Siruguppa

Siruguppa ಸಿರುಗುಪ್ಪ Sirigumpaa, Siraguppa
town
Nickname(s): land of paddy and ricemills
Siruguppa Location in Karnataka, India
Coordinates:
Country	India
State	Karnataka
District	Bellary
Government
• Body	City Municipal Council
• MLA	B M Nagaraj
Elevation	373 m (1,224 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	52,534
• Rank	50th in Karnaraka and 4th in Bellary
Languages
• Official	Kannada
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN Code	583121
Telephone code	(+91) 8396
Website	www.shiraguppatown.gov.in

Siruguppa is a town in Bellary district in Karnataka. In a region sometimes known as "The land of paddy", this town is one of the major rice exporters of the state. The place was recently declared as city municipal council.

Etymology

The name Siruguppa is derived from two Kannada words siri (wealth) and kuppe (bulk/plenty). This region was known for its prosperity during the era of the famed Vijayanagara Empire.

History

The history of the region dates back to the Mauryas. Inscriptions of king Ashoka are found in the Nittur village of the taluk. The region was subsequently ruled by many famous dynasties like Chalukyas, Vijayanagara Empire, Sultans of Bahamani, Nizams of Hyderabad.

As a taluk headquarter

During British rule, the region around Siruguppa was made a taluk which came into existence on 1 October 1910 after merging 46 villages from the Bellary taluk, 29 from the Adoni taluk and 23 from the Alur taluk. However Siruguppa taluk was abolished on 1 April 1923. But again, on 15 April 1929, 33 villages from the Adoni taluk, 7 villages from Alur taluk along with the villages included in the Siruguppa Deputy Tahsildar’s division of Bellary taluk,constituted into a new taluk with Siruguppa as its Headquarters.

Geography and climate

Siruguppa is located at . Located on the Deccan plateau, it has an average elevation of 373 metres (1223 feet). It belongs to the dry inland region of Karnataka with an annual rainfall of 645 mm. The Taluk is bounded in the south by Bellary taluk, in the west by Hospet taluk, in the north by Sindhanur taluk of Raichur district and in the east by Adoni taluk of Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh.

Town architecture

Historically, Siruguppa town was not a great commercial centre, despite being made a taluk headquarter during the British era. Even after independence, the town did not undergo much expansion.

The map of Siruguppa is bitter-gourd shaped, with much of the town spread heavily on either side of the SH-19 (Bellary road).[2] Most of the new extension areas are also developed alongside of the Bellary road, making the town look longer and narrower.

Demographics

As of 2011 India census, Siruguppa had a population of 55,000. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Siruguppa has an average literacy rate of 51%, lower than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 60%, and female literacy is 43%. In Siruguppa, 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.

River

River Tungabhadra embraces the town from north-west. It is the main link between North and South Karnataka. Important sight seeing places along the river bank are Vasudhendra teertha vrindavana in Kenchanagudda, Shambhulingeshwara temple along Desnur road & Haragol ghat. The agriculture of the entire taluk is benefited by the river through irrigation.

Transportation

Siruguppa lies along SH-19 which is the longest state highway in the state connecting Bidar and Srirangapatna. The town is facilitated by the buses run by NEKRTC, a subdivision of the KSRTC for the HK region. Siruguppa town is well connected by buses from Bellary, Tumkur, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Raichur, Bidar and Gulbarga. It has its own bus depot and many private bus facilities are also available from Siruguppa to Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Siruguppa is not linked with a railway line. The nearest station to the town is Adoni in Seemandhra. The nearby stations are listed below.

• Adoni - 40 km
• Ballary - 55 km
• Raichur - 90 km

Though the river Tungabhadra flows near the town, it is not used for transportation because of the shallowness of the river and inconsistent water levels.

Education

Siruguppa belongs to the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, a relatively backward zone of the Karnataka state. The town was educationally lagging behind in the past. Till recently, it did not even have a degree college for science. But the town has made a rapid progress in the field in the last decade. It boasts of a degree college for science, more than 3 for arts and commerce and around half a dozen pre-university colleges. The town also has up to 20 schools with one of them being an international one (offering ICSE curriculum). The educational institutions of Siruguppa have produced many doctors, engineers, artists and other professionals.

Industries

It has the largest number of rice industries in Karnataka. More than 90 rice industries are there in Siruguppa. The trio of Siruguppa, Sindhanoor and Gangavati form one of the largest producers of rice in Karnataka. That is why Siruguppa is often called "Land of Paddy". There are many fields of paddy and sugar and a sugar factory which is located in Deshnur village which is 5 km away from town and a steel factory is located in Honnarahalli. Recently this factory has stopped due to some problem. There are also 60 oil factories around this town.