# Morena, Madhya Pradesh

Morena is a town and a district in the Indian state of northern Madhya Pradesh. The place gets its name from “mor” (peacock) and “raina”- which means a place where peacocks are found in abundance and is home to the largest number of peacocks in India.
It is situated on the border of three states Madhya pradesh, Rajsthan and Uttar pradesh. It is governed by a municipal corporation. It is also the administrative headquarters of the Chambal division. It is 39 kilometres (24 mi) from Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh and 82 km from Agra, Uttar pradesh.
Morena is famous for National Chambal Sanctuary which is home to Gharials. Famous sweet "Gajak" trails its origin to Morena which is made from jaggary.

## Geography

Morena is located at 26°30′N 78°00′E﻿ / ﻿26.5°N 78.0°E﻿ / 26.5; 78.0. It has an average elevation of 177 metres (580 feet).

## Demographics

As of the 2011 Census of India, Morena had a population of 288,303. 13.2% of the population is under six years old. Literacy was 80.28%; male literacy was 89.08% and female literacy was 70.22%.

## Politics

Bharatiya Janata Party, Indian National Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party are the major parties active in the Morena district.
There are six vidhansabha constituencies in the Morena district which are Sabalgarh, Joura, Sumawali, Morena, Dimani, and Ambah.

## Economy

Morena district has an agrarian economy where majority of people are engaged in the agriculture. There is an industrial area in Banmore where several units are functioning.

## Public amenities
### Healthcare

Kunwar Jahar singh sharma district hospital is government owned District Hospital in Morena. It is a 350 bed hospital with facilities like in-house doctors, Ultrasound facility, in-house Blood bank, E.C.G and Lens transplantation.

### Education

Morena has several government and private owned schools. Schools in the district include:
* Govt. Excellence Higher Secondary School No. 1, Morena
* Kerela convent school
* Saint mary high school
* GD School Joura
* Triveni High School
* MG Memorial School
* Neil World School
* J. S. Public School (a day boarding school)
* Academic Height Public School
* Krishna Convent School Khandoli
* Saraswati Shishu Vidya Mandir

#### Government Colleges in Morena

* Government Maharaja College
* Government Polytechnic College
* Government Girls College

## Cuisines

* Gajak - Gajak is prepared with sesame seeds and jaggery with a method of preparation which is time consuming. It takes about 10–15 hours to prepare 5–8 kilograms of gajaks. The dough is hammered until all the sesame seeds break down and release their oils into the dough.
* Bedai sabji
* Kheer pua

## Tourist places

* Chausath Yogini Mandir
* National Chambal Sanctuary

## Notable people

* Ram Prasad Bismil, an Indian revolutionary from the village of Barbai
* Narendra Singh Tomar, Former union minister
* V. D. Sharma, MP and BJP state president
* Adal Singh Kansana, Minister in the Madhya Pradesh government
* Paan Singh Tomar, Athlete
* Manoj Kumar Sharma, IPS officer

## Transport
### Road

Morena is situated on National Highway 3. The roadway connects all the parts of the state and nearby states such as Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The city is situated at the heart of India and can be reached from anywhere in the country through National Highway No. 3. The city has Mofussil (city-to-city) bus services with connections to nearby towns, villages and cities.

### Indian railways

Morena railway station is connected by train services to all parts of the country. Direct connections by train are available to these cities. Express trains such as the Bhopal Express, Taj Express and Bhopal Shatabdi and many more stop at Morena.