Gulbarga district General information
Gulbarga District is situated between 76°.04' and 77°.42 east longitude, and 16°.12' and 17°.46' north latitude, covering an area of 16,224 square kilometres. The population of the district is 2.5 million (25 lakh). The district comprises 10 taluks. The climate of the district is generally dry and healthy with temperature ranging from 5ºc in the winter to 45ºc in the summer, and an annual rainfall of about 750 mm.
The entire district is situated in Deccan Plateau and the general elevation ranges from 300 to 750 meters above mean sea level. Two main rivers, Krishna and Bhima, flow in the district.
History
Gulbarga district was formerly part of Hyderabad state and most of the district became a part of Mysore state (later Karnataka) in 1956. Two taluks became part of Andhra Pradesh.
Shri Kshetra Gangapur, a well known pilgrimage of God Shri Sadguru Dattatreya, is very close to Gulbarga.
GULBARGA was known as 'KALBURGI' in former days which means stony land inKannada.Gulbarga district is situated in the northern part of Karnataka State. In the earlier days, Gulbarga was a district of Hyderabad Karnataka area and became a part of Karnataka State after re-organization of states.
Recorded history of this district dates back to the 6th Century A.D. The Rashtrakutas gained control over the area but the Chalukyas regained their domain within a short period and regained supreme for over two hundred years. The Kalahari's who succeeded them ruled till the 12th Century AD. Around the close of the 12th century.
The Yadavas of Devagiri and the Hoysalas of Dwarasamadra destroyed the supremacy of the Chalukyas and kalachuris. About the same period the kakatiya kings of Wrangle came into prominence and the present Gulbarga and Raichur districts formed part of their domain . The Kakatiya power was subdued in 1321 AD and the entire Deccan including the district of Gulbarga passed under the control of the Muslim Emperors of Delhi.
The revolt of the Muslim officers appointed from Delhi resulted in founding of ,the Bahmani kingdom in 1347 AD, by Hassan Gangu who chose Gulbarga to be his capital. When the Bahmani dynasty came to an end, the kingdom broke up into five independent Sultanates and the present Gulbarga district came partly under Bidar and partly under Bijapur.
With the conquest of the Deccan by Aurangezeb in the 17th century, Gulbarga passed back to the Mughal Empire. In the early part of the 18th century when Mughal Empire was declining Asaf Jha a general of Aurangzeb became independent and formed the Hyderabad State in which a major part of Gulbarga area was also included .In 1948 Hyderabad state became a part of Indian Union and in 1956, excluding two talukas which were annexed to Andhra Pradesh the remaining talukus of Gulbarga district became part of New Mysore State
Geography
The district has total area of 16174 Sq. Kms. This constitutes 5.93% of the area of the state. The region is characterized by black cotton soil, expanses of flat treeless surface, a range of hills covering a surface of about 60 miles and same lower belts following the main rivers. The district is devoid of forest except in the hilly portion of Aland and Chincholi. The area under forest is 4.2% of the total area.
The weather in Gulbarga constitutes of 3 main seasons. The summer which spans from late February to mid June. It is followed by the south west monsoon which spans from the late June to late September. It is then followed by dry winter weather until mid January.
Temperatures during the different seasons are:
* Summer : 40 to 46 °C
* Monsoon: 27 to 34 °C
* Winter : 10 to 26 °C
Gulbarga has a very hot summer season, with temperatures reaching upto 50 degrees C unoffically. There are beatiful temples in and around Gulbarga to visit are Ganagapur( Dattatrya Temple), Sharanabasaveshwar Temple(Gulbarga), Sri. Hulakantheshwar Temple (Herur.B) Sri Dattatreya and Hulankatheshwar and Ghathargi Bhagamma Temples are located on the bank of Bhima river.
Demographics
The population of the district is 3,130,922 citizens (2001). The district comprises 10 taluks. The district is 27.23% urban.
Weather
The climate of the district is generally dry and healthy with temperature ranging from 20ºc in the winter to 40ºc in the summer, and an annual rainfall of about 750 mm.
Topography and Vegetation
The entire district is situated in Deccan Plateau and the general elevation ranges from 300 to 750 meters above mean sea level. Black and red soil is predominant soil type in the district. The district has a large number of tanks which, in addition to the rivers, irrigate the land. The Upper Krishna Project is major irrigation venture in the district. Bajra, toor, sugarcane, groundnut, sunflower, sesame, castor bean, black gram, jowar, wheat, cotton, ragi, bengal gram, and linseed are grown in this district.
Industry
Gulbarga is an industrially backward district, but is presently showing signs of growth in the cement, textile, leather and chemical industries. Gulbarga has a university with medical and engineering colleges. It has two famous places to look at one is Shri Sharanabasaveshwara temple and
Khawaza Bande Nawaz darga.
Places of interest
Gulbarga's old moated fort is in a much deteriorated state, but it has a number of interesting buildings inside including the Jama Masjid, reputed to have been built by a Moorish architect during the late 14th or early 15th century who imitated the great mosque in Cordoba, Spain. The mosque is unique in India, with a huge dome covering the whole area, four smaller ones at the corners, and 75 smaller still all the way around. The fort itself has 15 towers. Gulbarga also has a number of imposing tombs of Bahmani kings, a shrine to an important Muslim saint, Sharana Basaveshwara Temple, Sri Sai baba temple, Sri Ram Mandir and Sri Bhavani shankar temple(Sri Sadashiv maharaj).
Sri Kshetra Ghangapur is a famous pilgrimage center of God Sri Sadguru Dattarya, situated very close to Gulbarga. Thousands of pilgrims visit Gulbarga during the annual festival held at the holy shrine of Khwaja Bande Nawaz Darga to commemorate his death anniversary.
Khwaja Bande Nawaz Darga (K.B.N. DARGA)
Shri Shri Shri Sharana Basaveshwara Temple.
Siddhart Budhha Vihar