Hubli

Hubli, officially known as Hubballi is the second largest city in Karnataka. It forms continuous urban area with the city of Dharwad.

Hubli-Dharwad is the largest conurbation in the state after capital Bangalore and is located about 88 kilometres south of Maharashtra-Karnataka border.

The name Hubballi literally means "Flowering creeper" in Kannada. While Dharwad is the administrative headquarters, the city of Hubli, situated about 20 km south-east of Dharwad, is the commercial centre and business hub of North Karnataka region. Crops including cotton, chilly and peanuts are grown aplenty in the surrounding rural agricultural areas, and Hubli is a major trading centre for these commodities. It is also an important city for the Indian Railways, as it is the headquarters for South Western Railway Zone and the Hubli Railway Division. Hubli is a major railway junction in North Karnataka. It is also the headquarters of North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation.

Hubli also houses the largest number of government offices outside Bangalore, Hubli-Dharwad is selected for Solar City / Green City Master Plans

History

Rayara Hubli, also called 'Eleya Purvada Halli' or 'Purballi' was the old Hubli, where there is a Bhavani Shankara temple and Jaina basti. Under Vijayanagara Rayas, Rayara Hubli grew as a commercial centre, famous for trade in cotton, saltpetre and iron. Under the rule of the Adilshahis, the British opened a factory here. The factory was looted by Shivaji in 1673. The Mughals conquered Rayara Hubli and it was then placed under the governance of the Nawab of Savanur, who built a new extension named Majidpura. Later, trader Basappa Shettar built new Hubli around the Durgadabail (fort maidan) part of Rayara Hubli.

Hubli's famous Moorusavira Matha is claimed to have been established by a Sharana of Basaveshwara's period. Hubli was conquered by the Marathas from the Nawab of Savanur in 1755-56. In the following years, Hubli was conquered by Hyder Ali, only to be recaptured by the Marathas in 1790. At this point in time the old town was administered by a person named Phadke under the Peshwas and the new town was under the administration of the Sangli Patwardhan. The British took Old Hubli from the Peshwas in 1817. The new town, with 47 other villages, was handed over to the British by the Sangli Patwardhan in lieu of subsidy in 1820. Later in 1880, the British started the Railway workshop and with this, Hubli came to be reckoned as an industrial centre in this part of India.

The impressive Chandramauleshwara/ Chaturlinga temple in Unkal are of Chalukyan times.

Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation

Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) was constituted in 1962 by combining the two cities separated by a distance of 20 kilometres. The area covered by the corporation is 202.3 km2. spread over 45 revenue villages and is the second largest city corporation in Karnataka after Bangalore. The population of the city as per the 1991 census was 7 lakhs. The present population is more than 12 lakhs. Hubballi Municipal Council was established Under the Government of India Act of 1850 and the Dharwad Municipal Council first came into existence on 1 January 1856. Both were merged later and after the capital city of Bengaluru, this is the second largest city Corporation in the State.

Transport

Air

Hubli Airport (IATA: HBX, ICAO: VOHB) is one of the operational airports in north Karnataka. Air Pegasus operates 2 flights to Bangalore. Air Pegasus started its operation from 13/04/2015 from Hubli to Bangalore Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Chennai and Trivandrum. Air India is planning to start its operations to Mumbai soon. The airport is currently being upgraded to an international airport and a sanction of Rs 160 crore has been made available for this purpose.

Rail

Hubli is the headquarters of the South Western Railway zone. It was carved out as a zone from the current South Central Railway. It is the centre for the Hubli Division. The Hubli Division is one of the highest revenue generating divisions in India. Hubli is well-connected by the Indian Rail Network. Several express, superfast (most notably the Siddhaganga Intercity Express) and Jan Shatabdi trains ply between Hubli and Bangalore every day. Hubli, an important railway junction, has daily trains connecting with major towns across the country. An upcoming monorail project at Hubli city is set to boost the intercity transport.

Road

Hubli lies on the "Golden Quadrilateral". Asian Highway 47 passes through Hubli. It lies on National Highway 63 (Ankola - Gooty) and National Highway 218 (Hubli - Humnabad) which connect Hubli with major cities in the region. NWKRTC (North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation) is a state run corporation headquartered at Hubli. There is frequent inter-city transportation between Hubli and Dharwad. Bus services from the twin-cities go to every part of Karnataka, neighbouring states, and other popular destinations. There are many private bus operators who render services for overnight travel between Hubli and other major cities. A bus rapid-transit system (BRTS) is under construction in Hubli. It will have a length of 70 km and is being built on an eight-lane expressway between Hubli and Dharwad. It will be funded by government of Karnataka and will be managed by HDBRTS Company.

Culture and society

Hubli-Dharwad is known as cultural, educational and music capital of Karnataka. It has produced some of the most well-known Hindustani music exponents including Mallikarjun Mansur, Bhimsen Joshi, Gangubai Hangal and Basavaraj Rajguru and poets D. R. Bendre and V. K. Gokak.

Hubli has several notable Sufi Dargahs such as the ones of Hazrath Sayed Fatehsha Wali(رحمتہ اللہ علیہ), Hazrath Sayed Noor Mohammed Sha Qadri & Noor Ahmed Sha Qadri(رحمتہ اللہ علیہ), Hazrath Sayed Sikandar Sha Vali & Mast Ali Sha(رحمتہ اللہ علیہ), Hazrath Jhaad Peer(رحمتہ اللہ علیہ), Hazrath Karimullasha(رحمتہ اللہ علیہ), Hazrath Sayed Bodkesha Wali(رحمتہ اللہ علیہ), Hazrat Ghaibu Shah(رحمتہ اللہ علیہ), Hazrat Muhiuddin Deevan(رحمتہ اللہ علیہ), Hazrat Sayyed Sadat(رحمتہ اللہ علیہ), Hazrath Qurbansha Wali(رحمتہ اللہ علیہ), Hazrath Qamarsha Wali(رحمتہ اللہ علیہ)Karwar Road, Hubli. In earlier days, almost every street in Hubli had a dargah, where people of all religions participated in the death anniversaries (urs) of the saints. The shrine of Hazrath Sayyed Fateh Shah Wali رحمتہ اللہ علیہ was visited by Tippu Sultan during his campaign against the Nawab of Savanur.

Places of interest

• Chandramouleshwara Temple
• Shri Siddharoodha Math
• Moorusavir Math
• Navagraha Jain Temple
• Nrupatunga betta
• Unkal Lake