Rajpura is a municipal council in Patiala district in Punjab.
Location of Rajpura
Rajpura is located at 30.48 degree north to 76.6 degree east. It has an average elevation of 259 meters (849 feet). Rajpura is situated nearly 38 km south east of Chandigarh, the capital city of Punjab. Besides being an important industrial town of Punjab, it also has historical importance. Rajpura is situated at the junction of National Highway No. 1 which runs from New Delhi to Attari in Punjab and National Highway 64 which runs from Chandigarh to Dabwali, making Rajpura a good distribution centre from medieval era. Rajpura can be regarded as `Gateway of Punjab` as all road and rail transport needs to touch Rajpura for the routes going to other major cities of Punjab as well as Jammu and Kashmir. Rajpura is the first Railway Junction in Punjab. The rail lines are diverted from here to 2 major lines catering to Punjab. One is to Amritsar and Jammu and Kashmir; and the other towards Bathinda and Rajasthan.
Geography of Rajpura
Rajpura is surrounded by a number of major cities like Chandigarh (38 km north), Patiala (20 km south), Ambala (22 km east) and Ludhiana (80 km west). Rajpura acts as middle point between Amritsar and Delhi on NH-1 as these cities are 225 km away from Rajpura in opposite directions.
Demography of Rajpura
In the Population Census of the year 2011, Rajpura had a population of 92,659, but after including some villages like Dhamoli, Islampur, Neelpur, and Pilkhani, within its municipal limits the population rose to 112,193. The males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Rajpura has an average literacy rate of 81%: male literacy is 83%, and female literacy is 79%. In Rajpura, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.
History of Rajpura
The name of Rajpura emerges in the history as Emperor Sher Shah Suri "The Lion King", and founder of the Suri Dynasty built a "Sarai" (Inn) in Rajpura for travelers and for his army when ever he passed through Rajapura. This Sarai was built during the Suri Dynasty, between 1540 and 1545. The more than 450-years-old Sarai is almost in shambles now but still stands bold.
Economy of Rajpura
Rajpura is an industrial town. There are number of large-scale industries like HUL (formerly known as HLL), Bunge India P Ltd, Siel Chemicals Limited, Alliance Metaliks Integrated Ltd, Amber Enterprises Limited, Sahni Chemicals and there are large number of small-scale industries. The grain market of Rajpura is the second largest grain market of Asia following grain market of Khanna, it acquires near about 150 acres of area and comprises more than 290 shops.
