Shimoga

The name of the city is derived from the term ' shivmoga' A version of the etymology is the story that Shiva drank the Tunga River hence the name "Shiva-Mukha" which means the "face of Shiva". Another version of the etymology is that the name is derived from the term Sihi-Mogge, meaning "sweet pot".{{cite web |title=History of Shivamogga |url=https://shimoga.nic.in/en/history/ |website=Shivamogga District |publisher=National Informatics Centre, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India |access-date=8 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804162908/https://shimoga.nic.in/en/history/ |archive-date=4 August 2020}}

The district formed the southern tip of the Emperor Ashoka's Mauryan Empire in the third century BC.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}} It was ruled during later centuries by the Kadambas (4th century), Chalukyas (6th century), Western Ganga, Rashtrakutas (8th century), Hoysalas (11th century), and the Vijayanagara rulers (15th century). Nayakas of Keladi, also known as Nayakas of Bednore and Ikkeri Nayakas, were an Indian dynasty based in Keladi in present-day Shimoga district of Karnataka, India. They were an important ruling dynasty in the late medieval and early modern Karnataka. They initially ruled as a vassal of the famous Vijayanagar Empire. After the fall of the empire in 1565, they gained independence and ruled significant parts of Malnad region of the Western Ghats in present-day Karnataka, most areas in the coastal regions of Karnataka, and parts of northern Kerala, Malabar and the central plains along the Tungabhadra river. In 1763 AD, with their defeat to Hyder Ali, they were absorbed into the Kingdom of Mysore.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bK4Ba6824koC&q=kilidi&pg=PA128 |title=A journey from Madras through the ... – Google Books |isbn=9788120603868 |access-date=17 September 2011|last1=Buchanan |first1=Francis |last2=Hamilton |first2=Francis |year=1988 |publisher=Asian Educational Services }}

During the Satyagraha movement, Mahatma Gandhi also visited the place to instigate the fight for national freedom. After the independence of India in 1947, the Mysore state merged into the Republic of India.

On 1 November 2006, the government of Karnataka announced the renaming of Shimoga to "Shivamogga", along with nine other cities in the state. The central government approved (12 cities) the request in the October 2014 and the city was renamed on 1 November 2014.{{cite news|title=Bangalore, Mysore, Other Karnataka Cities to be Renamed on 1 November|work=International Business Times|url=https://www.ibtimes.co.in/bangalore-mysore-other-karnataka-cities-be-renamed-1-november-611683|date=18 October 2014|access-date=18 July 2018}}{{cite news|title=Centre nod for Karnataka's proposal on renaming cities|author= K. Jeevan Chinnappa|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/centre-nod-for-karnatakas-proposal-on-renaming-cities/article6514079.ece|work=The Hindu|date=18 October 2014|access-date=18 July 2018}}{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/Its-Bengaluru-for-Pranab/articleshow/4746303.cms|work=The Times of India|title=It's Bengaluru for Pranab|date=7 July 2009|access-date=18 July 2018}}{{cite news|author=Nagesh Prabhu|title=New name for cities|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/from-bangalore-to-bengaluru/article6553314.ece|access-date=18 July 2018|work=The Hindu}}

According to the Shimoga City Municipal Corporation,{{cite web|title=Shimoga Municipal corporation|url=http://www.shimogacity.gov.in/|access-date=18 July 2018}} the city has a total area of about {{convert|50|km2|sqmi}}. As per the Smart City Proposal, of the total city area (around 70.01km²), 11.28% area is under OS & green belts while 7% is under water cover.{{Cite web |last=City |first=Smart |date=28 February 2023 |title=SmartCityProposal_KA-03-SMG |url=https://smartnet.niua.org/sites/default/files/resources/SmartCityProposal_KA-03-SMG.pdf |access-date=28 February 2023 |website=Smartnet}} Most/all these hills are part of the Western Ghats, a region known for plentiful rainfall and lush greenery and declared during 2012 as a World Heritage site. Tunga River flows through Shimoga. The river is the major source of drinking water in the city and the city gets its drinking water through the Tunga dam (also known as Gajanuru dam).{{Cite web |last=Chronicle |first=Deccan |date=2 July 2019 |title=Inflow of Tunga river in Karnataka rises after heavy rainfall in Western Ghats |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/020719/inflow-of-tunga-river-in-karnataka-rises-after-heavy-rainfall-in-weste.html |access-date=28 February 2023 |website=Deccan Chronicle |language=en}}

{{Further|Gudde Mardi}}

The climate is tropical wet and dry (Köppen climate classification) summer average temperature {{convert|20|-|35|°C|F}}. This means that the winter and the early part of summer are typically dry periods. The majority of the rainfall occurs between June and early October. Shimoga is a part of a region known as Malnad (land of hills) in Karnataka. The average annual rainfall of the city is 731.1mm.{{Cite web |url=https://www.weather-atlas.com/en/india/shimoga-climate |title=Shimoga, India - Detailed climate information and monthly weather forecast |website=Weather Atlas |access-date=10 April 2020}} January and February are the driest months, July the wettest, and April is the warmest month with an average high temperature of 35.5 degrees Celsius (95.9 degrees F). Coldest months of Shimoga are July, August, November and December with average high temperature of 27 degrees Celsius (80.6 degrees F). In summer (April–May), temperature crosses 36 °C at Shimoga.{{cite web|url=https://www.worldweatheronline.com/v2/weather-averages.aspx?locid=1132489&root_id=1104737&wc=local_weather&map=~/shimoga-weather-averages/karnataka/in.aspx |title=Shimoga weather|publisher=World Weather Online|access-date=18 July 2018}}

{{Weather box

| location = Shimoga (1991–2020, extremes 1950–2020)

| metric first = Yes

| single line = Yes

| Jan record high C = 36.4

| Feb record high C = 38.8

| Mar record high C = 41.4

| Apr record high C = 41.2

| May record high C = 44.0

| Jun record high C = 40.0

| Jul record high C = 35.4

| Aug record high C = 35.0

| Sep record high C = 38.0

| Oct record high C = 35.0

| Nov record high C = 34.4

| Dec record high C = 34.0

| year record high C = 44.0

| Jan high C = 31.7

| Feb high C = 33.7

| Mar high C = 36.3

| Apr high C = 36.8

| May high C = 35.3

| Jun high C = 30.9

| Jul high C = 28.6

| Aug high C = 28.3

| Sep high C = 30.0

| Oct high C = 30.7

| Nov high C = 30.6

| Dec high C = 30.4

| year high C = 32.0

| Jan low C = 15.6

| Feb low C = 17.0

| Mar low C = 19.7

| Apr low C = 21.8

| May low C = 22.3

| Jun low C = 21.7

| Jul low C = 21.0

| Aug low C = 20.6

| Sep low C = 20.9

| Oct low C = 20.3

| Nov low C = 18.4

| Dec low C = 16.2

| year low C = 19.6

| Jan record low C = 6.5

| Feb record low C = 9.0

| Mar record low C = 11.7

| Apr record low C = 11.5

| May record low C = 15.0

| Jun record low C = 16.0

| Jul record low C = 15.7

| Aug record low C = 13.0

| Sep record low C = 11.5

| Oct record low C = 11.7

| Nov record low C = 8.0

| Dec record low C = 6.0

| year record low C = 6.0

| rain colour = green

| Jan rain mm = 0.2

| Feb rain mm = 0.4

| Mar rain mm = 5.9

| Apr rain mm = 39.6

| May rain mm = 60.9

| Jun rain mm = 129.8

| Jul rain mm = 183.1

| Aug rain mm = 161.4

| Sep rain mm = 98.6

| Oct rain mm = 169.5

| Nov rain mm = 24.1

| Dec rain mm = 8.7

| year rain mm = 882.3

| Jan rain days = 0.0

| Feb rain days = 0.1

| Mar rain days = 0.4

| Apr rain days = 2.6

| May rain days = 3.9

| Jun rain days = 9.9

| Jul rain days = 14.3

| Aug rain days = 12.9

| Sep rain days = 7.0

| Oct rain days = 7.3

| Nov rain days = 1.7

| Dec rain days = 0.6

| year rain days = 60.7

| time day = 17:30 IST

| Jan humidity = 40

| Feb humidity = 39

| Mar humidity = 34

| Apr humidity = 45

| May humidity = 53

| Jun humidity = 74

| Jul humidity = 80

| Aug humidity = 80

| Sep humidity = 76

| Oct humidity = 70

| Nov humidity = 59

| Dec humidity = 50

| year humidity = 57

| 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: Shimoga Climatological Table 1981–2010

| work = Climatological Normals 1981–2010

| publisher = India Meteorological Department

| date = January 2015

| pages = 705–706

| access-date = 19 April 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 = M103

| access-date = 19 April 2020}}

| source = Met Department

| width = auto

}}

As of 2011 Indian Census, Shimoga had a total population of 322,650, of which 162,018 were males and 160,632 were females. Population within the age group of 0 to 6 years was 32,691. The total number of literates in Shimoga was 254,531, which constituted 78.9% of the population with male literacy of 81.4% and female literacy of 76.3%. The effective literacy rate of 7+ population of Shimoga was 87.8%, of which male literacy rate was 90.8% and female literacy rate was 84.8%. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes population was 40,737 and 9,192 respectively. Shimoga had 76,009 households in 2011.{{cite web |title=Census of India: Shimoga |url=http://www.censusindia.gov.in/pca/SearchDetails.aspx?Id=692366 |website=www.censusindia.gov.in |access-date=5 December 2019}}

{{bar box

|title=Religions in Shimoga City (2011)

|titlebar=#Fcd116

|left1=Religion

|right1=Percent

|float=left

|bars=

{{bar percent|Hinduism|darkorange|72.76}}

{{bar percent|Islam|green|23.93}}

{{bar percent|Christianity|dodgerblue|2.17}}

{{bar percent|Jainism|pink|0.82}}

{{bar percent|Other or not stated|black|0.32}}

|caption=Distribution of religions

}}

Kannada is the most widely spoken language in Shimoga. 72.76% of people are Hindus and 23.93% are Muslims, with rest being Buddhists, Christians and others.{{Cite web|date=2011|title=Table C-01 Population by Religion: Karnataka|url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/11378/download/14491/DDW29C-01%20MDDS.XLS|website=censusindia.gov.in|publisher=Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India}}

{{Pie chart

|caption = Languages of Shimoga City (2011 census)

|label1 = Kannada |value1 = 53.47 |color1= darkslateblue

|label2 = Urdu |value2 = 23.47 |color2 = green

|label3 = Tamil |value3 = 6.75 |color3 = royalblue

|label4 = Telugu |value4 = 5.91 |color4 = steelblue

|label5 = Hindi |value5 = 3.14 |color5 = orange

|label6 = Marathi |value6 = 2.93 |color6 = red

|label7 = Konkani |value7 = 2.28 |color7 = salmon

|label8 = Malayalam |value8 = 0.93 |color8 = cornflowerblue

|label9 = Others |value9 = 1.12 |color9 = grey

}}

Kannada is the majority language, spoken by 53.47% of the population. Urdu is the second-largest language, while Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Marathi and Konkani are also spoken.{{Cite web |title=Table C-16 Population by Mother Tongue (Town): Karnataka |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/10255/download/13367/DDW-C16-TOWN-STMT-MDDS-2900.XLSX |website=www.censusindia.gov.in |publisher=Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India}}

{{Update section|date=August 2022|reason=Apparently this section needs updating. Updates require current references, not edited existing.}}

Shimoga is governed by a Municipal Corporation called the Shivamogga City Corporation. The total area under it is {{cvt|70.01|km2}}, with a population of 322,650 (Census 2011).{{Cite web |url=http://shivamoggacitycorp.org/|title=Shivamogga City Corporation|website=shivamoggacitycorp.org|access-date=10 April 2020}} Shimoga has been selected under the Smart Cities Mission of the Indian Government under Round 2 of selections.{{Cite web|url=http://smartcities.gov.in/content/innerpage/city-wise-projects-under-smart-cities-mission.php|title=City Wise Projects under Smart Cities Mission :: SMART CITIES MISSION, Government of India |website=smartcities.gov.in|access-date=10 April 2020}} Shimoga was upgraded to a Municipal Corporation from a Municipal Council in 2013.{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/tumkur-shimoga-and-bijapur-cities-to-be-upgraded-as-municipal-corporations/article5085415.ece |title=Tumkur, Shimoga and Bijapur cities to be upgraded as Municipal Corporations |date=2 September 2013 |work=The Hindu |access-date=10 April 2020}}

File:R M C Yard, Shimoga.JPG

APMC of Shimoga is main marketing point of arecanut, the major commercial crop grown in the district and well as in neighbouring districts like Uttara Kannada. Shimoga has the biggest areca nut market, and known for procuring high quality areca nuts. Other agricultural produces like rice, Maize, chili, coconut etc. are also marketed in APMC.

Shimoga IT Park is an information technology hub built just outside Shimoga near the Shimoga Airport. The IT Park consists of a 100000 sq ft office building with 24/7 electrical capacity, diesel backup generators, and high speed T1 data connections for use by IT industries such as data centres, call centres, aerospace, robotics, etc.{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/Two-years-on-Shimoga-Information-Technology-Park-awaits-entrepreneurs/article11623716.ece|title=Two years on, Shimoga Information Technology Park awaits entrepreneurs|author=Veerendra, P. M.|date=26 May 2014|work=The Hindu|issn=0971-751X}}

File:Spar mall.jpg

File:City centre mall shimoga.jpg

File:Ksrtcshimoga.jpg Bus Stand]]

Shimoga is well connected by road to major cities like Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli, Davangere, Ballari. Two major National Highways pass through the city: NH69 and NH169.

The city has two railway stations, main one being Shivamogga Town Railway Station, and there are trains that run to and from Bangalore, Mysore, Tirupati and Chennai.

Shimoga Airport is situated near Sogane, 13 km south of Shimoga. This is the first airport which is being operated by Karnataka State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited as a wholly owned and undertaking of Government of Karnataka and not handed over to Airport Authority of India.{{Cite web |title=Shivamogga on aviation map as PM to inaugurate airport today |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/2023/feb/27/shivamogga-on-aviation-map-aspm-to-inaugurate-airport-today-2551271.html |access-date=28 February 2023 |website=The New Indian Express|date=27 February 2023 }}{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/airport-at-shimoga-likely-to-come-up-at-sogane/article3144423.ece |title=Airport at Shimoga likely to come up at Sogane|date=8 April 2006|work=The Hindu|issn=0971-751X}} The nearest international airports are Kempegowda International Airport and Mangalore International Airport.

{{Update section|date=December 2023|reason=Apparently this section needs updating. Updates require current references}}

Shimoga is one of the important centers for the high school and the pre-university education in Karnataka. Notable institutes in Shimoga for high school is Jnanadeepa school and for pre-university (PU) education include: Sri Aurobindo PU College and PACE PU College and

PES college in outskirts of city.

The village of Gajanur hosts a Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (central school) which is a boarding school. Kuvempu University is located in Shankarghatta, at a distance of 20 km from Shimoga.

Shimoga Institute of Medical Sciences is the medical sciences college at Shimoga and managed by Government Departments. Subbaiah Institute of Medical Sciences is located at Purale.{{cite web|url=http://www.smcshimoga.com/contact-us.php|publisher=Subbaiah Institute of Medical Science|title=Contact Us|access-date=18 July 2018}} It also has two engineering colleges, Jawaharlal Nehru National College of Engineering and PES Institute of Technology and Management.Also Rastriya Raksha University, Shivamogga Campus is opened in Ragigudda near Navule

{{see also|Shimoga district#Notable people}}

• U. R. Ananthamurthy, Jnanapeetha awardee
• Sarekoppa Bangarappa, former Chief Minister of Karnataka
• K. S. Eshwarappa, a politician and former Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka
• Adarsh Iyengar a singer and musician
• Nikhil Kamath co-founder, Zerodha
• Mathur Krishnamurthy, Kannada language writer
• Kuvempu, a National poet, Jnanapeetha winner
• P Lankesh
• Kadidal Manjappa, 3rd Chief Minister of Karnataka
• Shekhar Naik, a former captain of the Indian blind cricket team
• D. H. Shankaramurthy, Former Chairman of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly
• Khadi Shankarappa, a freedom fighter
• Abhilash Shetty, a film director in Kannada film industry
• Shimoga Subbanna, a playback singer
• Sudeep, an actor and director in Indian cinema
• Archana Udupa, Indian playback singer
• B. S. Yediyurappa, 19th Chief Minister of Karnataka

• Alada Halli, Shimoga

{{Reflist}}

{{commons category|Shimoga}}

{{wikivoyage|Shimoga}}

• [http://www.shimoga.nic.in/zpshimoga/ Shimoga Zilla Panchayat]
• [http://shimoga.nic.in/ Shimoga Profile]
• [http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/india/nd-43-11.jpg U.S. Army Corps of Engineers detailed map of Shimoga district 1959]
• [http://www.shimogacity.gov.in/ Shimoga City Website]
• [https://shivamogga.org/ Shivamogga Website]

{{Shivamogga topics}}

Category:Cities and towns in Shimoga district

Category:Cities in Karnataka