Ashta, Madhya Pradesh
Ashta is a city and a municipality in Sehore district in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India. The nearest airport is in the city of Bhopal. Geography. Ashta is located at . It has an average elevation of 519 metres (1702 feet and 4 hands). Running through the center of the city is a river named "Parvati" after the Hindu goddess Parvati. The river is the main source of water to city's inhabitants. Near the river, there is a temple to Shiva, husband to the goddess, which is believed to date back as far as 3500 years . Locals believe that in the month of Sawan (during the rainy season), the river Parvati gets flooded with water and the water level rises until up to that level when it reaches to Shiv-Ling (Lingam) in the Shiva temple on its bank. History. During the British India period, this area was ruled by Mirza Amjad Baig, regarded as founder of present-day Ashta. He not only brought transportation to the city, but also established an education system for both men and women. Transport. The nearest airport is Bhopal. Places. Ashta's facilities include hospitals, schools, cinema halls and road  transport. There are 194 rural villages in the Ashta administrative block. Ashta is Also known for its grain market, known as "Mandi" in local language. Products sold in the grain market include soybean and wheat. Some notable local places: Demographics. As of India's 2001 census, Ashta's population was 39,773. The population is 52% male and 48% female. Ashta has an average literacy rate of 63%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 58% of the males and 42% of females literate. Seventeen percent (17%) of the population is under 6 years of age. Population of Children with  age of 0–6 is 7483 which is 14.07% of total population of Ashta (M + OG). In Ashta Municipality, Female Sex Ratio is of 928 against state average of 931. Moreover, Child Sex Ratio in Ashta is around 933 compared to Madhya Pradesh state average of 918. The Literacy rate of Ashta city is 63.24%. Municipality. The Ashta city is divided into 19 wards for which elections are held every 5 years. Ashta Municipality has total administration over 10,006 houses to which it supplies basic amenities like water and sewerage. It is also authorized to build roads within Municipality limits  and impose taxes on properties coming under its jurisdiction.