Ballari district

Ballari (pronounced [ˈbəɭɭari]) is a district in Karnataka state, India.

Historical sites, Farm Land and Rich minerals characterize Ballari district. Also the home of famous Vijaya Nagara Empire World Heritage Site. Recently making headlines with mining industry.

History

Earlier Ballari District was part of Rayalseema, a region in today's state Andhra Pradesh. During the period of the British Raj, Ballari District was part of Madras Presidency. The area was severely affected by the Great Famine of 1876–78. After Indian independence, when the Indian states were reorganized along linguistic lines, Ballari became part of Karnataka.

Geography

Ballari district is spread from southwest to northeast and is situated on the eastern side of Karnataka state. The district is 15° 30’ and 15°50’ north latitude and 75° 40’ and 77° 11’ east longitude. The geographical area is 8447 km².

This district is bounded by Raichur District on the north, Koppal District on the west, Chitradurga District and Davanagere District on the south, and Anantapur District and Kurnool District of Andhra Pradesh on the east.

Bellary

Bellary is a historic city in Ballari district in Karnataka state, India. It is 306 kilometres from Bangalore,the state capital.

Etymology

There are several legends explaining how Ballari got its name. The first is that a few devout travelling merchants halting in Ballari, could not find a Shiva Linga for their worship. They then installed a balla (a measuring cup or seru used to measure grain) upside down as a Shiva Linga and worshiped it. Eventually, that place was turned into a temple dedicated to Balleshwara or Shiva, which became distorted to Malleshwara', and thus Ballari derives its name from this temple.

The second legend is that the city is named after Indra, the king of Gods, who slew a Rakshasa (demon) named Balla who lived nearby. Balla-ari means 'enemy of Balla' (ari – enemy in Sanskrit). The third legend derives the city's name from the old Kannada word Vallari and Vallapuri.

This temple can still be found in the fort area of the city, and an annual festival and fair dedicated to Shiva is conducted at the temple premises even today. Central government have approved the request to rename the city in October 2014 and Bellary is renamed (along with other 12 cities) to "Ballari" on 1 November 2014.

Bellary (Lok Sabha constituency)

Bellary Lok Sabha constituency (Kannada: ಬಳ್ಳಾರಿ ಲೋಕ ಸಭೆ ಚುನಾವಣಾ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರ) is one of the 28 Lok Sabha (constituencies) in Karnataka state in southern India. This constituency is reserved for the candidates belonging to the Scheduled tribes.

Assembly segments

Presently, Bellary Lok Sabha constituency comprises the following eight Legislative Assembly segments:

Members of Parliament

Mysore State:

Karnataka State:

Bellari (disambiguation)

Bellari or Bellary may refer to–