About Haridwar
Haridwar is situated at the base of the Shivalik hills, where the Ganga, comes down from the mighty Himalayas meets the plains. Haridwar, literally is ‘The gateway to the Gods’. “This place is very beautiful”, at one sight one will say so and fall in love with the scenic beauty of the blend of height and plains.
A Gateway to the four pilgrimage of Uttarakhand, Haridwar is also known as Gangadwar, Tapovan and Mayapuri. In its long history back to pre-historic time, the Haridwar got it name from the rishis.
According to the mythology it is known as Kapilsthan. legend goes that the suryavnshi Prince Bhagirath performed penance here to salvage the souls of his ancestors who had perished due to the curse of the sage Kapila.
The penance was answered and the river Ganga trickled forth from Lord Shiva’s locks and its bountiful waters revived the sixty thousand sons of King Sagara. Mythologically, drops of nectar churned out from the primordial ocean fell at the four sites of the Kumbh mela including Haridwar.
The Kumbh mela, happening once every 12 years and the Ardha Kumbha Mela (Coming once every six years) are big draws. One of the oldest living cities, Hairdwar has been in people’s mind from the period of Buddha to the British advent and now even is the 21st century. Besides being a religious place, it has served as the center for learning arts, science and culture.
GEOGRAPHY
Haridwar district, covering an area of about 2360 sq.km. is in the western part of Uttarakhand state of India. It’s latitude and longitude are 29.58 degree north and 78.13 degree east respectively. The height from the sea level is 249.7 mts.
The district came into existence on 28th Dec. 1988. Prior to its inclusion in the newly created state of Uttarakhand, this district was a part of Saharanpur Divisional Commissionary. The district is ringed by Saharanpur in the west, Dehradun in the north and east, Pauri Garhwal in the east, Muzzaffar Nagar and Bijnor in the south.
The district headquarter is situated in the Roshnabad, at a distance of about 12 kms from railway station. The Collectorate, Vikas Bhawan, District Judiciary, S.S.P. Office, Police line, District Jail, District sports stadium, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya etc. are the prime establishments of this area.
The district is administratively subdivided into three tehsils i.e. Haridwar, Roorkee and Laksar and six development blocks i.e. Bhagwanpur, Roorkee, Narsan, Bahadrabad, Laksar and Khanpur. Haridwar is one of the first towns where Ganga emerges from the mountains to touch the planes. As per the 2001 census, the population of the district is 14,44,213.
Due to Haridwar’s location on the bank of river Ganga, it has plenty of water resources and almost all kind of food grains are produced here in abundance. For more statistical details, you may see ‘District at a glance’ on this web site.
