Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh
| Pratapgarh | |
|---|---|
| City | |
| Nickname(s): Bela | |
 Pratapgarh
Pratapgarh
|
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| Coordinates: 25°55′59″N 81°58′59″E / 25.933°N 81.983°ECoordinates: 25°55′59″N 81°58′59″E / 25.933°N 81.983°E | |
| Country |
 India
|
| State | Uttar Pradesh |
| District | Pratapgarh |
| Population (2001) | |
| • Total | 12,339 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Hindi |
| • Local | Awadhi |
| Languages | |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| PIN | 230001 |
| Telephone code | 05342 |
| Vehicle registration | UP-72 |
| Website | www |
Pratapgarh (Hindi: प्रतापगढ़), also called Belha, Bela, Bela Pratapgarh, Partapgarh or Partabgarh, is a city and municipality of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Pratapgarh district, part of the Allahabad Division. Pratapgarh is the birthplace of the national poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan.
It is one of the older districts of Uttar Pradesh, that came into existence in the year 1858. It is at a height of 137 Mt. from sea level. Indian poet (shayer) Imran Pratapgarhi hails from this place.
The district is named after its headquarter town Belha Pratapgarh, commonly known as Pratapgarh. Raja Pratap Singh, a local raja between 1628–1682, located his capital at Rampur near the old town of Aror. There he built a garh (fort) and called it Pratapgarh after himself. Subsequently, the area around the fort became known as Pratapgarh. When the district was constituted in 1858, its headquarters was established at Belha, which came to be known as Belha Pratapgarh, the name Belha presumably being derived from the temple of Belha Bhawani on the bank of river Sai. It is popularly known as "Belha Mai" – meaning Mother Goddess Belha.
Several human skeletons along some animal bones and a number of a small stones implements, belonging probably to the Neolithic, have been unearthed in Archaeological exploration at Sarai Nahar in Kunda Tehsil. It is the only site in the entire valley of Ganga which has yielded human skeleton of such an early age as also the Stone Age implements. On the left bank of river Sai there stand a ruined "Kot" representing a Buddhist Stupa. Town Bihar has been conjectured that the remain are probably on an ancient Buddhist monastery which gave its name Bihar. Bihar signifies Vihar or majesties. The name itself as Buddhist.
Sai and the Ganges are the main rivers flowing through Pratapgarh district. The district lies between the parallels of 25°34′ and 26°11′ north latitude and between the meridians of 81°19′ and 82°27′ east longitude extending for some 110 kilometres (68 mi) from west to east. It is bounded on the north by the district of Sultanpur, on the south by Allahabad, on the east by Jaunpur, on the west by Fatehpur and north-west by Raebareli. In the south-west the Ganges forms the boundary of the district for about 50 kilometres (31 mi). Separating it from Fatehpur and Allahabad and in the extreme north-east the Gomti forms the boundary for about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi). According to the Central Statistical Organization (Central Statistics Office), India, the district has an area of 3,730 square kilometres (1,440 sq mi).
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