Pratapgarh
City
Pratapgarh Location in Uttar Pradesh, India Show map of Uttar Pradesh Pratapgarh Pratapgarh (India) Show map of India Pratapgarh Pratapgarh (Asia) Show map of Asia
Coordinates: 25°53′49″N 81°56′42″E / 25.897°N 81.945°E / 25.897; 81.945Coordinates: 25°53′49″N 81°56′42″E / 25.897°N 81.945°E / 25.897; 81.945
Country	India
State	Uttar Pradesh
District	Pratapgarh
Government
• District magistrate	Rupesh Kumar
Elevation	137 m (449 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	91,204
Language
• Official	Hindi[1]
• Additional official	Urdu[1]
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	230001-02
Telephone code	+91 05342
Vehicle registration	UP-72
Sex Ratio	957 ♂/♀
Website	pratapgarh.nic.in

Pratapgarh, also called Belha or Bela Pratapgarh, is a city and municipality in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Pratapgarh district, part of the Allahabad division.

Etymology

Pratapgarh was the name of a fort built by Pratap Bahadur Singh (1628–1682), a local king, at Rampur. Later, the area around the fort started to be known as Pratapgarh.^[2]

In 2006, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj named Pratapgarh one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640).^[3] It is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).^[3]

Primarily, an agragrian district, for a while now, Pratapgarh has risen in ranks as the top producer of Aonla (Amla).^[4] The fruit grown here is sold all over India and the world in the form of sweets and medicines.

Transport

Railways

Railway is the main transport form in this district and some junctions are Pratapgarh, Chilbila and Bhupia Mau. Pratapgarh Junction railway station handles 42 trains daily.

Road

• Allahabad -Faizabad Highway (NH-96)
• Lucknow Varanasi highway (NH-31)
• Delhupur Raniganj Patti Akbarpur highway (SH-128)
• Ganga Expressway

Attractions

Bhakti Mandir

Bhakti Mandir is a Hindu temple established by Jagadguru Shri Kripalu Ji Maharaj. It is located in Kunda, Pratapgarh. The temple was inaugurated in November 2005. The temple features life-size deities of Shri Radha-Krishna and Shri Sita-Ram. The temple is managed by Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat.

Bakhshi Talab

This pond is in the Raniganj tehsil of village Hussainpur, which is also known as Pakka Talab or Bakshi Talab. This pond is believed to be before the British era. It is made from cooked lime. It was built by the zamindar (Bakshi Sao). This pond is situated on the Dehlupur Raniganj main road. The water of this pond has not dried up till date and there is a deep well in the middle of the pond, which directly connects this pond with Hades. This is a very big fish in the pond.A separate bath has been made for women to bathe in this pond

Bela Devi Temple

The Belha Devi Temple is one of the important temples, situated in Pratapgarh, on the banks of River Sai on the western side of the Allahabad-faizabad road. Here, Mother Goddess Belha or 'Belha Mai' is worshiped by devotees.

Kisan Devta Mandir

Pratapgarh district has the world's first temple dedicated to farmers, named Kisan Devta Mandir. In this district, farmers are revered as gods. The temple was established by Shailendra Yogi, a homeopathic doctor, in Sarai Mahesh village of Patti tehsil of Pratapgarh in 2015.^[5][6] The six feet tall idol made of sandstone and holding a plough is accompanied by an idol of Kisan Devi.^[7]

Notable people

Gallery