Adivasi decorative clay figures of Surguja district at the Quai Branly Museum, Paris
Surguja district is a district of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. The district is one of the oldest districts of Chhattisgarh. The headquarters of the district is Ambikapur.
The district lies in its eponymous Surguja dialectal region (where Surgujia is spoken) and is to the east of the Vindhyachal-Baghelkhand region of peninsular India.
According to legend, Lord Rama had visited Surguja during his 14 years of exile into the forests. There are many places in connection to epic of Ramayana, which are named after Lord Rama, Laxmana and Goddess Sita such as Ramgarh, Sita-Bhengra and Laxmangarh.[2]
Prior to the arrival of the Mauryas, the area was ruled by the Nandas. In the third century BC the region was divided into tiny kingdoms. In 1613, a Rajput king belonging to the Rakshal clan attacked from Palamu in what is now Jharkhand, and took control of the area. In 1753, the Marathas invaded Surguja and forced the king to become a vassal. After the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1818, the British gained control of the three princely states of Surguja, Koriya and Changbhakar. In 1820, Amar Singh was crowned as Maharaja. During the British Raj period, Surguja State was a princely state.[2][3]
In 1951, Surguja became part of the new state of Madhya Pradesh. In 2000, it was one of the districts in the new state of Chhattisgarh.
Geography
It lies between 23°37'25" to 24°6'17" north latitude and 81°34'40" to 84°4'40" east longitude. 244.62 kilometres (152.00mi) long east to west and 67.37 kilometres (41.86mi) broad north to south, this land has as area of about 5,732 square kilometres (2,213sqmi).[2]
The high-lands of Surguja district have peculiar 'pat formations' – highlands with small tablelands. The Mainpat, the Jarang pat, the Jonka pat, the Jamira pat and the Lahsunpat are the major parts of the district. The average height of area is above 600 metres (2,000ft). Some of the peaks are Mailan 1,226 metres (4,022ft), Jam 1,166 metres (3,825ft), Parta Gharsa 1,159 metres (3,802ft), Kanda Dara 1,149 metres (3,770ft), Chutai 1,131 metres (3,711ft), and Karo 1,105 metres (3,625ft). There are a number of other peaks. North–west Surguja is hilly in nature, and moving westwards, three distinct steps may be marked out: the first from Shrinagar on the east to the low-lands of Patna and Kharsawan, the second from thence to the uplands around Sonhat and the third beyond Sonhat to above a height of 1,033 metres (3,389ft). Central Surguja is a low basin through which the Rihand and its tributaries flow.[2]
The soil of the Surguja District can be broadly classified into four major types: red and yellow soils, alluvial soils, laterite soils, and medium blue soils.
Red and yellow soils are derived from the parent rocks of the Gondwana System including sedimentary rocks. They are formed in-situ from the erosion of such rocks caused by rain. This soil is found particularly in east Sitapur, south Ambikapur, central Surajpur and Pratappur blocks. The red color is due to wide diffusion of iron while hydration of ferric oxide results in a yellow color in the soil. This soil is of lighter texture and has a porous and friable structure. Soluble salt is found in small quantities. Lime, kankar and free kankar are totally absent. These soils are poor in potash, nitrogen, humus and carbonate and differ greatly in consistency, color, depth and fertility. On the uplands they are thin and gravelly, sandy, porous and light coloured alluvium, generally transported from elsewhere, are found along river banks in alternate layers of sand and silt in East Ramanujganj, North Ambikapur, and Surajpur, along the river banks of the Rihand, Kanhar, and the Hasdeo rivers and their major tributaries. The colour of the soil is not uniform but varies from yellow to grey. Laterite soils are well developed on the summits of the plateau regions of Samri and Sitapur tehsil including Shankargargh, Kusmi, Sitapur, Batoli and Mainpat blocks of Mainpat, Jamirapat, Lahsunpat and Jonkpat.
The District Headquarters of Sarguja is Ambikapur City. It is also the administrative headquarter of Sarguja Division. Ambikapur is connected with Rail, Road and Air transport.
Ambikapur is well connected by road to other major cities of Chhattisgarh such as Raipur, Bilaspur, Durg, Bhilai, Korba and Raigarh. Daily bus services also runs for Varanasi, prayagraj, Renukoot in U.P (170 km), Raipur (345 km) and Garhwa in Jharkhand, Aurangabad in Bihar. Bus services from Anuppur to Ambikapur operate via Manendragarh and Surajpur.
Air
Ambikapur Airport now Maa Mahamaya Airport Ambikapur is located at Darima, 12 km (7.5 mi) south of Ambikapur. The airport up-gradation work was finished in May 2023 at a cost of Rs. 48 crore from category 2C to 3C, to enable operations of 70-72 seater aircraft under UDAN Scheme. Making this the Fourth Public Serving Airport in Chattisgarh after Raipur, Jagdalpur and Bilaspur. The Airport is not functional at the moment
Agriculture
About 90% of the working population depends on agriculture, in which 50.36% of working population are of cultivated and about 12.77% of the region are agriculture labourers.
Agriculture is directly connected with land and water resources. In Surguja the percentage concentration of cultivated land is maximum in central zone of the district stretching east to west direction. North and south of this one the percentage of concentration decreases, because of several factors, out of them here are two major factors.
The uplands and high lands are mostly covered with rocky wastelands, infertile soil, woods and scrubs, sloppy and forested area.
Unavailability of water for irrigation over most of area, improper drainage difficulty in digging wells due to rocky basement, undeveloped means of communication, transportation have restricted the extension of cultivated land.
On the other hand, the central surguja is relatively level and has fertile soils, some water is available for irrigation in various ways, and a means of communication is developed.
Double cropped area is generally associated with water supply, natural or artificial and the pressure of population. Wherever the physical condition permits and the pressure more over the land, two crops are raised in a year from the same field. As result, a particular pattern of use of land resources emerges, which helps in the delineation of planning regions on the basis of present available resources and the limit of their utilisation. Of course there is no uniformity in the distribution of double cropped area, but the study of its distribution will be of use in the need as well as the resources. Thus most of the concentration is to be found in two patches:
Ramanujnagar block
Ambikapur & Central North-East of Lundra, Rajpur, Shankargarh, Wadragnagar and Pratappur blocks
Almost the whole of the central plain has medium to relatively high value, with few exception due to local condition. In this part during summer most of the area remains uncultivated. Only in Ambiakpur block here is some concentration of double cropped area due to irrigation facilities. The per capita land is declining due to the increasing in rural population which can be fed by increasing the per acre output through bringing more and more cultivated land under double cropped system, by extending irrigation facilities, using better fertilizers and better culture.
The assessment of physical condition for different crops helps in arranging them so as to derive the optimum return of it, which may be done through the study of their distribution along with the average production. The production of land provided to different crops depends upon physically suitability of soil and availability of water etc. Not only this the local needs is also important in this connection. Roughly 41.67% out of the total geographical area is under cultivation.
Demographics
According to the 2011 census Surguja district has a population of 2,359,886,[4] roughly equal to the nation of Latvia[5] or the US state of New Mexico.[6] This gives it a ranking of 192nd in India (out of a total of 640).[4] The district has a population density of 150 inhabitants per square kilometre (390/sqmi).[4] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 19.74%.[4] Surguja has a sex ratio of 976 females for every 1000 males,[4] and a literacy rate of 61.16%.[4]
The divided Surguja district has a population of 840,352, of which 136,702 (16.27%) live in urban areas. The divided district has a sex ratio of 980 females per 1000 males. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes make up 4.77% and 57.40% of the population respectively.[4]
Rajmohini devi agricultural science and research institute, Ajirma Ambikapur (Govt.)
Govt.Multipurpose higher secondary school ,Gudri chowk Ambikapur
Central Govt.Sainik school, Mendrakala Ambikapur,
Minerals
Mineral belts of Surguja:
Upper catchments of river or Sitapur-Samri belt: This belt is associated with eastern and south eastern part of the district. It abounds in bauxite and some amount of coal.
Central-north Surguja (Wadrafnagar-Pa-–Pratappur-Surajpur-Ambikapur) belt: The reserve of coal, pyritic minerals, sulphur, mica berylluiim, byerites, copper, and galena are reported. Bishrampur, Bhatgaon, Tatapani, Ramkola, Lakhanpur and Basen are the main coal fields. Some fire-clay, mica, coal, galena, and silmenite are also reported in Wadrafnagar near the Uttar Pradesh border.
In Surguja bauxite deposits have been found in tertiary rocks. Due to decay and weathering of aluminium rich rocks, felspar usually kaolinised under tropical monsoon conditions, the weathering goes a step further and results in a residue rich in hydroxides of aluminium together with oxides of iron, manganese and titanium with sufficient contraction of aluminium hydroxides, economic deposits of bauxite originates. This process of 'bauxitisation' as it is called thrives well on a topographically elevated well drained plateaus of low relief. The recoverable reserves of bauxite in Surguja is 57.54 million tonnes, which is around 57% of total state reserve.
Out of 57.74 million tonnes, 42.21 million tonnes are under proved category, 13.56 million tonnes under probable category and remaining 1.76 million tonnes under are possible category. About 51 million tonnes of the total reserves are of metallurgical grade and the grade particular of 6 million tonnes are not known.
The economical deposits are located at entire pat (local name given to plateau or pleatux) region of eastern and south eastern Surguja including Mainpat, Samari and Jamirapat.
Mainpat: bauxite is of good and thickness varies from 4–5meters.
Jamirapat and Samripat
Bauxite deposits of these areas are metallurgical grade I. These two major reserves are centred in Samri tehsil and adjacent plateaus – Jamripat, Jaranpat, Lahsunpat, Jonkapat and other small hill rocks.
Most of the coal in the Gondwana is found in Barakar series. Coal as a solid stratified rock composed mainly of hydrocarbon and capable of being used as a fuel to supply heat or light or both. The coal fields of Surguja belongs to Gondwana coal fields. The coal of this area is of good quality stream and gas coals. The coal fields of Surguja can be classified as:
Middle Gondwana Coal Fields: Tatapani-Ramkola, Jhilmili and Sonhat
Talchir Coal Fields: Bisrampur, Bansar, Lakhanpur, Panchbhaini and Damha-munda
Mahanadi Valley: Hasdo-Rampur
Politics
Surguja district is part of Surguja (ST) Lok Sabha constituency. The assembly segments in Surguja district are: Lundra, Ambikapur and Sitapur. Lundra and Sitapur are reserved for Scheduled Tribes.
The current MLAs from Lundra, Ambikapur and Sitapur are Dr. Pritam Ram, T. S. Singh Deo and Amarjeet Bhagat respectively, all from the Indian National Congress. The MP for Surguja is chintamani maharaj from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Jaivik Krishi Utpadak Sahkari Samiti Maryadit from Batauli, proposed the GI registration of Jeeraphool rice. After filing the application in February 2018, the rice was granted the GI tag in 2019 by the Geographical Indication Registry in Chennai, making the name "Jeeraphool" exclusive to the rice grown in the region. It thus became the first rice variety from Chhattisgarh before Nagri Dubraj rice and the 6th type of goods from Chhattisgarh to earn the GI tag respectively.[10][11]
The GI tag protects the rice from illegal selling and marketing, and gives it legal protection and a unique identity.
Chhattisgarh is a landlocked state in Central India. It is the ninth largest state by area, and with a population of roughly 30 million, the seventeenth most populous. It borders seven states – Uttar Pradesh to the north, Madhya Pradesh to the northwest, Maharashtra to the southwest, Jharkhand to the northeast, Odisha to the east, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to the south. Formerly a part of Madhya Pradesh, it was granted statehood on 1 November 2000 with Raipur as the designated state capital.
Ambikapur is a city and headquarters of Surguja district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. It is one of the oldest cities in the state, in east-central India. Ambikapur is also the divisional headquarters of Surguja Division which consists of the six districts of Surguja, Korea, Manendragarh, Balrampur, Surajpur and Jashpur.
The Rihand River is a tributary of the Son River and flows through the Indian states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Its old name was Renu or Renuka.
Bhaiyathan is a panchayat village in Surajpur District in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. Bhaiyathan is part of a community development block under the jurisdiction of Surajpur district and is 23 km away from Surajpur. It is situated on the bank of the Rihand River. Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary is a major attraction nearby. A famous Devi temple on a hill, Kudargarh, is just 23 km from Bhaiyathan.
Surajpur is a Nagar Palika Parishad situated in the bank of Rihand River in Surajpur district of Chhattisgarh state in Central India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Surajpur district, located 334 km away from the state's capital city, Raipur. National Highway 43 passes through Surajpur.
Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Surajpur District, Chhattisgarh, in central India. It is named after the Tamor Hill and Pingla Nalla, the old and prominent features of the area. In 2021, National Tiger Conservation Authority has approved the Chhattisgarh government's proposal to declare the combined areas of the Guru Ghasidas National Park and Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary as a Guru Ghasidas - Tamor Pingla Tiger Reserve.
Bijuri is a town and a Municipality or Municipal Council or Nagar Palika Parishad in Anuppur district in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India.
Bishrampur is a census town in Surajpur district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh.
Umaria Coalfield is located in Umaria district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh in the valley of the Umrer River, a tributary of the Son River.
Sitapur is a town of Surguja district, Chhattisgarh, India. It is surrounded by the river Mand in the east and hills in the west. The tourism spot Mainpat is 30 kilometres from the town. Mainpat mountain has huge deposits of bauxite ore which are processed at Hindalco factory at Renukoot (UP). Sitapur is 52 km from Ambikapur, the district capital of Surguja.
Sant Gahira Guru Vishwavidyalaya formerly Sarguja University is a state university located in Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh, India. It is a teaching-cum-affiliating university which affiliates 75 college and has 7 departments and 1 constituent college. It was established and incorporated by Chhattisgarh Vishwavidyalaya Adhiniyam No. 18 of 2008 on September 2, 2008. The University was established to serve the society through dissemination of knowledge in all the disciplines.
Surajpur district is a district in the state of Chhattisgarh in central India, with its administrative headquarters at Surajpur. National Highway 43 passes through Surajpur district. Surajpur was declared a district on 15 August 2011 along with eight other new districts. Surajpur is the first district to receive National Satyan Maitra Literacy Award. The district is known for its market and other major tourist places of Chhattisgarh with Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary.
Balrampur-Ramanujganj district is a district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. It came into existence on 17 January 2012 and was formerly part of Surguja district. Balrampur-Ramanujganj district is the northernmost district of Chhattisgarh. Its seat is Balrampur.
Mainpat is a hill station and small village in the Surguja district in the northern part of the state of Chhattisgarh, India. It lies about 55 kilometres (34 mi) by road from the divisional headquarter of Ambikapur. The hill station is 50 km south of Ambikapur, 160 km northeast of Korba, and 360 km northeast of state capital Raipur.
Tourism is an important part of the economy of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, India's tenth largest state. The state has many ancient monuments, rare wildlife, carved temples, Buddhist sites, palaces, water falls, caves, rock paintings and hill plateaus.
Ambikapur, station code ABKP, is a railway station that connects the city of Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh to the Indian Railway network. It is the connecting point of Surguja district and Surajpur district and falls within the South East Central Railway zone of the Indian Railways.
Uslapur railway station is a Satellite Railway Station of Bilaspur Railway Station in the region of Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh in India. It is the second most important railway stations within Bilaspur city,after Bilaspur Railway Station. Uslapur is the second biggest railway station in the Bilaspur district. Uslapur is situated west of Bilaspur city and falls under Bilaspur - Katni Section of Bilaspur Division and Trains Bypassing Bilaspur Jn Railway have halts at Uslapur Railway Station, some major trains halting at Uslapur Railway are Durg- Hazrat Nizamuddin Humsafar Express, Raipur-Lucknow Garib rath Express,Durg-Udhampur,Durg-Ajmer,Durg-Amibkapur, Sarnath Express,Betwa Express,Nautanwa Express. The station has three well-furnished railway platforms.
Maa Mahamaya Airport or Ambikapur Airport is located at Darima, 12 km (7.5 mi) south of Ambikapur, in Chhattisgarh, India. The airport serves Ambikapur, one of the major city of Chhattisgarh state. It also serves the nearby towns like Surajpur, Baikunthpur, Bhatgaon, Mainpat, Sitapur, Bishrampur, Balrampur, Ramanujganj, etc. therefore this airport provides air connectivity to entire Northern Chhattisgarh. The airport will connect Jabalpur, New Delhi, Kolkata and Prayagraj and is expected to boost development and offer employment opportunities to locals.
Jeeraphool rice is an ancient, indigenous, aromatic, and short-grained rice variety mainly grown in the Indian states of Chhattisgarh. It is a common and widely cultivated crop in Surguja district of Chhattisgarh in Ambikapur, Lakhanpur, Udaipur, Sitapur, Batauli, Lundra and Mainpat. The uniqueness is that the shape of the rice grain is shaped like a cumin.
References
Surguja ka ek Adhyaan, by Samar Bahadur Singhdeo, 1957 Varanasi.
Dr. Sanjay Alung-Chhattisgarh ki Riyaste/Princely stastes aur Jamindariyaa (Vaibhav Prakashan, Raipur1, ISBN81-89244-96-5)
Dr. Sanjay Alung-Chhattisgarh ki Janjaatiyaa/Tribes aur Jatiyaa/Castes (Mansi publication, Delhi6, ISBN978-81-89559-32-8)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
India 
