Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal is a city in central India. It is the capital of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Bhopal has earned the sobriquet City of 7 Lakes

Introduction

Bhopal is a city in central India. It is the capital of the state of Madhya Pradesh. Bhopal is also the administrative headquarters of Bhopal District and Bhopal Division. Historically, Bhopal was also the name of a state of central India (See Bhopal (princely state)).

On December 3, 1984, a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal leaked 40 tons of toxic methyl isocyanate gas, which killed more than 3 thousand people outright and injured anywhere from 150,000 to 600,000 others. Another 12,000 deaths have officially been ascribed to the disaster’s effects, although campaign groups put the figure much higher. (See Bhopal disaster.)

History

Bhopal is said to have been founded by the Parmara King Bhoj (1000-1055), who had his capital at Dhar. The city was originally known as Bhojpal named after Bhoj and the dam (’pal’) that he is said to have constructed to form the lakes surrounding Bhopal. Bhopal during the British Raj: see main article Bhopal (princely state)

After Independence

Bhopal was one of the last princely states to sign the ‘Instrument of Accession’ 1947. Though India achieved Independence in August 1947, the ruler of Bhopal acceded to the Indian government only on May 1, 1949. Sindhi refugees from Pakistan were accommodated in Bairagarh, a western suburb of Bhopal.

According to the States Reorganization Act in 1956, Bhopal state was integrated into the state of Madhya Pradesh, and Bhopal was declared as its capital. The population of the city rose rapidly.

In December 1984 a cloud of methyl isocyanate was released from the factory of Union Carbide, a multinational company (now taken over by Dow Chemicals). The cloud covered half of the city and killed thousands of people; see Bhopal Disaster.

Bhopal City

Law and Government

Bhopal is the capital city of Madhya Pradesh. The last mayor was Ms. Vibha Patel, who was removed by the state government. The new mayor is Indian National Congress’s Sunil Sood.

Geography
Bhopal is a hilly area, located on the Malwa plateau, and the land rises towards the Vindhya Range to the south. The summers are hot and the winters cold. It rains moderately during the rainy season.

The municipality covers 286 square kilometres. It has two very beautiful lakes, collectively known as the Bhoj Wetland. These lakes are the Upper Lake (built by King Bhoj) and the Lower Lake. The catchment area of the Upper Lake is 361 km2 while that of the Lower Lake is 9.6 km2. The Upper Lake drains into the Kolans River.

The major hills in Bhopal comprise of Idgah hills and Shyamala hills in the northern region and Arera hills in the central region.

It is well connected to the rest of the country by rail, air and road links.