Honnali
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Honnali
North-eastern taluk of Shimoga District, Mysore, lying between 14° 4' and 14° 22' N. and 75° 24' and 75° 51' E., with an area of 331 square miles. The population in 1901 was 68,721, compared with 63,577 in 1 89 1. The taluk contains two towns, Honnali (popula- tion, 3,894), the head-quarters, and Nyamti (3,461); and 165 villages. The land revenue demand in 1903-4 was Rs. i,2r;Ooo. 'J'he taluk is crossed from south to north by the Tungabhadra with a winding course, and bounded east and west by lines of low stony hills.
The north and east consist of ' dry-crop ' country of unusual fertility, good black soil being common, and cotton and jola the chief crops. The extreme west is purely a rice country, with some sugar-cane, the staple ' dry crop ' being ragi. Very rich black soil prevails around Nyamti and Belagutti. The Honnali gold-mines were started in the south- west, at the foot of the hills of which the Kalva Rangan peak (3,388 feet) is the highest, but they have ceased working for many years, owing partly to the influx of water. At a bend in the Tungabhadra, where the Hirehalla enters from the west, is the Kuruva island (14° 10' N. and 75° 45 E.), containing a celebrated Raniesvara t'lrtha and temple.
