Kanker district General information
Kanker district is situated in the southern region of the state Chhattisgarh. Previously Kanker was a part of old Bastar district. But in 1999 Kanker got it's identity as a independent district. Now it is surrounded by four districts of chhattisgarh state, named Bastar, Dhamtari, Durg and Rajnandgaon. Kanker is situated within the longitudes 20.6-20.24 and latitudes 80.48-81.48. the total area of the district is 5285.01 suare kilometers. Small hilly pockets are seen throughout the area and increase the beauty. mainly the five rivers flow in the district named- doodh river, Mahanadi, Hatkul river, sindur river and Turu river.
The Kanker is situated on the National Highway number 43. It lies between the two well developed cities of Chhattisgarh named Raipur (Capital of Chhattisgarh) and Jagdalpur. The Kanker is 140 kilometers away from Raipur and 160 Kilometers from Jagadalpur. A lot of Roadways and Private buses as well as taxis are available on this national Highway. Presently railway is not available in the district.
At present the Kanker district has 6 tehsils named Kanker, Charama, Narharpur, Bhanupratappur, Antagarh and Pakhanjoor and 7 blocks named Kanker, charama, bhanupratapur, Narharpurn Antagarh, Durgu kondal and Koyali beda. The total number of villages is 1074. The number of revenue villages is 988, whereas forest villages are 47. The nuber of Gram Panchayats is 362. The literacy percentage in district is 74.71 and the total population of the district is 651333. The ratio of male female is 106. The density of population is 100 per square kolometer.
History
The History of kanker is started from Stone era. In starting stage here human was like abysmal and their behave was like animals. With reference of Ramayana and Mahabharat there was a dense forest area named Dandakaranya and the Kanker state belonged to Dandakaranya.According to myths the Kanker was the land of monks. A lot of Rishis (monks) named Kank, Lomesh, Shringi, Angira were lived here. In sixth century before Christ the region was affected by Buddhism. The ancient history of Kanker tells that it remained always independent state.
In 106 AD the Kanker state was under the Satvahan dynasty And the king was Satkarni, This fact is also descripted by chinese visitor Whensaung. After Satkarni his disasters named Pulumavi, Shivshri and Shivskand became the king. After Satvahans the state was under control of Nags, Vakataks and Gupt dynasties time to time.
After the Vakataks the Kanker state came under control of Nal dynasty. according to historians Vyghraraj was the first king of Nals. the second king Varahraj won the whole region of dandakaranya. after Varahraj , Bhavdutt verma became the king of Kanker state. During the kingdom of Bhavdutt Verma Vakatak king Narendra Sen attacked on state and won a little part of state, but after some years Bhavdutt Verma recollect the lost part and also expand his state up to Orrisa and Maharashtra. after the death of Bhavdutt verma his son Arthpati became the king. He got a bigger state from his father but he was a poor king and had not the qualities like his father and lost some part of states to Vatakataks. In 475 Skand Verma became the king of Kanker state and ruled up to 500 AD. He was the last memorable king of Nal dynasty. After his death the Kanker state suffered a lot of attacks and divided into many parts. After the downfall of Nal kings the state was won by famous king Pulkeshin II of Chalukya dynasty, he also won the some part of Orrisa. During his kingdom a lot of temples were constructed in kanker state. After Pulkeshin, Vikramaditya, Vinayaditya, Vijayaditya, Vikramaditya II, Kirtiverman II were the other kings of Chalukyas They Ruled the state up to 788 AD after Chalukyas the state was ruled by different dynasties time to time like Nals, Nags, Kalchuris etc up to 1100 AD.
Due to weakness of Kalchuri king Gayakarna, A brave person Singh raj won the Kanker stateand kept the foundation of Som dynasty, He ruled the state from 1125 to 1140. After the downfall of Soms A brave and strong person Dharam Dev kept the foundation of Kandra dynasty. After the downfall of Kandras the Chandra dynasty came.
Economy
The district's economy is based on agriculture. This is the main work of tribes. Because the land is hilly and forested, trees must be cut and the land ploughed before the rainy season begins. The land is planted with rice or other grains, in an agricultural practice called Marham or Dippa. After a year or two, the land is deserted and new land prepared for planting.
Rice is the main crop of area. However wheat, sugar cane, chana, Kodo, Moong, Tilli, bhutta are the also important crops along with many types of vegetables and fruits such as mangoes and bananas.
Place of interest
Gadiya Mountain: A natural form of a fort, this mountain has a tank that never dries. The tank is named Sonai-Rupai after the daughters of the Kandra king, Dharma Dev, who established his capital on the mountain. To the south of the tank is a cave, Churi Pagar, which provided safe refuge to the King, his family and 500 people in case of attack. Towards the southeast part of the mountain is a 50 meter long cave, Jogi Cave, where monks used to meditate. A small pond in this cave flows over the rocks like a waterfall. The Doodh river flows at the bottom of the mountain. Thousands of devotees celebrate Mahashivratri by climbing this mountain.
Malanjhkudum Waterfalls: These 3 falls, 10, 15 and 9 meters in height, 15 km from Kanker, on the Doodh river, make for a superb picnic spot. There is a road to the falls.
Charre-Marre Waterfall: A 16 meter high, zig zag waterfall on the Jogi river, 17 km from Antagarh, on the way to Aamabera.
Shivani Temple: This temple has one of just 2 statues in the world that is half Goddess Kali and half Goddess Durga. The other one is in Kolkata. The Navarathri festival is celebrated enthusiastically in this temple.
Madai Festival: This tribal festival is celebrated by the tribes of Kanker and Bastar regions, to worship the local God(dess). It travels through the Kanker, Bastar and Dantewada regions from December to March each year. In December, celebrations start in Bastar to honour the goddess Kesharpal Kesharpalin Devi. In January, the people of Kanker, Charama and Kurna celebrate the festival. In February the festival goes back to Bastar and Cheri-Chher-Kin is honoured this time. Towards the end of February, the festival goes to Antagarh, Narayanpur and Bhanupratappur. In March it goes to Kondagaon, Keshkal and Bhopalpattanam. It is held in a big ground, so that thousands of people can attend the ceremony, which starts with a procession of the local God(dess), followed by worhip of the same, culminating in cultural programs, dancing and lots of good food.