DISTRICT INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING,BALAGHAT

DISTRICT LOCATION

District Balaghat looks like a flying bird and is situated in southern part of Jabalpur division. It occupies the south eastern region of the Satpura and Upper Wainganga Valley. The district spans over a degree from 21.19' to 22.24' North and 79.31 to 81.3' East. The total area of the district is 9245 Sq. Km. District Balaghat is bounded by Rajnandgaon in the East, Seoni in the West, District Mandla in the North and District Bhandara of Maharashtra State in the south. The Wainganga River separates the district from Seoni while the rivers Bawanthadi and Bagh define the inter-state boundary.

Balaghat District was constituted during the years 1967-73 by amalgamation of parts of the Bhandara, Mandla and Seoni districts. The headquarter of the district was originally called "Burha" or "Boora". Later, however, this name fell into disuse and was replaced by "Balaghat", which was originally the name of the district only. The Wainganga is the most important river of the district.

POPULATION

As per the 2001 Census, the total population of the district is 14,97,968 out of which 12,36,083 is rural population and 1,29,787 is urban. Out of the total population, 1,13,105 are Scheduled Caste and 2,98,665 are Scheduled Tribes. The no. of males is 6,82,260 and the no. of females is 6,83,610. The population density of the district is 148 persons per sq. km while the current sex ratio is 1003 females per 1000 males.

	Total Population	Total Male	Total Female	Total SC	Male SC	Female SC	Total ST	Male ST	Female ST
Total	1497968	740749	757219	116070	56953	59117	326540	159285	167255
Rural	1303996	642285	661711	96741	47286	49455	297906	145100	152806
Urban	193972	98464	95508	19329	9667	9662	28634	14185	14449

RESOURCES

The District is very rich in forest wealth. About 52% of the area is covered with forest. Teak, Sal, Bamboo and Saja are the main trees. Almost 25 years ago the district was nicknamed as "Hunters Paradise". District is still proud of its varied fauna consisting of Tigers, Leopard, Bear, Neel-Gai, Deer & Bison on one side and birds like Peacock, Red Bulbul and Koyal on the other.

Balaghat district occupies a pride place on the mineral map of India. About 80% of the Manganese production of the country comes from Balaghat. The recent discovery of Copper deposit at Malajkhand is regarded as the largest in the country. Over and above this Bauxite, Kyanite and Lime-stone are the other main minerals of the district.

COMMUNICATIONS

The district is well connected by Bus, directly with important places such as Bhopal, Nagpur, Gondia, Jabalpur, Raipur etc. The District Headquarter is situated on Narrow gauge line of Jabalpur-Balaghat and Broadgauge line of Balaghat-Gondia section of South-Eastern Railway. The nearest Airport is at Nagpur.

TOURIST SPOTS

Balaghat has the following centers as tourists spots :

Part of Kanha National Park.
Lanji Fort/Temple.
Nahlesara Dam.
Rampaily Temple.
Gomji-Somji Temple.

	Kanha National Park
	Lanji Temple/Fort
	Nahlesara Dam
	Dhuti Dam
	Rampaily Temple
	Hatta Bawali
	Gangulpara Tank and Water fall

Kanha National Park

Kanha National Park falls in the Balaghat and Mandla districts. Located in the "Maikal" ranges of the Satpuras. The Park is internationally renowned for its rich floral and faunal attributes

The National Park has distinguished itself in saving, the endangered hard ground barasingha (cervus, duvaceli, branderi) from extinction and has the unique distinction of harbouring the last world population of this dear species. Barasingha is State Animal of Madhya Pradesh.

The Present Park area encompasses two important valleys viz the Banjar and the Halon. The Halon vally falls in Balaghat district. The total area of the park is 940 Sq. kms. Of which 530 Sq. kms falls in Balaghat district comprising the three ranges viz Mukki, Bhaisanghat and Supkhar.

Kanha National Park is located on the following longitude and latitude.

Longitude	80? 26’ 10" to 81? 4’ 40" E.
Latitude	22? 1’ 5" to 22? 27’ 45" N.

How to reach

The National Park has two entry points – Kisli and Mukki. Mukki is 82 kms away from Balaghat.

AERODROME DETAILS
1	City Aerodrome	BIRWA AIRSTRIP, TAHSIL - BAIHAR DISTRICT - BALAGHAT (M.P.)
2	Arodrome Reference Point Longitude: Latitude:	80⁰- 35' 45''(East) 22⁰- 05' 33''(North)
3	Distance and direction from the City	8.0 Km. from Baihar (East)
4	Elevation	1811 Feet
5	Aerodrome Operator/Authority	Executive Engineer P.W.D. Division No.1, Balaghat
	Meteorological I Season for storm : II Season for rain :	April and May 15 June to 15 September
7	Postal Address	Office of the Sub Divisional Officer, Sub Division No.2, Baihar (M.P.)
8	Telegraphic Address	Sub Divisional Officer, Sub Division No.2, Baihar (M.P.)
9	Telephone No.	Nil
10	Overnight Accommodation	Rest House Baihar and Rest House Mukki.
11	Restaurant Accommodation	Baihar and Mukki
12	Medical Facility available	Health Centre Baihar
13	Transportation available	Baihar and Mukki
14	Safety services available	Sub Divisional Officer, Sub Division No.2, Baihar (M.P.)
15	Seasonal serviceability aerodrome	Nil
16	Local flying restrictions	Nil
17	Physical Characteristics Runway	Orientation 140⁰, 1620 Chain age 320⁰, 220 Chain age	Dimension 1400x30Mtr	Surface B.T. Suface
18	Obstructions in Approach & Takeoff areas	Obstruction of trees in takeoff area

Park season, Excursion, Timings and Fees :

The Park opens daily from 1^st November to 30^th June. Expect Holi festival (One day). The opening hours have seasonal variation as under.

Month	Morning	Evening
1^st November to 15^th February	Sunrise to 11 AM	3 PM to sunset
16^th February to 30^th April	Sunrise to 11 AM	4 PM to sunset
16^th May to 30^th June	Sunrise to 11 AM	5 PM to sunset

Fees
Park entry for Indian citizens		Rs. 20.00
Park entry foreigners		Rs. 200.00
Light Motor vehicles		Rs. 10.00	Per vehicle up to 5 persons and Rs. 2.00 for each additional.
Park entry for student groups		Rs. 10.00	Per group
Entry for children below 5 years of age is free.
Permissible capacity of vehicles exclusive drives and guide.
Car	5 persons
Jeep-Gypsy	8 persons
Mini bus (Petrol)	15 persons
Guide charges	Rs. 80.00 per round
Elephant joyride	Rs. 200.00 per hour (up to 4 persons)
Tiger show	Rs. 50.00 per person an elephant back.
Photography	Still Camera		Rs. 25.00 per day
	Vedio Camera		Rs. 100.00 per day
	Movie Camera (8mm)		Rs. 200.00
	Movie Camera (16mm)		Rs. 250.00
	Movie Camera (35mm)		Rs. 1000.00

Heavy vehicles and diesel vehicles are not allowed inside the Park.
Route Guide is compulsory.
Speed limits 20 kms per Hour.
Use of horns and headlights is not allowed.
Smoking is for bidden in the Park.
Foot trakking is strictly prohibited.
Empty tins, Polithin Bages, Boxes or Other litter throwing inside the park area is prohibited.

Vehicles & Guides :

One can use ones own petrol vehicle for taking round in the park of course with the guide. The diesel vehicles are not allowed inside the park. The tourists who don’t have their own vehicle, can hier Jeep/Gypsy which are available with Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation or freelance drivers with a rate Rs. 10.00 per km. The guide is compulsory who is available at the entry-point.

Information facilities :

Two orientation Centres, one on each entry point offer informative displays, signs, graphics and interactive exhibits. Each Centre has a sale counter where park publications, posters, T-shirts and other souvenirs are sold. The opening hours of the centres are : -

1^st November to 15^th February	8.00 AM – 11.00 AM	3.30 PM – 5.00 PM
16^th February to 30^th April	7.30 AM – 10.30 AM	4.30 PM – 6.00 PM
16^th May to 30^th June	7.00 AM – 10.00 AM	5.30 PM – 7.00 PM

The Kanha Museum Located at Kanha contains fascinating, well-conceived exhibits relating to the entire eco-system and its fauna & flora.

Major Mammals of Kanha Tiger Reserve

Common Name	Scientific Name	Hindi Name
Barasingha	Cervus duvauceli branderi	Barasingha
Barking Deer (Muntjac)	Muntiacus Muntjak	Kakar
Blackbuck	Antilope cervicapra	Harna(i),Mrig, Krishnasara
Chital	Axis axis	Chital
Gaur (Indian Bison)	Bos gaurus	Gaur
Hyena	Hyaena hyaena	Lakkar baghar
Jackal	Canis aureus	Gidhar
Jangle Cat	Felis chaus	Jangli billi
Langur	Presbytis entellus	Langur
Leopard	Panthera pardus	Tendua
Sambar	Cervus unicolor	Sambar
Sloth Bear	Melursus ursinus	Bhalu
Tiger	Panthera tigris	Sher, Bagh
Wild Boar	Sus scrofa	Suar
Wild Dog	Cuon alpinus	Dhole, Jangli kutta

The Common Brids of Kanha

Common Name	Scientific Name
Purple Heron	Ardea purpurea
Pond Heron (Paddy Bird)	Ardeola grayii
Whitenecked Stork	Ciconia episcopus
Common Teal	Anas crecca
Blackwinged Kite	Elanus caeruleus
Shikra	Accipiter badius
White-eyed Buzzard	Butastur teesa
Crested Hawk Eagle	Spizaetus cirrhatus
Whitebacked Vulture	Gyps bengalensis
Pied Harrier	Circus melanoleucos
Crested Serpent Eagle	Spilornis cheela
Red Junglefowl	Gallus gallus
Common Peafowl	Pavo cristatus
Bronzewinged Jacana	Metoppidius indicus
Redwattled Lapwing	Vanellus indicus
Common Green Pigeon	Treron phoenicoptera
Roseringed Parakeet	Psittacula krameri
Common Hawk-Cuckoo or Brainfever Brid	Cuculus varius
Indian Cuckoo	Cuculus micropterus
Crow-Pheasant or Coucal	Centropus Sinensis
Barred Jungle Owlet	Glauacidium radiatum
Whitebreasted Kingfisher	Halcyon smyrnensis
Small Green Bee-eater	Merops orientails
Indian Roller or Blue Jay	Coracias bengalensis
Hoopoe	Upupa epops

Lanji Temple/Fort

The Fort is located at Lanji Tehsil of Balaghat. It was made by Cultury Rajwansh. Which is located in Dense Forest area. The Temple and its Statutes art are of Khajuraho style. The Lanji Fort is also related with Gond dynasty. There are so many temples within Fort with lot of Statutes. Like Mahadev, Mahamaya, Lanjkaidevi etc.

Rampaily Temple

It is a Historical place located 30 Km away from District head quarter. The temple is built on the bank of Chandan river, in which Shree Ram , Hanuman and Balanji's big statutes are there.

Hatta Bawali [Well]

The village Hatta is located about 30 Km away from District head quarter. The village Hatta is famous for its historical history. At the time of British government Hatta was centre of a powerful Zamindari. Here one Bawali and old temple is situated. The Bawali was built by King Gond of Devgad in 17th Century. The Bath-room built in the Bawali was for King and Queen.

Nahlesara Dam

The Dam is built on Chandan River. It's length is 1.5 KM and it is quite old Dam, it was built some where around 1960-1965. It is 58 KM away from district headquarter Balaghat. The Dam is used for irrigation purpose. Behind Dam about one KM away one temple Amma Mai is there which is also famous.

Gangulpara Tank and Water Fall

From district headquarter Balaghat around 14 km. away on Baihar road the Gangulpara Tank and Water fall is located. The natural beauty surrounding Tank and Water fall looks nice. People at Balaghat used to go there for picnic. The Tank stores the water of Ghysri Nala and it is used for irrigation purpose.

Dhuti Dam

The Dam is built on Wainganga River and it is around 65 km. away from Balaghat near Lamta. The Dam is quite oldest, it was constructed during year 1911-23. The Dam height is 26.6 ft and it's length is 4040 ft and width 881ft. Maximum water level of Dam is 1077.5 ft. The Dam mainly serves the irrigation purpose of the villages