Bilaspur

Bilaspur, also called Kahlur, town, southwestern Himachal Pradesh state, northwestern India. The town lies on the edge of Govind Sagar, an artificial lake northwest of Shimla, the state capital.

The original town of Bilaspur was founded in 1663 on the southeast side of the Sutlej (Satluj) River. Much of it, including the old palace and a famous temple, was submerged in the river in 1782 after a landslide caused a dam to break. The Lakshmi Narayan and Radheyshyam temples, along with the Vyas Gufa, have survived. Bilaspur was the capital of an independent Punjab Hill State until 1814, when the Gurkhas overran it; the British drove them out the following year. The new town of Bilaspur was rebuilt above the old town in the 1950s on the Govind Sagar, which was created by the Bhakra Dam (completed in 1962) on the Sutlej, one of the highest dams in the world. The dam generates electricity for much of the region.

Bilaspur is a trade centre for locally grown wheat, corn (maize), and rice. An annual cattle fair is held in Bilaspur in March or April. Pop. (2001) 13,058; (2011) 13,654.