Gauriganj is a city, municipal corporation, tehsil and administrative headquarters of Amethi district in Ayodhya division, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is situated about 126 km from the state capital Lucknow. Before July 2010, it was part of Sultanpur district. After that Gauriganj, Amethi, Jais, Jagdispur and Salon formed a new district Chhatrapati Sahuji Maharaj Nagar, later named Gauriganj and now Amethi. Gauriganj is connected with State Highway 34 and National Highway 128.

Etymology Gauriganj is named after Gauri, a deity in Hinduism.

History At the turn of the 20th century, Gauriganj was described as "a rising town, with a station on the Oudh and Rohilkhand Railway." It then technically consisted of two villages, Katra-Lalganj and Madhopur. The bazar was founded by Raja Lal Madho Singh, the Raja of Amethi(d.1891). Gauriganj then hosted a rising grain market and had a pound, police station, and post office, as well as an upper primary school, which had many students from both Gauriganj itself and the surrounding countryside; it had a small building, though, which was not big enough to accommodate the student body adequately. The town was then surrounded by several deep hollows. West of Katra-Lalganj were low-lying fields where only jarhan rice was grown. The population of Gauriganj as of 1901 was 2,543, including a large Bania community which was larger than any other town in the district except Sultanpur. There was a Muslim minority of 194, and the rest of the town's population was a mix of Ahirs, Kurmis, and Gadariyas, as well as some Pasis.

Geography Climate Gauriganj has a warm subtropical climate with very cold and dry winters from December to mid-February, and dry, hot summers from April to mid-June. During extreme winters, the maximum temperature is around 12 degrees Celsius and the minimum is around 3 to 4 degrees Celsius. Fog is quite common from late December to late January. Summers can be quite hot with temperatures rising to 40 to 45 degrees Celsius.

Gauriganj has a tropical wet and dry climate with average temperatures ranging between . Gauriganj experiences three distinct seasons: summer, monsoon and a mild autumn. Typical summer months are from March to May, with maximum temperatures ranging from . Although summer doesn't end until May, the city often receives heavy thundershowers in May, and humidity remains high. The rainy season is from mid-June to mid-September, when it gets an average rainfall of 722 mm, mostly from the south-west monsoon winds. Even during the hottest months, the nights are usually cool due to Gauriganj's altitude. The highest temperature ever recorded was . The monsoon lasts from June to October, with moderate rainfall and temperatures ranging from . Autumn begins in November. The daytime temperature hovers around while the night temperature is below for most of December and January, often dropping to .

Demographics As of 2011 Indian Census, Gauriganj tehsil had a total population of 390,935, of which 196,844 were males and 194,091 were females. Population within the age group of 0 to 6 years was 59,192. The total number of literates in Gauriganj was 214,282, which constituted 54.8% of the population with male literacy of 60.1% and female literacy of 45.4%. The effective literacy rate of 7+ population of Gauriganj was 64.6%, of which male literacy rate was 75.9% and female literacy rate was 53.3%. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes population was 108,841 and 86 respectively. Gauriganj had 67,832 households in 2011.

The 1961 census recorded Gauriganj as having a population of 1,883 people (1,038 male and 845 female), in 468 households and 456 physical houses.

Languages and religion

Hindi and Urdu are the official languages. Awadhi is also widely spoken along with English.

Hinduism is followed by large numbers of the population. A significant part of the population of the city consists of followers of Islam and Sikhism. Christians and Jains constitute a minority of the population.

Government and politics Civic administration Gauriganj had a police force of 2 sub-inspectors, 1 head constable, and 13 constables.

Amenities Gauriganj has a post office, a railway station, a library, and a government-run dispensary with 4 male and 2 female beds, as well as a maternity and child welfare centre and a family planning centre.

Economy Gauriganj hosts a grain market on Mondays and Fridays, with an average attendance of about 2,000 at the time of the 1961 census.

Cityscape and culture Durga Puja is celebrated in Gauriganj with cultural activities from the 8th day of Navratri for 14 days. Moorty Visarjan is also a big event as it takes approximately 90 hours to complete with thousands of indulged people. Krishna Janmashtami is also celebrated with great joy. In Some Aashram (likes: Baba Balak Das etc.) and some temples (e.g. Doodh Nath Mandir, Ram Janki Mandir, Hanuman Mandir) Feast (i.e. Vishal Bhog Bhandara) took places annually.

Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Adha, Eid Milad-un-Nabi and Shab-e-Barat are also celebrated in Gauriganj.

Places of interest Nandmahar Dham Lodi Baba Mandir Durgan Dham Temple Mata Mawai Dham Ulta Gadha Dham

Education The 1951 census recorded Gauriganj as having a district board-run primary school, with 201 students in attendance as of 1 January of the year.

Villages Gauriganj CD block has the following 102 villages:

Village name Total land area (hectares) Population (in 2011) Manmatipur 194 795 Bhatgawan 389.7 3,654 Bastidai 464.1 2,086 Manjhwara 428.9 3,074 Gulalpur 273.4 1,208 Benipur Baldeo 256.7 1,398 Rauja 190.1 1,538 Tulsi Pur 246.1 1,341 Mau 504.1 3,865 Sarauli 127 687 Oripur 191 1,883 Basupur 194 1,402 Itaujapachhim 290.2 2,303 Mohanpur 45.4 107 Gopalipur 178.4 603 Sujanpur 379.8 1,872 Narauli 345.7 2,153 Guwawan 665.2 4,716 Rohshi Khurd 432.8 2,078 Sarai Hirday Shah 361.6 2,564 Jagdishpur 187.7 1,384 Bishundas Pur 393.2 2,255 Gauri Pur 266.3 2,690 Gopiya Pur 29 294 Hasram Pur 44.4 118 Ana Pur 156.3 1,072 Dost Pur 101 586 Jethauna 176.8 1,018 Harakh Pur 236.1 1,892 Jethumawai 95 1,037 Medan Mawi 88.9 418 Belkhaur 83.7 1,950 Lila Tikara 78.6 417 Suja Pur 38.2 333 Dhani Jalalpur 55.6 685 Basthan 51.1 233 Shahbaj Pur 152.2 1,222 Garha Mafi 220.6 1,563 Darpipur 158.8 1,012 Baburi Tola 48.6 402 Sarai Barwand Singh 125.5 984 Behta 231.1 1,557 Barna Tikar 447.5 2,927 Madho Pur 179.2 4,717 Raj Garh 107.3 2,028 Misrauli 231.8 1,738 Sarai Bhag Mani 235.8 2,185 Mahima Pur 218.5 737 Asaida Pur 158.9 1,387 Katra Lal Ganj 230.1 5,834 Bali Pur Khurdwan 112.6 1,449 Amiya 123.6 799 Chauhan Pur 61.8 360 Palia 68.1 549 Argwan 174.3 1,195 Sembhue 135.8 966 Kaji Patti 44.3 503 Rampur Kurwa 183.5 1,298 Senipur 73.7 653 Madhupur 51 214 Sultanpur 63.4 493 Jagmalpur 113.9 520 Paiga 293.1 1,053 Gvjar Tol 141.4 1,102 Pure Fajil 312.2 1,685 Dharu Pur 117 1,112 Sogara 376.2 1,693 Biswan 59.2 353 Asura 123.1 803 Dhanapur 110 953 Bhawan Shah Pur 129 821 Lugri 314 1,148 Pachehri 234.1 1,403 Paharpur 84.3 494 Raghipur 60 1,207 Banwari Pur 94.1 337 Ronhsi Buzurg 210.3 1,072 Chandai Pur 199.7 1,329 Atta Nagar 244.4 1,417 Bahan Pur 194 1,828 Sakrawan 225.4 1,322 Ramai Pur 126.2 381 Saripur 162.2 895 Kharanwan 112.2 1,056 Saintha 639.6 4,076 Tikariya 360.8 2,031 Khajuri 147 1,066 Basaikpur 193.4 1,787 Gundur 168.9 1,020 Raja Patti 63.1 278 Babupur 122.4 1,226 Anni Baijal 460 3,063 Aintha 116.9 1,369 Pathanpur 221.4 1,449 Pahar Ganj 404.9 2,682 Ismailpur 52 427 Chhitepur 153.1 1,093 Pandri 412 2,513 Gudun Pur 106 874 Samhanwa 495 2,561 Pure Udhao 17.1 267 Lal Shah Pur 125.1 422 Block total 144,669 20,372.8Village name Total land area (hectares) Population (in 2011)

Notable people

Manoj Muntashir is an Indian lyricist, poet and screenwriter was born in this town. Rakesh Pandey (writer and author) Jagdish Piyush (journalist, writer and author) Akshay Pratap Singh (MLC and former MP) Deepak Singh (former MLC) Rakesh Pratap Singh (MLA) Rudra Pratap Singh (former MP, former MLA, former MLC) Tejbhan Singh (former MLA)

Gallery

References

External links

pl:Gauriganj