Kumta-n.k

Kumta is a city and a taluka in the Uttara Kannada district in the state of Karnataka, India. Kumta It is a coastal city and is about 142 km south of the city Margao and 58 km north of Bhatkal. The city lies on NH 66 running between Panvel and Edappally and its one of the major stations along the Konkan Railway line running between Mumbai and Mangalore. The nearest international airport is Dabolim Airport (Vasco da Gama) which is 167 km away.
History

During the British Raj, Kumta was a part of the North Kanara district of the Bombay Presidency. Crafts made out of Carving in sandalwood is a specialty. The city came under the rule of Maratha Empire in the 1800s, who ceded it to the British at the conclusion of the Third Anglo-Maratha War in 1818. The British established Kumta city as a part of the Bombay Presidency. During the American Civil War the cotton from the southern states that fed mills in England stopped supplying and the mills started importing a variety of cotton known as 'Kumta Hatti’ this resulted in development of Kumta port.
After India's independence in 1947, Bombay Presidency was reconstituted as Bombay State. In 1956 the southern portion of Bombay State was added to Mysore State, which was renamed Karnataka in 1972. Kumta was an ancient site of sea trade visited by the Arabs, Dutch, Portuguese, French and later the British. Famous Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta is said to have stayed for a time in the district under the protection of Nawayath Sultan Jamal Al-Din. Ibn Battuta passed through this route during one or more of his journeys.
The renowned Bengali poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who visited Kumta in 1882, dedicated an entire chapter of his memoirs to this city. The 22 year old Rabindranath Tagore stayed with his brother, Satyendranath Tagore, who was the district judge in North Kanara. There is a substantial amount of Chardo families in this area as they had migrated due to the persecution of the Portuguese in Goa.
[edit]Geography

The city of Kumta is located on the Arabian seacoast in the district of North Kanarain the state of Karnataka. Kumta is adjacent to the vast western ghats14.42°N 74.4°E. It has an average elevation of 3 metres (9 feet). Just to the north of city, the major Aghanashiniriver joins the Arabian Seaon her way rendering stunning scenery. The town of Gokarnanear Kumta is famous for beaches. A nearby Rock Climbingspot called Yanais also beautiful with its massive black rock formations and nature trails.


Mirjan Fort, originally built in the 15th century
Gokarna is just 30 km. Yana is just 20 km from Kumta. Places around Kumta include:
Gorkana Beaches,
Kadle Beach
Dhareshwar Beach,
Kudle Beach,
Holanagadde Nene Beach (Guide: Vivek Hegde),
Tuin Beach (Guide: Miltry Gopala),
Kumta Beach,
Baada Temple and Beach,
Mangodlu Beach,
Mirjan Fort.
[edit]Demographics

As of 2011 India census Kumta had a population of 32,598. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Kumta has an average literacy rate of 77%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 82% and female literacy is 73%. In Kumta, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age. Kannada is the main language spoken in this City and Konkani is also widely spoken.
The city of Kumta features diverse population including Namadhari Naiks, Halakki Vokkaligas, Havyaka Brahmins, Lingayathss, Daivadnya Brahmins, Saraswat Brahmins, Gudigars, Siddis, Fishermen, Muslims (Nawayath), and Christians. Beaches, Lakes and Mountains provide a lot of recreational opportunity.
[edit]Festivals

[edit]Religious
Diwali is celebrated by Hindus as the return of Rama, King of Ayodhya, with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana to Ayodhya after 14 years exile, and a war in which he killed Ravana. It is also called the Festival of Lights. All homes, shops, establishments & offices are decorated & special arrangements are made at night for lighting.
The traditional Islamic festivals of Eid ul-Fitr (Ramadan) and Eid ul-Adha (Bakrid) are celebrated. Special Eid prayer is offered during these two occasions. Usually in the central Eidgah the Qadhi leads the Eid prayer and delivers Khutba. Colourful costumes, delicious Food, exchanging the Eid greetings – Eid Mubarak (Arabic/Persian/Urdu: عید مبارک), Fasting (Roza), generous charity to the poor and needy are part of Eid celebration. Other occasions celebrated are 12th Rabi' al-awwal of the third month of Islamic calendar.
[edit]Notable Events
Rotaract, Boogie Voogie (state level dance craze)
Kumta Youth Festival (3 days annual programme of Kumta by singers of Bollywood)
Kumta Utsav (dance competition and other cultural activities)
[edit]Climate

This part of Karnataka has very hot Summer with temperature rising of maximum of 35-36 degree Celsius and the Rainfall here is seasonal, but heavy and is above 6000 mm. in a year. The impact of winter is less in this part of Coastal Karnataka. Since the city is located on the coast, it has an extreme climate, with temperatures in the range of 360C to 280C during summer and 260C to 200C during winter. The rainy season witnesses heavy rains by the South-West Monsoon.
The Monsoon period is from June to September with rainfall averaging more than 4000mm every year and heavy winds.
[hide]Climate data for Kumta
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 32.8
(91.0) 33
(91) 33.5
(92.3) 34
(93) 33.3
(91.9) 29.7
(85.5) 28.2
(82.8) 28.4
(83.1) 29.5
(85.1) 30.9
(87.6) 32.3
(90.1) 32.8
(91.0) 31.53
(88.76)
Average low °C (°F) 20.8
(69.4) 21.8
(71.2) 23.6
(74.5) 25
(77) 25.1
(77.2) 24.4
(75.9) 24.9
(76.8) 24
(75) 24.1
(75.4) 24.1
(75.4) 24.4
(75.9) 24.2
(75.6) 23.87
(74.96)
Precipitation mm (inches) 1.1
(0.043) 0.2
(0.008) 2.9
(0.114) 24.4
(0.961) 183.2
(7.213) 1027.2
(40.441) 1200.4
(47.26) 787.3
(30.996) 292.1
(11.5) 190.8
(7.512) 70.9
(2.791) 16.4
(0.646) 3,796.9
(149.484)
[citation needed]
[edit]Economy

[edit]Agriculture
The chief crops of the city are Rice and Arecanut along with a great diversity of other crops. Tree crops include Coconut, Sugar Cane, Cocoa, Cashew, Areca nut, Betel Leaf, Turmeric, Mango, Pineapple, Garcinia, and Sapota Banana cultivations and Fisheries; vegetables include Onion, radish, Cucumber, Cauliflower, Sweet Potato, Brinjal, and Amaranth; spices include Pepper, Cardamom, Ginger and Nutmeg. Millet and Cotton are grown in the drier portion of the city east of the Western Ghats. But the most significant produce is Areca nut and Betel leaves. It has its very own Areca nut trading centre and shandy market at APMC.
[edit]Industries
The major products of small scale industries in Kumta are Roofing Tiles, Coir Products, Jewelry, Food Products, Wood and Steel Furniture, Glass and Ceramics and Seafood. Some of these SSI and Tiny industries provide Job Works, components and spares required for large and medium scale industries, both within and outside the city. Eight large and medium scale industries in the city produce a variety of products like Paper, Duplex Board, Caustic Soda, Ferro Alloys, Transmission Gears, Food Concentrate, Herbal Medicines and Pharmaceuticals.
Educational Institutes
Konkan Polytechnic Education Trust, Kumta
Saraswati Teaching Training College, Kumta
Saraswati Vidya Kendra, Kumta
St. John Baptist Nirmala Convent Nursery School, Kumta
St. John Baptist Nirmala Convent Primary School, Kumta
St. John Baptist Nirmala Convent High School, Kumta
St. John Baptist Nirmala Convent Science and Commerce Girls College, Kumta
Dr. A. V. Baliga College of Arts and Science, Kumta
Dr. A. V. Baliga College of Commerce and Business Administration, Kumta
H V Benne's Nellikerri Govt. School, Kumta
H V Benne's Nellikerri Govt. College, Kumta
Gibb Boys High School, Kumta
Gibb Girls High School,Kumta
Gibb English Medium School, Kumta
Ideal Islamic Urdu School, Kumta[1]
Govt. First Grade College, Kumta
Indian Institute of Science, Kumta
Pragathi Vidyalaya, Kumta
Kendriya Vidyalaya, BGS, Kumta
Anandashram High School, Bankikodla, Kumta
Mahatma Gandhi High School, Chitrigi, Kumta
Bhadrakali Composite Pre University College, Gokarna, Kumta
Shri Vidyadhiraj Polytechnic, Kumta
Shri Shantikamba High School, Hegde, Kumta
Shri Babrulingeshwara High School, Masur, Kumta
Shri Sadguru Nityanand High School, Sanikatta, Kumta
[edit]Transportation

[edit]Road
North West Karnataka Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) is the state transport agency in the city. The NWKRTC covers all towns & villages of Kumta. There is a good network of public transport which connects the villages to the city of Kumta. There are regular intra state services to major cities & towns of the state like Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli-Dharwad & Belgaum. The Kadamba Transport Corporation (KTC) buses of neighboring Goa state provides regular service from Karwar to Mangalore and all part of Goa state. Kumta is the main hub for public transport which provides services to intra-district & intrastate round the clock.
National Highway 17 passes through Kumta. It connects Kumta with Mumbai, Panvel, Ratnagiri, Margao, Karwar, Bhatkal, Kundapur, Udupi, Mangalore and Edapally. It can be reached by even State Highways connecting Kumta to Sirsi and to Hubli via Yellapur.
[edit]Rail
Kumta [KT] is well connected through Konkan railways which has rails plying from Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Mangalore, Cochin, Margao, Karwar towards Mangalore (Mangalore Central [MAQ] and Mangalore Junction [MAJN]), Kumbakonam and also vice versa. The journey between Margao & Kumta takes not more than 2 hours. The Railway Station is very near to city situated about a kilometer away from National Highway.
[edit]Air
The nearest international airport is Dabolim Airport (Vasco da Gama) which is 156 km away. The next nearest international airport Mangalore International airport which is 210 km away. Hubli Airport and Belgaum Airport are two nearest domestic Airports.
[edit]Hotel

[edit]Lodging
There are three main options one can go for.
Hotel Panduranga International (1 km from the bus stand) Clean rooms & helpful staff & a good vegetarian restaurant. a/c rooms are available.
Hotel Vaibhav (200 meters from the bus stand) a/c and non-a/c rooms are available.
Kamat Hotel (500 meters from the bus stand)
Hotel Purnima, NH 17 (near bustand) Rooms from 250 to 500/- available with very good food. You can also opt for guest house maintained by the Government.
Hotel Varda Near Railway station Bridge
[edit]Cuisines
Kumta (for that matter entire Konkan) is famous for fish. You can have different types of fish items.
Taj Hotel. For delicious Biryani near Jamia Masjid in market area.
Hotel Moonlight on Kumbeshwar road which serves great fish delicacies in this part of the world. Their Masala Fry is lip-smacking. Sweets like ghanti (also called as ghati), saati, misal bhaaji are famous in Kumta. You can also have gad bad (it's a sundae, served with different types of fruits).
The traditional foods of the Nawayathis are Rice, Fish, and Meat. The people of Nawayaths of Kumta have adopted most of their foods from the surrounding regions including Kerala and other parts of India. Seafood has been the mainstay of the Nawayathi diet for centuries. Meat and Rice are other staple foods; Beef and Poultry are the more favoured Meats, then goat and lamb. Popular beverage is tea, which can be supplemented with cardamom or mint to give them a distinct flavour. Muslims are strictly prohibited from eating pork, so it is not included in local menus. Alcohol is also strictly prohibited in hotel.
[edit]Medical Facilities

Kumta Nursing Home,
Canara Health Care Center,
Pandit Hospital,
Government Hospital,
Ramaleela Hospital,
D D Nayak Dental Clinic.
[edit]Newspapers and Media

Deccan Herald, Vijaya Karnataka, Prajavani, Samyukta Karnataka, Udayavani and The Times of India (all published from Hubli) are the major News Papers popular here.
Janantharanga,
Konkani Vruththaa,
Agnashini Dhwani,
Karavali Aley.
Canara Vijay.
In kumta there is FM relay station set up by AIR, this station relays FM Rainbow, Bangalore programmes till 6 AM to 11PM.
[edit]Geography

Arabian Sea Margao Hubli
Arabian Sea Sirsi
Kumta

Arabian Sea Bhatkal Bangalore
[edit]References

^ http://wgbis.ces.iisc.ernet.in/energy/resrchstation/resrch_index.htm
[edit]External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kumta
The City of Kumta
Kumta Beach
SahilOnline English Daily Newspaper
SahilOnline Urdu Daily Newspaper
Kadle Beach
http://wgbis.ces.iisc.ernet.in/energy/resrchstation/resrch_index.htm
[hide] v t e
Uttara Kannada
Taluks
Ankola Bhatkal Haliyal Honnavar Joida Karwar Kumta Mundgod Siddapur Sirsi Yellapura
Tourist places
Gokarna Yana Banavasi Idagunji Murudeshwar Dandeli Netrani Island
Jog Falls Magod Falls Sathodi Falls Unchalli Falls
See also
Project Seabird Supa Dam Kali River Sharavathi River Western Ghats Konkani people Nawayathi