UPPER LAKE, (BADA TALAB), BHOPAL

Upper Lake, (Hindi: बड़ा तालाब), is the largest artificial lake in Asia. Which lies on the Western side of the capital city of Madhya Pradesh. This is one of the two water bodies present in Bhopal and was constructed by Raja Bhoj during 1005-1055. The king was also responsible for establishing the city of Bhopal and the lake still provides almost half the drinking water that is supplied to the city.

Upper Lake is situated on the west central part of Bhopal city and is surrounded by Van Vihar National Park on the south, human settlements on the east and north, and agriculture fields on the west. On Bada Talab, you can enjoy a variety of boat rides – motor, sail, and even the age-old paddle.

Bada Talaab was built by Raja Bhoj during his tenure as a king of Malwa (1005–1055). He established the city of Bhopal (also named after him, then as Bhojpal) to secure the eastern frontier of his kingdom. It has an area of 31 km², and drains a catchment or watershed of 361 km². The watershed of the Upper Lake is mostly rural, with some urbanized areas around its eastern end.

SHAHPURA LAKE, BHOPAL

Shahpura Lake is situated in one of the posh localities of Bhopal, the capital city of state of Madhya Pradesh. This is also one of the water bodies present in Bhopal and this is a man made perennial lake and construction during the period of 1974-1975. The latitude of the lake is 23˚12N and longitude of the lake is 77˚25E.

It has an area of 8.29 km². The source and main use of the lake water is to rain sewage water of residential colony, irrigation recreation and aquaculture also. The storage capacity of the Shahpura Lake is 2.29 m∞. The maximum depth of the lake is 5.6 m and minimum depth of the lake is 1.5 m.

LOWER LAKE, (CHOTA TALAB), BHOPAL

Lower Lake, (Hindi: छोटा तालाब), Bhopal’s favorites spot is all liquid – its favorites Chota Talab. A picture squab over bridge separates the Upper Lake from the Lower Lake. Chota Talab, the beautiful small lakes that have been the city's natural showpiece. The city is quite well known for its natural lakes with the ‘Chota Talab’ being the most famous amongst them. It was also built by King Bhoj during 1005-1055 century.

A reminder to the beauty of Mughal Empire, Lower Lake is situated between massive upper lake and the majestic hills, the Lower Lake also called as Chota Talaab. The upper and lower lakes are separated by means of an over bridge. Surrounded by Kamala Garden and filled with a multitude of adventure activities like sailing, boat rides and paddle boating. It is due to these two lakes that Bhopal is known as the City of Lakes.

BHOPAL EMERGENCY SERVICE BY EVK EMRI- 108

GVK Emergency Management and Research Institute (GVK EMRI) 108 Service launched free emergency response services and 12 ambulances, to cover the rural and urban Bhopal for immediate pre-hospitalization healthcare needs is spreading its wings far and wide.

In Public Private Partnership between Madhya Pradesh Government and GVK EMRI, 108 ERS was launched on July 16, 2009 in Madhya Pradesh. Along with Rewa district, the service is presently operational in Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur and Gwalior districts.

The 108 ERS is a comprehensive emergency service where anyone can call for any emergency – be it Medical, Police and Fire related. 108 is a toll free number and can be dialed from land-line and mobile phone without any code. The service is available 24×7 and is absolutely free of cost to everyone. For medical emergency, the 108 ambulance are equipped with all the requires medicines and medical equipments ranging from Suction machine, Oxygen Cylinder, Nebulizers, Glucometer, Electronic B.P. instrument, Pulse Oximeter to extrication tools, to handle almost any emergency situation.

Quick fact of GVK EMRI in Madhya Pradesh-

·         500+ GVK EMRI employees

·         Over 1cr populations covered in 5 districts (Bhopal, Jabalpur, Gwalior, Indore and Rewa)

·         1,00,000+ emergencies handled

·         70 ambulances

·         <17 minutes in urban and <22 minutes in rural

·         6000+ Lives saved

RAILWAYS IN BHOPAL

Bhopal lies in the West Central Railway Zone. Considering both North-South and East-West train routes, it is one of the best connected city in India. Following are the railway stations in Bhopal:

§  Bhopal Junction Railway Station is the largest and most important railway station in the city. Being on the main North-South line, it is connected by rail to all parts of the country except North-Eastern states. More than 150 daily trains have stoppages in Bhopal.

§  Habibganj Railway Station is a major and the most developed station of Bhopal. It holds the distinction of being the first ISO 9000:2001 certified railway station in India.

BHOPAL RADIO STATIONS

92.7 FM                      Big FM Bhopal - Suno Sunao Life Banao

 

93.5 FM                      Suryan FM (SFM)

 

94.3 FM                      My FM - Jiyo Dil Se!

 

98.3 FM                      Radio Mirchi - It's Hot!

 

103.9 FM                     Vividh Bharati - Educational FM Radio of

                                  India

 

159.3 AM                        AIR Radio West Service (AIR Radio Bhopal)

BHOPAL FACT FILE

Coordinates: 

o   Latitude: 23.26667

o   Longitude: 77.4

o   Latitude (DMS): 23° 16' 0 N

o   Longitude (DMS): 77° 24' 0 E
 

Country: India

State: Madhya Pradesh

District: Bhopal

Population: 2,958,416 (2010).

Area: 2,772 km²

Area Type: Spot feature

Civic Administration: Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC)

Height from sea level: 427 meters (1,400 feet and 11.02 inches)

Regional Language: Hindi, Hindi-Urdu with a peculiar Bhopali accent is spoken in western and eastern parts of the city.

Literacy: 76.80%

Airport: Raja Bhoj Airport

Agriculture: 

o   Principal crops grown here are rice, wheat, soyabean, and mustard.

o   Cash Crops like cotton and sugarcane.

o   Horticultural crops that are grown are potato, onion, and garlic, along with fruits like guava, papaya, banana, oranges, mango and grapes, Lemon.

Climate: There are typically three main seasons – summer, monsoon and winter.
Summers (March to June)
Winters ( November-February)
Monsoon (Mid-June - October) 

Religion:  55% Hinduism is the major Religion observed here and 40% Muslims, while 5% include Christian, Jains, Buddhists, Dawoodi bohra. In the old city the population is predominantly Muslim.

Telecommunication: International code: +91, Local Area code: 0755

WEATHER OF BHOPAL

Bhopal is the capital city of Madhya Pradesh and is also known as the city of lakes. Bhopal is located in the North Western parts of the state of Madhya Pradesh in the central region of India. The summer in these parts of India can be very warm with temperature reaching as high as 54.7 'C, proper care should be taken to avoid any kind of sickness during summer. In winter the temperature drops to about the minimum of 9.1 'C hence the winters are quite pleasant with the average rainfall recorded at 1200mm.tude,

Summer Temperature: 54.7^oC (maximum), 29.9^oC(minimum)

Winter Temperature: 24.5^oC(maximum), 8^oC(minimum)

Annual Rainfall: 1200 mm (July to October)

Altitude: 499 m

Best Time to Visit: October to March

Events and Festivals in Bhopal

In Bhopal there are many religious festivals that the people of Bhopal participate in. Apart from these, a large number of festivals without any religious background are also celebrated here. Diwali, Holi, Rang-Pachmi  Ramnavami, Dussehra and Navratri are celebrated with much enthusiasm by the Hindu population of the city. They celebrate these festivals with crackers, sweets, flowers, etc. This is the time for social interaction and so many fairs are also organized on such occasions. 

One of the major events in Bhopal is the ‘Ijtima’. Ijtima held in Bhopal is considered to be one of the largest religious congregations in the world. It carries some of the greatest spiritual messages, not only for the Muslims but also for the non- Muslims around the world. Every year Alami Tablighi Ijtima is celebrated for three days in the city of Bhopal.

HOW TO REACH BHOPAL ?

Bhopal is situated on northern part of India. With beautiful lakes all over, Bhopal occupies an important place in the itinerary of a tourist who is on his tour of central India. The travelers are often faced with the question as how to reach Bhopal when they want to explore this exquisite town. The transportation access to Bhopal is quite easy and can be reached by air, rail and road transport as well. 

The three modes of transport can be discussed hereunder as:

• By Air-

The airport in Bhopal is located at a distance of 12 kilometers from the Old City named as Raja Bhoj Airport and the Indian Airlines operates daily flights to the major metropolises of India such as Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Indore, etc. and also operates four weekly flights to Gwalior. 

• By Rail-

Bhopal lies on the Delhi-Chennai route and is one of the most important railway stations of central India. Among the express trains, Shatabdi express connects Bhopal with the capital city, Delhi. The various other destinations to which Bhopal is well connected are Maharashtra, Gujarat, U.P., Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Rajesthan and many more parts of India.

• By Road-

The transportation access in Bhopal is also quite convenient by the road transport since it is well-linked with the various other destinations of India through the smooth and excellent roadways. Some of the destinations that are easily reachable from Bhopal by road transport are Delhi, Sanchi, Indore, Ujjain, Panchmari and Jabalpur, and Khajuraho are easily accessible from Bhopal.  With such fine transportation network, getting to Bhopal would be quite convenient and comfortable for the discerning travelers. 

ABOUT BHOPAL

Bhopal (Hindi: भोपाल) is the capital city of one of the states in India called Madhya-Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of Bhopal District and Bhopal Division. The city was the capital of the former Bhopal state. Bhopal is also known as the Lake City (or City of Lakes) for its various natural as well as artificial lakes and is one of the greenest cities in India.

When speaking about Bhopal, a glance on the history of the old city will enlighten anyone a lot. It became 'the capital in 1956', after India's freedom in 1947. 

The origin of the city dates back to the eleventh century when Raja Bhoj founded the ‘Bhojpal City’. However the Bhopal of today was built during the eighteenth century by ‘Dost Mohammed’.