Mirzapur () is a city in

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, 827 km from

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

and 733 km from

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

, almost 91 km from

Prayagraj Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the admini ...

(formally known as Allahabad) and 61 km from

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

. It is known for its

carpet A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fibers such as polypropylene, nylon, or polyester ...

s and

brassware Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...

industries, and the folk tradition of ''kajri'' and ''birha'' music. The city is surrounded by several hills of the Maikal range and is the headquarters of Mirzapur district. It is a famous pilgrimage destination for the holy and sacred shrine of Maa Vindhyavasini (Vidhya Mountains) Vindhyachal, ''Ashtbhuja'', ''Kali Khoh'' and ''Devrahwa Baba Ashram''. The district has several waterfalls and natural spots because of its topography.

Geography

Mirzapur is located at . It has an average elevation of 80 metres (265 feet). The District of Mirzapur lies between the parallels of 23.52 & 25.32 North latitude and 82.7 and 83.33 East longitude. It forms a portion of the

Varanasi district Varanasi district is a district in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, with Varanasi city as the district headquarters. It is surrounded by Mirzapur district, Jaunpur district, Ghazipur district, Chandauli district, and Bhadohi distri ...

. On the north and north-east it is bounded by the Varanasi district; on the south bounded by Sonbhadra district; on the north-west by Allahabad district. The shape to the north and west is totally regular. In no direction, except for about 13 km. in the north-east where the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

separates the

Tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its adminis ...

of Chunar from the district of

, has Mirzapur a natural frontier. The Chanvar fields, considered to be one of the most fertile lands tracts in India, are located on Gangetic floodplains of the district.

Indian Standard Time Indian Standard Time (IST), sometimes also called India Standard Time, is the time zone observed throughout India, with a time offset of UTC+05:30. India does not observe daylight saving time or other seasonal adjustments. In military and ...

is calculated on the basis of 82.5° E longitude, from a clock tower in Mirzapur. According to the Central Statistical Organisation, the district of Mirzapur had an area of 4521km². Some geographical locations around Mirzapur district are depicted below.

Demographics

2011 census, Mirzapur-cum-Vindhyachal municipality had a population of 233,691 and the urban agglomeration had a population of 245,817. The municipality had a

sex ratio The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species dev ...

of 869 females per 1,000 males and 11.9% of the population were under six years old. Effective literacy was 78.25%; male literacy was 83.85% and female literacy was 71.80%.

Politics

A step towards the awareness for voting the District of Mirzapur came with the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for the biggest Rangoli ( Alpana) created in an area of 39,125 m² using approx 120,000 kg of color by across 3500 students and teachers from 50 schools on occasion of National Voters Day. This city is situated at bank of river Ganga.

Commerce

The main business in Mirzapur is carpet manufacturing. Manufacturers range from very small (with less than $100,000 in assets) to medium-sized (with around $10M in assets). Most of the carpets are sold internationally as India has a limited market for carpets. The second main business is of metal pots (brass).

Indian Standard Time calculation

is calculated from the clock tower in Mirzapur nearly exactly on the reference longitude of Indian Standard Time at 82°30'E, within 4 angular minutes, a property shared by

Tuni Tuni is a city in Kakinada district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a second biggest city in kakinada district. It is a major commercial marketing center for more than 100 surrounding villages in the district. Tuni is a border p ...

, a town in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

. This is because there is a time lag of two hours between

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

and

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares ...

. Hence, this was taken as the Standard Meridian for the whole country.

Tourism

For quite some years Mirzapur has been a destination for tourists, particularly for people from adjoining states, owing mainly to the ghats, temples, and the clock tower (''Ghanta Ghar'') which are excellent examples of contemporary architecture.

Vindhyachal

A few miles away from the city is a site of a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

for

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

s known as Vindhyachal where according to the

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...

a part of Sati (an

Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appear ...

Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around c ...

) fell. The river

flows through this city. Other sites of pilgrimage include Kali Khoh (literally 'the cave of the Goddess

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In this tra ...

') where a statue of the

has a mouth formed in the shape of a cave, hence the name. Very close to the city is a waterfall. The city itself has many Ghats (steps to a river).

Ghanta Ghar (Clock Tower)

The famous Ghanta Ghar of Mirzapur is located in the premises of city corporation, about 3 km from the Mirzapur Railway Station. Currently not functioning, it was constructed in the year 1891, with its entire structure made up of finely carved stone and a 1000 kg alloy bell hanging from the tall structure.

Ghats

;Ojhala Bridge The Ojhala Bridge was constructed by Mahant Parshuram Giri in ''Vikram Samvat 1772''. This valuable heritage connecting the cities of Mirzapur and Vindhyachal, with fort like minarets and ramparts on the either side of the bridge, provide a fine instance of contemporary architecture. ;Pakka Ghat Another very popular ghat in Mirzapur is Pakka Ghat known for vide variety of shops on both side of staircases descending towards the Ganges. The shops include jewellery, makeup & beauty, clothing and footwear etc. Siddhanth ki Dari Fall

Education

Mirzapur benefitted as University known as Rajiv Gandhi South Campus at Barkachha acquired by BHU, on lease in perpetuity from Bharat Mandal Trust in April 1979 with an area of 1104 hectare situated about 8 km South West of Mirzapur City. At present RGSC (Rajiv Gandhi South Campus) is spread over 2700 acres and has been used to run special courses of Banaras Hindu University. Ambika Devi Senior Secondary School in Panwari Kalan is also located in Mirzapur.

In popular culture

* The web series Mirzapur took the name of the city but is not based on the city life.

References

External links

Mirzapur City Official WebsiteWeather in Mirzapur
{{Mirzapur Division topics Cities and towns in Mirzapur district Cities in Uttar Pradesh