Ballia is an ancient city. Many great saints and sages of India had their ashrams in Ballia, including Valmiki, Bhrigu, Durvasa,[parasher] and Jamadagni. Ballia was a part of the Kosala Kingdom in ancient times. It also came under the Buddhist influence for some time. Earlier the district was a part of Ghazipur district, but later it was created as an independent District.
Sahatwar, Sheikhpur, Sikanderpur, Masumpur, Ibrahimpatti of Koth and Awayan are also very old villages in Ballia, populated during the reign of Feroze Shah Tughlaq where famous Muslim saints came and inhabited the area and served Muslims and non-Muslim alike.
The origin of the name Ballia, has long been a matter of dispute. It is locally said to have been derived from the name of the sage Valmiki, the celebrated Hindu poet and the author of Ramayana, whose having resided here was commemorated by a shrine, which has long been washed away. Another belief about the origin of the name is that it has been derived from the sandy nature of the land of the place, locally known as "Ballua" (balu meaning sand).other view is that it has been named after being capital state owned by king bali who was famous for generous nature who has given up his kindom and body to lard vishnu in banam incarnation.it was initially named as 'balian',later transformed to ballia.
Ballia is located at 25.45°N 84.10°E.[3] The eastern boundary of the city lies at the junction of the Ganges and the Ghaghara.
At the 2001 Indian census,[4] Ballia had a population of 102,226. Males constituted 54% of the population and females 46%. It had an average literacy rate of 65%, higher than the national average of 59.5%, with 58% of the males and 42% of females literate. Eleven percent of the population was under six years of age.
The Ganga Expressway terminates in Ballia which starts in Noida.
Ballia is a station on the Broad Gage Indian Railways
with about 35 trains daily (including Rajdhani express), Major railway stations include Belthara Road and Rasra. Belthara Road is connected with Gorakhpur by many trains like Dadar Express, Chauri Chaura Express, Gorakhnath Express etc. Road connectivty from Varansi-to-Ballia and Gorakhpur-to-Ballia is very good. It takes about 4 hours by road from Varansi to Ballia. The road passes through Gazhipur district then small towns like Nagra, Sikanderpur then Ballia.
Many road roundabouts in Ballia feature statues of leaders of the Indian Independence Movement. See for example This photo of Chandrashekhar Azad statue
Dadri Mela is the second largest cattle fair of India which is located at 5 KM from Ballia town nearby NH 19 and 3 KM from Bus station of Ballia city.
The fair starts on full moon of Kartik Poornima (October-November) with Holy dip in Ganges. This fair is held annually in the honour of Dadar Muni, the disciple of Maharishi Bhrigu.[7][8]
This fair is celebrated for more than one month and is organized in two phases. The first phase starts before 10 days of Kartik Poornima in which traders bring some excellent hybrids of cattle from across India for sale/purchase. On or after Kartik Poornima, various cultural programs are organized and one can find shops of different items at one stop during the next Fortnight.
Notable places
Notable temples:
1.Maharshi Bhrigu Mandir in the heart of the city
2.Shri Baleshwer Mandir
3.Habib Manzil
4.Chain Ram Baba mandir is in Sahatwar
5.Nath baba temple at rasara.
6.Panchmandir at village Sahatwar.
7.Sri Sahajanand Baba Dev Sthan at village Chandpur at the bank of holy river Saryu (25 KM North-East from Ballia City)
8.Narhari Das Kuti (Temple) - Guru of famous Poet Tulsi Das in Sitabdiyara
9.Shri Jangli Baba Mandir (Temple) place at Garwar (Fair of Dhanteras before one day Diwali)
10.Hanuman Mandir, 4 KM from Ballia city.
11.Parashurama Temple in Maniyar (Only few temples of Parashurama)
12.Pachrukha Devi Temple, Gaighat (Reoti), Ballia (U.P.) Situated in west side of the village near P.D. Inter college on the main road)
13.Kameshwar Nath Dham (Shiv Mandir), Karon, Ballia (U.P.)
14.Mata Kapilashweri Bhwani Mandir (Temple), Near Sager Pali, Ballia (UP)
15.Shahid Smarak, Sukhpura is dedicated to our freedom fighters and situated beside the Sukhpura Inter College's entrance.
16.Dhanu Bramh Baba, Basudewa, Ballia (U.P.)
17.Sri Sudisth Baba Ranignj kotwa Ballia (U.P.)
18.Sri Swami ji Maharaj Baba (Laxchman das) milki Bairiya, Ballia(U.P.)
A village called Majhuan (24 Km far from Ballia city) is a Rajput village and home town of Pawan Singh. It is situated on the bank of the Ganges river.
Shivpur Diar Nai Basti (Bayashi) village which is having 20 thousand population with 10% literacy and 7 Km far from Ballia.[citation needed]
A village named Akhar famous for its wrestlers located 6km East from Ballia town.
A village named Dubhar village which is having 30 thousand population with 40% literacy and 9 Km far from Ballia.famous for its literacy Madhubani is the second biggest village in Ballia which is near to Suremanpur Railway Station 38 km from Ballia..
