Roorkee
1794476
225215599
2008-07-12T14:36:26Z
117.201.81.6
/* Colleges */
<!-- See [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Indian cities]] for details -->{{Infobox Indian Jurisdiction |
native_name = Roorkee |
other_name = laksar|
type = city |
latd = 29.87 | longd = 77.88 |
state_name = Uttarakhand |
district = [[Haridwar District|Haridwar]] |
leader_title = |
leader_name = |
altitude = 274 |
population_as_of = 2001 |
population_total = 140 000|
population_density = |
area_magnitude= sq. km |
area_total = |
area_telephone = 91 1332|
postal_code = 247667|
vehicle_code_range = UK 08|
sex_ratio = |
unlocode = |
website = http://210.212.78.56/roorkee/English/indexvisitor.html|
footnotes = |
distance_1 = 168 |
direction_1 = SSW |
destination_1 = New Delhi |
}}
'''Roorkee''' ({{lang-hi|रुड़की}}) is a town and a [[Municipal council]] in [[Haridwar District]] in the [[India]]n [[States and territories of India|state]] of [[Uttarakhand]].
It is located on the banks of the [[Ganga canal]] on the [[Indian highways|National highway]]-58 between Delhi and Manna Pass, at a distance of 30 km from the Hindu pilgrimage city of [[Haridwar]].
== Etymology ==
Roorkee derives its name from Ruri, the wife of a [[Rajput]] tribal chieftain, and earlier it was even spelled as 'urki' <ref name=History>[http://210.212.78.56/roorkee/English/indexcity.html?mythology.html History] Official website.</ref>
==History==
Roorkee was the capital of a [[Moghul]] Mahal (similar to a present day Pargana) during the time of [[Akbar]], as is referred in [[Ain-e-Akbari]], authored by [[Abul Fazal]] <ref name=gaze>[http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V21_330.gif Roorkee Town] [[The Imperial Gazetteer of India]], v. 21, p. 324.</ref>.
During the 18th century, it came under the rule of [[Landaura]] state, till the death of its [[Gujjar]] king, Raja Ramdaval in 1813 <ref name=History/> and later, became a part of the the territories of the [[British East India Company]].
Before 1840s, when the work on the [[Ganga Canal]] began under the aegis of [[Proby Cautley]], an officer in British Army, it was a mere mud built village on the banks of the hill torrent, named Solani <ref name=roor>[http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V21_331.gif Roorkee Town2] [[The Imperial Gazetteer of India]], v. 21, p. 325.</ref>. Digging work on the Upper Ganga Canal formally began in April 1842 <ref name=gaze>[http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V12_144.gif Upper Ganges Canal] , v. 12, p. 138.</ref>, and soon this village started developing into a city. The canal was formally opened in April 8, 1854 <ref name=gaze/>, irrigating over 767,000 acres (3,100 km²) in 5,000 villages.<!-- (Imperial Gazetteer of India) -->
Another factor that contributed to the city's rapid growth was the inception of the 'Roorkee College', which has its origin in the training classes started in 1845 <ref name=roor/> to train local youth to assist in the civil engineering works in the making of the Upper Ganga Canal <ref>[http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V04_350.gif Indian Engineering Colleges] [[The Imperial Gazetteer of India]], 1909, v. 4, p. 321.</ref>. On November 25 1847, the college was formally constituted, through a proposal by the Sir James Thomason, Lt. Governor of North Western Province (1843-53) <ref name=roor/>, and after his death in 1953 (or is it 1853?) <!-- or is it 1853? -->, the college was rechristened as 'Thomason College of Civil Engineering'. The college later upgraded to [[University of Roorkee]] in 1949, and on September 21, 2001, through an Act of Indian parliament, it was made one of [[Indian Institutes of Technology]], [[IIT Roorkee]]<ref name=IIT>[http://www.iitr.ac.in/ IIT Roorkee] Official website.</ref>.
The municipality of Roorkee was created in 1868 <ref name=roor/>, when it was already home to the [[Bengal Sappers and Miners]] since 1853, and two artillery units were stationed here <ref name=roor/>. Today, it has a large army base with headquarters for Bengal Engineering Group and Centre (BEG&C), also known as [[Bengal Sappers and Miners|Bengal Sappers]], established in 1803.
Later in 1901, when the city had a population of 17,197, it was made headquarters of the Roorkee [[Tehsil]], in [[Saharanpur]] district of the [[United Provinces of Agra and Oudh|United Province]] of the [[British Raj]]; the tehsil included in it 426 villages (of the ''parganas'' of Jwalapur, [[Manglaur]] and Bhagwanpur) and six towns, most important among them being [[Haridwar]] and [[Manglaur]].<ref name=gaze/>.
[[Image:Sarkar Sabir pak.jpg|left|thumb|right|200px|Dargah of [[Alauddin Sabir Kaliyari]] also known as [[Sarkar Sabir Pak]] in [[Piran Kaliyar]] near Roorkee.]]
Roorkee is also famous for the shrine of 13th century, Sufi saint [[Alauddin Sabir Kaliyari]] - the [[dargah]] is also known as [[Sarkar Sabir Pak]] - situated in Piran Kaliyar town, where an annual 15-day spiritual fair ([[Urs]]) is held in his honour.
Roorkee has many firsts in Indian history to its credit:
* It had the first engineering college in Asia (and in the British Empire outside Great Britain) established in 1845 <ref name=roor/><ref name=History/>.
* India's first rail locomotive, named Mary Lind, ran here on December 22 1846 between Roorkee and Piran Kaliyar. The railway line was built to carry soil used for the construction of the upper Ganga canal aqueduct from Piran Kaliyar, 10 km away from the city <ref>[http://www.hinduonnet.com/2002/08/10/stories/2002081000040800.htm First train ran between Roorkee and Piran Kaliyar] [[The Hindu]], Aug 10, 2002.</ref>. The locomotive rail paths are still intact.
* India's first aqueduct was constructed over the Solani river, near Roorkee, part of the [[Ganga canal]] project, which itself was India's first irrigation work in North India, started by the British <ref>[http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V03_376.gif Irrigation and Navigation] [[Imperial Gazetteer of India]], 1909 v. 3, p. 341.</ref>.
* India's first Hydro-Power Station became operational in [[1913]] at Pathri near [[Bahadrabad]] on the Upper Ganga Canal <ref>[http://irrigation.up.nic.in/history.htm UP IRRIGATION DEPARTMENT (IN HISTORICAL CONTEXT)] irrigation.up.nic.in.</ref> <!-- Remains of this power house can still be seen at Pathri, Bahadrabad and Roorkee.? Pathri power house is still running -->
== Geography ==
Roorkee is 172 km north of the Indian capital [[New Delhi]] and located between the rivers [[Ganges River|Ganga]] and [[Yamuna]], close to the foot hills of [[Himalayas]]. Before the creation of [[Uttarakhand]] on November 9 2000 <ref>[http://india.gov.in/business/investment_incentives/uttarakhand/uttarakhand.php Uttarakhand] Govt. of India, Official website.</ref>, Roorkee was a part of the state of [[Uttar Pradesh]].
==Transport==
Roorkee comes under Northern Railway region of Indian Railways and is connected to major Indian cities.
The nearest airport is [[Jolly Grant Airport]] in [[Dehradun]], though the preferred one is [[Indira Gandhi International Airport]] in [[New Delhi]].
Roorkee's major neighbour-cities are [[Dehradun]], [[Ambala]], [[Chandigarh]], [[Meerut]], [[Haridwar]], [[Saharanpur]] and [[Rishikesh]]. The [[Indian highways|National Highway]] NH58 (Delhi-Haridwar-Mana Pass) and NH73 (Panchkula/Chandigarh - Yamuna Nagar - Roorkee) pass through the heart of the city.
==Demographics==
As of 2001 India [[census]]<ref>{{GR|India}}</ref>, Roorkee had a population of 140,000. Males constituted 53% of the population and females 47%. Roorkee has an average literacy rate of 77%, higher than the national average of 64%: male literacy is 92%, and female literacy is 72%. 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
With a population of about 140,000 inhabitants, it is the third largest Municipal Council in the state of Uttarakhand, after [[Haridwar]] & [[Haldwani]].
Languages spoken are [[Hindi]], [[Urdu]], [[English language|English]] and [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]].
== Education in Roorkee ==
<!-- Unsourced image removed: [[Image:Iitr main building.JPG|thumb|250px|left|[[IIT Roorkee]] main building]] -->
Roorkee is a well known centre of education and research. It is best known for [[Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee]] (formerly [[University of Roorkee]] and originally the Thomason College of Civil Engineering).
The [[Punjab Engineering College]], [[Chandigarh]] started its operations in India, from a single room in the main building of erstwhile 'Thomason College of Civil Engineering', when it shifted to India from [[Lahore]] in [[Pakistan]] after the [[Partition of India]] in 1947; it continued to operate from the premises in Roorkee, till 1954, when it shifted to its present premises in Chandigarh.
Roorkee is also home to several government research institutes: Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Irrigation Research Institute (IRI), Irrigation Design Organization (IDO) and National Institute of Hydrology (NIH) [http://www.nih.ernet.in].
With the availability of numerous schools, colleges and institutions for higher education and professional degrees, students come for enrollment from all over India and abroad. In addition to the university, the notable colleges and schools in Roorkee are:
====UNIVERSITY====
* [[Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee]]
====Colleges====
* [http://www.coe-roorkee.com College of Engineering Roorkee] (COER)
* Roorkee Institute of Technology (RIT)
* Bishambhar Sahai Law Institute
* Roorkee College of Pharmacy
* [http://www.rimsonline.org Roorkee Institute of Management Sciences (RIMS)]
* Institute of Management Studies--(IMS)
* Roorkee School for the Deaf
* BSM Law College
* KLDAV Degree College
* BSM PG College
* SDPC Girls' College
* Methodist Girls' Degree College
* Roorkee Degree College
* Seventh Day Adventist Degree College
* District Institute of Education & Training
=== Schools ===
* St. Gabriel's Academy
* St. Ann's Sr. Sec. School
* Army School
* Knox Memorial School
* St. Joseph School
* Kendriya Vidyalaya - I
* Kendriya Vidyalaya - II
* Adarsh Bal Niketen
* Flora Dale Public School (Children's Sr. Sec. School)
* St. John's Senior Secondary School - [[CBSE]]
* St. John's Senior Secondary School - [[ICSE]]
* Montfort School
* Sarvagya Public School
* Greenways Modern School
* Saraswati Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School
* Roorkee Public School
* Doon Public School - Roorkee
* St. Mark's Academyhfnbgthbtr
* KLDAV Intermediate College
* Arya Kanya Pathshala Intermediate College
* Moolraj Girls' Intermediate College
* Sofia Girls' School
* Government Boys' Intermediate College
* Methodist Girls' Intermediate College
* Sri Gandhi Mahila Shilpa Mahavidyalya Intermediate College
* Marwari Intermediate College
== Important areas of the city ==
Roorkee has expanded considerably in recent times. At present, the city's posh residential areas include: Civil-lines Residential area, Bhagirathi Kunj, Solani Puram, Adarsh Nagar, Niti Nagar, Ram Nagar, New Avas Vikas township, Salman Colony, New Nehru Nagar, Defence Colony, Akashdeep Enclave, Pradeep Vihar, Colonel's Enclave, Ganga Enclave,Maktulpuri,Amber talab,Purwa deen dayal,Civil Hospital,Saket colony,Sanjay Gandhi colony etc.
Main commercial areas are: Civil-lines Market, Jadugar Road, Neher Kinara (Canal View Road), B.T. Ganj, Chaw Mandi, Railway Road, Delhi Road etc.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
Vineet Nagar
==External links==
* [http://210.212.78.56/roorkee/English/indexvisitor.html Official website of Roorkee]
*{{wikitravel}}
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[[Category:Cities and towns in Uttarakhand]]
[[Category:Haridwar]]
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