Roorkee

File:Rang_Mahal_Landhaura.jpg Khubar Gurjar]]

Until 1824, Roorkee was part of Landhaura estate or kingship exercises by Gurjars. The area was under control of Parmar (Panwar or Khubars) Gurjar chiefs in eastern Saharanpur including Haridwar in kingship of Raja Sabha Chandra of Jabarhera (Jhabrera). Gurjar of the Khubar (Panwar) gotra. In 1792 Ram Dayal and his son Sawai Singh were ruling the area but due to family reasons Ramdayal left Jhabrera and went to Landhaura village and left Roorkee under the control of Raja Ramdayal Singh Gurjar at Landhaura. There were two branches of Jhabrera State (riyasat), with main branch at Jhabrera and the second one at Landhaura. Both father and son were ruling simultaneously without any conflicts until the death of Raja Sawai Singh of Jabarhera in 1803. After the death of Sawai Singh total control of powers transferred to Ram Dayal Singh at Landhaura.{{Cite web |title=Tareekh Gurjar Vol 5-تاریخ گرجر جلد پنجم.pdf |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2AJAVIyLgQwa1BfSm8xb0V3SDA/view |access-date=2025-02-27 |website=Google Docs}}{{Cite book |last=Chauhan |first=Rana Ali Hasan |url=https://books.google.co.in/books/about/A_Short_History_of_the_Gurjars.html?id=3ZmvnQEACAAJ&redir_esc=y |title=A Short History of the Gurjars: Past and Present |date=1998 |publisher=Chauhan Publications |isbn=978-969-8419-00-4 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Rahi |first=Javaid |url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=KI1pEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA566&dq=rudki+landhaura&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&ovdme=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi2m4TQ-ZKMAxWLSmwGHWezC6Y4ChDoAXoECAQQAw |title=The Gujjars Vol: 01 and 02 Edited by Dr. Javaid Rahi |date=2012-01-01 |publisher=Jammu and Kashmir Acacademy of Art, Culture , Languages , Jammu |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Arya |first=D. S. |url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=fmjaAAAAMAAJ&q=rudki+landhaura&dq=rudki+landhaura&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&ovdme=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjP2fue_pKMAxVBRWwGHc8rCDk4HhDoAXoECAkQAw |title=Urbanization and It's Environmental Impacts |date=1995 |publisher=Discovery Publishing House |isbn=978-81-7141-258-7 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Lal |first=Prem Hari Har |url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=pm_iAAAAMAAJ&q=rudki+landhaura&dq=rudki+landhaura&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&ovdme=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjZjbvm_pKMAxUIRWcHHV82GL84RhDoAXoECAIQAw |title=The Doon Valley Down the Ages |date=1993 |publisher=Interprint |isbn=978-81-85017-64-8 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Rahi |first=Javaid |url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=KI1pEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA566&dq=Roorkee+Ramdayal+landhaura&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&ovdme=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjXrZ2I_5KMAxXXXGwGHVx2EDEQ6AF6BAgKEAM |title=The Gujjars Vol: 01 and 02 Edited by Dr. Javaid Rahi |date=2012-01-01 |publisher=Jammu and Kashmir Acacademy of Art, Culture , Languages , Jammu |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Oudh (India) |first=United Provinces of Agra and |url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=wi1uAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA312&dq=Roorkee+Ramdayal+landhaura&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&ovdme=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiezO-p_5KMAxVYRmwGHdIQN_w4ChDoAXoECAoQAw |title=District Gazetteers of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh: Saharanpur |date=1909 |publisher=Supdt., Government Press, United Provinces |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Arya |first=D. S. |url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=fmjaAAAAMAAJ&q=Roorkee+Ramdayal+landhaura&dq=Roorkee+Ramdayal+landhaura&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&ovdme=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiezO-p_5KMAxVYRmwGHdIQN_w4ChDoAXoECAcQAw |title=Urbanization and It's Environmental Impacts |date=1995 |publisher=Discovery Publishing House |isbn=978-81-7141-258-7 |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=History – ROORKEE CANTONMENT BOARD |url=https://roorkee.cantt.gov.in/history/ |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=roorkee.cantt.gov.in}}

After the death of Raja Ram Dayal Singh in 29 March 1813,{{Cite book |last=Atkinson |first=Edwin Thomas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w2xZmwEACAAJ&q=Landhaura%7Ctitle%3DStatistical |title=Statistical, Descriptive and Historical Account of the North-Western Provinces of India: 2.:Meerut division part 1 |date=1875 |publisher=North-Western Provinces Government |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Abbasi |first=Shahid A. |url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=BQq1CcMgx28C&pg=PA23&dq=rudki+landhaura&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&ovdme=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjV-dHL-ZKMAxWoSGwGHcS8PW4Q6AF6BAgNEAM |title=Environmental Impact Assessment: Available Techniques, Emerging Trends |last2=Arya |first2=D. S. |date=2000 |publisher=Discovery Publishing House |isbn=978-81-7141-554-0 |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=History – ROORKEE CANTONMENT BOARD |url=https://roorkee.cantt.gov.in/history/ |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=roorkee.cantt.gov.in}} it was a part of the Landhaura princely state until 1824 when the British occupied it.{{cite web |url = https://roorkee.cantt.gov.in/history/ |title = Roorkee Cantonment Board – History |access-date = 2 September 2021 }}

File: Ganges canal roorkee1860.jpg

Roorkee is listed in the Ain-i-Akbari as a pargana under the sarkar of Saharanpur, producing a revenue of 12,234 dams for the imperial treasury and supplying a force of 1200 infantry and 125 cavalry.{{cite book |author=Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak |translator-last=Jarrett |translator-first=Henry Sullivan |title=The Ain-i-Akbari |date=1891 |publisher=Asiatic Society of Bengal |location=Calcutta |page=292 |url=https://archive.org/details/ainiakbarivolum00mubgoog |access-date=21 January 2021}}

Before 1840, the city was a tiny hamlet consisting of mud huts on the banks of the Solani rivulet.[https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V21_331.gif Roorkee Town2], The Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 21, p. 325. Digging work on the Upper Ganges Canal formally began in April 1842, under the aegis of Proby Cautley, a British officer. Local works were designed and overseen by the engineer Thomas Login.{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1680/imotp.1875.22738|title = Obituary. Thomas Login, F.r.s.e., 1823-1874|journal = Minutes of the Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers|volume = 39|issue = 1875|pages = 269–271|year = 1875|doi-access = free}} Soon, Roorkee developed into a town. The canal, which was formally opened on 8 April 1854, provided irrigation waters for more than {{cvt|767,000|acre}} in 5,000 villages.[https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V12_144.gif Upper Ganges Canal], The Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 12, p. 138.

Col. P.T. Cautley, an officer in the British Army, was most instrumental in constructing the canal. According to Dept. of Hydrology, the canal, which is still considered as a marvel of engineering, was built in 1853. However, water was released in the canal on 8 April 1854.

To look after the maintenance of the canal, the Canal Workshop and Iron Foundry were established in 1843 on the civil lines of the canal bank. This was followed by the establishment of a Civil Engineering School; classes started in 1845 to train local youth to assist in the civil-engineering work of the Upper Ganges Canal.[https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V04_350.gif Indian Engineering Colleges], The Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1909, v. 4, p. 321. This was to become the first engineering college established in India.{{cite book |title=The Military Engineer, Vol II |last=Sandes |first=Lt Col E.W.C. |year=1935 |publisher=Institution of Royal Engineers |location=Chatham |page=358 |url=http://dspace.gipe.ac.in/xmlui/handle/10973/37244}} On 25 November 1847, the college was formally constituted through a proposal by the Sir James Thomason, Lt. Governor of North-Western Province (1843–53). After his death in 1853, the college was rechristened as Thomason College of Civil Engineering. The college later renamed to University of Roorkee in 1949; on 21 September 2001, through an Act of Parliament, it was made one of the Indian Institutes of Technology, IIT Roorkee.[http://www.iitr.ac.in/ IIT Roorkee] Official website. In 1853 Bengal Sappers and Miners were stationed here which provided a controlling influence during the 1857 uprising. Under the Post Office Act of 1866, it was among the first few towns to have a post office and first telegraph office in the district. In 1886, Roorkee was placed on the rail map of India. In 1907, the first provincial trunk road from Meerut-Roorkee-Dehradun was constructed. In 1920, Roorkee became the first town in Uttar Pradesh to have hydroelectricity.

File:Solani Aquaduct Of Ganges Canal.jpg Of Ganges Canal]]

India's first aqueduct was constructed over the Solani river, near Roorkee as part of the Ganges Canal project, which itself was India's first irrigation work in North India.[https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V03_376.gif Irrigation and Navigation] Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1909 v. 3, p. 341. In 1851, the Solani Aqueduct Railway was built by Proby Cautley in Roorkee to transport construction materials for the Ganges canal. It was operated by the Bengal Sappers. A steam engine, Jenny Lind, (specially shipped from England moved on rails in India), pulled a freight train that ran in Roorkee on 22 December 1851 between Roorkee and Piran Kaliyar, {{cvt|10|km}} from the city, two years before the first passenger trains were started between Bombay and Thana in 1853 and 14 years after the first freight trains ran in Chennai in 1837. A replica of what the locomotive is thought to have looked like is exhibited at Roorkee Railway Station.

The municipality of Roorkee was created in 1868. It had been home to the Bengal Sappers and Miners since 1853, and two artillery units were stationed there. Today, the Roorkee Cantonment has a large army base. The Bengal Engineering Group and Centre (BEG&C) are still there today.

In 1901, when the city had a population of 17,197, it was made the headquarters of the Roorkee Tehsil, in the Saharanpur district of the United Province of the British Raj; the tehsil included 426 villages (of the parganas of Jwalapur, Manglaur and Bhagwanpur) and six towns, the most important among them being Haridwar and Manglaur. The Old Cemetery in the city is a protected monument, by the Archaeological Survey of India.[http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_alphalist_uttranchal.asp Alphabetical List of Monuments – Uttarakhand] Archaeological Survey of India website.

Roorkee is located at {{Coord|29.87|N|77.88|E}}.{{cite web|url=http://www.fallingrain.com/world/IN/39/Roorkee.html |title=Falling Rain Genomics, Inc – Roorkee |publisher=Fallingrain.com |access-date=27 December 2011}} It has an average elevation of {{convert|268|m}}.

Roorkee is {{convert|184.3|km|mi|abbr=}} north of the Indian capital, New Delhi, between the rivers Ganges and Yamuna, close to the foothills of the Himalayas. It is 65 kilometres away from Dehradun (the capital of Uttarakhand), {{cvt|30|km}} from Haridwar and {{cvt|48|km}} away from Muzaffarnagar. Before the creation of Uttarakhand on 9 November 2000,[http://india.gov.in/business/investment_incentives/uttarakhand/uttarakhand.php Uttarakhand] Govt. of India, Official website. Roorkee was a part of the state of Uttar Pradesh.

The city is located in the Roorkee plain which is composed of recent alluvium with a gentle slope. As per the census of 2011, the region is spread over {{cvt|129.88|km2}}.{{Cite web|title=Census of India- 2011, District census handbook-Hardwar- Village and town directory|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/dchb/0513_PART_A_DCHB_HARDWAR.pdf|access-date=15 September 2020|website=Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India}}

There are a total of 106 villages in the Roorkee community development block of Hardwar. The total population of Roorkee block is 301,268 with a male population of 158,879 and a female population of 142,389. There are 51,329 households in Roorkee block.{{cite web | url=https://myroots.euttaranchal.com/block-roorkee-hardwar-91.html | title=Roorkee Block Hardwar – List of Villages in Roorkee Population Literacy}}

Roorkee has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa), typical of the northern Indo-Gangetic plain. There are three seasons. A sweltering, dry “hot” season begins in mid-March and extends until mid-June with steadily increasing humidity and discomfort. From mid-June until the end of September the southwest monsoon gives the “wet” season with a total of around {{convert|770|mm|in|0}} of rainfall or about-four-fifths of the annual total. This monsoonal rain is accompanied by hot temperatures, very warm mornings, and extremely uncomfortable humidity. From early October the “cool” season begins as the monsoon retreats, featuring warm to very warm afternoons, cool mornings, and moderate humidity. Occasionally western disturbances between January and March will bring a little rainfall during this season, although the average total from October to March is only {{convert|145|mm|in|1|disp=or}}.

{{Weather box|width=auto

| location = Roorkee (1991–2020, extremes 1901–2012)

| metric first = Yes

| single line = Yes

| Jan record high C = 30.1

| Feb record high C = 31.9

| Mar record high C = 39.0

| Apr record high C = 43.8

| May record high C = 47.4

| Jun record high C = 46.7

| Jul record high C = 45.0

| Aug record high C = 39.8

| Sep record high C = 38.3

| Oct record high C = 38.3

| Nov record high C = 33.9

| Dec record high C = 30.5

| year record high C = 47.4

| Jan high C = 19.1

| Feb high C = 23.6

| Mar high C = 29.6

| Apr high C = 35.4

| May high C = 38.0

| Jun high C = 37.2

| Jul high C = 33.6

| Aug high C = 32.9

| Sep high C = 32.5

| Oct high C = 31.4

| Nov high C = 27.1

| Dec high C = 22.1

| year high C = 30.0

| Jan low C = 6.4

| Feb low C = 9.2

| Mar low C = 14.1

| Apr low C = 18.9

| May low C = 23.1

| Jun low C = 24.9

| Jul low C = 25.4

| Aug low C = 24.9

| Sep low C = 23.4

| Oct low C = 18.0

| Nov low C = 11.8

| Dec low C = 7.7

| year low C = 16.9

| Jan record low C = -1.1

| Feb record low C = -2.2

| Mar record low C = 2.8

| Apr record low C = 7.2

| May record low C = 11.1

| Jun record low C = 16.1

| Jul record low C = 18.8

| Aug record low C = 19.0

| Sep record low C = 15.2

| Oct record low C = 8.9

| Nov record low C = 2.2

| Dec record low C = -0.7

| year record low C = -2.2

| rain colour = green

| Jan rain mm = 27.7

| Feb rain mm = 45.9

| Mar rain mm = 26.5

| Apr rain mm = 10.1

| May rain mm = 23.6

| Jun rain mm = 82.6

| Jul rain mm = 263.6

| Aug rain mm = 280.6

| Sep rain mm = 192.8

| Oct rain mm = 14.3

| Nov rain mm = 2.5

| Dec rain mm = 9.4

| year rain mm = 979.7

| Jan rain days = 1.8

| Feb rain days = 3.2

| Mar rain days = 1.7

| Apr rain days = 1.1

| May rain days = 2.2

| Jun rain days = 4.2

| Jul rain days = 8.9

| Aug rain days = 10.8

| Sep rain days = 6.6

| Oct rain days = 1.0

| Nov rain days = 0.4

| Dec rain days = 1.1

| year rain days = 42.9

|time day = 17:30 IST

| Jan humidity = 68

| Feb humidity = 59

| Mar humidity = 47

| Apr humidity = 39

| May humidity = 40

| Jun humidity = 51

| Jul humidity = 72

| Aug humidity = 76

| Sep humidity = 72

| Oct humidity = 62

| Nov humidity = 65

| Dec humidity = 66

|year humidity = 60

|source 1 = India Meteorological Department{{cite web

| url = https://imdpune.gov.in/library/public/Climatological%20Tables%201991-2020.pdf

| title = Climatological Tables of Observatories in India 1991–2020

| publisher = India Meteorological Department

| access-date = April 8, 2024

}}

{{cite web

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200205040301/http://imdpune.gov.in/library/public/1981-2010%20CLIM%20NORMALS%20%28STATWISE%29.pdf

| archive-date = 5 February 2020

| url = https://imdpune.gov.in/library/public/1981-2010%20CLIM%20NORMALS%20%28STATWISE%29.pdf

| title = Station: Roorkee Climatological Table 1981–2010

| work = Climatological Normals 1981–2010

| publisher = India Meteorological Department

| date = January 2015

| pages = 671–672

| access-date = 15 February 2020}}

{{cite web

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200205042509/http://imdpune.gov.in/library/public/EXTREMES%20OF%20TEMPERATURE%20and%20RAINFALL%20upto%202012.pdf

| archive-date = 5 February 2020

| url = https://imdpune.gov.in/library/public/EXTREMES%20OF%20TEMPERATURE%20and%20RAINFALL%20upto%202012.pdf

| title = Extremes of Temperature & Rainfall for Indian Stations (Up to 2012)

| publisher = India Meteorological Department

| date = December 2016

| page = M228

| access-date = 15 February 2020}}

}}

The Roorkee Tehsil is the most populous among the three Tehsils in the Haridwar District with 45% of its population categorized as urban. According to the 2011 census Roorkee city has a population of 392,000,{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} within the area of 8.11 square kilometres.{{Cite web |title=DISTRICT CENSUS HANDBOOK HARDWAR VILLAGE AND TOWN WISE PRIMARY CENSUS ABSTRACT (PCA) |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/dchb/0513_PART_B_DCHB_HARDWAR.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151114014306/https://censusindia.gov.in/2011census/dchb/0513_PART_B_DCHB_HARDWAR.pdf |archive-date=14 November 2015 |access-date=6 June 2022 |website=Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India}} The average literacy rate of Roorkee is 89.48%.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} The sex ratio of the town as-of 2011, is 863 for all age groups while between the age 0–6 it is 820.

For administrative purposes, the Roorkee city is part of the Haridwar district's Roorkee Tehsil. The city falls under the Roorkee Legislative Assembly constituency, which is one of the seventy electoral Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly constituencies of Uttarakhand state in India.{{Cite web|title=Roorkee – Uttarakhand Assembly constituency Details|url=http://www.empoweringindia.org/new/searching.aspx?value=Roorkee&type=2|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816065505/http://www.empoweringindia.org/new/searching.aspx?value=Roorkee&type=2|archive-date=16 August 2018|access-date=15 September 2020}}

The governance of Roorkee city is done by the Roorkee Municipal Corporation (RMC) which falls under Roorkee Metropolitan Region. According to the 2011 census, the RMC covers an areas of {{cvt|28.91|km2}} with a 1.84 lakh population. The RMC is administered through the Uttar Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act 1959, which was adopted and amended by Uttarakhand. The act is administered by the Urban Development Department (UDD), part of the Government of Uttarakhand.

The council is formed every five years through ward councillors's elections and it holds the highest authority within the Urban Local Body (ULB) to make decisions. The council is headed by a Mayor, who is elected by the Ward Councillors from 40 municipal wards. A Municipal Commissioner (MC) is appointed by the state who is responsible for the operations of the ULB. The RMC is responsible for city related civic services like cleanliness of the city, solid waste management, maintenance of gardens/dividers/circles, street light, bio-medical waste, and all storm water and wastewater drainage.{{Cite web|date=28 February 2019|title=Roorkee Municipal Corporation-ICRA|url=https://www.icra.in/Rationale/ShowRationaleReport/?Id=78091|access-date=15 September 2020}}

The RMC has 40 wards with a voter population of 14.05 lakh voters- split between nearly 7.26 lakh men and 6.79 lakh women voters.{{Cite news|title=Roorkee Municipal Corporation elections: Polling underway in 40 wards, result to be declared on Nov 24|work=DNA India|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-roorkee-municipal-corporation-elections-polling-underway-in-40-wards-result-to-be-declared-on-nov-24-2802813|access-date=15 September 2020}} The major political parties which are active in the local elections are Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), Indian National Congress (INC), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).{{Cite news|date=24 November 2019|title=Roorkee Municipal Corporation Election Count Released, Congress leadsFor Mayor Post|work=News Track|url=https://english.newstracklive.com/news/roorkee-municipal-corporation-election-counting-result-2019-mc25-nu-1050251-1.html}}

Roorkee is an industrial base of Haridwar district. It is partially industrialized. Its main industries are ship part manufacturing, surveying, drawing and mechanical instrument manufacturing. It has a GDP of US$112 million.

The major languages spoken in Roorkee are Hindi 72%, Urdu 23%, Punjabi 3%, and English 2%.{{Cite web|url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/Language_MTs.html|title=Census of India Website : Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India|website=www.censusindia.gov.in|access-date=28 August 2018}}

• Belra
• Kaliyar Sharif

{{Reflist}}

{{commons category}}

• {{Wikivoyage inline}}
• {{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Roorkee |volume=23 |page=706}}
• Roorkee biggest online directory is {{URL|http://roorkeedigital.com/}}

{{Haridwar district}}

{{Municipalities of Uttarakhand}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Uttarakhand}}

Category:Cities and towns in Haridwar district

Category:Cities in Uttarakhand