DAKSHINA KANNADA

About Dakshina kannada

Dakshina Kannada is a coastal district in the state of Karnataka in India. Sheltered by the Western Ghats on the east and surrounded by the Lakshadweep Sea on the west, Dakshina Kannada receives abundant rainfall during the monsoon.[2][3] It is bordered by Udupi District to the north, Chikkamagaluru district to the northeast, Hassan District to the east, Kodagu to the southeast, and Kasaragod District in Kerala to the south.[4] The district has 2 agroclimatic divisions namelyCoastal region - consists of Mangalore and Bantwal taluks Malnad region - consists of Puttur, Belthangady and Sullia taluks.[5] The district has 2 revenue subdivisions - Mangalore (consists of Mangalore, Bantwal, Moodabidri, Mulki and Vitla) and Puttur (consists of Puttur, Belthangady, Sullia and Kadaba).[6] Mangalore city is the district headquarters of Dakshina Kannada.[7] Map showing the taluks of Dakshina Kannada District The district is divided into five talukas namely Mangalore, Bantwal, Puttur, Sullia, and Belthangady.[8] It used to include 4 northern talukas, Udupi, Kundapur, Karkala and Byndoor, but these were separated in August 1997 to form Udupi district.[9] Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kasaragod are often called Tulu Nadu, as Tulu is the majority language in the region.[10] The Alupas ruled this region between the 8th and 14th century CE as a feudatory of all the major Kannada empires of those times and it is for this reason that the Tulu speaking districts are a part of Karnataka.[11] Important towns in Dakshina Kannada include Mangalore, Bantwal, Vittal, Puttur, Sullia, Surathkal, Moodabidri, Uppinangady, Venur, Mulki, Dharmasthala, Ujire, Belthangady and Subramanya.[12] The district is known for pristine beaches, red clay roof tiles (Mangalore tiles), cashew nut and its products, banking, education, healthcare and exotic cuisine.[13] According to 2011 Indian Census, the district ranks second in per capita income,[14] second in HDI,[15] first in literacy [16] and third in sex ratio among all districts in Karnataka.Before 1860, Dakshina Kannada was part of a district called Kanara, which was under a single administration in the Madras Presidency.[18] In 1860, the British split the area into South Kanara and North Kanara, the former being retained in the Madras Presidency, while the latter was made a part of Bombay Province in 1862.[19] Kundapur taluk was earlier included in North Kanara, but was re-included in South Kanara later.[20] During the Reorganisation of States in 1956, Kasaragod was split and transferred to the newly created Kerala state and Dakshina Kannada was transferred to Mysore state (present day Karnataka).[21] South Canara was a district under the British empire which included the present Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Kasaragod districts and Aminidivi islands.[18][22] Canara district was bifurcated in 1859 to form North Canara and South Canara.[23] Dakshina Kannada became a district of Mysore State in 1956 which later was renamed Karnataka in 1973. Kasaragod became a district of Kerala during the Re-organization of States and Aminidivi islands later became a part of Lakshadweep.[24] The Udupi district was formed from the northern taluks of Dakshina Kannada in 1997.[25] Later, the Karnataka Government, for the purpose of administration, split the greater Dakshina Kannada district into Udupi and present day Dakshina Kannada districts on 15 August 1997.[9] Three taluks of the former district namely Udupi, Karkala and Kundapura formed the new Udupi district.In Dakshina Kannada, primary and secondary education have reached every section of the society.[43][44] A host of educational institutes offering courses in Medicine, Engineering, Pharmacy, Nursing, Hotel and Catering, Law and Management are located in this district.[13] Dakshina Kannada is home to the National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK) Surathkal, one of India's top Engineering colleges.[45] The College of Fisheries is located at Yekkur near Kankanady.[46][47] Mangalore University is a public university in Konaje near Mangalore. It has jurisdiction over the districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kodagu.[48] The district is home to research institutes such as the Directorate of Cashew Research at Puttur.[49] The Central Plantation Crops Research Institute is situated at Vitla in the Bantwal taluk.[50] Even today, most people of the district follow the traditions, customs and rituals.[53] The district has many temples of Hindu gods and goddesses, which are ancient and have deep spiritualism attached to them.[34] The people of Dakshina Kannada worship the serpent god (Subramanya).[54] According to legend, the district was reclaimed by Parashurama from the sea.[55] Nagaradhane or Snake worship is practiced according to the popular belief of the Naga Devatha to go underground and guard the species on the top.[56] Rituals such as Bhuta Kola are performed to satisfy the spirits.[34] Kambala, a form of buffalo race on muddy track in the paddy field, is organised in the 16 sites across the district.[57] Cock fight (Kori Katta in Tulu) is another past time of the rural agrarian people.[58] In Dakshina Kannada bus services are run by private players and the state-run KSRTC.[65] The district had public limited (public listed) companies running transport business even before the independence of India in 1947.[66] The district has four national highways connecting parts of Karnataka and India. NH-17 (now NH-66) connects the district with Udupi, Karwar, Mumbai, Goa and Kochi. NH-13 (now NH-52) connects Solapur in Maharashtra with Dakshina Kannada. NH-48 (now NH-75) connects the district with Bengaluru, Kunigal, Hassan and Sakleshpura.[67] The NH-73 connects Mangalore to Tumkur via Charmadi, Mudigere and Belur. Major ghat sections in Dakshina Kannada include Shiradi Ghat (Nelyadi to Sakleshpura), Charmadi Ghat (Charmadi to Kottigehara), Sampaje Ghat (Sampaje to Madikeri) and Bisle Ghat (Subramanya to Sakleshpura, popularly known as Green Route by trekkers).[68] State Highway 88 (SH-88) connects Dakshina Kannada to Mysore. It starts at Mani and passes through the towns of Puttur, Sullia, Madikeri, Kushalnagar and Hunsur.[69] It ends at Mysore spanning a total length of 220 kilometres (140 mi).[70]