Bangalore, the "Silicon Valley of India", officially Bengaluru, is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is also called "Garden City" for its beautiful gardens, flowers and trees which flourish in each and every street. It is India's fifth largest city and India's fifth largest metropolitan area, with a 2001 population of about 6.5 million.
After India gained independence in 1947, Bangalore evolved into a manufacturing hub for heavy industries such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Indian Space Research Organization. Within the last decade, the establishment and success of high technology firms in Bangalore have lead to the growth of Information Technology (IT) in India. IT firms in Bangalore employ about 30% of India's pool of 1 million IT professionals.
The city is also the Training Center for the Indian Air Force, the Madras Engineering Group (MEG) and Central Military Police, the latter two being arms of the Indian Army.
Bangalore is the scientific hub of India and is home to the world renowned and the oldest Research University, Indian Institute of Science. The other research institutes are the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, the Raman Research Institute, the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, the National Center for Biological Science and the Indian Statistical Institute.India's premium management institure, Indian Institute of Management is also located here.
There are numerous gardens and historical sites within the city to keep you occupied. The Vidhan Soudha or the State Secretariat is the prime attraction. The Government Museum of Bangalore and the Visvesvaraya Technological and Industrial Museum are worth visiting. The Lal Bagh Botanical Gardens, which holds a number of flower shows, especially during the Republic Day attracts several tourists. The Fort and Palace of Tipu Sultan and Palace are other important places in Bangalore. You may pray at the temple dedicated to Nandi, the Bull besides the Venkataramanaswamy Temple, the Gavi Gangadhareswara Cave Temple and the Someshwara Temple. The Ulsoor Lake is an ideal spot for picnics.
Location of Bangalore
Location: 12.97° N 77.56° E
State: Karnataka
District:Bangalore urban
Altitude: 920 metres
Area:1280 km²
Population(2005):6,532,577
Density:5,103/km²
Codes
Postal: 560 0xx
National Telephone code: 080
International Telephone code: + 9180
Vehicle:KA-01 to KA-05
Time zone:IST (UTC +5:30)
Climate
Bangalore is situated in the Deccan Plateau, with an average elevation of 920 m above sea level. Due to its elevation Bangalore enjoys a pleasant and equable climate throughout the year. The highest temperature recorded is 38.9 °C (102.0 °F) on May 22, 1935 and the lowest is 7.8 °C (46.06 °F) in 1884. Winter temperatures rarely drop below 12 °C (54 °F) and summer temperatures seldom exceed 38 °C (100 °F).
Bangalore receives about 900 mm of rain annually, the wettest months being September, October and May in that order. The summer heat is moderated by fairly frequent thunderstorms and occasional squalls cause power outages and local flooding. The heaviest rainfall recorded in a 24 hour period is 179.7 mm recorded on October 1, 1997. Most of the rainfall occurs during late afternoon/evening or night and rain before noon is infrequent. October of 2005 has been recorded as one of the wettest months in Bangalore with heavy rains causing some limited flooding and closure of a number of organisations for over a day.
Healthcare and Bangalore
Bangalore is swiftly emerging as the healthcare hub for the whole of South East Asia.The cost of treatment in Bangalore hospitals is about 1/5th of the cost in Europe and USA. Bangalore is finding a place on global map for specialties such as Ophthalmology, Spine Surgery, Neorosciences, Cardilogy and Cardio Thoracic Surgeries among others. Every day many patients from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Africa, Europe and North America are being treated in the tertiary healthcare centers in Bangalore.
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