Bilaspur City, the district headquarter of Bilaspur District, is the biggest urban center (town/city) of the region.
Bilaspur is the second largest city of Chhattisgarh state. Situated on the banks of River Arpa, Bilaspur is 114 kms from state's capital towards the north-east.
Chhattisgarh High Court was is setup in Bilaspur simultaneously on 1st November 2000 when the Chhattisgarh State was constituted, by viritue of which Bilaspur is also referred to as Nayaydhani (न्यायधानी - "legal" capital) of Chhattisgarh State.
The local administration body of the city is Bilaspur Nagar Nigam - Bilaspur Municipal Corporation. Bilaspur has 55 wards. Each ward elects a corporator for a tenure of 5 years.
Bilaspur has an history of about 400 odd years and was named after a beautiful fisherwoman Bilasa. In those days Ratanpur was the capital and the modern day Bilaspur used to be a small settlement on the banks of River Arpa.
There are two tales related to the fisherwoman.
The first tale has wider acceptance. According to it, the king had taken fancy for Bilasa a young beautiful fisherwoman during a trip in this part of his kingdom.
Bilasa refused to surrender to the wishes of the king and burnt herself alive. From then on the king would refer to this place as Bilasa ki nagari (बिलासा की नगरी) which later on became Bilaspur.
The second story speaks about a revolt by fishermen of the region under the leadership of Bilasa. The revolt was crushed by the king and Bilasa was killed.
The foundation for modern Bilaspur city was laid in late 19th century when the Bengal Nagpur Railway was being constructed and Bilaspur was selected as a major station and a divisional headquarter.
The economy of the region has traditionally been agriculture based. The region is one of the top producers of paddy. So much so that it is often referred to as the "धान का कटोरा Dhaan Ka Katora" (bowl of rice).
With exploitation of the vast mineral reserves that have been found in the region, mining and its associated industries have gained prominenence as an important economic activity.
Most of the industrial and commercial activities of the region revolve around the wide variety of mineral resources that are available in abundance in the vicinity of Bilaspur.
Bilaspur is the headquarters of South Eastern Coalfields Ltd. (SECL), Coal India's highest revenue earner. South East Central Railway (SECR), which is the largest revenue earning zone of the country, is located at Bilaspur.
National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd. (NTPC) is preparing to commence operations at its Super Thermal power project which on maturity will deliver about 2400 MW of electric power to the national power grid.
Many companies big and small have there manufacturing / production units in and around Bilaspur. Companies in thermal power, aluminum, cement, sponge iron sectors etc. are located here and are doing good.
The anciliary, allied and support industries have also bloomed and flourished in the quest to meet the requirements of the changing times.
Bilaspur became a popular destination on the medical tourism map when SECL conceived and constructed an ultra modern 250 bed hospital and handed it for management to Apollo Hospital. Apollo Hospital Bilaspur is a multi-speciality health facility located at Lingyadih.
Ratanpur
There are the ruins of an old fort here. This has an attractive stone sculpture over the frame of the Ganesh gate. The entrance has Shiva's Tandav Dance and statues of Lord Bramha and Lord Vishnu. Inside, there are the Sitchourai and Jagarnath temples.
An 11 th century temple, dedicated to the Goddess Mahamaya, was built during the reign of Calturi the king of Raja Ratnadev. There are ponds near the temple. In front of the is a temple of Kantideval of Maratha Period. This has been renovated by the architecture department.
Before the palace of Ratanpur is a temple of Baba Bairavnath, with a nine foot tall idol. At the palace of Ramtekri there is a temple of Ram Panchayat. At the foot of a hill is the Bhuddeshwar Shiv Temple made made by Bhimbhaji Bhosle. At the top of the hill is the Laxmi Temple, also called Ekbira Temple. There is also the Ratneswar Mahadev Temple.
The Dargah of Musekhan is in the town of Juna, nearby.
Mallhar (Saravpur)
A former capital, this is about 14 km from Bilaspur. It has remains from 1,000 BC onwards. 10th and 11th century temples can be seen here. The Pataleswar Kedar Temple is one of them - the Gomukhi shivling is the main attraction here. The Didneswari Temple, belonging to the Kalchuri regime, is also worth visiting. The Deor Temple has artistic idols. There is a museum, managed by the Central Government, which had a good collection of old sculpture. Talagram Talagram, about 25 km from Bilaspur, is known for its "Deorani-Jethani" temple. This has a huge 7 foot high statue, that's 4 feet wide and weighs 8 tons.
Kutaghat Dam
About 10 km from Ratanpur, this is surrounded by forest and hills, and is a popular picnic spot. There is a rest house near the dam.
Is known for its kund (big pond) and samadhi .
About 85 km from Bilaspur, its is known for its beauty.
This is known as the place of great saints. It is near Gourella, about 41 km from Bilaspur.