Varanasi City Profile

Varanasi City Expanding Contraceptive Use in Urban UP Varanasi City Profile Urban Health Initiative (UHI) is implemented by a consortium of partners working together to improve urban health in India. Varanasi is one of the oldest cities in continuous habitation in the world, with a history dating back to more than 3000 years. It is a major religious, cultural and educational centre of India. Varanasi is also famous for its handicrafts and silk weaving industry. Fig 1: Varanasi Location Map

state highways with high passenger traffic as these roads provide good connectivity to the surrounding areas in U.P. as well as to metropolitan cities like Delhi and Kolkata. Varanasi is also well connected by railways. The city lies on Delhi-Kolkata rail route of North Eastern Railways, which is the broad gauge. The town also has an airport at a distance of about 24 km away from the city, with flights operating to several major cities in India as well as Kathmandu in Nepal. Important centres of tourist and religious importance in and around the city include the Ghats along the Ganga and the many Hindu temples, including the Vishwanath and Sankat Mochan temples. 10km from the city is Sarnath, the site where Lord Buddha preached his first sermon. Table 1: District level indicators, Varanasi Population – District* 3138671 persons Urban population-District* 1260571 persons Slum population-District*** 457568 persons SC & ST* 436314 persons TV at home** 55.2 % Mobile Phone ownership** 44.8 % 1

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Varanasi town lies between the 25 15’N to 25 22’ N o o latitudes and 82 57’E to 83 01’E longitudes. The river Ganga only here flows in a south-to-north direction, having the world famous ghats on the left bank of the river.

Indicators based on DLHS-2 and DLHS-3 Indicator DLHS-3 Total Women married