Betul

About:

Betul is a city and a municipality in Betul district in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is the administrative center of Betul District located in southern Madhya Pradesh. It forms the southernmost part of the Bhopal Division.

Betul is famous for Teak (Tectona Grandis) Conservator of Forests, Betul. In Betul there is a famous temple of Lord Balaji also present in Betul Bazar, one of the beautiful temples of India.

Betul is one of the southern districts of Madhya Pradesh, lying almost wholly on the Satpura plateau. It is bounded on the north by Hoshangabad, on the south by Amaroti of Maharastra, on the east by Chhindwara and on the West by the district of Hoshangabad.

The District is famous for the appraising of the tribals against the British rule. Banjaridal a village in Betul tehsil is well known for the martyr Vishnu Singh Gond. The District participated in the growth of freedom movement so much so that no fewer than 50 volunteers to part in the Conference of congress at Nagpur.

Location info:

Betul is one of the marginally located southern districts of Madhya Pradesh, lying almost wholly on the Satpura plateau. It occupies nearly the whole width of the satpura range between the valley of the narmada on the north and the bearer plains on the south. It forms the southernmost part of the Bhopal Division. The District extends between 21-22 and 22-24 degrees North Latitude and between 77-10 and 78-33 degrees East Longitude and forms a compact shape, almost a square with slight projection on the East and the West. Two small enclaves of the district, viz., Batla blocks of the Govt. forests lie to the West between the districts of Nimar (East) and Amaraoti. These enclaves lie on the Northern bank of the Tapti. They extent from West to East between the Meridians 77-59 and 77-02.

The District is bounded on the NORTH by Hoshangabad, on the SOUTH by Amaroti of Maharastra, on the EAST by Chhindwara District and on the WEST by the District of Hoshangabad, East Nimar and Amaroti. The Southern boundary of the district runs almost along the southern foothills of the melghat range, but excludes hattighat and Chikalda hills in Amaroti district. The Western boundary is associated for some distance with the Ganjal river (Southern), a tributary of Tapti, and then with the watershed line between the Morand and the Ganjal (Northern), the tributaries of the Narmada. The Northern boundary is marked by the course of the Morand river, and by the TAWA river beyond Dhodra Mohar Railway station. The Eastern Boundary runs through small streams and hills among which Khurpura and Rotia Nalas are of some significance.

Betul is situated on the Delhi-Chennai main railway line and is also well connected by a network of roads. At Barsali a stone marks the Geographical Center Point of India.

Climate/Weather:

The climate of the district is fairly healthy. There is a pleasant throughout the greater part of the year. During the cold seasons, at night the thermometer falls below the freezing point. There is no hot wind before the end of April, and even then it ceases after sunset. The nights in the hot season are cool and pleasant. During the monsoon the climate is very damp, and at times even cold.The average annual rainfall is 40 cm.

History of Betul

According to history, Betul was the center of Gond kingdoms. In 1398, these kingdoms engrossed all the hills of Gondwana and adjacent countries. In 1418, Sultan Hoshang Shah of Malwa invaded Kherla, and reduced it to a dependency. After nine years the raja rebelled to assert his independence, he was finally subdued and deprived of his territories. In 1467 Kherla was seized by the Bahmani sultan but was afterwards restored to Malwa.

After a century Malwa was incorporated into the dominions of the emperor of Delhi. In 1743 Raghoji Bhonsle the Maratha ruler of Berar, annexed it to his dominions. In 1818, the Marathas ceded this district to the East India Company as payment for a contingent. By the treaty of 1826 it was formally incorporated into the British possessions. The district was then administered as part of the Saugor and Nerbudda Territories. Betul District was part of the province`s Nerbudda Division. Detachments of British troops were stationed at Multai, Betul and Shahpur to cut off the retreat of Appa Sahib, the Maratha general, and a military force was quartered at Betul until June 1862.

The district derives its name from the small town of Betul Bazar about 5 km south of Badnur, the Headquarters of the district. During the Maratha regime also, in the beginning of the British rule, Betul or Betul Bazar was the district Headquarters. In 1822 the District Headquarters was shifted to the present place, then only the village came to be known as Badnur Dhana, meaning Badnur village in the local dialect. Now, even after such a long time, not only the district retains the old name, but the name of the new Headquarters town, Badnur, as also been superimposed by "BETUL".

The literal meaning of Betul is "without (be) cotton (tool)". It was the border of the cotton-growing area. This district contains the most developed town Amla, which is a tehsil (headquarters) too, while others are less developed. It is a town surrounded by hills on all sides and was used by the British for exportation of coal and that's why they established a railway station in the early 1910s. Presently it is serving as a connecting junction for railways i.e. it is the only access to the Chhindwara District via rail. This place is also the center of Vivek Ji's, one of the devoted organisation Ananda Hi Ananda, and he organised his first shivir in the district. Then it follows to Amla and Multai.

Educational Institutions in Betul:

Betul BEd Education Colleges:

District Institute of Education and Training, Betul

Betul Law Colleges:

Law College, Betul offering Legal Education including Civil Law, Criminal Law, Business Law, Forensic Law etc. and courses such as Bachelor of Law (BL), Master of Law (ML) etc.
National Law University (Orissa).
University of Delhi.

Betul Distance Education Study Centres:

Government JH PG College, Betul

Langauges:

Culture:

The Northern part of the district has a touch of Bundelkhandi language and culture. The Southern belt of the district has overtone of Marathi Language and Maharastrian culture. The rest of the district is predominantly tribal, populated by the Gonds and Korkus. They worshipped Bada Mahadev. Their rituals are mostly of sacrificial nature. Despite education they still believe in superstitions. The use natural hurbs for the healthcare. There are some inistituons for classical Music like, Bhatkhande sangeet collage at Betul. There is another group amateurs working on various Music Directors from the research angle. An archeology museum has been working for about fifteen years. There is a small collection of statues and sculptures recently the District Administration has displayed information on the points of historical interests. All over the District are scattered Monuments and relics of historical interests such as Khedla which was the seat of the Gond Dynasty way back in the 13th century. There are other smaller ports at Asirghad and Bhawarghad in Multai tehisil some caves have been seen which are supposed to be the hiding place of the Pindaries.

Betul bazaar has witnessed the peaceful coexistence of different religions and cultures. There is a mosque presumed to be built by the Aziz clan. Sheikh Hakim Hanafi, a member of that clan still practices medicine at Betul Bazaar.They are now hindu. The Aziz clan held a prominent position during the pre-independence era.

At Bhainsdehi there is an Old Shiva Temple built of carved stones . The roof at long ago collapsed. At present there are some beautifully carved pillars.

7 Km from Amla there are twin village of Kazili and Kanigiya which contain old Temples of Hindus and Jains built in stone. They appeared to be places of considerable religious importance. If excavation is carried out here , it can result in the discovery of numerous objects of Archeological value.

At Muktagiri, there are some Jain Temples built on a hill as the name suggests the place had been sacred to the Jaines who came here to pass their last days. The District is famous for the apprising of the tribals against the British rule. Banjaridal a village in Betul tahisil is well known for the martyr Vishnu Singh Gond. The District participated in the growth of freedom movement so much so that no fewer than 50 volunteers to part in the Conference of congress at Nagpur.

The greatest length of the district is about 161 km from East to West, whereas it measures only about 106 km from north to south. Betul is a one of the tribal population districts of M.P. This district comes under satpuda plateau and Jawar& Wheat crop zone from the point of view of agriculture climate. Geographical area is 1007.8 thousand hec. out of which 416.7 thousand hec. land is under cultivation. 381.1 thousand hec. is under Kharif and 120.3 thousand hec. under Rabi. The district consist of nearly 1.76 Lakh agricultural families out of which 46% belong to SC/ST category. Average agricultural land 2.90 thousand hec. under propritreship. Irrigation area from all sources is 97.7 thousand hec. and irrigation percentage is 23 in the district. Crop density is 127%. Average rainfall is 1083.9MM in the district.

The main function ofs to publicize the advance Agrtechniques of agiculture dept. iriculture production, and given information about High breed setilizers &ammers. Training ieds, ferp; pesticides to fors imparted to the farmers from timeincrease to time to productivity of crops.Betul district's economy is predominantly an agrarian one and due to the large forest cover, it is somewhat also based on forests. Betul is well connected by Road & Rail network. It is Delhi-Chennai broadgage railway line & National highway No.69 also passes through this district. The nearest AirPorts are at Nagapur & Bhopal almost 180 Kms., From the district headquarter betul.

With abundant Food - Grain production & extensive coverage of forest wended with good Road & Rail Network, better Telecomm facilities in Betul is praised to become an industrial advanced district.The movement of Industrial Goods produced in this district by enlarge done by Road Transport mode. Few Industries mainly Large & Medium Industries use Rail networks for transporting their finishing products. Exporting units mainly Tyre Industry use water ways, which are exported to USA, UK, MIDDLE EAST, African countries. The shipping of exporting goods is normally done through MUMBAI, CHENNAI & VIZAG see ports.

There are 7160 cottage industries in the district, which have provided employment to 17,682 people and have a total investment over 1235.65 Lakhs.There are 33 Small Scale Industries (SSI) in the district have provided employment to 667 people and have total investment over 819.99 Lakhs. Out of 33 SSI's 8 are Agro based, 13 are Mineral based, 1 is forest based and 11 are others.There are 5 Large & Medium scale units in the district have provided employment to 999 people and have total investment over 1681.37 Lakhs.

Betul forest circle comprises of 92 Forest Villages, out of which 4 forest villages are goverened by Rampur-Bhatodi Project of Forest Development Corporation.Main species of Betul Forest is Teak. Many misc. types of trees are i.e. Haldu, Saja, Dhaoda etc. are also found in ample. Many medicinal plants are also found in the forest area of Betul forests.Teak of Grade-III is generally found in the Betul Forest Circle.Large amount of Minor Forest Produce such as Tendu leaves, Chironji, Harra, Amla is also obtained in large quantity of Betul forest.

How to reach Betul?

Nearest Railway Station:

Betul is well connected by road and rail network. The Delhi-Chennai broad gauge railway line and National highway No.69 pass through this district.

Nearest Airport:

The nearest airports are situated at Nagpur and Bhopal.

Road Transport:

Omkareshwar is the nearest bus stand and is about 77 kilometers from Indore.

Tourist Attraction of Betul:

Balajipuram temple:

Balajipuram temple located to 8 KM from main city and it is famous for its design and people faith. This is a place of religius value as well as a picnic spot in betul.

Hotels/Lodge/Accommodation in Betul:

Hotel River Sal:

Category:Hotels
Transit: Betul Railway Station (650 m)

HOTEL ABHASHREE: Betul's Best Accomodation and Food

SABRI BALAJIPURAM: GOOD VEGETERIAN RESTAURANT.