South India · Karnataka
Ballari, Karnataka
About Ballari
- Inland
Where it is
Ballari, formerly Bellary, is a city in north-eastern Karnataka on the Deccan plateau, spread over a plain of black cotton soil around two granite hills, near the Andhra Pradesh border and the ruins of Hampi.
History
The Upper Fort on Ballari Gudda, the fort hill, was built by Hanumappa Nayaka, a feudatory of the Vijayanagara Empire, and Hyder Ali added the Lower Fort in the late 18th century with a French engineer. The Nizam ceded the area to the British as part of the Ceded Districts of the Madras Presidency, and it later joined Mysore State, today's Karnataka.
People
Kannada is the largest language, with Telugu and Urdu also widely spoken, reflecting the city's place near the Andhra Pradesh border. Many families work in mining, steel, denim tailoring and farming on the black cotton soils.
Known for
- Ballari Fort on its granite hill
- Iron-ore mining and steelmaking
- Denim and jeans garment units
- Gateway to Hampi
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