# Davanagere

Dāvanagere is a city in the centre of the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the seventh largest city in the state, and the administrative headquarters of eponymous Davangere district. Hitherto being a cotton hub and hence popularly known before as the Manchester of Karnataka, the commercial ventures of the city is now dominated by education and agro-processing industries. Davanagere became a separate district in 1997, when it was separated from the erstwhile undivided district of Chitradurga for administration conveniences. Davanagere is known for rich culinary traditions which encompass the diversity of entire Karnataka's dishes due to its geographical position in the state as its centre. Notable among them is its aromatic benne dose.
Davanagere was selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under the Central government's Smart Cities Mission. It was among the first 20 towns to be developed under the mission by Ministry of Urban Development. According to 2020 human living index, it was selected as the top 9th most livable city with a population under 10 million in India.

## Civic administration

Davangere has been at the forefront in municipal administration with the city attaining the status of a municipality as early as 1870. The Imperial Gazetteer of India (1911) says that the receipts and expenditure of the municipality, during the ten years ending 1901, averaged Rs 14,200 and Rs 12,600 respectively. The civic administration of the city was managed by the Nagarasabhe, before it was established as a municipality on 7 August 1951. It now has the status of a City Corporation, which was upgraded on 6 January 2007. It is headed by a Mayor, assisted by Commissioners and council members. The city is divided into 45 wards, and the council members (corporators) are elected by the people of the city.

## Geography

Davanagere is the "Heart of Karnataka". Davanagere is surrounded by the Chitradurga, Vijayanagara, Shimoga, Chikmagalur and Haveri districts. Davanagere is at the centre of Karnataka, 14°28' N latitude, 75°59' longitude and 602.5 metres (1,977 ft) above sea level. Davanagere District receives an average annual rainfall of 644 mm (25.4 in).
Davanagere lies in the semi arid region. The district is bounded by Shimoga (Malenadu) Area of Hills, Haveri, Chitradurga, Chikmagalur and Vijayanagara districts. The southern and western parts of the district are irrigated by the waters of the Bhadra reservoir. It has Asia's 2nd largest irrigation tank called Sulekere (shanthi sagara) which is a major water source for farmers in the district.

## Demographics

Religions in Davanagere City (2011) :
| Religion | Religion | Percent | Percent |
| Hinduism | Hinduism | 73.14% | 73.14% |
| Islam | Islam | 24.57% | 24.57% |
| Jainism | Jainism | 1.04% | 1.04% |
| Christianity | Christianity | 0.65% | 0.65% |
| Other or not stated | Other or not stated | 0.60% | 0.60% |
The current estimate population of Davanagere city in 2025 is 633,000 http://census2011.co.in/census/city/442-davanagere.html, while Davanagere metro population is estimated at 0 . The last census was conducted in 2011 and the schedule census for Davanagere city in 2021 was postponed due to Covid. The current estimates of Davanagere city are based on past growth rate. Once govt conducts census for Davanagere city, we will update the same here in 2025. As per provisional reports of Census India, population of Davanagere in 2011 is 434,971.
* Kannada (66.37%)
* Urdu (23.82%)
* Telugu (2.81%)
* Marathi (1.96%)
* Tamil (1.17%)
* Konkani (1.04%)
* Others (2.83%)

### Davanagere Literacy Rate and Sex Ratio

In education section, total literates in Davanagere city are 329,003 of which 174,019 are males while 154,984 are females. Average literacy rate of Davanagere city is 84.90 percent of which male and female literacy was 89.02 and 80.71 percent. The sex ratio of Davanagere city is 979 per 1000 males. Child sex ratio of girls is 954 per 1000 boys.

## Climate

Devanagere has been ranked 25th best “National Clean Air City” under (Category 2 3-10L Population cities) in India.
Climate data for Davanagere (1991–2020) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 37.0 (98.6) | 37.0 (98.6) | 39.0 (102.2) | 40.5 (104.9) | 40.0 (104.0) | 38.5 (101.3) | 34.0 (93.2) | 33.0 (91.4) | 34.0 (93.2) | 35.0 (95.0) | 33.5 (92.3) | 34.0 (93.2) | 40.5 (104.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.8 (87.4) | 32.8 (91.0) | 35.3 (95.5) | 36.5 (97.7) | 35.3 (95.5) | 30.8 (87.4) | 28.5 (83.3) | 28.0 (82.4) | 28.8 (83.8) | 30.1 (86.2) | 29.8 (85.6) | 29.9 (85.8) | 31.4 (88.5) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 13.3 (55.9) | 15.5 (59.9) | 18.2 (64.8) | 20.8 (69.4) | 21.3 (70.3) | 21.0 (69.8) | 20.6 (69.1) | 20.7 (69.3) | 20.5 (68.9) | 19.1 (66.4) | 16.5 (61.7) | 15.4 (59.7) | 18.5 (65.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 5.6 (42.1) | 5.6 (42.1) | 10.8 (51.4) | 13.6 (56.5) | 13.8 (56.8) | 12.6 (54.7) | 13.6 (56.5) | 15.5 (59.9) | 11.6 (52.9) | 12.3 (54.1) | 8.6 (47.5) | 7.8 (46.0) | 5.6 (42.1) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 1.2 (0.05) | 0.0 (0.0) | 13.6 (0.54) | 50.5 (1.99) | 87.6 (3.45) | 77.2 (3.04) | 101.4 (3.99) | 121.5 (4.78) | 132.3 (5.21) | 123.4 (4.86) | 45.5 (1.79) | 4.5 (0.18) | 753.7 (29.67) |
| Average rainy days | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 2.7 | 5.2 | 6.3 | 10.5 | 10.8 | 8.8 | 5.9 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 52.6 |
| Average relative humidity (%) (at 17:30 IST) | 49 | 40 | 30 | 32 | 39 | 65 | 76 | 76 | 71 | 64 | 66 | 65 | 56 |
| Source: India Meteorological Department ||||||||||||||

## Transportation

Davangere is well-connected by road to Bangalore, Chitradurga, Dharwad, Pune, Goa, Mangalore, Mysore and Chennai through NH 48 (previously National Highway 4). Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation, has a divisional office situated in Davanagere City. The city is well-connected to Bengaluru and other cities in the state by KSRTC buses. Many privately operated buses offer overnight services to other places within the state.

### Rail

The city's railway station comes under the South Western Railway zone and was constructed during the era of the British Raj and has recently been renovated. The station code is DVG. The railway station is quite conveniently located in the centre of the city. Regular train services are available towards Bengaluru, Hubli and Mysuru.

### Air

The nearest domestic airport to Davanagere is Shivamogga Airport (IATA:RQY), which is 100 kilometres (62 mi) from the city and the nearest International airports are Bangalore International Airport and Mangalore International Airport both of which are about 275 km away. The ubiquitous Autorickshaws are the backbone for travelling within the city. The city bus services are operated by both private as well as state owned entreprises.

## Gallery

* Davanagere Benne Dosa is associated with the name of the city
* Irrigated paddy fields near Shamanur
* Statue of Saraswati at Fine Arts College
* Kunduwada Lake
* Davanagere City Corporation