Bilaspur is a city in Bilaspur District in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, situated 120 km (83 miles) north of the state capital, Naya Raipur. With a population of 693,851, it is the second-largest city after Raipur-Bhilai-Durg Tri City Metro area. The Chhattisgarh State High Court, located at village Bodri, District Bilaspur has privileged it with the title 'Nyayadhani' of the state. The Bilaspur High Court is the largest High Court of Asia. Bilaspur is the administrative headquarters of Bilaspur District. This city is the commercial center and business hub of North East Chhattisgarh region. It is also an important city for the Indian Railways, as it is the headquarters for South East Central Railway Zone and the Bilaspur Railway Division. Bilaspur is 3rd cleanest and 4th longest railway station in India. Approximately 20% of the total earnings of Indian railways come from South East Central Railway. Bilaspur is also the headquarters of South Eastern Coalfields Limited. Bilaspur is known for its aromatic rice variety named Doobraj rice, handloom woven colourful soft Kosa silk saris. It is well known for its rich, varied and colorful culture. The local cuisine is well known for samosas of nitti and parotha of chikka. Historically, Bilaspur was a part of the Kalachuri dynasty of Ratanpur. The city, however, came into prominence around 1741, the year of the Maratha Empire rule, when a Maratha official took up his abode there. The management of Bilaspur district was taken over by the British Government in 1818. The city was taken over by the British East India Company of Great Britain in the year 1854 from the then ruler of the region, Bhosale of the Nagpur kingdom belonging to the Maratha Empire. Under Bhosale of the Nagpur kingdom there were many subedars or zamindars/landlords like Akbar Khan, Vazeer Khan, Sao and others in Bilaspur. Bilaspur district was constituted in 1861, followed by Bilaspur municipality in 1867. Famines in the Bilaspur district were recorded by the British administration in 1828-9, 1834-5, 1845-6, 1868-9 and 1899–1900. In 1868-9 and 1899–1900, the rains failed almost completely, resulting in severe distress, migration and desertion of villages. After the 1868-9 famine there was prosperity for the next 25 years; but in 1895 there was a very poor harvest, followed in 1896 by a complete failure of crops, and severe famine continued throughout 1897. In that year the mortality rate was as high as one in six people. The famine of 1897 was followed by two favorable years; but in 1899 the monsoon failed completely and the rice crop was wholly destroyed. Guru Ghasidas (1756–1836) started a religious movement, Satnamis (meaning the worshippers of Satnam), between 1820 and 1830 primarily around the Sonakhan forests. This religious movement preached against idol-worship, and instead stressed that God is synonymous with truth. His community was a farming community, though in the Hindu caste hierarchy they would be placed in the Schedule caste. The university at Bilaspur is named after him as Guru Ghasidas University. Railways arrived at Bilaspur in the decade 1880–90, with the arrival of the Bengal Nagpur Railway. In 1888 Mistri Jagmal Gangji and other Mistri Railway Contractors laid the first railway tracks from Rajnandgaon to Bilaspur, and in that same year fellow Kutchi contractor Khoda Ramji and others built the line from Bilaspur to Jharsuguda, including the bridge over the Champa river. In 1890, the present railway station and yard were constructed by the famous Gujarati railway contractor Jagmal Gangji. His son Mulji Jagmal Sawaria was later given the title of "Rao Sahib" by the British for his contribution to the development of the town, railways and the district. Jagmal Block and Jagmal Chowk in the city are named after Jagmal Gangji Sawaria. In 1901, the population of Bilaspur was 18,937 and it was the eighth-largest town in the Central Provinces of British India. In 1908, weaving of tasar silk and cotton clothes were recorded as the major industries of Bilaspur. Bilaspur enjoys the distinctiveness of being one of the major cities in Chhattisgarh with considerable historical significance. Located in the eastern part of Chhattisgarh, Bilaspur is nearly four centuries old. Referred to as the "Rice Bowl of India", Bilaspur abounds in lush greenery and boasts of a myriad number of tourist attractions. If the historical records are to be given any credence, then there is no reason to disbelieve the fact that Bilaspur owes its name to a fisherwoman, Bilasa in the 17th century. Bilaspur during that time and for many more years to come remained a fishing hamlet consisting of a few fishermen's huts. According to the census conducted in 1901, the total population of Bilaspur was somewhere around 18,937 and it was considered the 8th largest town in the Central Provinces of British India. One interesting fact that one comes across while flipping through pages of history is that even as early as in 1908, Bilaspur had already made a mark as home to the major tasar silk and cotton clothes manufacturers. It is the busiest junction of Chhattisgarh and second busiest of central India after Itarsi . It is 3rd cleanest Railway Station in India after Surat and Rajkot. It is the Zonal Head Office of the South East Central Railway. It is well connected to the rest of the country through the Indian Railways.Bilaspur railway station has the 3rd longest railway platform in India after Gorakhpur and Kharagpur and the third cleanest railway station of India . The Rajdhani Express (Bilaspur-New Delhi) via Bhopal bi-weekly connects Bilaspur to New Delhi. The station is on the Tatanagar–Bilaspur section of the Howrah-Nagpur-Mumbai line and another rail is for Delhi via Katni. Daily connections are available for Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune, Nagpur, Indore, Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Amritsar, Agra, Roorkee, Haridwar, Visakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar, Puri, Tatanagar, Patna, Jabalpur, Raipur, Varanasi Indore Jaipur, Bikaner, Udaipur, Ajmer etc. It is also connected by. direct trains to Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Chennai, Ernakulam, Tirupati, Tirunelveli, Bangalore, Bhuj, Gandhidham, Okha, Porbandar, Dhanbad, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Gorakhpur, Shirdi, Udaipur, Bikaner Jammu, Jodhpur, Guwahati, Kanpur, Lucknow, Ranchi, Guwahati and many other cities and towns in India. Many local trains are running here daily for small station passengers The city is connected with Mumbai and Kolkata through National Highway network. Bilaspur is on NH-130 connecting Raipur and Ambikapur.While NH-49 starts from Bilaspur and ends at KharagpurAnother National Highway NH 130 A is newly announced which starts from Bilaspur and end at Podi via Mungeli Kawardha merging with NH 12A to connect Bilaspur with Jabalpur. Other state highways are SH 7 and SH 5. All highways are well maintained 2 lane roads while Raipur highway is 4 lane. There are regular buses and taxies available to all nearby major cities and towns. Bilaspur bus stand is known as Hi-tech bus stand.More than 22,000 people come here daily. For local transportation three-wheeled, black and yellow auto rickshaws, referred to as autos, are popular. No diesel auto are allowed in railway limits due to large pollution created by it. Large no. of private bus operators runs their buses on various routes. It is well connected with other cities by road. Bus services available for Allahabad, Jashpur, Ambikapur, Raipur, Jagdalpur, Korba, Nagpur, Durg-Bhilai, Mungeli, Kawardha, Jabalpur, Raigarh, Narayanpur, Kondagaon, etc. In short, it is connected with all 27 districts of state and some major cities of other states like Jabalpur, Varanasi, Allahabad, Nagpur, Gondia, Mandla, Anuppur, Shehdol, Jharsugda, Sambalpur, Bhawanipatna, Hyedrabad etc. More than 2500 Buses are running through Bilaspur. Buses for NH 49 are available from Gandi chowk, Jagmal cgowk and Gurunanak chowk. Buses for NH130A are available from Nehru chowk, Mungeli naka, 27 kholi chowk and Mangla chowk. Buses for NH130 are available from Nehru chowk, Manfir chowk, Rajeev Gandhi chowk and maharana pratap chowk. Buses for NH111 are available from Nehru and Mahamaya chowk. Ola cabs are also running in metropolis area. Local transportation also includes man-powered cycle rickshaw. Bilaspur city has many city buses, more than 85 city buses are running in city. 60 big luxurious sml bus, 10 Tata starbus mini bus, 10 red coloured world class AC Tata Marcopolo city bus, and 5 pink city bus which are only for females are running successfully. Citt has quality city bus stops. More rhan 35 city bus stops are developed in city and surrounding area. All 85 city buses are world class international level bus which have gps, CCTV camera and digital naming board. City buses are allowed to run 20kmph faster than other buses. All city buses starts from Bilaspur junction railway station and at night they stays at Koni city bus terminal. The city buses runs from the Railway station to connect with various parts of city facilitating easy and cheap conveyance to the people. These bus services are available from 06.30 AM to 8.00 PM. City bus services facilitates the people even to reach near by cities like Ratanpur, Takhatpur, Kota, Malhar(A holy place famous for Mata Didneshwari Devi Temple), Seepat(NTPC colony Sipat), Bilha & Chakarbhata. The nearest commercial airport is the Swami Vivekanand International Airport at Raipur, approximately 131 km away. At that airport, Indigo, Jet Airways and Air India have regular flights to/ from Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Indore, Kolkata, Bhopal and Visakhapatnam. Bilaspur also has an airport at Chakarbhatta for VIP and military operations (Bilaspur Airport). This is set to be Chhattisgarh's second commercial airport and will be jointly operated by the AAI and the Indian Army. It will be a domestic airport. It is expected to start in 2017. There are two additional airstrips on Kota Road - Mohanbhata and Mulmula - that have been lying unused since the Second World War. These are under the Defence Ministry. Various archeological sites and temples in Bilaspur attract tourists from all over the world. Achanakmar Wildlife sanctuary is one of the renowned ecotourism spots in Chhattisgarh. Hasdev Bango Dam is 105 km from Bilaspur. Malhar and Ratanpur are the centre of archeology. Ruins of forts to ancient temples are found here. Talagram is famous for "Deorani-Jethani" temple. Bubble Island and Radhika water park are the parks which amuse the local people as well as tourists. Belpan has a huge pond as well as samadhi. Khutaghat is a scenic spot and is wanted by nature lovers. Forests, dam and hills comprise the surrounding of Khutaghat. Kabir Chobutara at a distance of 41 km from Bilaspur is a hub for mahatmas (saints). Bilaspur is situated on the banks of the Arpa, the main river. Leelagar and Maniyari are other small rivers of the district. Sonmuda is another tourist attraction which gives a panoramic view of valleys, hills and forest. The River Sone originates from Sonmuda. Places of interest in and around Bilaspur include: Malhar, which is of historical significance, as it was visited by Xuanzang, the Chinese historian. It is situated at 40 km. by road from Bilaspur. In Malhar, so many ancient temples have been found by extraction such as Pataleshwar temple, Devri temple and Dindeshwari temple. The four-handed idol of Lord Vishnu is also very famous. Malhar has a museum also. Amarkantak – The Narmada River and Son River originate from Amarkantak. Kanan Pendari Zoo. (Within city limits) Tala, 20 km away, is famous for Rudra Shiva. Ratanpur for its Mahamaya temple. According to holidayiq.com Ratanpur ranked no. 1 of 19 places in Bilaspur to visit. Shri Aiyyappa Mandir (Sani dosha haarak) near Tifra over bridge (Bhartiya Nagar). Mungeli Maa Mahamaya Temple. Smriti Vatika Dams Khudiya dam, Lormi, and Khutaghat dam, Ratanpur. Rani Sati Temple, a religious temple built in the city of Bilaspur by the Marwaris where the deity of Jhunjhunu's temple is worshipped. Two amusement parks are also here. (Bubble Island and Radhika water park) Smritivan and Urja Park are also situated in Rajkishore Nagar area of the city. Maa Didneshwari Devi Temple, Malhar. Maa Marimai Temple is also famous temple of Bilaspur.