Bhavnagar district

Bhavnagar District is a district of southeastern Gujarat, India, on the Saurashtra peninsula. The administrative headquarters is in the town of Bhavnagar.

This article is about the district. For its eponymous headquarters, see Bhavnagar.
Bhavnagar district
District
Clockwise from top-left: Palitana temples, Bagdana Bapa Sitaram temple, Alang ship-breaking yard, Shatrunjaya Dam, Swaminarayan Mandir, Bhavnagar
Location of district in Gujarat
Location of district in Gujarat
Coordinates: 21°46′13″N 72°8′35″E
Country India
StateGujarat
RegionSaurashtra
HeadquartersBhavnagar
Government
 • Member of ParliamentDr. Bhartiben Shiyal (BJP)
Area
 • Total7,034 km2 (2,716 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total2,393,272
 • Density340/km2 (880/sq mi)
Languages
 • OfficialGujarati, Hindi
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
Vehicle registrationGJ 4
Websitebhavnagar.nic.in

Geography
Main Gate of Shri Khodiyar Mandir

Bhavnagar District covers an area of over 8334 km2. The coastal area is mostly alluvium.

Bhavnagar borders with Ahmedabad District to the northeast, Botad District to the northwest, the Gulf of Cambay to the east and south and Amreli District to the west.

History

Bhavnagar State was a salute state during the Raj,[2] ruled by the Gohil Rajputs, .[3]

Bhavnagar lost two talukas, Botad and Gadhada, to the creation in August 2013 of the new district of Botad.[4]

Administrative divisions

Bhavnagar District is divided into ten talukas : Bhavnagar, Sihor, Umrala, Gariadhar, Palitana, Mahuva, Talaja, Ghogha, Jesar and Vallbhipur.[5] There are close to 800 villages in this district, for example, Tana.

Demographics
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901463,403—    
1911499,690+0.76%
1921490,446−0.19%
1931559,723+1.33%
1941681,078+1.98%
1951789,232+1.48%
1961994,473+2.34%
19711,247,432+2.29%
19811,681,073+3.03%
19912,069,953+2.10%
20012,469,630+1.78%
20112,880,365+1.55%
source:[6]

According to the 2011 census Bhavnagar district has a population of 2,880,365,[1] roughly equal to the nation of Jamaica[7] or the US state of Kansas.[8] This gives it a ranking of 133rd in India (out of a total of 640).[1] The district has a population density of 288 inhabitants per square kilometre (750/sq mi).[1] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 16.53%. Bhavnagar has a sex ratio of 931 females for every 1000 males,[1] and a literacy rate of 76.84%.[1]

The divided district has a population of 2,393,272, of which 676,189 (28.25%) lived in urban areas. Bhavnagar had a sex ratio of 930 females per 1000 males. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are 125,441 (5.24%) and 8,039 (0.34%) of the population respectively.[1]

Religions in Bhavnagar district (2011)[9]
Religion Percent
Hinduism
 
 90.96%
Islam
 
 7.82%
Jainism
 
 0.91%
Other or not stated
 
 0.31%

Hindus were 2,176,962 while Muslims were 187,148 and Jains 21,851.[9]

City and Towns

The population development of the cities and towns in Bhavnagar.[10]

Name[lower-alpha 1] Population

Census 1991-03-01

 Population

Census 2001-03-01

 Population

Census 2011-03-01

Alang ... 18,475 8,309
Alang-Sosiya ... ... 18,480
Bhavnagar 402,338 517,708 605,882
Botad 64,603 100,194 130,327
Dhasa Vishi ... 13,368 14,448
Dhola 7,510 8,050 7,560
Gadhada 21,955 26,754 29,872
Gariadhar 19,723 30,526 33,949
Ghogha 9,420 10,848 12,208
Katpar 7,088 7,044 8,677
Mahuva 59,912 80,726 98,519
Malanka ... 4,016 4,765
Nari ... 9,066 9,467
Palitana 41,877 51,944 64,497
Sidsar ... 7,195 11,795
Sihor 34,008 46,960 54,547
Songadh ... ... 6,027
Talaja 17,965 26,104 27,822
Umrala ... ... 8,044
Vallabhipur (Vallabhi) ... 15,038 15,852
Vartej 8,187 9,705 11,354

Language

Languages of Bhavnagar district (2011)[11]

  Gujarati (97.87%)
  Hindi (1.02%)
  Sindhi (0.63%)
  Others (0.68%)

At the time of the 2011 census, 97.87% of the population spoke Gujarati, 1.02% Hindi and 0.63% Sindhi as their first language.[11]

Politics
District No. Constituency Name Party Remarks
Bhavnagar 99Mahuva (Bhavnagar) Shivabhai Gohil Bharatiya Janata Party
100Talaja Gutambhai Chauhan Bharatiya Janata Party
101Gariadhar Sudhir Vaghani Aam Aadmi Party
102Palitana Bhikhabhai Baraiya Bharatiya Janata Party
103Bhavnagar Rural Parshottambhai Solanki Bharatiya Janata Party MoS
104Bhavnagar East Sejalben Pandya Bharatiya Janata Party
105Bhavnagar West Jitendra Vaghani Bharatiya Janata Party

Sites

Historical places

Among the many historical places in Bhavnagar District are:[12]

  • Buddhist caves in Taleja,
  • Statues of Seven Sisters in Rauhishala, and
  • Gandhi Memorial and Sardar Memorial at Crescent Circle in the town of Bhavnagar.

Natural heritage sites
Blackbuck National Park

Velavadar Blackbuck National Park is the only tropical grassland in India recognised as a National park. It is spread over an area of 34.08 km2. The park contains mainly blackbuck, antelopes, nilgai, wolves, jackals, hyenas, jungle cats, fox, and wild boar. Endangered birds such as Houbara Bustard, Lesser Florican, Sarus White Storks, White Pelican, Montagu, and Pallid harrier also call the park home. Raptors including the Greater Spotted Eagle, Juvenile Imperial Eagle, Bonelli's Eagle, Short-toed Snake Eagle, and Long-legged Buzzard are also seen in the park. The climate in Velavdar National Park makes it one of the best places for the migrating birds to breed.

Piram Island is an island approximately 6 km offshore off Ghogha. It is said that this island was created about 3.5 million years ago. It is well known for its diversity of life, including many vulnerable or endangered species. There is a ruined fort which was built in 1325. The island has mangrove vegetation and also nesting site for two endangered species of sea turtle; Olive ridley sea turtle and Green sea turtle, and around fifty species of birds, mostly seabirds.

Gopnath Mandir at Gopnath Beach

Notes
  1. Source: Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner (web), Delimitation Commission of India (web), Rand McNally International Atlas 1994, School of Planning & Architecture (web).

References
  1. "District Census Hand Book – Bhavnagar" (PDF). Census of India. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
  2. "History". Bhavnagar District Panchayat, Gujarat Government. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013.
  3. Singhji, Virbhadra (1994). "The Gohil Rajputs". The Rajputs of Saurashtra. Bombay, India: Popular Prakashan. p. 38. ISBN 978-81-7154-546-9.
  4. "Maps of Gujarat's new 7 districts and changes in existing districts". Desh Gujarat. 13 August 2013. Archived from the original on 16 August 2013.
  5. "Taluka Panchayat". Bhavnagar District Panchayat, Gujarat Government. Archived from the original on 20 July 2013.
  6. Decadal Variation In Population Since 1901
  7. US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2011-10-01. Jamaica 2,868,380 July 2011 est
  8. "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2013-10-19. Retrieved 2011-09-30. Kansas 2,853,118
  9. "Population by Religion - Gujarat". censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
  10. "Bhavnagar (District, Gujarat, India) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location". citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
  11. "Table C-16 Population by Mother Tongue: Gujarat". censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
  12. "Historical Places". Bhavnagar District Panchayat, Gujarat Government. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014.
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