Kannada Koota - Koppal

Koppal district is an administrative district in the state of Karnataka in India. In the past Koppal was referred to as 'Kopana Nagara'. Hampi, a World heritage center, covers some areas of Koppal District. Koppal, now a district headquarters is ancient Kopana a major holy place of the Jainas, has two Ashokan inscriptions at Palkigundu and Gavimatha. It was the capital of a branch of Shilaharas under the Chalukyas of Kalyana. Mundargi Bheema Rao and Hammige Kenchanagouda died fighting the British here in June 1858 (during the 1857 rising series). Palkigundu is described as the Indrakila parvata of epic fame and there is an ancient Shiva temple called the Male Malleshwara.

Koppal in Karnataka India

	Koppal
Subdistricts	Koppal, Gangavati, Yalburga, Kushtagi
Headquarters	Koppal
Population	1,196,089 (2001)
Density	166 /km²
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Area	7,190 km²
Code	Pincode : 583231 Telephone +91 (0) 8534 Vehicle KA-37
Website	www.koppal.nic.in

General Profile

Number of Taluk Panchayat	4
Number of Gram Panchayat	134
Number of Villages	637

SOIL : Koppal district is having partly red sandy and black cotton soil suitable for agriculture and horticulture crops. The taluk is having few rocky mountains with exrophytic vegetation. RIVERS : The Tungabhadra river is formed by union of two rivers, viz., the Tunga and the Bhadra, both of which rise at Gangamula in the Varaha Parvata of the Western Ghats. Tungabhadra has a large number of rivulets and streams serving as tributaries. There is Thungabhadra reservoir at Munirabad which is in the border of koppal taluk. The Tungabhadra river also is reputed as one of the important rivers of South India. CLIMATE & RAINFALL : The climate of the district is very hot and dry. Hot season starts from middle of the February to end of May. Southwest maonoon ranges from June to end of September. Post monsoon is furing the October and November. Cold season is from December to middle of February. The average rainfall of the district is 572 mm and average rainy days are 46. Koppal is famous for tungabhadra dam.

Tourism

ANEGUNDI -is in Gangavathi Taluk and is one of the most ancient places in the district, meaning in Kannada "elephant pit" said to have been the place where the elephants of the Vijayanagara kings were kept, is situated on the left bank of the river Tungabhadra, just opposite the ruined capital of the Vijayanagara empire. ITAGI- in Yelburga taluk, is about three miles from the south of the Bannikoppa railway station on the Gadag-Koppal line. This place is famous for the Mahadeva temple, which is one of the finest of the later Chalukyan temples. Koppal is situated at the foot of a rock, the later being crowned by a fort. There is another range of hills to the west, the highest spur of which is called Palkigundu, 2,399 ft. in height. There is another spur on the east, called Gavimatha.
KOPPAL FORT- was acquired by Tippu Sultan in 1786 AD from a Paleyagar and rebuilt into one of the strongesxt forts with the help of French engineers.

Economy:
The functions of the district administration may be grouped for purposes of convenience , into a number of fairly broad categories.The first group relates to the public safety, the protection of the citizen and all of his rights. It includes the maintenance of law and order and the administration of civil and criminal justice. The second group may be called the revenue and excise group, which is concerned with the assessment and collection of taxes and duties of different kinds.