Belgaum

Belgaum, officially known as Belagavi (earlier known as "Venugrama" or the "Bamboo Village") is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Belgaum division and Belgaum district. The district is bordered by the states of Maharashtra and Goa. The Government of Karnataka has proposed making Belgaum the second capital of Karnataka, hence a second state administrative building Suvarna Vidhana Soudha was inaugurated on 11 October 2012.

Belgaum has been selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under PM Narendra Modi's flagship Smart Cities Mission.

History

The Vadgoan and Madhavpur suburbs of Belagavi were important urban centres between 400 BC and 300 AD. The present city was built in the 12th century AD by the Ratta dynasty, who were based at nearby Saundatti. The fort of Belagavi was built in 1204 by a Ratta officer named Bichiraja. Belagavi served as the capital of that dynasty between 1210 and 1250, before the Rattas were defeated by the Yadava dynasty of Devagiri. Belagavi then briefly came under the sway of the Yadavas of Devagiri. The Khiljis of Delhi invaded the region at the turn of the 14th century and succeeded in ruining both indigenous powers of the region, the Yadava and the Hoysalas, without providing a viable administration. This lacuna was supplied by the Vijayanagara Empire, which became the established power of the area by 1336. A century later, the town became a bustling trading hub for diamonds and wood, owing to its favourable geographic location in the kingdom.