Ballari is a historic city in Karnataka known for its granite rocks, hills, and as an important industrial area. It has a hot semi-arid climate and receives little rainfall. The economy is driven by mining, with Ballari being a major producer of iron ore in India. Agriculture also contributes, with crops like rice, jowar, maize, and horticultural crops grown. Places of interest include the Ballari Fort, Kanaka Durgamma Temple, Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary, and the nearby World Heritage Site of Hampi. The large JSW Steel plant located in Toranagallu plays a major role in Ballari's economy and industry.

1. FORT
RAILWAYS
MINES
BALLARI DISTRICT
PROFILE

2. BALLARI DISTRICT OVERVIEW
 Ballari is situated in the eastern part of
karnataka. This historic place stands amidst the
level, wide plain of black cotton soil.
 This rapidly growing industrial town is known
For the magnificent granite rocks and hills
and is surrounded by two big granite hills.
 The city owes its name from the word ‘BALLARI’
(name of goddess Durgamma).
 It has become one of the best places for
Tourists coming across the planet. The reason
Lies in its historical and natural treasure.
 VOGGANI MIRCHI a snack preparation made
of puffed rice is a must have.Rasam bonda
and Biryani are also famous too.

3.  Ballari is 311km from the state capital Bengaluru, 358 from Hyderabad, 522km
From Chennai and 761km from Mumbai, the city is 12km far from the state border
Of Andhra Pradhesh.The district has 5 taluks and 104 villages.
 According to the 2011 Census of India, the urban population of Ballari was 410445;
of whom 206149 were male and 204296 female.280610 of the population were
Literate and 52410 of the population were under 7 years of age.
 In Ballari, the city has a semi arid climate and the temperature remain high
throughout
The year It receives little rain from the southwest monsoon. The summer starts from
March to June that are especially hot, with high temperature reaching 45 degree
Celsius frequently.
 Winters during November to February are relatively mild, with average
Temperature of around 22 degree Celsius. In monsoon season the city receives about
24 inches of rain every month mainly in the months from August to October.
LOCATION, POPULATIONAND CLIMATICCONDITIONS

5. AGRICULTURE PROFILE
Rice mills, puffed rice units, cotton ginning, oil extraction units etc., contribute
significantly to Ballari’s growing economy.
Groundnut and sunflower cultivation contribute to the 45 oil extraction units in
the district.
More than 20% of the total units in the district are agro and food processing units.
MAJOR CROPS
Major food crops- Rice, Jower, cereals, Maize, Bengal gram, groundnut.
Horticulture crops- Onion, chillies, papaya, grapes, guava, coriander,
pomegranate, Mosambi, Sapota, banana, mango, fig, coconut.
Cash crops- Cotton, sunflower, coconut.

6. PLACES TO VISIT
1.Ballari fort
2.Railway station
3.Ballari mines
4.Kanaka durgamma temple
5.Daroji sloth bear sanctuary
6.Ballari central jail
7.Hampi
8.Mincheri hills
9.JINADAL STEEL PLANT

7. BALLARI FORT
1.The Ballari fort was built on top of a hill called
the Ballari gudda or the FORT HILL.
2.It was built in two parts namely, the upper fort
and the lower fort.
3.The upper fort was built by Hanumappa Nayaka,
but the Lower fort was built by Haider Ali in later part of the 18th century.
4.A temple dedicated to Hanuman or Kote Anjaneya temple is positioned
outside the Eastern gate of the lower fort

8. BALLARI RAILWAY STATION
 Ballari Railway station is one of the oldest
Railway stations in INDIA, and possibly
the second in Karnataka.
 It was built by British Raj more than 150
Years ago. The foundation stone was laid on
1869.
 Mahatma Gandhi visited and spent about
Eight hours at the railway station on
1st October 1921.

9. BALLARI MINES
A.Ballari is one of the largest producers of
IRON ORE in India, where even digging a
Small mound of the top soil generates some
Iron ore.
B.Ballari district has 25% of India's iron ore
Reserves.
C.Till 1994 handful of mining companies
Operated here including state-owned NMDC.
Later Gov. issued mining licences to many
Private operators.

10. KANAKA DURGAMMA TEMPLE
• Ballari Durgamma is the presiding deity of Ballari city in Karnataka.
• The temple was constructed for Goddess Durga bt Arjuna.
• Inside is a big moorthi of Goddess Durga which is Svayambhu(self manifested)
and hence locals and devotees consider it very powerful and say it fulfils all
your wishes.
• The moorthi is an eight armed form of Goddess Durga and an epitome of beauty
in the standing posture over the demon Mahishashura and piercing him with her
trident.

11. DAROJI SLOTH BEAR SANCTUARY
 Doroji Sloth bear Sanctuary is the ASIA’S FIRST
SLOTH SANCTUARY. It is spread over 82.72 km sq.
 The sanctuary was created exclusively for the
conservation of the sloth bear. It is about 50km from
Ballari and about 15km from the World heritage
Hampi.
 The area between Daroji in Sandur taluk and
Ramasagar of Hospet taluk is host to numerous sloth
Bears.
 In October 1994, the Govt of Karnataka, declared
5587.30 hectares of the Bilikallu forest reserve
as Daroji Bear Sanctuary. In October 2009, the Govt
added 2685.50 hectares of the Bukkasagara Forest
Reserve to the Sanctuary.
 The sanctuary is open between 14:00 and 18:00
everyday.

12. BALLARI CENTRAL PRISON
1. Ballari was a prominent town during British rule.
Sir Thomas Munroe, the first District collector, to
recommend the establishment of a jail for lodging
political prisoners.
2.The British wanted to set up three jails, the first
was
established in 1872 and came to be known as the
Central jail. Later, Allipur open-air jail was set up to
lodge political prisoners and had the facility of
solitary confinement too.
3.The third was the TB Sanatorium, meant for ailing
prisoners.Many a stalwart of the freedom struggle
was jailed here during quit India movement.
4.In 1920,for the first time, over 2000 maplahs from
Travancore state were brought to the jail as
Civilian prisoners.

13. VIRUPAKSHA TEMPLE
HISTORICAL PLACE HAMPI
 Hampi was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire in the 14th century.It was a
fortified city. Chronicles left by Persian and European travellers, particularly the
Portuguese, say that Hampi was a prosperous, wealthy and grand city near the
Tungabhadra River, with numerous temples, farms and trading markets.
 By 1500 CE, Hampi-Vijayanagara was the world's second-largest medieval-era city
after Beijing, and probably India's richest at that time, attracting traders from
Persia and Portugal.The Vijayanagara Empire was defeated by a coalition of Muslim
sultanates; its capital was conquered, pillaged and destroyed by sultanate armies in
1565, after which Hampi remained in ruins.

14. STONE CHARIOT
 Located in Karnataka near the modern-era city of Hosapete, Hampi's ruins
are spread over 4,100 hectares (16 sq. mi)
 it has been described by UNESCO as an "austere, grandiose site" of more
than 1,600 surviving remains of the last great Hindu kingdom in South India
that includes "forts, riverside features, royal and sacred complexes,
temples, shrines, pillared halls, Mandapas, memorial structures, water
structures and others".

15. NARASIMHASWAMY
 Hampi predates the Vijayanagara Empire, it is mentioned in the Ramayana and
the Puranas of Hinduism as Pampaa Devi Tirtha Kshetra.
 Hampi continues to be an important religious centre, housing the Virupaksha
Temple, an active Adi Shankara-linked monastery and various monuments
belonging to the old city.

16. MINCHERI HILLS

17. The Mincheri Hill Range, which is among the lesser known trekking
routes in Ballari district, is now being developed into a tree park. It is
also emerging as a place for outing for those intending to escape from
the soaring heat round the year.
The initiative has been taken up by the Forest Department under the
charge of Takat Singh Ranawat, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Ballari
division. Apart from resurrecting an ancient bungalow constructed
during the British era, tree plantation and development of basic
infrastructure facilities are currently under way.
Mincheri Hill is 13 km from Ballari, towards Bengaluru. The bungalow was
constructed by T.L. Strange, who was the Collector of Ballari (1845-1851),
on top of the hill. With no roads to access the hill station, the British used
horses instead. The other collectors who succeeded him, including Peter
Bruce, spent a lot of time there. According to the British Gazetteer, the
collectors, who also discharged the duties of district judge then, used to
come down to Ballari from the bungalow, when their Shirastedar signalled
(by hoisting a flag on top of the court house) that cases were awaiting trial.

18. JINDAL STEEL PLANT

19. JSW Steel's history can be traced back to 1982, when the Jindal Group
acquired Piramal Steel Limited, which operated a mini steel mill at Tarapur in
Maharashtra and renamed it as Jindal Iron and Steel Company (JISCO). Soon
after the acquisition the group set up its first steel plant in 1982 at Vasind,
near Mumbai.
Later, in 1994, Jindal Vijayanagar Steel Limited (JVSL) was set up with its
plant located at Toranagallu in the Bellary-Hospet area in the State of
Karnataka, the heart of the iron ore belt and spread over 10,000 acres (40
km2) of land. It is well connected to both the Mormugao Port and Chennai
Port and is 340 kilometres from Bangalore. It is said to be the sixth largest
steel plant in the world.
In the year 2005, JISCO and JVSL merged to form JSW Steel Limited.It also set
up a plant at Salem with an annual capacity of 1 million tonnes.
As of October 2022, the installed manufacturing capacity of the company is
28.5 MTPA.

20. The JSW Bellary steel plant in Karnataka will soon be the largest in the
world, Sajjan Jindal, chairman of JSW Group, said Wednesday, assuring
the government of investing Rs one lakh crore in the state in the
coming years.
Speaking at the inaugural Invest Karnataka 2022 – Global Investors Meet
in Bengaluru Wednesday, he said the steel plant at Bellary was the
largest in the country. “The plant will soon be the largest in the world,”
he added.
The JSW Group, Jindal said, had invested Rs one lakh crore in
Karnataka and had plans to invest an additional Rs one lakh crore in the
coming years. The investment will be towards expanding JSW’s steel
plant in the state, renewable energy projects, and a greenfield port.
MORE ABOUT JINDAL STEEL