About Ambikapur

Ambikapur is a small census town in the Surguja district of the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. It is the District headquarters of Surguja district, the largest district of Chhattisgarh.

Demographics

As of 2001[update] India census, Ambikapur had a population of 65,999. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Ambikapur has an average literacy rate of 76%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 56% of the males and 44% of females literate. 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Geography

The district of Surguja is spread over an area of 22,237 km², and is rich in forests. Most of the terrain of the district is forested and hilly. Major tourist areas near Ambikapur are Mainpat (Mainpat is called as Shimla of Surguja, The place has a large number of migrant Tibetans, who took refuge in India after the Chinese annexation of Tibet in 1959. is a charming hill station situated in Sarguja District of Chhattisgarh.Major tourist attractions include the Tiger Point Waterfall and the delightful Buddha Temple), Ramgarh, Kudargarh,Patal Bhairav Mandir,Bhaiyathan Dipadih (Ancient Sculptors), Rakasganda, Sitabengara, Tattapani (Hot water spring) and Semarsot, kailash gufaa (shivling in a cave and a big water fall)

Natural resources include coal, bauxite, forest products and paddy crops.

Ambikapur is inhabited by people from all over the country. Moderate weather and a serene environment make it an ideal place for settlement. but still it is counted as one of the worst backward place in chhattisgarh. the education part is lacking in the people of ambikapur. Unlike the capital town, major district population comprises aboriginal population. Among these indigenous tribes are the Pandos and Korwas, who are still living in rural areas.

Transport

Via train

Jabalpur – Ambikapur Express,Ambikapur – Shahdol, Ambikapur – Surajpur – Anuppur – Bilaspur – Durg Express and Bhopal – Chirmiri Passenger are the primary express trains from major cities Bhopal, Gwalior, Katni and Jabalpur that connect to Ambikapur directly. Anuppur, a bordering town in Madhya Pradesh is the most convenient transit point to reach Ambikapur from Delhi.One can avail the Shahdol-Ambikapur passenger at 14:00 hrs from the Anuppur station,it reaches Ambikapur at 19:00 hrs( a journey of 4-5 hrs, but one can enjoy the scenic beauty along the way especially in winters and monsoon). Train links to Ambikapur are :

Ambikapur – Durg Daily* Bhopal – Chirmiri Express.
Alternatively, bus services from Anuppur to Ambikapur via Manendragarh can be used. Alternate railway connecting stations are Bilaspur and Katni. The bus journey from Bilaspur will take around 5 to 6 hours and from Anuppur it will take around 1 to 2 hours. The other bus stand from where there are bus services available for Ambikapur are Renukoot in U.P (170 km), Raipur (345 km) and Gadhwa road in Jhaarkhand (160 km).

Via flight

Ambikapur is well connected with Raipur airport. Daily trains/ Busses are available from/ To ambikapur. The Nearest airport near Ambikapur is Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh. One can take flights from Delhi for Jabalpur and use the connecting bus or train service directly from Jabalpur (Jabalpur – Ambikapur Express is the best train to reach Ambikapur). Flights available for Jabalpur are on Indian Airlines, Kingfisher Airlines, Air India, Indigo Airlines and Alliance Air airlines.

Education

The town has a Post Graduation College, a Women’s College, an agriculture college, a Polytechnic college and several public schools. IT education institutes are also established here. Recently a Sainik school (23rd in India) was started in Ambikapur. With the establishment of a central University in Bilaspur the procedure for opening a new university based Ambikapur is underway.

Recent developments

Recently Ambikapur was connected by rail line to Bilaspur, Raipur and Durg. In the near future it is expected that trains will directly run from Ambikapur to Nagpur (Maharashtra). Recently low-fare Airlines such as Air Deccan and Karma Airlines have shown interest in establishing air services in cities like Ambikapur, Bilaspur and Jagdalpur in collaboration with the Chhattisgarh State Government.

In the recent assembly elections(2008) Ambikapur became a delimited assembly constituency, after many years it was open for all categories as compared to its S.T. reserved status in the earlier elections. T.S. SinghDeo alias T.S. Baba, who hails from the former royal family of Surguja and considered to be the current Maharaja according to the customs, won the seat on a congress party ticket in a keenly contested election. Ambikapur assembly segment was seen as an important battle of crucial symbolic value between the Congress and the Bhartiya Janta Party.

Source: Wikipedia