CHAPTER- 1 DISTRICT PROFILE

DISTRICT BACKGROUND1.1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The ruins and remains of the days of Paleolithic period are found in Koppal. The Rock

paintings, Remains of dwellings and antiquities of Neolithic and Megalithic cultures are traced in

Koppal. Two inscriptions of Emperor Ashoka- Shri Gavimatha Inscription and Palaki gundu

Inscription are found in Koppal. Ranna – the eminent Kannada poet praised the serenity and

sanctity of Koppal. The inscriptions of ‘Shravanabelagola’ praise ‘Kopana’ as the jolliest place.

There are more than 100 temples in Kanakagiri and among them 'Lakshmi-Narasimha’ temple and

‘Kanakaraya temple’ deserve special mention and appreciation. Shri Trillingeshwara temple in

Mudhol and Shri Balleshwara temple in Balageri are examples of outstanding skill and sculpture.

The ruins and remains of the days of Paleolithic period are found in Koppal. The Rock paintings,

Remains of dwellings and antiquities of Neolithic and Megalithic cultures are traced in Koppal.

Koppal town being the head quarters of district is known for its historical glory and literary

personalities. The other important places of the district are Bhagya nagar, Kinnal, Itagi, Hulagi,

Kukanoor, Kalloor, Gangavati, Kanakagiri, Anegundi, Gudadur, and Munirabad. Bhagya nagar is

known for weaving and many people are engaged in the work of preparing raw material to prepare

wigs and exports to the other countries, i.e., Switzerland etc,. Kinnal is known for its Traditional art

in handicrafts-Toy making, Chowkis, Fruit plates etc., and Itagi is well known for Mahadeva. Hulagi

is famous for Huligemmadevi temple, which is situated on bank of river Tungabhadra. As many

as 50 rice polishing mills are situated in and around the Gangavathi town. Anegundi once known

as Kishkindha is one of the important place, which is cited in the great epic ‘Ramayana’. And the

picture shown below is believed that of shri Ramas foot mark.

MAHADESHWAR TEMPLE AT ITAGI IN YELBURGA BLOCK ANEGUNDI PALACE IN GANGAVATI BLOCK

KOTILINGA TEMPLE AT PURA IN KUSTAGI BLOCK MALEMALLESHWARA TEMPLE IN KOPPAL

ANEGUNDI PALACE. IN GANGAVATI BLOCK KOPPAL FORT IN KOPPAL BLOCK KOPPAL

ANEGUNDI FORT IN GANGAVATI BLOCK

1.2 GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURESKoppal district is situated in northern part of Karnataka State. Koppal district has four

revenue blocks namely, Koppal, Gangavathi, Kushtagi, and Yelburga. The district head quarter is

at Koppal and almost all district offices are exists in Koppal city. The geographical area of district

is 5559 sq meters and the district finds its position between 15°17’ to 16°10’ North latitudes, 75°45’

to 76°45’ East longitudes. Koppal district has 636 villages. The North-East of the district is

surrounded by Raichur District, East by Gadag district, south is Bellary district and South East is

Bagalkot district. The river Tungabhadhra flows along the border of Koppal and Gangavathi taluk

as the district is arid zone area and is surrounded by hills belonging to Yamini Mountain series. Soil

in Koppal district is mainly of moderate, fertility in nature. Major industry in Koppal district is Cotton

textiles. Koppal district is bountifully blessed with plenty of mineral resources and it is considered to

be a prosperous district. Iron ores are found in old mines in Kustagi taluka, but the Iron available

here contains only 20-40% of Iron. The Quartz quary that is traced near Tavarageri in Kustagi

taluk is found to be good in preparation of ‘Ferro-Silicon’. Quartz is also found near Alla nagar in

Koppal taluka. Quartz is available in plenty that is mainly used in the manufacture of glass.

Franchsite and Quartzite of very good quality, which is used for Mosaic tiles, is available in

Bailakampur in Gangavathi taluka. Red Granite is found near Huligere, and Purtagere in Kustagi

taluka. Granite of superior quality is available in and around Kukanoor in Yelburga taluka.

Madinoor in Koppal taluka and Koodlur in Kustagi are known for soap stone which is used as filler

in the manufacture of pestisides.

1.3 SOCIO- ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS The social setup in Koppal district is mainly of traditional style. There are people practicing

different religions like Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Jainism and Buddhism. The main feature of the

social climate of the district is optimized with religious tolerance and social harmony and peaceful

co-existence. Quite natural to the backwardness, Koppal district has the woman population that is

still in the grip of illiteracy, blind beliefs, evil practices like Devadasi & Child marriage. These social

and economical factors certainly contribute to lack of demand for education in the district. Major

occupation of the district is Agriculture and Major crops are Sugarcane, cotton, Rice and cereals.

Table 1.1 District Socio Ecnomic Scenarios

Area in Sq. Km

Density sq.km

No. of

Talukas

No of village

Panchayats

No. of village

s

Total cultivated

land (in hectares)

Total irrigated land (in

hectares)

No. of Revenue Divisions

No. of Hoblis

5579 171 4 137 636 358194 85200 4 20

Source : DC Office

1.4 ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE (Blocks, Gramm Panchyats)Koppal District is a handy district having four revenue taluk as well as educational Blocks

Viz. Koppal, Gangavati, Kustagi and Yelburga. According to Panchayath Raj Act three tire system

of administration is actively working at present. Zillah Penchant, Taluka Panchayath and Grama

Panchayath are working in co-Ordination with each other. The number of members in each area

are given in the below table.

Table 1.2 ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE

Block ZP Member

TP Member

No of GPs

No of GPMs

Gangavati 8 32 39 792Koppal 7 26 36 660Kustagi 6 23 29 599Yelburga 6 23 33 571Total 27 104 137 2622

Source : DC Office

1.5 DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE (Disaggregated data by Gender and Social Group)The population of the district has been predominantly scattered over the rural belt. Though

the villages have been densely populated the district as a whole has been populated sparsely. The

vast majority of the people of the district hail from the rural sector and the rural and the traditional

character of the population has been the hallmark of the whole district. There has been a

considerable growth in the population over the years. Table below presents the population position

of the district.

Table –1.3 population position of district

MALE FEMALE TOTAL

1991 CensusDistrict 4,83,701 4,74,377 9,58,078

State 22,951,917 22,025,284 44,977,201

2001 CensusDistrict 6,03,312 5,92,777 11,96,089State 26898918 25951644 52850562

Source: Census-2001

Table –1.4 Population block wiseBlock MALE FEMALE TOTAL

Gangavathi 204356 201978 406334 Koppal 159071 154980 314051 Kustagi 120621 118710 239331 Yelburga 119264 117109 236373 TOTAL 603312 592777 1196089

Source : Census-2001

The above table shows Gangavathi has got highest population. Out of 1196089 total

population, male population is 603312 and that of female is 592777.

Table 1.5 : Taluka wise Rural/Urban total population as per 2001 census

Taluk Area Total Population Male Female

Gangavati

Rural 304942 153145 151797

Urban 101392 51211 50181

Total 406334 204356 201978

Koppal

Rural 249776 126261 123515

Urban 64275 32810 31465

Total 314051 159071 154980

Kustagi

Rural 218148 109855 108293

Urban 21183 10766 10417

Total 239331 120621 118710

Yelburga

Rural 224931 113471 111460

Urban 11442 5793 5649

Total 236373 119264 117109

Grand Total

Rural 997797 502732 495065

Urban 198292 100580 97712

Total 1196089 603312 592777 Source :Census 2001 census.

The size of Male Population is more in both Urban and Rural areas.

The size of Male Population in Rural areas is [42.03%] and that of Female Population in Rural

Areas is [41.39%].

The size of Male Population in Urban areas is [8.40%] and that of Female Population in Urbon

Areas is [8.16%].

Table 1.6 : SC/ST Population [Male and Female] :

BlockTotal

Population (2001)

SC Population (2001) ST Population (2001)

Total SC% of SC

population to total Population

Male Female Total ST% of ST

population to total Population

Male Female

Gangavati 406334 66711 6.09 33148 33563 55996 7.26 28021 27975

Koppal 314051 51676 6.08 25920 25756 26242 11.97 13410 12832

Kustagi 239331 32078 7.46 16155 15923 31514 7.59 15999 15515

Yelburga 236373 34744 6.80 17513 17231 24836 9.52 12633 12203

Total 1196089 185209 6.61 92736 92473 138588 9.08 70063 68525** Source Census 2001

On an average SC population is about 6.61% and ST population is 9.08% in this district.1.6 LITERACY SCENARIO (Disaggregated data by Gender and Social Group)

Literacy rate is an index of the development of education. The literacy rate and levels of

educational attainment of the population refers to the number of children studying in various

courses and associated indicators.

Koppal district has the lowest literacy rate. The literacy rate of the District as per 1991

census is 35.96%. However this was far below the literacy rate of the whole state of Karnataka

which was 56.04%.

With this poor background relentless efforts were made to introspect for the low literacy

rate and ever since then developmental Programmes were initiated with all seriousness and

earnestness towards the up-liftment in the field of education. One such programme was the DPEP,

which was successfully launched and was pursued to the benefit of the children. Since the

inception of the DPEP in 1994 -1995 in the district, the rate of literacy is showing upward trend and

is yielding positive results. The literacy rate of the district as per 2001 census is 55.02%, Once

again one has to bear in mind that the overall literacy rate of the state is remarkably higher i.e . 67.04%.

Table –1. 7 Literacy rate

District YearAll (%) SC (%) ST(%)

Male Female Total Gender Gap Male Female Total Gender

Gap Male Female Total Gender Gap

Koppal 1991 49.53 22.15 35.96 27.38 31.87 10.61 21.24 21.26 27.95 6.47 17.21 21.48Koppal 2001 69.15 40.76 55.02 28.39 40.12 35.68 37.90 4.44 42.93 18.26 30.59 24.67

Source: General Census2001

In our district male literacy rate is higher than female. ST female literacy rate is very less.

In general literacy rate is increasing considerably.

Table –1.8 Literacy rate - block wise

Block MALE FEMALE TOTAL Female Sex Ratio

Gangavathi 71.94 44.76 58.53 988

Koppal 67.26 40.78 53.93 974

Kustagi 68.06 36.97 51.56 984

Yelburga 69.72 41.18 55.06 982

TOTAL 69.15 40.76 55.02 983Source: General Census2001

The above table shows block literacy rate that is 55.02%. Male literary rate is higher than

female literacy rate in all 4 blocks. The overall sex ratio is 983. Among 4 blocks koppal is having

lowest sex ratio, which is 974.