Kathgodam
Kathgodam | |
|---|---|
Town | |
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  Kathgodam Location in Uttarakhand, India  Kathgodam Kathgodam (India) | |
| Coordinates: 29°16′05″N 79°32′42″E / 29.268°N 79.545°E | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Uttarakhand |
| District | Nainital |
| Elevation | 554 m (1,818 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 129,140 |
| Vehicle registration | UK-04 |
Kathgodam is a suburb of Haldwani urban area of Nainital district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Situated on the banks of the Gaula river at the foothills of the Kumaon Himalayas, it forms part of the Haldwani–Kathgodam urban area. It is administered by the Haldwani–Kathgodam Municipal Corporation.
The name Kathgodam literally means "timber depot", reflecting its historical role in the forest economy of the Kumaon hills. Its development accelerated after the Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway was extended from Haldwani to Kathgodam in 1884. Located at the transition between the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Kumaon hills, Kathgodam subsequently developed as an important transport interchange and serves as the "Gateway to Kumaon". Kathgodam railway station, a railway terminus, serves as a major railhead for destinations in Kumaon, including Nainital, Ranikhet and Almora.
History
The name Kathgodam literally means "timber depot" (Kath-Godam),[1][2] it has long been associated with forest economy of Kumaon hills, as it was one of the points from where forest products like tibre, catechu, resin and fibre, were exported from hills.[3] It remained a small settlment of the left bank of Gaula River, till the end of 19th century. The 1901 census recorded it as a village with only 375 inhabitants.[4]
During British Raj, Kathgodam was situated of the main road connecting Nainital, then summer capital of the United Province,[5] with Haldwani and Bareilly. However its development started after the arrival railways, when the Rohilkund and Kumaon Railway was extended from Haldwani to Kathgodam on 29 October 1884, and with this Kathgodam railway station became a terminus station on its Indian Railways line.[6][7] This transformed Kathgodam into an interchange between rail transport from the Indo-Gangetic Plains of North India and road transport into the Kumaon hills towards Nainital, Ranikhet and Almora.[4] It now also served as an important junction in the regional postal network, as Imperial mail routes ran from Kathgodam to Almora and Ranikhet, while mail between Kathgodam, Bareilly and the plains was carried by railway; most other postal transmission in the district was then undertaken by foot-runners.[8]
Administration
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Kathgodam and neighbouring Ranibagh were administered together as a single township under Act XX of 1856.[4] Subsequently, due urban expansion, Kathgodam was administratively incorporated with neighbouring town Haldwani, and the Haldwani–Kathgodam Municipal Council was established on 21 September 1942.[9] They are now together administered by the Haldwani Municipal Corporation.[10]
Geography
Kathgodam is located at 29°16′N 79°32′E / 29.27°N 79.53°E.[11] It has an average elevation of 554 metres (1,483 feet). It is situated on the banks of the Gaula river.
Demographics
As per provisional data of 2011 census Haldwani-cum-Kathgodam urban agglomeration had a population of 252,060, out of which males were 121,363 and females were 110,697. The literacy rate was 85.17 per cent.[12]
Education
Kumaun Institute of Information Technology, which is approved by the state government and is affiliated with Kumaun University, is located in the suburbs.[13]
See also
References
- ↑ The Imperial Gazetteer of India. Vol. 15. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1908. p. 164, 42. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ Kathgodam The Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1909, v. 15, p. 164.
- ↑ Nevill, H. R. (1904). Naini Tal: A Gazetteer. District Gazetteers of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. Vol. 34. Allahabad: Government Press. pp. 82–85. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 Nevill, H. R. (1904). Naini Tal: A Gazetteer. District Gazetteers of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. Vol. 34. Allahabad: Government Press. pp. 279–280. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ Imperial Gazetteer of India: Provincial Series—United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. Vol. 2. Calcutta: Superintendent of Government Printing. 1908. p. 245. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ Nevill, H. R. (1904). Naini Tal: A Gazetteer. District Gazetteers of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. Vol. 34. Allahabad: Government Press. pp. 86–87. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ Pande, Vasudha (2021). "Borders in the Age of Empire and Nation-States: The Honeycomb of Borderlands: Kumaun, Western Tibet and Far Western Nepal". In Ibrahim, Farhana; Kothiyal, Tanuja (eds.). South Asian Borderlands: Mobility, History, Affect. Cambridge University Press. p. 52. doi:10.1017/9781108951500.003.
- ↑ Nevill, H. R. (1904). Naini Tal: A Gazetteer. District Gazetteers of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. Vol. 34. Allahabad: Government Press. p. 179. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "Haldwani". Moti Ram Babu Ram Government Post Graduate College. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ "Municipalities". District Nainital, Government of Uttarakhand. National Informatics Centre. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- ↑ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Kathgodam
- ↑ "Urban Agglomerations/Cities having population 1 lakh and above" (PDF). Provisional Population Totals, Census of India 2011. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
- ↑ "The INSTITUTE". Kumaun Institute of Information Technology. Archived from the original on 29 December 2010.
External links
