Bhopal

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This article is about the city in Madhya Pradesh, India. For other uses, see Bhopal (disambiguation).

Bhopal

Metropolis
Clockwise from top left
New Market area, Vallabh Bhawan (MP Secretariat), Ravindra Bhavan, Raja Bhoj International
Airport, Taj-ul-Masajid, Sanchi Stupa
Stupa,

Nickname(s):

The City of Lakes

Bhopal

Show map of Madhya Pradesh Show map of India Show all

Coordinates: 23°15′N 77°25′ECoordinates

Coordinates: 23°15′N 77°25′E

Country India
 State Madhya Pradesh

District Bhopal

Region Bhopal Division

Ward 85 wards[1]

Government

• Type Mayor–Council

• Body Bhopal Municipal Corporation

• Mayor Alok Sharma (BJP)

• Member of Parliament Pragya Singh Thakur (2019 – present)

Area
[2][3][4]

• Metropolis 463 km2 (179 sq mi)

• Metro
648.24 km2 (250.29 sq mi)
[5]

Elevation 527 m (1,729 ft)

Population

(2011)[6]

• Metropolis 1,798,218

• Rank 16th

• Density 3,887/km2 (10,070/sq mi)

• Metro
1,917,051
(Bhopal + Arera Colony + Berasia urban areas)

• Metro rank 18th

 Demonym(s) Bhopali

Time zone UTC+5:30 (IST)

Pincode 462001 to 462050

Telephone 0755

Vehicle registration MP-04

GDP Nominal (Bhopal

Bhopal District
District) Rs. 30,467 crores (2016-17)[7]

Official language Hindi

Literacy Rate (2011) 80.37%[8]

Precipitation 1,123.1 millimetres (44.22 in)

Avg. high temperature 31.7 °C (89.1 °F)

Avg. low temperature 18.6 °C (65.5 °F)

HDI (2001) 0.663 [9]

Website www.bhopal.nic.in , www.smartbhopa

.smartbhopal.city

Bhopal (/boʊˈpɑːl/; Hindustani: [b [bʱoːpaːl] ( listen)) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya
Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. division [10][11] It
is known as the City of Lakes[12] for its various natural and artificial lakes and for being one of
the greenest cities in India.[13] It is the 16th largest city in India and 131st[14] in the world. After
formation of Madhya Pradesh, the state capital Bhopal was a part of the Sehore district. di It was
bifurcated in 1972 and a new district Bhopal was formed. Flourishing around 1707, the city was
the capital of the former Bhopal State
State, a princely state of the British ruled by the Nawabs of
Bhopal.. Numerous heritage structures from this period include th the Taj-ul-Masajid
Masajid and Taj Mahal
palace.. In 1984, the city was struck by the Bhopal disaster,, one of the worst industrial disasters in
history.

A Y-class city,[15] Bhopal houses various educational and research institutions and installations
of national importance, including ISRO's Master Control Facility,[16] BHEL and AMPRI. Bhopal
is home to a large number of institutes of National Importance in India, namely, IISER, MANIT,
SPA, AIIMS, NLIU, IIFM, NIDMP and IIIT (currently functioning from a temporary campus
inside MANIT). ). Bhopal city is also the divisional headquarter of Bhopal division of west central
railways (WCR), whose office
ffice is located at Habibganj.

The city attracted international attention in December 1984 after the Bhopal disaster,
disaster when a
Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide manufacturing plant (now owned by Dow
Chemical Company) leaked a mixture of deadly gases composed mainly of methyl isocyanate,
leading to one of the worst industrial disasters in the world's history.[17] The Bhopal disaster
continues to be a part of the socio-political debate and a logistical challenge for the people of
Bhopal.[18]

Bhopal was selected as one of the first twenty Indian cities (the first phase) to be developed as a
smart city under PM Narendra Modi's flagship Smart Cities Mission.[19] Bhopal was also rated as
the cleanest state capital city in India for three consecutive years, 2017, 2018 and 2019.[20]

Contents
• 1 History
o 1.1 Early history
o 1.2 Begum rule
o 1.3 Post independence
o 1.4 Bhopal disaster
• 2 Geography
o 2.1 Climate
• 3 Demographics
• 4 Government and politics
o 4.1 Civic administration
o 4.2 Civic utilities
• 5 Culture
o 5.1 Architecture
• 6 Economy
o 6.1 Industries
• 7 Transport
o 7.1 By air
o 7.2 Rail
o 7.3 Roads
o 7.4 Urban transport

7.4.1 Bhopal BRTS

7.4.2 Metro Rail
• 8 Education
o 8.1 Basic education
o 8.2 Higher education
• 9 Sports
o 9.1 Teams
o 9.2 Stadiums
• 10 Places of interest
o 10.1 Nature
o 10.2 Activity centres
o 10.3 Shopping
• 11 Notable people
 o 11.1 Politics, civil service, science
o 11.2 Literature
o 11.3 Sports
o 11.4 Film and television
• 12 See also
• 13 References
• 14 Further reading
• 15 External links

History
Early history

Bhopal was founded by and named after 11th-century Malwa king Bhoja

According to folklore, Bhopal was founded in the 11th century by the Paramara king Bhoja, who
ruled from his capital at Dhar. This theory states that Bhopal was originally known as Bhojpal
after a dam (pal) constructed by the king's minister.[4] An alternative theory says that the city is
named after another king called Bhupala (or Bhupal).[21][22][23]
Mausoleum of Dost Khan founder of Bhopal state

In the early 18th century, Bhopal was a small village in the Gond kingdom. The modern Bhopal
city was established by Dost Mohammad Khan (1672–1728), a Pashtun soldier in the Mughal
army.[24] After the death of the emperor Aurangzeb, Khan started providing mercenary services
to local chieftains in the politically unstable Malwa region. In 1709, he took on the lease of
Berasia estate and later annexed several territories in the region to establish the Bhopal State.[25]
Khan received the territory of Bhopal from the Gond queen Kamlapati in lieu of payment for
mercenary services and usurped her kingdom after her death.[26] In the 1720s, he built the
Fatehgarh fort in the village, which developed into the city of Bhopal over the next few decades.

Begum rule

Bhopal became a princely state after signing a treaty with the British East India Company in
1818.[27] Between 1819 and 1926, the state was ruled by four women, Begums – unique in the
royalty of those days – under British suzerainty. Qudsia Begum was the first woman ruler
(between 1819 and 1837), who was succeeded by her granddaughter, Shah Jehan. Between the
years 1844–1860, when Shah Jehan was a child, her mother Sikandar (only daughter of Qudsia)
ruled as regent, and was then recognised as ruler in 1860. She ruled until 1868, when Shah Jehan
succeeded her and was Begum until 1901. In 1901, Shah Jehan's daughter Kaikhusrau Jahan
became Begum, ruled until 1926, and was the last of the female line of succession. In 1926, she
abdicated in favour of her son, Hamidullah Khan, who ruled until 1947, and was the last of the
sovereign Nawabs. The rule of Begums gave the city its waterworks, railways, a postal system,
and a municipality constituted in 1907.[28]

Post independence

Bhopal State was the second-largest Muslim-ruled princely state: the first being Hyderabad.
After the independence of India in 1947, the last Nawab expressed his wish to retain Bhopal as a
separate unit. Agitations against the Nawab broke out in December 1948, leading to the arrest of
prominent leaders including Shankar Dayal Sharma. Later, the political detainees were released,
and the Nawab signed the agreement for Bhopal's merger with the Union of India on 30 April
1949.[29] The Bhopal state was taken over by the Union Government of India on 1 June 1949.

Bhopal disaster

Main article: Bhopal disaster

In early December 1984, a Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal leaked around
32 tons of toxic gases, including methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas which led to the worst industrial
disaster in the world to date.

The official death toll was initially recorded as around 4,000. A Madhya Pradesh government
report stated 3,787 deaths, while other estimates state the fatalities were significantly higher
(16,000) from the accident and the medical complications caused by the accident in the weeks
and years that followed. The higher estimates have been challenged.[30][31] The impact of the
disaster continues to this day in terms of psychological and neurological disabilities, blindness,
skin, vision, breathing, and birth disorders.[32][33][34]

The soil and ground water near the factory site have been contaminated by the toxic wastes.[34][35]
The Bhopal disaster continues to be the part of the socio-political debate; the clean-up of
environmental contamination and rehabilitation of those affected continues to challenge the
people of Bhopal.[18]

The Centre is seeking a direction to Union Carbide and other firms for ₹ 78.44 billion additional
amount over and above the earlier settlement amount of USD 470 million in 1989 for paying
compensation to the gas tragedy victims.[36]

Geography

A view of upper lake, part of the city and the hilly Vindhya terrain.

Bhopal has an average elevation of 500 metres (1401 ft) and is located in the central part of
India, just north of the upper limit of the Vindhya mountain ranges. Located on the Malwa
plateau, it is higher than the north Indian plains and the land rises towards the Vindhya Range to
the south. The city has uneven elevation and has small hills within its boundaries. The prominent
hills in Bhopal are the Idgah and Shyamala hills in the northern region, together with the Katara
hills in the southern region. There are two lakes namely upper lake and lower lake. The Upper
Lake has a surface area of 36 km2 and catchment area of 361 km2 while the Lower Lake has a
surface area of 1.29 km2 and catchment area of 9.6 km2.[37] Recently, Bhopal Municipal
Corporation came with a resolution to involve local citizens in cleaning, conserving and
maintaining the lakes.[38] Bhopal city is divided into two parts where one part which is near the
VIP and lake is Old Bhopal (north) and the other, New Bhopal (south), where malls are mainly
situated.

Climate

Bhopal

Climate chart (explanation)

J F M A M J J A S O N D
 13 7.8 7.2 4.5 8 114 356 388 196 26 14 12

24 28 34 38 41 37 31 29 31 32 29 25

9 11 17 22 26 25 23 22 21 18 12 10

Average max. and min. temperatures in °C

Precipitation totals in mm

Imperial conversion

Bhopal has a humid subtropical climate, with cool, dry winters, a hot summer and a humid
monsoon season. Summers start in late March and go on till mid-June, the average temperature
being around 30 °C (86 °F), with the peak of summer in May, when the highs regularly exceed
40 °C (104 °F) Extreme high in May was 46.7 °C on 19 May 2016 and in June it was 45.9 °C on
7 June 2019. The monsoon starts in late June and ends in late September. These months see
about 40 inches (1020 mm) of precipitation, frequent thunderstorms and flooding. The average
temperature is around 25 °C (77 °F) and the humidity is quite high. Temperatures rise again up
to early November when winter starts, which lasts up to early March. Winters in Bhopal are cool,
and not very much comfortable like summers, with average daily temperatures around 16 °C
(61 °F). The winter peaks in January when temperatures may drop close to freezing on some
nights. Lowest temperature ever recorded was 0.3 °C. Total annual rainfall is about 1146 mm
(46 inches).

• v
• t
• e

Climate data for Bhopal (Raja Bhoj Airport) 1981–2010, extremes 1949–2012
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record
33.0 37.6 40.7 44.4 46.0 45.6 41.2 35.6 37.4 39.6 35.3 32.8 46.0
high °C
(91.4) (99.7) (105.3) (111.9) (114.8) (114.1) (106.2) (96.1) (99.3) (103.3) (95.5) (91.0) (114.8)
(°F)
Average
25.1 28.2 33.7 38.5 40.8 37.3 30.9 28.9 31.0 32.4 29.4 26.4 31.9
high °C
(77.2) (82.8) (92.7) (101.3) (105.4) (99.1) (87.6) (84.0) (87.8) (90.3) (84.9) (79.5) (89.4)
(°F)
Average
10.8 12.9 17.5 22.1 26.2 25.7 23.6 22.8 22.0 18.9 14.8 11.3 19.0
low °C
(51.4) (55.2) (63.5) (71.8) (79.2) (78.3) (74.5) (73.0) (71.6) (66.0) (58.6) (52.3) (66.2)
(°F)
Record
0.6 1.7 6.1 12.2 16.7 19.5 19.0 16.8 13.8 11.7 6.1 1.0 0.6
low °C
(33.1) (35.1) (43.0) (54.0) (62.1) (67.1) (66.2) (62.2) (56.8) (53.1) (43.0) (33.8) (33.1)
(°F)
Average
rainfall 14.7 9.8 11.9 4.8 19.8 127.9 339.6 352.1 168.7 38.9 11.4 10.5 1,110.2
mm (0.58) (0.39) (0.47) (0.19) (0.78) (5.04) (13.37) (13.86) (6.64) (1.53) (0.45) (0.41) (43.71)
(inches)
Average
rainy 1.2 1.0 0.8 0.4 1.6 7.0 13.8 13.9 8.1 2.1 0.8 0.5 51.1
days
Average
relative
humidity
40 30 21 18 21 45 71 76 65 42 40 40 43
(%) (at
17:30
IST)
Mean
monthly
279.0 271.2 285.2 303.0 303.8 195.0 108.5 105.4 192.0 275.9 270.0 263.5 2,852.5
sunshine
hours
Mean
daily
9.0 9.6 9.2 10.1 9.8 6.5 3.5 3.4 6.4 8.9 9.0 8.5 7.8
sunshine
hours
Source: India Meteorological Department (sun 1971–2000)[39][40][41]

Demographics
Religion in Bhopal[42]

Religion Percent

Hindus   69.20%

Muslims   26.28%

Jains   1.35%
Christians   1.12%

Buddhists   1.08%

Others†   0.6%

Population % by religion; †Includes Sikhs

According to the 2011 census, the population of the Bhopal city (the area under Bhopal
Municipal Corporation) is 1,798,218, with 936,168 males and 862,050 females. The population
of the Bhopal metropolitan area (the urban agglomeration that extends beyond Bhopal city) was
1,886,100 in 2011.[43] The total effective literacy rate (for population aged 7+ years) was
85.24%, with male and female literacy respectively at 89.2% and 80.1%.[4]

Tourist Map of Bhopal

Government and politics

Bhopal is the name of the division, as well as the district and the capital city of the district.[44]
The division is headed by the commissioner and additional commissioner for the division.[44] The
division has five districts, of which Bhopal is one.[44] Bhopal district administration is headed by
the District Magistrate of Bhopal, who is the Chief Executive Officer for the district.[45]

The city is represented in the parliament by Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency, with Pragya Singh
Thakur from the BJP elected in 2019. Bhopal also houses the State Legislative Assembly, or the
Vidhan Sabha, which seats 230 members of Legislative Assembly. The fourteenth (and current)
Vidhan Sabha was elected in December 2018.[46] As of March 2020, the party in the majority in
Vidhan Sabha is Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) with 107 seats which is led by Shivraj Singh
Chouhan.[47] Bhopal district elects seven seats to the Assembly, and as per delimitation in
2008,[48] Bhopal city is represented in 6 constituencies:[49]

State assembly
Wards Councillor Political party
constituency
 Indian National
Bhopal Uttara 5-18, 22 Arif Aqueel
Congress

Narela 39-42, 46, 56-58, 66 Vishvas Sarang Bhartiya Janata Party

Indian National
Bhopal Dakshin-Paschim 26-35, 48-49 PC Sharma
Congress

19-21, 23-25, 36-38, 43-45, 47-50, Indian National

Bhopal Madhya Arif Masood
50-52 Congress

Govindpura 53-55, 59-63, 65 Krishna Gaur Bhartiya Janata Party

Rameshwar
Huzur 1-4 Bhartiya Janata Party
Sharma

It is also part of the larger urban agglomeration of Bhopal, with a population of 1,883,381.[50]
The first municipal body that governed the municipal population of the city came into being in
1907 in erstwhile Bhopal estate, and was called Majlis-e-intezamia".[51] The first city survey was
conducted in 1916 after the enactment of Municipal act.[51] Till 1956, the area under Bhopal
Municipal limit was very small, after which surrounding villages were added to it.[51] By 1975,
the municipal limit reached 71.23 square km.[51] Bhopal Municipal Council got the status of
Municipal Corporation, with total of 56 wards in 1983.[52]

Civic administration

Shivaji statue at Shivaji Nagar Square Bhopal

Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) is the urban civic body which oversees the needs of
Bhopal city.[51] The municipal corporation follows guidelines under the Madhya Pradesh
Municipal Corporation Act, 1956,[53] as well as the Madhya Pradesh Municipalities Act,
1961.[54][55] In 2015, Kolar Municipal Corporation merged with it, after having been split from it
earlier.[56] In 2019, it was announced that the corporation would be split again and a proposal was
put forth to the urban administration and housing department, which was criticised by the mayor-
in-council.[57][58] It also proposed for indirect election of the mayor.[59]

The municipal corporation is spread over an area of 463 km2 (179 sq mi) and has a population of
1795648.[2][3][4][60] The city is divided into 14 zones and 85 wards for the purpose of
administration, and each ward is represented by a councillor elected for a term of five
years.[61][62] The winning party elects a council of members, who are responsible for various
departments.[63] Ward committees as well as Mohalla committees have been prescribed by the
corporation act.[64] In October 2016, the Pioneer reported the meeting of one ward committee in
the city.[65] Madhya Pradesh is one of the few states in India, which uses the Mayor-in-Council
(MIC) system and hence the elected representatives of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation are
also organised as MIC.[66] There are multiple municipal departments in BMC such as Health and
Environment; Education, Social JusticeFood and Culture; Planning and Rehabilitation; Public
Relations and Library; Fire Brigade and Transport; Power; Engineering; Revenue and Project;
Accounting; JnNURM; M.P.U.S.P and General Administration.[67]

Elections were due in January 2020, these were postponed due to the pandemic.[68] As of
September 2020, the reservation of wards has been decided.[69] The present mayor of the city is
Alok Sharma.[70] In 2019, the state government changed the rules that had applied since 1988,
allowing the mayor to be indirectly elected, by elected councillors.[71] V.S.Choudhary Kolsani is
the municipal commissioner of the city.[72] Additional municipal commissioner is Shashwant
Singh Meena.[73]

The municipality receives income from tax collection, assigned revenue, rental income, fees and
user charges, revenue grants, income from investment funds.[74] The budget for the year 2020-21
has been approved as Rs 2495 crore.[75]

Civic utilities

Bhopal Development Authority is the apex body for planning and co-ordination of development
activities in the Mandhya Pradesh, which consists of Bhopal and its influence area, and was set
up in 1976 under the Bhopal Development Authority Act, 1974.[76]

Electricity in Bhopal is distributed by the Madhya Pradesh Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran
Company Limited, the central discom of the state.[77] It is regulated by the state electricity board,
the Madhya Pradesh State Electricity Board (MPSEB), which is located in Bhopal.[78] Fire
services are provided by the Bhopal Municipal Corporation.[79][80]

Bhopal Municipal Corporation is responsible for planning, constructing and maintaining the
water supply system within the city.[81] Natural sources of water are surface water (upper lake,
kolar reservoir, narmada river), with a significant portion of the population depending on ground
water (tubewells, handpumps) as well as privately owned and unaccounted for dugwells and
borewells.[82] According to a study done in 2014, piped water supply in the city covers about 6%
of the population;[82] however, irregular and bad quality of water supply is a common complaint
in the city.[83]

System of solid waste disposal in urban areas is governed by the municipality under the
Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules 2000. These rules have been framed
under the Environment Protection Act, 1986.[84] The city of Bhopal generates 900 tonnes of solid
waste.[85] As of 2018, only 1.5% of this waste is segregated.[86] While the municipality website
states that door-to-door collection was started by BMC at each zone and ward level from 15
August 2013,[87] Free Press Journal has reported in 2020 that the civic body has failed in the
same.[88] Bhopal has 8 transfer stations, where the garbage collected zone wise is dumped, and
without any segregation, the waste is transferred to the Adampur Chhawni landfill site.[88] In
2018, after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed the BMC to clean dump at Bhanpur,
which activists claim is 80 feet high and has polluted ground water up to 500 metres below, the
trenching ground was shifted to Adampur.[89] In 2019, it was announced that India's first e-waste
clinic was being set up in Bhopal. BMC along with Central Pollution Control Board came
together to establish this clinic which will enable segregation, processing and disposal of waste,
both residential and commercial.[90] In January 2020, the clinic was inaugurated for operations. It
started initially as a three-month pilot and if the pilot is successful, the clinics will be opened in
other places as well.[91]

As of 2017, the city of Bhopal produces 310 MLD of sewage per day, of which only 50 MLD is
treated in the 7 Sewage treatment plants that have a capacity of 80 MLD.[92] Most of the sewage
reaches water bodies, the Upper and Lower Lake, Motia Lake, Siddique Hasan Lake, Munshi
Hussain Khan Lake.[93][94] There are about 800 large drains in Bhopal.[95] About 80% sewerage
water mixes with storm water drains main drains include Patra, Mandi and Hataikheda,
Jatkhedi.[96]

After a gap of 25 years, the state capital's masterplan 2031 was finally released in March 2020 by
the Directorate of Town and Country Planning, Madhya Pradesh. The previous masterplan of
1995 was valid till 2005; and Bhopal had no masterplan between 2005 and 2020.[97] Bhopal
Municipal Corporation was ranked 3rd out of 21 Cities for best governance and administrative
practices in India in 2014.[98] It scored 3.7 on 10 compared to the national average of 3.3.[99]

Culture

Bharat Bhavan Bhopal

Diwali and Eid are major festivals in Bhopal. Gifts and sweets are exchanged and donation are
made to the poor. Diwali is celebrated by worshiping the wealth goddess Lakshmi. Eid is special
to the city as all the Hindus take time out to visit their Muslim friends and greet them and get
treated with delicacies, the speciality of the day being sweet sewaiya. Bhopali culture is such that
both Hindus and Muslims visit each other on their respective festivals to greet and exchange
sweets. During Ganesh puja and Durga Puja (Navratras), idols of Ganesh and Durga are
established in jhankis throughout the city. People throng to offer prayers to their deities. At the
end of Navratras, on the day of Vijayadashami (or Dussehra), huge effigies of Ravan are burnt in
different parts of the city.Bhopal Ijtema is an annual Muslim world preachers congregation, is
held at Ghasipura 11 km from Bhopal. The annual congregation near Bhopal attracts between
500,000 and 1,000,000 Muslims globally.[100]