Chattisgarh
Chhatisgarh State is situated between Orissa and Jharkhand in the East and Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra in the West. The state originally formed part of Madhya Pradesh. The capital is Raipur. The state is administratively divided into 16 districts. A third of the population is tribal. Major economic activities are agriculture, mining and forestry. The state has a mega steel plant at Bhilai and a few large cement factories due to its rich mineral resources.
Economy:: The State plans to establish a "dry port" at Raipur and convert Jagdalpur into an ecology city. New Bilaspur and New Raipur are planned to be developed as modern, well planned cities and suburbs. The economic initiative includes encouraging foreign joint ventures for setting up new modern industrial parks.
Chhatisgarh was known as the "rice bowl" of Madhya Pradesh before it became an independent state and used to produce over seventy percent of the total paddy production in the state. It produces very little wheat. Apart from paddy, it grows cereals like maize, kodo-kutki and other small millets.
Cities: Raipur and Bilaspur are two major cities and convenient bases from where to visit the places of tourist interest. Bilaspur is a busy city and the Headquarters of the South Eastern Railway.
Rivers : Five major rivers flow through Chhatisgarh, namely Mahanadi, Shivnath, Indravati, Hasdo and Kharun rivers. The State is thus a contrast of the modern as well as the tribal.
