Basti district

Basti district
District of Uttar Pradesh
Country India
State Uttar Pradesh
Administrative division Basti
Government
 • Lok Sabha constituencies Basti
Population (2011)
 • Total 2,461,056
 • Urban 138,117
Demographics
 • Literacy 89.2 per cent
 • Sex ratio 1002
Major highways National Highway 28
Average annual precipitation 1166 mm mm
Website Official website

Basti district is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh state, India and Basti town is the district headquarters. Basti district is a part of Basti Division. In the freedom struggle of 1857, about 250 martyrs of Amorha State were hanged by the British Government from peepal trees located at Chhawani.[1][2][3][4] The ruins of Mahua Dabar town are located in the Basti district.

Origin of name and history

Basti came from the original name basisthi, Basisth the great sage ashram situated in this area [5] Sher Shah Suri made a well and a sarai here and hence receiving the name.

In 1801, the town Basti became a tehsil headquarter, and in 1865, it was chosen as the headquarters of the newly established Basti district of Gorakhpur Commissionary.[6]

Amorha Khas is a historical place situated at a distance of 41 km from the district headquarters. It's old name is Amorha, and it was once a province (state) of Raja Zalim Singh. Also Raja Zalim Singh's Mahal is here, Old wall of mahal is still there with the mark of a bullet used by the English. Also a famous temple Ramrekha Mandir is here. Ramrekha Temple is one of the most ancient Hindu Mandir of Lord Ram & Goddess Sita. Lord Shri Ram stayed here for one day during his journey of Janakpur-Ayodhya. Lord Shri Rama & Sita with Lakshmana journeyed towards Ayodhya by the road called Ram Janki Marg (State Highway 72) near Chhawani.[2][3][4]

Geography

The district lies between the parallels of 26° 23' and 27° 30' North Latitude and 82° 17' and 83° 20' East longitude. Its maximum length from north to south is about 75 km. and breadth from east to west about 70 km. The district lies between newly created district Sant Kabir Nagar on the east and Gonda on the west On the south, the Ghaghra river near Amorha Khas previously known as Amorha Province or State of Raja Zalim Singh separates it from the Faizabad and newly created district named Ambedkar Nagar. While on the North it is bounded by district Sidharth Nagar.[7][8][9]

Demographics

Religions in Basti District
Religion Percent
Hindus
  
 84.52%
Muslims
  
 14.79%

According to the 2011 census, Basti district has a population of 2,461,056, and almost all of population lives in rural villages,[10] which roughly equals to that of Kuwait[11] or the US state of Nevada.[12] This ranks it the 179th populous district in India.[10] The district has a population density of 916 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,370/sq mi).[10] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 18.05%.[10] Basti has a sex ratio of 959 females for every 1000 males,[10] and a literacy rate of 69.69%.[10] The sex ratio of Basti is 959, better than the national sex ratio of 940.27 but better than Uttar Pradesh's 908. The child sex ratio of Basti is 922, which again is better than the national average of 914 female children per 1000 males.

Languages

Languages spoken in the district include Awadhi in western areas and Bhojpuri in the eastern side. The district Basti may be considered as the demarcation of the languages Awadhi and Hindi. In city, due to increase in educated population, khari boli of Hindi is also observed in daily conversations.[13]

Education

The district follows a usual 10+2+3 pattern of education as elsewhere in India. Some notable schools and institutions of the district are :

Administration

Basti town is the district headquarters of the district.[5] Basti district, a part of Basti division, is formed of 4 tehsils: Basti, Harriya, Sonaha Bhanpur and Rudhauli, and 15 development blocks,[21] 139 Nyay Panchayats, 2 Parganas named Amorha & Nagar as well as 10 Gram Sabhas. The development blocks included are:

Raja Zalim Singh Smarak Sthal, Amorha, Basti, Uttar Pradesh (राजा ज़ालिम सिंह स्मारक स्थल, अमोढ़ा, बस्ती उ0प्र0)

Economy

The district is noted for its cotton textiles and sugar industries. Cottage industries and small-scale industries including the manufacturing units of brass ware, iron and carpentry goods, agricultural implements, bricks, agro-products, foot-wear, soaps, candles, and pottery are present here. Basti is also known for its bamboo, eucalyptus (Eucalyptus teritrornis), mango and shisham (Dalbergia sissoo) populations. Three sugar factories are housed in the district. Sugarcane, maize, paddy, pulses, wheat, barley and potato are commonly cultivated. The most of the population is depending for their livelihood on agricultural practices. The district is well connected through NH 28 which reflects on its good economy. The city is well connected through railways also.

Basti Railway platform

In 2006 the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Basti one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640).[22] It is one of the 34 districts in Uttar Pradesh currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[22] The City is also known as the place where Nationwide Youth organisation "National Association of Youth" founded and run from Basti.[23]

Transportation

NH 28 passing near Basti facilitates inter district road transport

Basti railway station lies on the main line connecting Lucknow with Gorakhpur and places in Bihar and Assam in the east passes through the south of the district. The main line has 7 railway stations which are, from east to west, Munderwa,[24] Orwara, Basti, Govindnagar, Tinich, Gaur, and Babhnan within the district. There is a daily Intercity express between Gorakhpur, Basti, Gonda and Lucknow. National Highway 28, a part of the East West Corridor project of Government of India and NHAI,[25] also passes through Basti.

Flora and fauna

The forest cover of the district has dwindled with increasing use of land for agriculture. There are areas with high prevalence of mango (Mangifera indica), mahua (Madhuca longifolia), sal (Shorea robusta), and bamboo (Bambusa arundinacea) trees. Some of the wild animals of the district are the nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus), antelok (Anelok cervicapra), pig (Sus scrofa), wolf (Canis lupus), jackal (Conis aureus), fox (Vulpes bengalensis), hare (Lepus ruficandatus), monkey (Macaca mulatta), wild cat (Felis bengalensis) and the porcupine (Hystric leucura). Several species of game birds are also seen, including the peafowl (Pavo cristatus), the black partridge (Frencolinus francolinus) and the gray partridge (Francalinus pondicervanus). A number of migratory water fowls visit the water bodies of the district in winter, such as the goose (Anser anser), common teal (Anas crecca), red-crested pochard (Netta rufina), white-eyed pochard (Aythya rufa) and the wigeon (Mareca penelope). The cobra (Naja naja), krait (Bungarus caeruleus), and rat-snake (Ptyas mucosus) are commonly found. The Indian crocodile or naka (Crocodylus palustris), and the ghariyal (Gavialis gangeticus) are also found in the river Ghaghra. The common fish species are rohu (Lebeo rohita), bhakur (Catla catla), nain (Cirrhina mrigala), parhin (Wallagonia attu), krunch (Labeo calbasu), and tengan (Mystus seenghala).[5]

Ramrekha Mandir, Amorha, Basti, Uttar Pradesh, India (रामरेखा मन्दिर - अमोढ़ा)

Notable people

Some notable persons from the district include:

References

  1. ↑ "Places of Interest". basti.nic.in. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  2. 1 2 Thomas, D. (1998). Battles and Honours of the Royal Navy. Leo Cooper. p. 16. ISBN 9780850526233. Retrieved 2017-01-14.
  3. 1 2 Benett, W.C. (1878). The final settlement report on the Gonda district. 23. p. 22. Retrieved 2017-01-14.
  4. 1 2 Michael, B.A. (2014). Statemaking and Territory in South Asia: Lessons from the Anglo–Gorkha War (1814–1816). Anthem Press. p. 151. ISBN 9781783083220. Retrieved 2017-01-14.
  5. 1 2 3 "Origin of name". Basti Govt. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  6. ↑ http://basti.nic.in/general%20profile/general%20profile.htm
  7. ↑ http://basti.nic.in/general%20profile/Geography%20of%20basti.htm
  8. ↑ "Yahoo maps location of Basti". Yahoo maps. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
  9. ↑ Thomas, David (17 December 1998). "Battles & Honours of Royal Navy". Pen and Sword. Retrieved 25 July 2016 – via Google Books.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "District Census 2011". Census2011.co.in. 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-30.
  11. ↑ US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Retrieved 2011-10-01. Kuwait 2,595,62
  12. ↑ "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 2011-09-30. Nevada 2,700,551
  13. ↑ Gopeshwar Tripathi, ed. (2009). "Bhojpuri: A language of India". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (16th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Retrieved 2011-09-30.
  14. ↑ "Home page". Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  15. ↑ "Karma Devi Smriti Mahavidyalaya". Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  16. ↑ "JNV". Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  17. ↑ "AIIIT". Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  18. ↑ "Catholic Diocese of Gorakhpur". www.dioceseofgorakhpur.org. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  19. ↑ "LITTLE FLOWER H S KALWARI BASTI". upmspboard.com. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  20. ↑ "Welcome to Little Flower Congregation (Gorakhpur Nepal). Little Flower Congregation (CST Fathers), Ashrams & Institutions, Kalwari, Little Flower Ashram". cstfathersgorakhpur.org. Retrieved 2016-02-03.
  21. ↑ http://www.jagran.com/uttar-pradesh/basti-15245916.html
  22. 1 2 Ministry of Panchayati Raj (8 September 2009). "A Note on the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme" (PDF). National Institute of Rural Development. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  23. ↑ "NAY". Retrieved 18 Jan 2016.
  24. ↑ "Welcome - Munderwa". Retrieved 4 October 2014.
  25. ↑ "Welcome to NHAI". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
Adjacent places of Basti district
 Siddharthnagar district
Gonda district Sant Kabir Nagar district
   Basti district  
Faizabad district Ambedkar Nagar district

Coordinates: 27°15′N 83°00′E / 27.250°N 83.000°E / 27.250; 83.000

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