The Chalukyas ruled Dharwad during the 12th century. A stone inscription indicates that there was a ruler by the name of BhaskaraDeva in 1117. In the 14th century, the district was first overrun by the Bahmani Sultanate, after which it was annexed to the newly established Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar, an official of which named "Dharav", according to local tradition, built the fort at Dharwad town in 1403. After the defeat of the king of Vijayanagar at Talikot (1565), Dharwad was for a few years practically independent under its Hindu governor; but in 1573 the fort was captured by the sultan of Bijapur, Adil Shah, and Dharwad was annexed to his dominions. Adil Shah built a fort in an area later called Manna Killa, and later Nazratabad. With this fort, the strategic importance of Dharwad increased and it attracted the attention of subsequent conquerors, including Aurangzeb, Shivaji, Aurangzeb's son Muhammad Muazzam known as Bahadur Shah I or Shah Alam, the seventh Mughal emperor (1707–1712), Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao, Hyder Ali, Tipu Sultan and finally the British colonizers.^{[citation needed]}

In 1685, the fort was taken by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, and Dharwad, on the break-up of the Mughal empire, fell under the sway of the Maratha Peshwa of Pune. In 1764, the province was overrun by Hyder Ali of the Mysore, who in 1778 captured the fort of Dharwad.^[1] The fort was retaken in 1791 by the Marathas. After the final defeat of the Peshwa by the British in 1818, Dharwar was incorporated into the territory of the British East India Company's Bombay Presidency. During the early 19th century, when the British were expanding their domains, they faced a lot of opposition from local rulers, including Baba Saheb of Naragund and Kittur Chennamma.

ClimateEdit

Hubli-Dharwad has a tropical wet and dry climate. Summers are hot and dry, lasting from late February to early June. They are followed by the monsoon season, with moderate temperatures and a large amount of precipitation. Temperatures are fairly moderate from late October to early February, with virtually no rainfall. Hubli is 750 meters above sea level. The average yearly rainfall is 838 mm (33.0 in).^[2]

The population of the twin cities as per provisional figures of Census 2011 is 943,857 and is urban.^[6] Hubli-Dharwad's population increased 22.99% between 1981 and 1991, from 527,108 to 648,298, and by 21.2% between 1991 and 2001. The Hubli-Dharwad municipality covers 213 km² (82 sq mi).

RoadEdit

Hubli-Dharwad Bus Rapid Transit System

Hubballi-Dharwad BRTS (also known as HDBRTS) is a bus rapid transit system built to serve the twin cities of Hubli and Dharwad, located in the North-Western part of Karnataka state in India. Hubli-Dharwad BRTS (HDBRTS) project is a Government of Karnataka initiative to foster long-term economic growth in the region. The project promotes fast, safe, comfortable, convenient and affordable public transportation between the twin cities and aims to reduce congestion and air pollution in the region.

The length of the Hubli-Dharwad BRTS corridor is 22.25 km (13.83 mi) from CBT Hubli to CBT–Dharwad with the width of the cross-sections ranging from 44 to 35 m (144 to 115 ft). The BRTS corridor includes segregated bus lanes, access-controlled bus stations, physical and fare integration with BRT feeder services, off-board ticketing through smart cards and bar-coded paper tickets, intelligent transport system and high-quality buses (Standard AC buses). The corridor is designed for operating regular and express services. It consists of two lanes for BRTS buses on either side of the median bus station facilitating overtaking lanes for express services. Foot overbridges at six locations, PELICAN signals, and synchronised signal management are proposed to facilitate the easy approach of passengers to bus stations.^[7]

AirEdit

Hubli Airport (IATA: HBX, ICAO: VOHB) is the nearest airport that is serving the twin cities of Hubli-Dharwad and North Karnataka in the state of Karnataka, India. It is situated on Gokul Road, 8 kilometres from city centre and 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Dharwad. It is the third busiest airport in Karnataka and the 45th busiest airport in India. In March 2020, Hubli airport received the best airport award under government of India's Regional connectivity scheme.^[8] Hubli airport connects to 10 destinations throughout the country. Efforts are being made to make Hubli Airport as international Airport.^[9][10]

Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) was constituted in 1962 by combining two cities separated by a distance of 20 kilometers.^[11][12] The area covered by the corporation is 213 km² (82 sq mi)}, spread over 45 revenue villages. The population of the city as per the 1991 census was 7 lakhs. The population of Hubli-Dharwad is 943,857 according to 2011 Census. There has been a huge demand by people of Dharwad to create a separate civic body and get itself detached by HDMC.Claims are that most of the funds are allocated to Hubli solely.^[13]

• Hubli: Under the Government of India Act of 1850, the Hubli-Municipal council was established on 15 August 1855.
• Dharwad: The Dharwad Municipal Council first came into existence on 1 January 1856. The first non-official President of the council was S.K. Rodda in 1907, and Shri S.V. Mensinkai, was nominated in the following year. But the credit of being the first elected president goes to Shri S.G. Karigudari, who took office in 1920.

Hubli is well known as a commercial as well as industrial centre, whereas Dharwad is seat of learning.^[14] Popularly believed that, it is this diversity and geographical positions that the state government amalgamated the two cities.^[5] The twin-city corporation occupies unique place in Karnataka State. After the capital city of Bangalore, this is the largest city Corporation in the State.^[5]

Dharwad hosts many Universities, Colleges and Autonomous Institutions, some are listed below.^[15]

• Indian Institute of Information Technology, Dharwad (IIITDWD) - One of 25 IIITs, it was established in 2015.^[16]
• Indian Institute of Technology Dharwad (IIT Dharwad) - One of 23 IITs, it was established in 2016.^[17]
• Karnatak University - established in 1949.^[18]
• University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad (UASD) - established in 1986.^[19]
• Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha, Dharwad provincial branch. In 1964, the institution was recognized by the Indian Government as one of the Institutes of National Importance.^[20]
• Dharwad Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (DIMHANS) - established in 1845.^[21]
• Karnatak College - established in 1917.^[22]
• Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara College of Engineering and Technology, Dharwad - established in 1979.^[23]

• Hubli – Dharwad Municipal Corporation
• Dharwad at Curlie
• Karnataka State Government Gazetteer, Info on Hubli
• City population
• Hubli-Dharwad city profiles
• All about Hubli Dharwad