80 YEAR'S OLD STEAM ENGINE NOW AT BOAT CLUB, BHOPAL

An 80-year-old steam engine being taken to the boat club on the banks of Upper Lake in Bhopal on 4^th August 2012 (Friday) for showcasing the country’s rail heritage to tourists. The Railways will install one of its old steam engines at the Boat Club on the banks of the Upper Lake here by May 31. The Indian Railways has decided to install one of its old steam engines at Boat Club near 'Bada Talab' (Upper Lake) here. In addition to this, a model of Bhopal's old railway station will be developed outside the club.

Railway officers intimated Urban Minister Babu Lal Gaur about this when he was on a visit to the site, said sources. Babulal said that the installation of a model of Navy battleship INS Shivalik has added charm to the club. The steam engine will undoubtedly make the site more attractive, he said.

MODEL OF INS SHIVALIK AT BOAT CLUB

HOSHANG SHAH’S TOMB, MANDU

Hoshang Shah’s Tomb built in the 15th century (c 1440), this was the first tomb built entirely out of marble. The province of Malwa, in modern Madhya Pradesh, had as its capital the ancient Hindu city of Dhar, about 24 miles north of Mandu, till it was conquered by the Delhi Sultanate – by Ala-ud-din Khilji in 1305 A.D. - and a governor installed in place.

The tomb of Hoshang Shah was the inspiration for the Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan was so impressed with it, that he sent 4 of his architects to study the tomb. They left an inscription near the doorway, paying homage to the architects of the tomb.

This tomb considered as the first marble construction of Afghan culture in the Indian subcontinent region in earlier period. As with all conquests, among the first state buildings to come up were mosques, built with pillars taken from Hindu temples, very similar to the Qu’wwat-ul-Islam mosque at the Qutb, Delhi. Hoshang Shah, second King of Malwa, ruled for 27 years. His tomb is in Mandu, Madhya Pradesh. He had a fine eye for architecture. There are beautiful specimens of Muslim architecture in Mandu.

Location- Mandu, Madhya Pradesh, India.

Entrance Fee- Citizens of India Rs. 5/- per head
US $ 2 or Indian Rs. 100/- per head
(Free entry to children up to 15 years)

MINTO HALL, BHOPAL

Nawab Sultanjahan Begum constructed the Minto Hall of Bhopal in the year 1909, keeping in mind the requirement of a guesthouse near the Raj Bhawan (then called the Lal kothi). The main architect was A. C. Rovan, the main contractors were Armstrong, R. A. Dhondi and Sayyed Ali. A fund of rupees three lakhs was spent over a period of 24 years on this construction. However soon the Minto hall was converted to an army cantonment, which was followed by a period of the hall being used as a convention center. Later a Hotel Lake View was established in the vicinity of Minto Hall during the era of Nawab Hamidullah Khan. For some time offices of the Inspector General of Police, Defense services and Civil services were also established in Minto Hall. 

Abida Sultan, the heir apparent, discovered and refined the new game of roller skates hockey on the floors of Minto hall. In the year 1946 Minto Hall was converted to a college called the Hamidia College, which later moved to its own building. After independence of India the Vidhan Sabha of Madhya Pradesh was established at Minto Hall. The Vidhan Sabha has been since moved to a new building in the year 1996. Since then Minto hall has been lying mainly unused, occasionally being the venue of some exhibition. 

During the year 2005, the central government decided to establish a International Convention Centre hub in view of attracting investment to Bhopal. Bhopal has many plus points which we must leverage -natural beauty, nearness to a major historical site like Sanchi and a hill-station like Pachmarhi. If 'heritage value' can be combined with a 'scenic location', a Convention Centre becomes unbeatable. Minto Hall, the old Vidhan Sabha building on the lakeshore, was chosen for the purpose. The Indian trade promotion organization (ITPO) visited Bhopal for an on-the-spot assessment of Minto Hall for this Convention Centre. Linked with this Convention Centre, we also propose to develop exhibition pavilions, so that major Trade Fairs can take place in Bhopal. A competition was organized for the architecture by EPCO for Government of Madhya Pradesh. The Small Scale Industry of Madhya Pradesh has been appointed the nodal agency for the construction of this convention center. A Five star hotel is also to be constructed, for which two sites has been proposed to Indian trade promotion organization (ITPO) - one in the vicinity of the Minto Hall and another at the Hotel Ashoka Lake View. The ITPO will visit both the locations soon and a venue would be decided upon. A fund of one crore and thirty-four lakhs has been released by the central government for this project as the first installment of the project.

BEST COMMERCIAL PLACE IN BHOPAL- MP NAGAR (MAHARANA PRATAP NARAG)

M.P. Nagar alias Maharana Pratap Nagar is the major commercial area of Bhopal that houses many hardware and software stores, business houses, media and press houses, nationalized banks, coaching centers, shopping centers, showrooms, retail stores, restaurants, eateries and malls. Numbers of hotels are located within this area with varying tariffs to accommodate all types of customers. DB Mall, one of biggest malls in India, spreads over an area of 5 lakh sq ft is located at MP Nagar. The mall offers anchor shops, Retail shops, Multiplex, 4-star hotel, restaurants, Food courts and family entertainment center.  

BHARAT DHAM, BHOPAL

Bharat Dham, an imposing hill situated about 8 km from Bhopal is the highest peak in Bhopal. The place houses the sculptures of great Indian personalities along with their brief biographies. A Jain temple named Manuabhan Ki Tekri lies on the Bharat Dham with the idol of Adhishtayak Dev Shri Man Bhadarji is a pilgrimage and faith of Jain devotees. The Tekri is adorned with the footprints of Jain saints Shri Vijay Suriji, Shri Jinndutt Sureshwarji and Acharya Mantung.

On this peak, Bharat Dham is being developed which would house sculptures of great Indian personalities apart from their brief biographies.

BANDHAVGARH FORT

Bandhavgarh Fort is one of the oldest forts in Madhya Pradesh India. Considered to be more than 2500 years. One-hour trek up to the fort is worth the effort. The charm of this trek lies in discovering these monuments in the jungle, unspoiled and unexplored. There are about 32 hills and hillocks of Vindhyachal ranges in Bandhavgarh. Among them highest one is about 811mtr high. At this safe height, on a plateau of 4 sq. km. you find the fort, made in 10th century, on the top, called Bandhavgarh.

Bandhavgarh fort is 164 kms away from Jabalpur and you can easily take the local bus to reach the national park. Katni is the nearest station at a distance of 120 kms and this railway junction connects every corner of the country with the national park.

DB CITY MALL, BHOPAL

Founded- July 27^th, 2010

DB City Mall is the first biggest mall in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. And it is also one of the largest malls in Asia. It has been developed by the Dainik Bhaskar Group, associated mainly with the print media, and is owned and operated by DB Malls Private Limited, a subsidiary of the Dainik Bhaskar Group. Designed by Bentel International Architects, the mall comprises a building with +7.5-lakh sq ft, Basement + Ground + 4 floors with 7 anchor shops, 180 Retail shops, 6-screen Multiplex, 4 Star Hotel and Food court. It has three basements and three on-floor parking lots managed by Central Parking Services. It is one of the largest malls in Asia.

Bhaskar group is an Rs 2500 Crore conglomerate with India's largest newspaper readership across 3 flagship publications Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar and DNA.

 

DB City Mall is responsible for the entrance of many international brands into Bhopal. As of May 2011, it has 4 anchor stores, a hypermarket and multiple stores, most of which are major fashion brands. It has a six-screen multiplex operated by Fun Cinemas.

It has many outlets including Fun Cinemas, Shoppers Stop, HyperCity, Wills Lifestyle, Provogue,  Leather Lounge, Ray-Ban, Blackberrys, United Colors of Benetton, Leather Lounge, Big Life, Nike, PUMA, Pepe Jeans, Catwalk, Spykar Jeans, Lee, Himalaya Opticals, Peter England, Nokia Store, Woodland, Weekender, Blu, Adidas, Levi's , Denizen by Levi's , Reebok, Good Homes , Flying Machine , La Stylia , Pantaloons, Westside, Max, The Chocolate Room, Westside, Amoeba, John Players, Spykar, World Of Titan, Levi Strauss, Big Life, Sinma Fashion Jewellery, US Dollar Store, FCUK, Cute Devil and many more.

The Chocolate Room, KFC, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Malgudi, CCD, Domino's Pizza, Pind Balluchi, Greek Food and Beyond, Only Parathas, Kobe Sizzlers, Delhi 6, Amer Bakery Hut, Dosa Plaza, Surya Grill, Shanghai Post, Rajdhani, Barnie's Coffees & Tea Factory, Wonder Bread, 10 Downing Street and many more foods and beverage stores.

Phone- Help Desk No. 0755-6644999

Email- dbfb@dbcity.in

Website- http://www.dbcity.in/

Timings- Mon – Fri: 11:00 am-10:00 pm

              Sat - Sun: 11:00 am-11:00 pm

Address- Opposite M.P Nagar, Zone- I, Arera Hills, Bhopal- 462011, Madhya Pradesh, India.