Ramanagara

This article is about the municipality in India. For its namesake district, see Ramanagara district.
Ramanagara
ರಾಮನಗರ
Closepet
Nickname(s): Silk city, Ramgad

Location in Karnataka, India

Coordinates: 12°43′23″N 77°17′10″E / 12.723°N 77.286°E / 12.723; 77.286Coordinates: 12°43′23″N 77°17′10″E / 12.723°N 77.286°E / 12.723; 77.286
Country  India
State Karnataka
District Ramanagara district
Government
 • Type Mayor
 • Body City Municipal Coprporation
Elevation 747 m (2,451 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 95,167
Languages
 • Official Kannada
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
Vehicle registration KA 42
Website http://www.ramanagaracity.gov.in

Ramanagara is a town and a city municipal council in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is also the headquarters of Ramanagara district.

The town was known as Shamserabad at the ruling time of Tippu Sultan. It was then called Closepet, after Sir Barry Close (1756–1813) in pre-Independence times. This name is retained in geology.

Geography

Ramanagara is approximately 50 km southwest of Bengaluru. It has an average elevation of 747 metres (2450 feet). district has 4 taluk's

Ramanagara is located on the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway National Highway 275, and State Highway 3

Demographics

As of 2001 India census,[1] Ramanagara had a population of 79,365. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Ramanagara has an average literacy rate of 63%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 67%, and female literacy is 58%. In Ramanagar,13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Figures for the district, which was carved out of Bangalore Rural in September 2007, are not available as yet.now its change to Ramanagara District

Educational Institutes

Major Institutions of Ramanagara are:

Economy

The cocoon market at Ramnagara

Ramanagara is famous for its sericulture, and is nicknamed Silk Town & Silk City . The silk produced in this region forms the input for the famous Mysore Silk. Ramanagara is the largest market for silk cocoons in Asia. 50 tonnes of cocoon a day arrive at the town.[2]

Hills and landscape

A beautiful view taken from inside an estate in Mayagana Halli, Ramnagara
Ramdevarabetta showing the cave entrances made for the film A Passage to India

Ramanagara is also famous for some of the world's oldest granite outcrops. The hill Ramadevarabetta, along with Savandurga was one of the shooting locations for David Lean's A Passage to India. Small door like grottoes were made in the rock to resemble caves.[3] It was also in this region that the path-breaking Hindi movie, Sholay, was shot.

View from Ramadevarabetta

Other well-known hills in the region include the Revanasideshwara hill and Handigundi. These hills have been threatened by quarrying and also plans to carve these hills into statues. The region is covered in scrub forest and is home to threatened bird species such as the yellow-throated bulbul and long-billed vultures.[4] The hill is today one of the few locations in south India where long-billed vultures nest. The region is also home to numerous sloth bears.[5] Tigers were found in the region in the 1900s.[6] Rangarayara doddi has a large lake. Boating facilities are available for as little as Rs. 25 per hour. The area has been developed by RCUDA. There is also a hill named "Panchavatti," which is a sloped hill with caves. Bears visit often in the dark.

Closepet granites

Distribution of the Closepet granites

The Closepet granites are a major geological feature of this region and are from the Lower Proterozoic era. This belt of rocks extend in the north-south direction in 50 km belt. This belt has younger potassic granites and is believed to separate two distinct crustal blocks of Archaean age. The block to the west has low grade granite-greenstone belts with iron-manganese ores and to the east are younger gneisses of granitic and granodioritic composition with gold-bearing schist belts.[7]

Climbing

Climbers have been undertaking technical climbing in and around the hills of Ramanagara since the 1960s. There are over 80 documented sport routes abounding in a radius of 20 square kilometers, ranging in grades from 5.6 to 5.12 (Yosemite Decimal System grading), and ranging from single pitch to three pitch routes. There are no published guide books at this time (Feb 2015), but quite a few resources online can be used as reference.[8]

Some of the interesting climbs are on the Wanakkal wall ("Gabbar ki asli pasand", "Labor pain"), on the Rainbow wall ("UIAA", "Kalia"), on Anna-Thamma ("Darkness at dawn", "Black Diamond", the name Anna-Thama means 'elder-brother-younger-brother' in Kannada). Some of the older bolts are in precarious condition. There is very little Traditional climbing possibilities as the rock is compact.

Some of the areas, especially Saptharishi wall, Elephant Rock, Pond Wall, and Ramagiri pillars fall within the fenced off vulture sanctuary. Climbing within the Vulture sanctuary is restricted, and permissions are required from Forest Department office (Aranya Bhawan) located further east on the Mysore Road[9]

However, there are enough areas outside of the Vulture sanctuary, including Achalu wall, Senapathi climbs, Namaste, Rasta Cafe climbs, and Anna-Thamma.[10] National Rock Climbing center in Basavanapura by General Thimayya National Academy of Adventure,Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports,Govt.of Karnataka is conducting various rock climbing and Adventure camps for Youth and School Childrens.

Birds in Ramanagar

It is home of many critical birds like long-billed vulture, Egyptian vulture and yellow-throated bulbul. Most of the vultures habitat can be also seen around the mountain. The State government has declared 346.14 hectares in Ramanagara as Ramadevarabetta Vulture Sanctuary (RVS), to protect long-billed vultures, which are on the verge of extinction.

Films set in Ramanagara

The 1975 Hindi blockbuster Sholay was a western film which was entirely shot in Ramanagara .

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  2. ↑ cocoon market
  3. ↑ A Passage to India - locations Accessed December 2006
  4. ↑ Subramanya, S. and Naveein, O. C. 2006. Breeding of Long-billed Vulture Gyps indicus at Ramanagara hills, Karnataka, India. Indian Birds 2(2):32 Full text Archived July 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ↑ Archived April 19, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ CEM Russell (1900) Bullet and shot in Indian forest, plain and hill. W. Thacker & Co. scanned book
  7. ↑ Atomic minerals directorate Archived December 25, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/groups/BangaloreClimbingAndOutdoorsGroup/photos/
  9. ↑ The beckoning monoliths
  10. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/groups/BangaloreClimbingAndOutdoorsGroup/photos/
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