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Rajiv Gandhi Technical University of MP
BHOPAL: Green CITY OF LAKES

Bhopal is the capital city of the state of Madhya Pradesh, a center state of India.

Upper Lake                The city is also referred to as the City of Lakes because of dozen of lakes all over Bhopal with two most beautiful lakes that are situated in the center of the city.

Bhopal is also known for its gardens and greenery. Gardens are omnipresent in Bhopal and greenery is said to be the hallmark of this lake city. It is also known for its comfortable roads especially in MP.

                     Apart from its natural beauty, Bhopal is also famous for its mosques. The Taj-ul-Masjid in Bhopal is the largest mosque of India. Bhopal is also known, sadly, for the largest industrial disaster or The Union Carbide Gas Tragedy, which struck it in 1984.


BRIEF HISTORY

Bhopal is built on the 11th century city of Bhojapal, founded by the legendary Raja Bhoj, situated around 2 artificial lakes, Upper and Lower Lakes, also constructed by Raja Bhoj. Bhopal got its name from Bhojpal with a combination of Raja Bhoj's name and a dam, pal, constructed around the lakes by Raja Bhoj. The region witnessed a power struggle between local rulers and the Mughals, with the latter taking over. The decline of the Mughal Empire with the death of Aurangzeb (AD 1707) led to political turmoil in this region. The small princely state of Bhopal and the present-day city was founded by an Afghan soldier Dost Mohammad in 1723.

It was the second largest Muslim state during the rise of British power in India. It aligned itself with the British, in their fight against the Marathas, in 1817. At the time of India's independence in 1947, Bhopal remained a separate state, until 1949, when it acceded to India.

Bhopal today presents a multi-faceted profile; the old city with its teeming market places and fine old mosques and palaces still bear the aristocratic imprint of its former rulers. Equally impressive is the new city with its verdant, exquisitely laid out parks and gardens, broad avenues and streamlined modern edifices.

   @ Abhitimes© # [Page last updated - June, 2004]