Shimoga

This article is about the municipality in India. For its namesake district, see Shimoga district.

Shimoga
City
Shivamogga
Images, from top down, left right Indian lion in the Tyavarekoppa Tiger and Lion Reserve Statue of Keladi Shivappa Nayaka Sculpture of Mahishasura Mardhini Shivappa Nayaka palace
Shimoga Show map of Karnataka Shimoga Show map of India
Coordinates: 13°56′N75°34′E / 13.933°N 75.567°E / 13.933; 75.567
Country	India
State	Karnataka
District	Shimoga
Region	Malenadu
Government
• Type	City Corporation
• Body	Shivamogga Mahanagara Palike
Area [1] [2]
•  City	70.01 km2 (27.03 sq mi)
• Rural	1,037.29 km2 (400.50 sq mi)
Elevation	569 m (1,867 ft)
Population  (2011) [2]
•  City	322,650
• Rank	10th (Karnataka)
• Density	4,600/km2 (12,000/sq mi)
•  Rural	184,674
Languages
• Official	Kannada
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	577201 - 577205
Telephone code	91-(0)8182-XXXXXX
ISO 3166 code	IN-KA
Vehicle registration	KA-14
Climate	Aw
Website	shivamoggacitycorp.org/WebsiteSHMG/Citizen/index.aspx

Shimoga, officially Shivamogga, ^[3] is a city and the district headquarters of Shimoga district in the central part of the state of Karnataka, India. The city lies on the banks of the Tunga River. Being the gateway for the hilly region of the Western Ghats, the city is popularly nicknamed the "Gateway of Malnad". ^[4] The population of Shimoga city is 322,650 as per 2011 census. ^[2] The city has been selected for the Smart Cities project, standing in the fourth position in the state and 25th in the country as of November 2020. ^[5]

The city is 569 m above sea level and is surrounded by lush green paddy fields, arecanut and coconut groves. It is located 267 km from the state capital Bangalore and 195 km from the port city Mangalore. ^[6]

History

The name of the city is derived from the term shivmoga. A version of the etymology is the story that Shiva drank the Tunga River hence the name "Shiva-Mukha" which means the "face of Shiva". Another version of the etymology is that the name is derived from the term Sihi-Mogge, meaning "sweet pot". ^[7]

The district formed the southern tip of the Emperor Ashoka's Mauryan Empire in the third century BC.^{[ citation needed ]} It was ruled during later centuries by the Kadambas (4th century), Chalukyas (6th century), Western Ganga, Rashtrakutas (8th century), Hoysalas (11th century), and the Vijayanagara rulers (15th century). Nayakas of Keladi, also known as Nayakas of Bednore and Ikkeri Nayakas, were an Indian dynasty based in Keladi in present-day Shimoga district of Karnataka, India. They were an important ruling dynasty in late medieval and early modern Karnataka. They initially ruled as a vassal of the famous Vijayanagar Empire. After the fall of the empire in 1565, they gained independence and ruled significant parts of Malnad region of the Western Ghats in present-day Karnataka, most areas in the coastal regions of Karnataka, and parts of northern Kerala, Malabar and the central plains along the Tungabhadra river. In 1763 AD, with their defeat to Hyder Ali, they were absorbed into the Kingdom of Mysore. ^[8]

During the Satyagraha movement, Mahatma Gandhi also visited the place to instigate the fight for national freedom. ^[6] After the independence of India in 1947, the Mysore state merged into the Republic of India.

On 1 November 2006, the government of Karnataka announced the renaming of Shimoga to "Shivamogga", along with nine other cities in the state. The central government approved (12 cities) the request in the October 2014 and the city was renamed on 1 November 2014. ^{[9] [10] [11] [12]}

Geography

According to the Shimoga City Municipal Corporation, ^[13] the city has a total area of about 50 square kilometres (19 sq mi). As per the Smart City Proposal, of the total city area (around 70.01 km²), 11.28% area is under OS & green belts while 7% is under water cover. ^[14] Most/all these hills are part of the Western Ghats, a region known for plentiful rainfall and lush greenery and declared during 2012 as a World Heritage site. Tunga River flows through Shimoga. The river is the major source of drinking water in the city and the city gets its drinking water through the Tunga dam (also known as Gajanuru dam). ^[15]

Further information: Gudde Mardi

Climate

The climate is tropical wet and dry (Köppen climate classification) summer average temperature 20–35 °C (68–95 °F). This means that the winter and the early part of summer are typically dry periods. The majority of the rainfall occurs between June and early October. Shimoga is a part of a region known as Malnad (land of hills) in Karnataka. The average annual rainfall of the city is 731.1mm. ^[16] January and February are the driest months, July the wettest, and April is the warmest month with an average high temperature of 35.5 degrees Celsius (95.9 degrees F). Coldest months of Shimoga are July, August, November and December with average high temperature of 27 degrees Celsius (80.6 degrees F). ^[16] In summer (April–May), temperature crosses 36 °C at Shimoga. ^[17]

Climate data for Shimoga (1981–2010, extremes 1950–2005)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	35.0 (95.0)	38.8 (101.8)	41.4 (106.5)	39.7 (103.5)	44.0 (111.2)	40.0 (104.0)	34.7 (94.5)	35.0 (95.0)	38.0 (100.4)	35.0 (95.0)	34.4 (93.9)	34.0 (93.2)	44.0 (111.2)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	31.5 (88.7)	33.6 (92.5)	36.0 (96.8)	36.4 (97.5)	34.9 (94.8)	30.1 (86.2)	28.2 (82.8)	27.8 (82.0)	29.6 (85.3)	30.4 (86.7)	30.1 (86.2)	30.0 (86.0)	31.6 (88.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	15.3 (59.5)	16.5 (61.7)	19.5 (67.1)	21.5 (70.7)	22.2 (72.0)	21.5 (70.7)	20.9 (69.6)	20.5 (68.9)	20.3 (68.5)	20.2 (68.4)	18.2 (64.8)	15.8 (60.4)	19.3 (66.7)
Record low °C (°F)	6.5 (43.7)	9.0 (48.2)	11.7 (53.1)	11.5 (52.7)	15.0 (59.0)	16.0 (60.8)	15.7 (60.3)	13.0 (55.4)	11.5 (52.7)	11.7 (53.1)	8.0 (46.4)	6.0 (42.8)	6.0 (42.8)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	0.2 (0.01)	0.3 (0.01)	5.9 (0.23)	34.8 (1.37)	41.1 (1.62)	109.0 (4.29)	158.2 (6.23)	129.0 (5.08)	70.8 (2.79)	140.4 (5.53)	30.4 (1.20)	11.2 (0.44)	731.1 (28.78)
Average rainy days	0.0	0.1	0.4	2.4	3.2	8.4	11.9	12.7	5.3	6.3	1.9	0.7	53.3
Average relative humidity (%) (at 17:30 IST)	42	40	36	43	53	74	78	79	73	69	59	48	58
Source: India Meteorological Department [18] [19]

Demographics

As of 2011 Indian Census, Shimoga had a total population of 322,650, of which 162,018 were males and 160,632 were females. Population within the age group of 0 to 6 years was 32,691. The total number of literates in Shimoga was 254,531, which constituted 78.9% of the population with male literacy of 81.4% and female literacy of 76.3%. The effective literacy rate of 7+ population of Shimoga was 87.8%, of which male literacy rate was 90.8% and female literacy rate was 84.8%. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes population was 40,737 and 9,192 respectively. Shimoga had 76,009 households in 2011. ^[2]

Religions in Shimoga City (2011) [20]
Religion			Percent
Hinduism			72.76%
Islam			23.93%
Christianity			2.17%
Jainism			0.82%
Other or not stated			0.32%
Distribution of religions

Kannada is the most widely spoken language in Shimoga. 72.76% of people are Hindus and 23.93% are Muslims, with rest being Buddhists, Christians and others. ^[20]

Languages of Shimoga City (2011 census) ^[21]

   Kannada (53.47%)

   Urdu (23.47%)

   Tamil (6.75%)

   Telugu (5.91%)

   Hindi (3.14%)

   Marathi (2.93%)

   Konkani (2.28%)

   Malayalam (0.93%)

  Others (1.12%)

Kannada is the majority language, spoken by 53.47% of the population. Urdu is the second-largest language, while Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Marathi and Konkani are also spoken. ^[21]

Government and politics

Civic administration

Shimoga is governed by a Municipal Corporation called the Shivamogga City Corporation. The total area under it is 70.01 km² (27.03 sq mi), with a population of 322,650 (Census 2011). ^[22] Shimoga has been selected under the Smart Cities Mission of the Indian Government under Round 2 of selections. ^[23] Shimoga was upgraded to a Municipal Corporation from a Municipal Council in 2013. ^[24]

Economy

RMC Yard, Shimoga

APMC of Shimoga is main marketing point of arecanut, the major commercial crop grown in the district and well as in neighbouring districts like Uttara Kannada. Shimoga has the biggest areca nut market, and known for procuring high quality areca nuts. Other agricultural produces like rice, Maize, chili, coconut etc. are also marketed in APMC.

Shimoga IT Park is an information technology hub built just outside Shimoga near the upcoming Shimoga Airport. The IT Park consists of a 100000 sq ft office building with 24/7 electrical capacity, diesel backup generators, and high speed T1 data connections for use by IT industries such as data centres, call centres, aerospace, robotics, etc. ^[25]

spar mall

city centre mall shimoga

Transportation

KSRTC Bus Stand

Road

Shimoga is well connected by road to major cities like Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli, Davangere, bellary. Two major National Highways pass through the city: NH69 and NH169.

Rail

The city has two railway stations, main one being Shivamogga Town Railway Station, and there are trains that run to and from Bangalore, Mysore, Tirupati and Chennai.

Air

Shimoga Airport is situated near Sogane, 13 km south of Shimoga. This is the first airport which is being operated by Karnataka State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited as a wholly owned and undertaking of Government of Karnataka and not handed over to Airport Authority of India. ^{[26] [27]} The nearest international airports are Kempegowda International Airport and Mangalore International Airport.

Education

Shimoga is one of the important centers for the high school and the pre-university education in Karnataka. Notable institutes in Shimoga for high school is Jnanadeepa school and for pre-university (PU) education include: Sri Aurobindo PU College and PACE PU College and PES college in outskirts of city.

The village of Gajanur hosts a Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (central school) which is a boarding school. Kuvempu University is located in Shankarghatta, at a distance of 20 km from Shimoga.

Shimoga Institute of Medical Sciences is the medical sciences college at Shimoga and managed by Government Departments. Subbaiah Institute of Medical Sciences is located at Purale. ^[28] It also has two engineering colleges, Jawaharlal Nehru National College of Engineering and PES Institute of Technology and Management.Also Rastriya Raksha University, Shivamogga Campus is opened in Ragigudda near Navule

Notable people

See also: Shimoga district § Notable people

• U. R. Ananthamurthy, Jnanapeetha awardee
• Sarekoppa Bangarappa, former Chief Minister of Karnataka
• K. S. Eshwarappa, a politician and former Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka
• Adarsh Iyengar a singer and musician
• Mathur Krishnamurthy, Kannada language writer
• Kuvempu, a National poet, Jnanapeetha winner
• P Lankesh
• Kadidal Manjappa, 3rd Chief Minister of Karnataka
• Shekhar Naik, a former captain of the Indian blind cricket team
• D. H. Shankaramurthy, Former Chairman of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly
• Khadi Shankarappa, a freedom fighter
• Abhilash Shetty, a film director in Kannada film industry
• Shimoga Subbanna, a playback singer
• Sudeep, an actor and director in Indian cinema
• Archana Udupa, Indian playback singer
• B. S. Yediyurappa, 19th Chief Minister of Karnataka

See also

• Alada Halli, Shimoga

References

1. "About Our District - Shivamogga". District Urban Development Cell, Shivamogga - Official Website of Directorate of Municipal Administration. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
2. "Census of India: Shimoga". www.censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
3. "Bangalore becomes 'Bengaluru'; 11 other cities renamed". The Economic Times . PTI. 1 November 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
4. "85 per cent unused funds leaves Shivamogga scruffy". The New Indian Express. 6 May 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
5. "Push to complete Smart City project works on time". The Hindu. 24 November 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
6. "Shimoga | Shivamogga | Sightseeing Shimoga | Wildlife Shimoga". Karnataka.com. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
7. "History of Shivamogga". Shivamogga District. National Informatics Centre, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
8. Buchanan, Francis; Hamilton, Francis (1988). A journey from Madras through the ... – Google Books. Asian Educational Services. ISBN   9788120603868 . Retrieved 17 September 2011.
9. "Bangalore, Mysore, Other Karnataka Cities to be Renamed on 1 November". International Business Times . 18 October 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
10. K. Jeevan Chinnappa (18 October 2014). "Centre nod for Karnataka's proposal on renaming cities". The Hindu. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
11. "It's Bengaluru for Pranab". The Times of India. 7 July 2009. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
12. Nagesh Prabhu. "New name for cities". The Hindu. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
13. "Shimoga Municipal corporation" . Retrieved 18 July 2018.
14. City, Smart (28 February 2023). "SmartCityProposal_KA-03-SMG" (PDF). Smartnet. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
15. Chronicle, Deccan (2 July 2019). "Inflow of Tunga river in Karnataka rises after heavy rainfall in Western Ghats". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
16. "Shimoga, India - Detailed climate information and monthly weather forecast". Weather Atlas. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
17. "Shimoga weather". World Weather Online. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
18. "Station: Shimoga Climatological Table 1981–2010" (PDF). Climatological Normals 1981–2010. India Meteorological Department. January 2015. pp. 705–706. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
19. "Extremes of Temperature & Rainfall for Indian Stations (Up to 2012)" (PDF). India Meteorological Department. December 2016. p. M103. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
20. "Table C-01 Population by Religion: Karnataka". censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
21. "Table C-16 Population by Mother Tongue (Town): Karnataka". www.censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
22. "Shivamogga City Corporation". shivamoggacitycorp.org. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
23. "City Wise Projects under Smart Cities Mission :: SMART CITIES MISSION, Government of India". smartcities.gov.in. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
24. "Tumkur, Shimoga and Bijapur cities to be upgraded as Municipal Corporations". The Hindu. 2 September 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
25. Veerendra, P. M. (26 May 2014). "Two years on, Shimoga Information Technology Park awaits entrepreneurs". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X.
26. "Shivamogga on aviation map as PM to inaugurate airport today". The New Indian Express. 27 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
27. "Airport at Shimoga likely to come up at Sogane". The Hindu. 8 April 2006. ISSN   0971-751X.
28. "Contact Us". Subbaiah Institute of Medical Science. Retrieved 18 July 2018.

External links

• Shimoga Zilla Panchayat
• Shimoga Profile
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers detailed map of Shimoga district 1959
• Shimoga City Website
• Shivamogga Website