Chandra Shukla
Area
• Total	150 km2 (60 sq mi)
Population (2011)[1]
• Total	3,92,451
• Rank	12
• Density	2,600/km2 (6,800/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Hindi & Urdu
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	251001/251002
Telephone code	0131
Vehicle registration	UP 12
Website	muzaffarnagar.nic.in

Muzaffarnagar ( pronunciation , Hindi: मुज़फ्फरनगर, Moo'zaffar'nagar) is a city and a municipal board in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Recently, the Muzaffarnagar district has been included in National Capital Region by Indian Government. The city was established in Mughal period by a Sayyid Jagirdar, Munawar Lashkar Ali, and so named in honour of his father, Muzaffar Ali Khan. It is the headquarters of the Muzaffarnagar district. Many popular farmer leaders including Late Sh. Mahendra Singh Tikait (Founder - Bharatiya Kisan Union) come from MuzaffarNagar. It is situated midway on Delhi - Haridwar/Dehradun National Highway (NH 58), the city is also well connected with the national railway network. The city is located in the middle of highly fertile upper Ganga-Yamuna doab region and is quite near to the National capital, making it one of the most developed and prosperous cities of Uttar Pradesh. Muzaffarnagar district was included in National Capital Region (NCR) on 9 June 2015 opening new avenues of development for the city. This city is also part of Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) and Amritsar Delhi Kolkata Industrial Corridor (ADKIC) opening door of opportunities in the region.

History

During the reign of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, an older city named Sarwat, was named Muzaffar Nagar by Sayyid Munawar Lashkar Ali in honour of his father, Sayyid Muzaffar Ali Khan, Khan-i-Jahan who was appointed, ruler of this region.^[2] In 1901, during the British Raj, it was district in the Meerut Division in United Provinces of Agra and Oudh.^[3]

The 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots between Hindus and Muslims resulted in 62 deaths.^[4]

Geography

MuzaffarNagar is located at 29°28′N 77°41′E / 29.47°N 77.68°E / 29.47; 77.68^[5] at an elevation of 272 meters above sea level in the Doab region of Indo-Gangetic Plain. It is located 125 kilometres NE of the national capital, Delhi, and roughly 200 kilometres SE of Chandigarh. The historical cities of Bijnor, Meerut and Hastinapur are close by. Also in proximity are New Delhi, Ghaziabad, Roorkee, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Dehra Dun, Saharanpur, Panipat, Karnal, Yamunagar and the hill station of Mussoorie.

Climate

Muzaffarnagar has a monsoon influenced humid subtropical climate characterized by hot summers and cooler winters. Summers last from early April to late June during and are extremely hot. The monsoon arrives in late June and continues till the middle of September. Temperatures drop slightly, with plenty of cloud cover but with higher humidity. Temperatures rise again in October and the city then has a mild, dry winter season from late October to the middle of March. June is the warmest month of the year. The temperature in June averages 32.8 °C. In January, the average temperature is 13.9 °C. It is the lowest average temperature of the whole year. The average annual temperature in Muzaffarnagar is 24.2 °C. The highest and lowest temperatures ever recorded in Muzaffarnagar are 47 °C (117 °F) and −0.9 °C (30.4 °F) respectively. The rainfall here averages 955 mm. The driest month is April, with 3 mm of rain. Highest precipitation falls in July, with an average of 294 mm.

Demographics

As of the 2011 census, Muzaffar Nagar municipality had a population of 392,451^[1] and the urban agglomeration had a population of 494,792.^[6] The municipality had a sex ratio of 897 females per 1,000 males and 12.2% of the population were under six years old.^[1] Effective literacy was 80.99%; male literacy was 85.82% and female literacy was 75.65%.^[1] The city has 58% Hindus, 38% Muslims, 1.5% Sikhs, 0.5% Christians and 2% Jains.^[7]

Muzaffarnagar city is governed by Municipal Corporation which comes under Muzaffarnagar Urban Agglomeration. Although Muzaffarnagar city has population of 392,451; its urban / metropolitan population is 494,792 of which 261,338 are males and 233,454 are females. The majority of the population speaks Hindi.

Language

Khari Boli, a prestigious dialect of Hindi, is the native tongue of the city which resembles a lot with the Haryanvi dialect of Hindi.

Media and communications

Radio SD(90.8) has a local station in Muzaffarnagar which transmits various programs of mass interest.

Economy

ASJ Grand Plaza Mall

The region is one of the important sugarcane producing regions in the world. Sugar and jaggery (Hindi: गुड़) production are important industries in the Muzaffarnagar district. As a result of the farming activities around, the city is an important hub of jaggery trading business.^[8] Naveen Mandi Sthal situated in the eastern outskirts of the city is the trading hub for Jaggery and other agriculture produce.

Muzaffarnagar is an important industrial city with sugar, steel and paper being the major industries. District Muzaffarnagar has,8 sugar mills. Many steel companies market their steel products, including angles and bars, through media in the country. Hence adding another aspect to Muzaffarnagar's popularity in the country.

More than 40% of the region's population is engaged in agriculture. According to Economic Research firm Indicus Analytics, Muzaffarnagar has the highest agricultural GDP in Uttar Pradesh. It has the largest granary in UP. Despite of this much of economic power, the city has been absent from the map of the foreign and modern business establishments. The city presents challenges, not to say law and order, decaying infrastructure and communalism. However due to the efforts of the governmemts, the area remains poised on the verge of growth.

Transportation

Muzaffarnagar is well connected by road and railway networks. The Ghaziabad - Saharanpur line passes through the city thus forming the backbone of the long-distance and best possible travel from the city. Indian Railways provides connections to New Delhi, Western, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, South India and other parts of the country. Dehradun Shatabdi Express and Dehradun Jan Shatabdi Express trains pass through and halt at the Muzaffarnagar station. The Meerut - Shaharanpur section of this railway route is now being developed as a part of the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor. The corridor extends from Ludhiana in Punjab to Dankuni in West Bengal.

NH-58 passing through M.Nagar

The National Highway - 58 (NH-58) passes through Muzaffarnagar city. This highway provides connections towards Delhi on the southern direction and upper reaches of the Himalayas in the Uttarakhand state on the northern direction. The highway is the backbone of the road transportation for the Muzaffarnagar city as well as Garhwal region of Uttarakhand. Cities and areas of Hardwar, Rishikesh, Dehradun as well as Badrinath and Kedarnath are served by this highway.

Environmental concerns

Muzaffarnagar lies approximately at the middle of the road journey from Delhi to Rishikesh (also on NH-58). As a resultant, many roadside resorts and eateries have sprung up on the highway near the city. Especially, the town of Khatauli is famous for its canal side forest park named Cheetal.

Unfortunately, this has also turned into a concern for the wildlife and environment. Once visited for the sight of deer and rabbits and other wild animals, the Cheetal is now encroached by privately owned dhabas and resorts thus sidelining the animals.

City transportation mostly consists of tricycles and 3-wheeled vehicles, rickshaws. Thus leading to a lot of traffic jams in the city. An international airport, Muzaffarnagar International Airport, was proposed in the city in order to reduce the traffic in at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, however, the same was transferred to the Jewar Airport.

Education

Starting from the preschools city has various preschools such as Bachpan, Kidzee and Ideal Kids. But there is one preschool which has set a standard amongst preschools and that is Little Millennium, located at the heart of city, New Mandi. There are a number of good schools and colleges in the city. Schools are mostly associated with CBSE and UP Board. A few well-known schools of the city are MG Public School at Laddhawala, Children Academy High School, L.J.P. SVM Inter college, Bhagwanti Saraswati Vidya Mandir Inter College, Islamia inter & degree college, Nawab azmat ali khan Muslim girls degree college, Deep Chandra Grain Chamber Inter College(DCGC Inter College), Kendriya Vidyalaya, S.D. Public School, G.C. Public School, Holy Angels Convent School, M.G. Public School(CSIR Adopted School), St. Pauls School, ISA awarded School by British Council of India), S.B.M. Public School, Flora Public Junior High School, DAV Public School, J.V. Public School, Shardein school, Raj Public Inter College, Stepping Stones School, Shri Guru Ram Rai Public School, S.D. Inter College, Gyan Deep Public School, DAV Inter College, Jain Inter College(Meenakshi Chowk), M.M.M Inter College, ascent public school and several others.

The city has several institutions of higher education. It is home to a major medical college and also privately funded colleges. The state-sponsored colleges like S.D Degree College, S.D College Of Management Studies, D.A.V Degree College, Choudhary Chotu Ram post Graduate College, Jain Degree College also add to this list. Self Finance colleges are SD Group of colleges, Shri Ram Group of Colleges and Deen Dayal Group of Colleges. Dr Sidharth Sharma, (A Retired Defence Serviceman), formerly Director General, Deen Dayal Group of Colleges and now Director (Administration) in S. D. Group of Colleges has taken the higher education in the district to the new highs and created new strategic path. Most of the colleges are associated to CCS university and UP Technical University.

Prahlad Singh Memorial Group of Institutions is a not for profit group of several academic and research institutions located mainly in Khatauli town of Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, India. Prahlad Singh Memorial Trust is the patron trust of this group. This group aims to provide education and research in diverse area like fine arts; science; technology; management, paramedics and medicine. Dr Vikas Kumar Pundeer is chairman of this group. At Present this group is having four colleges: (1). PRAHLAD SINGH MEMORIAL DEGREE COLLEGE, Khatauli- FALAWDA ROAD, PAMNAWALI-CHITORA, KHATAULI, MUZAFFARNAGAR, U.P, 251201. (2). PRAHALAD SINGH MEMORIAL PVT ITI, Khatauli- FALAWDA ROAD, PAMNAWALI-CHITORA, KHATAULI, MUZAFFARNAGAR, U.P, 251201. (3). PRAHLAD SINGH MEMORIAL COLLEGE OF LAW, Khatauli- FALAWDA ROAD, PAMNAWALI-CHITORA, KHATAULI, MUZAFFARNAGAR, U.P, 251201. (4). PRAHLAD SINGH MEMORIAL COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, Khatauli- FALAWDA ROAD, PAMNAWALI-CHITORA, KHATAULI, MUZAFFARNAGAR, U.P, 251201.

The city also has a Medical College Muzaffarnagar Medical College situated on Meerut - Muzaffarnagar Highway nearly 10 km on the outskirts of the city which is affiliated to CCS university & approved by Medical Council of India. Along with M.B.B.S, this college is offering various other courses.

Gandhi Polytechnic Muzaffarnagar is a well-known polytechnic College in this region. Affiliated by Uttar Pradesh Board of Technical Education (BTEUP), Lucknow, College Awarded Engineering Diploma in- Electrical, Mechanical, Civil etc.

It is important to mention contributions of Swami Kalyan Devji Maharaj in field of education. He was a unique personality who had dedicated himself to community service and had been serving villagers and others. Due to his efforts, nearly 200 institutions of national importance got established during the last one hundred years. These include: Gandhi Polytechnic, Ayurved Medical College, Ayurved Research Centre, Agriculture College, Agriculture Science Centre, Hospitals, Eye Hospitals, Degree Colleges, Inter Colleges, Senior Secondary Schools, Navodaya School, Girls' Schools, Junior High Schools, Primary Schools, Sanskrit Pathshalas, Dumb Deaf and Blind School, Yoga Training Centre, Dharmshalas, Orphanage, Old Persons' Ashram, Old Cow's Protection Centre and several other spiritual and religious centres.

Bhudev Singh, an Indian education tycoon who took active roles in propagating and implementing groundbreaking educational ideas in order to spread education in the grass root level, also belongs to Muzaffarnagar.

Engineering Colleges in Muzaffarnagar 1. SD College of Engineering & Technology, Muzaffarnagar <established in 1996> 2. Sri Ram Engineering College

Notable personalities of Muzaffarnagar

• Late Mahendra Singh Tikait, (6 October 1935 – 15 May 2011) Former President of Bhartiya Kisaan Union, Tikait was a non-political, farmer leader. He belonged to Sisauli village of Muzaffarnagar District
• Swami Kalyan Dev (1876-2004), was an ascetic who worked in the field of education and social reforms throughout his life. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan by Government of India.
• Liaquat Ali Khan, the first Prime Minister of Pakistan once lived in Muzaffarnagar. His "Kehkashan" bungalow is still present in the city in the form of shardein school near Company Garden.
• Virendra Verma, A political figure and former Governor of Punjab and Himacahal Pradesh also hailed from Muzaffarnagar
• Chandra Muni Tyagi, Gandhian Follower, Freedam Fighter, being jailed by Britishers for years.
• Nawazuddin Siddiqui, A Bollywood actor who has worked in movies such as Black Friday, New York, Peepli Live, Kahani, and Gangs of Wasseypur.
• Javed Ali, A playback singer of Bollywood and album songs, belongs to Shahpur town of Muzaffarnagar.
• Ali Quli Mirza A Bollywood actor & Pop Singer he belong from Village. Muradpura near town Baghra.
• Late Thakur Vijaypal Singh A Leader,freedom fighter & Ex MP[elected in 1971 from Muzaffarnagar against Chaudhary Charan Singh
• Late Thakur Mussadi singh of kurthal village was Biggest zamindar in district in 1901
• Late Harbhagwan Tyagi, Gandhian Follower, Freedam Fighter, being jailed by Britishers for years.

Some important places of Muzaffarnagar

Religious

• Brahma ji temple, is situated in town BUDHANA on the bank of HINDON RIVER in Muzaffarnagar district. The ancient temple in Budhana is also known as SHRI HARNANDESHWAR DHAM, NADI WALA MANDIR
• Shukratal, is a well-known religious town under Muzaffarnagar district. It is the place where Rishi Suka narrated the Bhagwat Purana to Parikshit Maharaj for 7 days before he was bitten to death by snake king takshaka as per the prophecy/curse . The thousands of years old Vat Vriksha (banyan tree) associated with times of Mahabharata and under which the historical event of Bhagwat Purana narration by rishi Suka to grandson of arjuna, the dying king Parikshit happened. It is said that because the tree witnessed and heard the Bhagwat Purna straight from rishi Suka maharaj it has become immortal. Every year lakhs of devotees come to do Parikrama (circling the perimeter of tree on foot) of this ancient tree. The divine tree Kalpavriksha planted by Swami Omanand ji and Vijaypal Baghel in Navgriha Vatika of Shuktirth. Shukratal is also famous for its temple with sky-high statues of Lord Hanuman, Lord Ganesha, Lord Shiva and Goddess Durga. The river Ganga also passes through Shukratal, flowing straight from Haridwar.
• Kali-Nadi Devi Mandir, situated at the west end of the city is one of the oldest temples in the city and holds a great mythological importance. A large scale bhandara is held here on every Devi Chaudas and on the following day of the festival of Holi, a large fair is held in and around the temple premises. Amongst several other legends attributed to the temple, prominent one is of a nawab getting cursed by the temple priest after he tried stopping the evening ceremonies of the temple forcefully for his hunting in the adjoining forest was disturbed by the sounds of temple bells and aarti chants. As per the legend the nawab fell sick the as soon as he returned home that evening and various hakeems from even the adjoining areas failed to revive him for full three weeks. When every effort seemed to be failing the munshi of the nawab reminded him of the curse and the nawab realizing the real reason of his sickness then sent his munshi with gifts of gold and silver and a letter of forgiveness to the priest, but the angry priest in turn refused to accept them and declared that he would only take the curse back on the condition that the nawab himself came and asked for forgiveness from goddess in the temple. The nawab agreed to it and went asking for forgiveness to the temple, after much pleading the priest is then said to have taken back the curse healing the nawab then and there. In appreciation of the miracle, the nawab is said to have issued a farmaan forbidding any hunting in the forest around temple premises.
• Vahelna, 4 km from the city, is a holy site for Jains. Vahelna is an excellent example of Hindu-Muslim brotherhood as the walls of Mosque, Shiv Mandir and Jain Mandir touch each other.
• Bhairo-ka-Mandir, the Bhairo Temple, is situated in the heart of the city on Ansari Road.^[9] It is a very quiet and spiritual place to spend some time. It is most visited during festival season. This temple is of special significance because it contains Ekadash-Shivlinga (eleven Shivalingas). The temple is situated right in the heart of the city, yet is hidden and few people know about it. If you need spiritual awakening do visit this temple in the morning and evening to chant the daily arti. Pandit Sunil Dobriyal is looking after the mandir premises.
• Shiv Chowk, it is a place of worship located in the heart of city on the GT Road. Over 300 thousand kawariyas perform parikrama of the Holy temple on the occasion of Shiv Ratri.The very first photographic establishment of the western Uttar Pradesh "Gufran Studio" is also at shiv chowk.
• "Shri Shri Golokdham" A religious place for Devotess of lord krishna situated at heart of muzaffarnagr city i.e. Gandhi colony.
• Sankirtan Bhawan, popularly known as Kirtan Bhawan, is also very famous. It is situated in prime residential area of New Mandi. A Kirtan (singing of Bhajans in praise of Lord) is conducted daily in evening here; the temple got its name on this daily activity. It is the only temple in 5 districts nearby to have a statue of Lord Tirupati Balaji (an avatar of Lord Vishnu) in accordance with Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh. A Bhandaara (free distribution of food as Lord's Prasada) is being organised at this temple's "Anna Shetra" (Food Area) daily at 12.00 noon. More than 1,00,000 poor people are being served annually here. It was started by a well-known philanthropist and businessman of his time, Late Giani Ram Gupta, in 1979 out of his own funds but by Lord's blessing very soon the initiative received heavy donations and today it supports similar initiatives in areas nearby.
• ram lila tilla is also famous in Muzaffarnagar city, ram lila tilla use for ram-lila in dashahara.
• Dallu Devta, A religious place near Kali Nadi.
• Balaji Dham, (an avatar of Lord Hanuman), aka Balaji Temple, is also famous; it is situated in 'New Mandi' area of Muzaffarnagar. A Bhandaara is also organised here daily at 2.00 PM.
• Jai Maa Shakti Mandir situated in Patel Nagar New mandi is also a famous temple in Muzaffarnagar. The temple is managed by Pt.Avadhraj Acharya.So many functions are arranged every year like ganpati utsav,shiv vavah on shivratri,janmashtmi utsav.Every year on ANNKUTA a big bhandara is arranged,thousands of people have prasad on this occasion.The temple is having fabulous murtis of god that looks so real.The one and only temple of BHAGWAN PARSHURAM(the sixth avtar of bhagwan vishnu) is situated at shivnagar,gandhi colony.

• Dargah Har Shrinath is one of the famous places for the devotees, situated at Ansari Road. The branches of the place are almost in every city of India with its Head-Office in Delhi. Every Shivratri, here is a very big function. The annual function of the temple is celebrated on 9 March with great pomp and show.

Commercial

Bhopa Road (Transport area and Commercial area for Muzaffarnagar), Shiv Chowk (Heart of the City), Devi Ahiliya Bai Holkar Chock, Bhagat Singh Road (Main Market), Court Road, Lohia Bazaar or Loha Mandi (market of steel and iron products), Ansari Road, Jhansi-ki-Rani Chowk, S.D. Market (consisting of cloth merchants and wholesalers, as well as many respected outlets), Zila Parishad market (pharmaceutical), Sadar Bazaar (Hospitals, Hosiery wholesalers, Stock-brokers etc.), Gandhi Colony, Roorkee Road Market (Heavy Engineering Products), Meerut Road (Automobile showrooms), and New Mandi (most private/public banks, cloth retailers and showrooms). Sadar Bazaar and New Mandi are the most expensive areas in terms of real estate prices.and ASJ grand plaza are first mall that open in muzaffarnagar

Residential

Rahmat Nagar,Agarsen Vihar,Ankit vihar, Prem Vihar Colony, S.B.I Colony, Surendra Nagar(both the colonies were established by Late Comrade Sh. Surendra Kumar Jain),Brahmpuri, Moti Mahal, Gangaram Pura, Abupura, Thakurdwara, Lohiya Bazaar, Panchmukhi, Krishnapuri, Hanuman Chowk, Dwarka Puri, Daal Mandi, Gudari, Janakpuri, Gandhi Nagar, Keshav Puri(South Civil line), Gadderia Coloney, Numaish Camp, Gandhi Colony, Aryapuri, Adarsh Colony, Brahmpuri, Gaushala, Gandhi Colony, Tyagi Complex, Tyagi Colony, Rampuri, Kewal Puri, Indira Colony, Jat Colony, Khalapar, Malhupura, Sarwat, Kundan Pura, Mahatma Colony, Laddawala, Ramlila Ground, New Mandi, Patel Nagar, Prem Puri, South & West Krishna Puri, Pal Nagar, Ram Puram, Saket Colony, Sarwat Gate, Kachi Sadak, Dayalbagh Colony (A colony of Radhaswami faith followers), Laxman Vihar,Avadh Vihar, sujroo,Ansal town.

References

External links

• Muzaffarnagar Official website