Seoni, Madhya Pradesh

Seoni is a city and a municipality in Seoni district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. This tribal household dominated district was formed in the year 1956.

Rudyard Kipling used the forests in the vicinity of Seoni, or as was spelled during British colonial rule, Seeonee, as the setting for the Mowgli stories in The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book (1894–1895), although the area is not an actual rainforest. Seoni is a city where the Wainganga, a tributary of the river Godavari, originates.

Seoni is reachable by trains and road. Major adjacent cities are Nagpur and Jabalpur. The National Highway 44 north–south corridor crosses from Seoni. Seoni Railway Station serves as the primary transportation hub for Seoni district and connect Seoni city to National capital (New Delhi) and State capital (Bhopal) directly via express trains .The nearest airport is Nagpur (130 km); a small airport (air-strip) is available at Seoni near Sukhtara village for landing charter airplanes/helicopters.

The Wainganga is a river in India originating in the Mahadeo Hills in Mundara near the village Gopalganj in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh. It is a key tributary of the Godavari. The river flows south in a winding course through the states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, roughly 579 km (360 mi). After joining the Wardha River, the united stream, which is known as the Pranahita River, empties into the Godavari River at Kaleshwaram, Telangana.

History
Rani Avantibai Lodhi of Ramgarh was born in Mankhedi Village, Seoni.

Geography
Seoni is located at 22.08°N, 79.53°W. It has an average elevation of 611 metres (2005 feet).

The city is 2,005 ft. above sea level, halfway between Nagpur and Jabalpur. , the city had a population of 102,343. It was founded in 1774, and contains large public gardens, a market place and a tank dalsagar. It has 37% forest cover. The Seoni district is located in the southern part of Madhya Pradesh. Geographically the district extends over an area of 8758 km2. It is bordered by Jabalpur, Narsinghpur and Mandla districts to the north, Balaghat to the east and Chhindwara to the west and shares its southern boundary with Nagpur (Maharashtra).

Transport
Roadways : National Highway 44 is the longest highway of India that connects Kanyakumari-Srinagar and passes through the district from north to south and part of India's ambitious road project North–South–East–West Corridor. India's first-ever light and soundproof elevated road are being built on National Highway 44 that passes through Pench Tiger Reserve in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh. It is India's first dedicated corridor for wild animals, this cave-like underpass connects two famous wildlife parks — Kanha National Park and Pench National Park— and could be vital for the long-term viability of tiger populations in the central Indian landscape.

National Highway 347 is started from Multai and terminated at Seoni. It is a branch of National Highway 47. It connects two primary highways, NH47 and NH44.

Fair weather roads connect the major towns in the district.

Railways:

On 24 April 2023, first broad-gauge passenger train ( Chhindwara - Nainpur Passenger ) has been virtually flagged off by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which ran from Seoni Railway Station ( station code : SEY ) By Indian railways and started new era of electrified broad gauge line connectivity to Seoni.

At present, couple of Express trains namely Patalkot Express, Pench valley express are originated from Seoni Railway Station and connect Seoni to national capital New Delhi and state capital Bhopal and other major cities like Indore, Gwalior.

Apart from these, Nagpur - Shahdol Express 11201 & Shahdol - Nagpur Express 11202, Rewa - Itwari Express 11756 & Itwari - Rewa Express 11755 have stoppage in Seoni railway station.

Nainpur-Chhindwara and Chhindwara-Nainpur passenger trains are also having major stoppage in the Seoni railway Station. It is the nearest major railway station for tourist, who want to visit Pench National Park.

Currently, Seoni railway station has 3 platforms and 4 electrified railway tracks.

Seoni Railway station is having 2 station buildings for entry/exit for public use on the both sides of railway lines, at platform no. 1 and platform no. 3.

Airways : The nearest airport is Nagpur (130 km); a small airport (air-strip) is available at Seoni near Sukhtara village (17 km away from Seoni ) for landing charter airplanes/helicopters.

Demographics
As of the 2011 Census of India, Seoni had a population of 102,343. Males constitute 50.45% of the population and females 49.55%. Seoni has an average literacy rate of 90.46%, male literacy is 94.71%, and female literacy is 86.03%.

Education
School : Seoni has more than 100 state-sponsored schools, which are affiliated to the Madhya Pradesh Board of Secondary Education (MPBSE). In addition, there is a Kendriya Vidyalaya in the city, affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). [citation needed] The city is also served by numerous other private schools affiliated to either CBSE, ICSE, MPBSE.

Schools include:- CBSE affiliated - :
 * Kendriya Vidyalaya, Seoni
 * Maharishi Vidya Mandir
 * International Public School
 * Arunanchal Public School
 * Saint Francis of Assisi School
 * The Royal Ecole School
 * Uday Public School
 * Bachpan Play Public School
 * D P C Role Model Excellence School
 * Gyan Sagar Anurag Senior Secondary School
 * Parasrampuria Higher Secondary School

MPBSE Affiliated - :
 * Govt. Excellence School, Seoni
 * Govt. Mission boys H S school, Seoni
 * Govt. MLB girls H S school, Seoni
 * Govt. Netaji Subhash H S school, Seoni
 * Govt. Urdu H S school, Seoni
 * Saraswati Shishu Mandir, Seoni
 * Little flower convent school, Seoni
 * Bharat Ratna H S School, Seoni
 * Modern Higher Secondary School
 * Mission English HS School
 * Shri Ram Adarsh H S School
 * Govt. Mahatma Gandhi H S School
 * Govt. Tilak H S School

College - :
 * Govt. Post Graduate College, Seoni
 * D.P.Chaturvedi College, Seoni
 * Govt. Polytechnic College, Seoni
 * Govt. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Girls College
 * A C M College of Education
 * Global Law College, Seoni

Pench Tiger Reserve
The River Bainganga's source is located beneath the village Mundara, where it includes for example the Pench Tiger Reserve within 10 km. The Pench Tiger Reserve is named after the Pench River, which flows from north to south through the reserve, and is located in the southern reaches of the Satpura hill ranges in the Seoni and Chhindwara districts in the Madhya Pradesh state of India. The terrain is undulating, with most of the area covered by small hill ranges, steeply sloping on the sides. The Pench National Park is named after the Pench River, which flows from north to south through the park. This river constitutes the district boundary of Seoni and Chhindwara districts of Madhya Pradesh in the upper region and State boundary with Maharashtra State in the lower region. This area became the 19th tiger reserve of India in 1992. The tourist traffic is experiencing fast growth in this park.Pench The Pench National Park which constitutes the core of the tiger reserves was notified in the year 1983. The total area of the park is 292.85 km2. The total area of the Pench Tiger Reserve is 757.85 km2.

The reserve is situated in an area that holds a significant place in the natural history of Central India. Descriptions of its flora and fauna have appeared in wildlife books dating back to the 17th century. Books written in the 19th and early 20th century by naturalists like Captain J. Forsyth and Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book cover the panorama of nature's abundance in this tract.

A forest belt extends in three directions: north, east and south, covering forest tracts of Seoni, Balaghat and Nagpur districts. The contiguous forest on the southern side in the Maharashtra state of India, initially named Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru National Park has been recently included in the Project Tiger network under the same name as this reserve. A dam was constructed on the Pench River on south-eastern boundary of the reserve.

The area is criss-crossed by numerous seasonal streams and "nalas". The Pench River flowing through the central line of the reserve is dry by the end of April but a number of water pools locally known locally as "dohs" are found, which serve as waterholes for wild animals. A few perennial springs also exist in this area. However, the water sources are not suitably distributed, hence large area remains unused by the wild animals. The Pench reservoir at the center of the reserve is the only major water source during pinch period.

As the prey concentration is high along the Pench River, tigers usually inhabit this belt. Leopards, though, generally operate in the peripheral areas but are occasionally seen in deep forests also. Jungle cats are commonly seen. Leopard cats, small Indian civet and palm civet are common but seen very rarely.

Wild dogs are commonly seen in packs of 12 to 15, near Chhedia, Jamtara, Bodanala and Pyorthadi areas of the reserve. Wild boars are ubiquitous. Sloth bears occupy the hilly, rocky outcrops and favour mahul bel-infested forest. Chinkara are present in very small numbers and are found in open areas around Turia, Telia, and Dudhgaon villages. Jackals are seen occasionally near Tekadi, Alikatta and Chhindimatta villages.

Pench Jungle Camp Pench Tiger Reserve
A resort with wooden huts and rustic appeal, that has been designed to create an experience of living in nature, with nature! Located in the Seoni District, Thesil Kurai, INDIA approximately 32 km from SEONI, PENCH JUNGLE CAMP is conveniently located in the thick of the buffer of the Pench National Park. Nestled cozily in the wilderness amidst the flora and fauna of Pench, home to Mowgli*, PENCH JUNGLE CAMP is an enticing getaway from urban contemporary living. Legend has it that Pench was the place where Mowgli was born.

Bheemgarh Dam
Bheemgarh Dam, also known as Sanjay Sarovar Bandh and Upper Wainganga dam, is built Across the Wainganga river in Chhapara tehsil of Seoni district of Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The Bhimgarh Sanjay Sarovar Dam is located 43 km away from the Seoni. It is known as the biggest Mud / Earthen dam of Asia. It is bounded by mountains from all sides.

Amodagarh
Amodagarh is a place offered by Seoni tourism to its visitors. It is supposed that this place was the work place of "Mowgli" of author Rudyard Kipling's book "The Jungle Book". This place is situated on the Seoni-Mandla state highway. From Amodagarh tourists can see the remains of the palace of Sona Rani. The place has a clef, a hilly nalla with exposed rocks. This place is visited before sunset as forest animals come out. The place lies at a distance of approximately 10 kilometres from Chhui and about 32 kilometres from Seoni. Importance of this place increased as it has fair chances of a place of Mugli (as pronounced) due to existence of village "Ugly" at the other end of this forest in Seoni district.

Matradham
There is a village 15 km west in the Seoni district of "Katalbodi" also known as Matradham. The Hindu guru Shankara Acharya constructed a Shiv Temple here in 2003 in honour of the birthplace of his mother.