Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh

Ambikapur is a city and headquarters of Surguja district in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh. It is one of the oldest cities in the state, in east-central India. Ambikapur is also the divisional headquarters of Surguja Division which consists of the six districts of Surguja, Korea, Manendragarh, Balrampur, Surajpur and Jashpur. Ambikapur was the capital of the princely state of Surguja before Indian Independence. The name of the city is derived from the Hindu goddess Ambika (Mahamaya) Devi, who is the central figure of worship for the Hindus in the area. The area under Ambikapur Municipal Corporation is 35.360 km2. Geography Ambikapur is located at 23°12′N 83°2′E. It has an average elevation of 623 metres (2078 feet). The district is spread over a forest-rich area of 22,237 km2. Most of the district's terrain is forested and hilly. Natural resources include bauxite, forest products and paddy crops. Land The land is classified into six categories. About 41.67% is under agriculture, while about 5.70% remains fallow. A further 11.44% of the land could be brought under cultivation by improvements in farming techniques and reclamation of marginal areas . A further 1.27% is barren and uncultivated while 33.09% is forest cover and 6.83% is covered by buildings, roads and other infrastructure. This distribution of cultivated land reflects the patterns and intensity of early agricultural practices and the extent of the population, combined with physical factors. Areas with a high concentration of cultivated land are generally those with longer histories of settlement and agricultural use. Demographics As per the 2011 census, Ambikapur had a population of 121,071. The municipality had a sex ratio of 920 females per 1,000 males and 11.3% of the population was under six years old. Effective literacy was 88.20%; male literacy was 92.73% and female literacy was 83.29%. Ambikapur is inhabited by people from across India. Moderate weather makes it an attractive place for settlement. Unlike the capital, the district population comprises aboriginal populations including the Pandos and Korwas, who still live in rural areas. Mainpat near Ambikapur is home to a significant number of Tibetan migrants who took refuge in India after the Chinese annexation of Tibet in 1959. Government and politics The first reported garbage cafe opened in 2019 in Ambikapur near the city's main bus station. The cafe is run by an individual on behalf of the Ambikapur Municipal Corporation (AMC).The cafe's slogan is "more waste between taste", and they offer 1 kilogram of plastic could be exchanged for a full lunch or dinner, and 500 grams for breakfast. Additionally, the plastic collected by the Ambikapur Municipal Corporation (AMC) will be used to construct roads. Amikapur’s waste management system is an important part of its cleanliness initiative. For instance, for solid waste management, the AMC integrated non-government organisations (NGOs) and self-help groups (SHGs) into door-to-door collection and waste segregation. The city also set up Solid and Liquid Resource Management Centres (SLRM) to segregate waste. The city is part of the Sarguja Lok Sabha constituency represented by Member of Parliament Chintamani Maharaj from the BJP, and in the state assembly through the Ambikapur Assembly constituency, represented by MLA Rajesh Agrawal from the Bhartiya Janata Party. Civic administration The city is governed by the Municipal Corporation of Ambikapur or Nagar Nigam Ambikapur, which is administered under the Chhattisgarh Municipal Corporation Act,1956. The municipal corporation has two parts, elected body and administrative body. The elected body is headed by the Mayor Manjusa Bhagat from the Bharatiya Janata Party. The last election to Ambikapur Municipal Corporation took place in 2025. The administrative body is headed by the Municipal commissioner Luvkush Singrol. The city is divided into 48 wards and each ward is represented by a councillor directly elected by the people from the ward. The mayor of the city is elected indirectly from amongst the councillors. Civic utilities Electricity is supplied by the state's Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Limited. Ambikapur Municipal Corporation supplies 10.6 MLD of water to the city. Drinking water was initially sourced from the Banki Dam, but after pipeline expansion and construction of an automatic filter plant in Katkalo under the AMRUT scheme, in 2020 will also be sourced from the Ghughutta Dam in Nawagarh. The city has a total of 16 tanks for this purpose. The municipal corporation is responsible for the solid waste management of the city. Ambikapur generates 45 metric tons of solid waste everyday, 90% of which is segregated through a decentralised waste management model. Household waste is collected door-to-door by 447 SHG women of 48 wards. The city has achieved 100% segregation of waste at the household level. It has no landfills and has been declared a zero-waste city since it converted its 15-acre landfill into a park in 2016. Ambikapur has implemented Solid Liquid Resource Management (SLRM) for disposal of municipal solid waste. There is no sewerage system in the city. Toilets are linked to individual septic tanks. In the Ambikapur block 74.51% of the total geographical area is cultivated. The Ambikapur Development Plan 2021 (Draft) was created by the Chhattisgarh Directorate of Town and Country Planning. Transport Rail Ambikapur railway station is connected to the Anuppur railway junction, a bordering town in Madhya Pradesh, by a broad gauge railway. Trains reach Ambikapur from Delhi, Katni, Satna, Jabalpur, Durg, Bhopal and the state capital Raipur. More destinations, such as New Delhi, can be reached from Anuppur railway junction. Ambikapur - Delhi Special, Jabalpur - Ambikapur Express, Ambikapur – Shahdol, Ambikapur – Surajpur – Anuppur – Bilaspur – Raipur – Durg Express and Bhopal – Chirmiri Passenger run from major cities such as Delhi, Bhopal, Gwalior, Katni, Raipur and Jabalpur. Road Ambikapur is well connected by road to other major cities of Chhattisgarh such as Raipur, Bilaspur, Durg, Bhilai, Korba and Raigarh. Daily bus services also run for Varanasi, prayagraj, Renukoot in U.P (170 km), Raipur (345 km) and Garhwa in Jharkhand, Aurangabad in Bihar. Bus services from Anuppur to Ambikapur operate via Manendragarh and Surajpur. The bus journeys from Bilaspur and Anuppur take between five and six hours. Air Ambikapur Airport, now Maa Mahamaya Airport, is located at Darima, 12 km (7.5 mi) south of Ambikapur. The airport up-gradation work was finished in May 2023 at a cost of Rs. 48 crore from category 2C to 3C, to enable operations of 70-72 seater aircraft under the UDAN Scheme, making this the fourth public airport in Chhattisgarh after Raipur, Jagdalpur and Bilaspur. Climate Education Sarguja University Sant Gahira Guru Vishwavidyalaya Ambikapur Sainik School Ambikapur Govt. Rajeev Gandhi (Auto.) PG College Rajmata Shrimati Devendra Kumari Singhdeo Govt Medical College Government Engineering College Ambikapur Govt. Polytechnic college & ITI Govt Rajmohani Agriculture College Holy Cross College of Nursing Holy Cross Women's College Sai Baba Aadarsh College K R Technical College Oriental Public School Carmel School Sunrise Public School Montfort School, Ambikapur Media and communications State-owned All India Radio has a local station in Ambikapur. Sigma media limited Notable people T. S. Singh Deo Sunil Kumar Sinha Akshat Gupta Royal Palace Surguja Palace, also known as Raghunath Palace, is located in Ambikapur. It is a white, two-storey palace. Surguja Palace is one of the most eye-catching tourist places for both urban and rural crowds. This palace is open to the public only on the day of Dussehra every year. In keeping with tradition, the heir of the royal family of Surguja meets and greets the visitors on Dussehra, and the festival is celebrated with great pmp. See also Ambikapur constituency Sanjay park, Ambikapur Atharva Soni's House References External links