Bhadravati or Bhadravathi is an industrial city or Steel Town and taluk in the Shivamogga District of Karnataka state, India. It is situated at a distance of about from the state capital Bengaluru and at about from the district headquarters, Shivamogga. The town is spread over an area of and has a population of 151,102 as per the census held in 2011. History Bhadravati derives its name from the Bhadra River which flows through the city. It was earlier known as Benkipura, which in English means "city of fire", and earlier Benki Pattana'. At some point in history, it was probably also known as Venkipura ('venki' means 'turn' in Sanksrit), as it is situated at the place where Bhadra rever takes a 90 degree turn to the west, and then to the east. Hoysalas ruled the city. The Goddess "Haladammadevi & Antaragattammadevi" guard the city from past time. The sacred temples are still present in the city. In 1413, Yerelakka nayaka (ಎರೆಲಕ್ಕನಾಯಕ) who was ruling the two cities called Dumma and Banuru (ದುಮ್ಮ, ಬಾಣೂರು), built two more cities, after clearing some of the wild forest, and named them, Narasimha Pura and Lakshmipura. Subsequently, these two cities became Benkipura or Venkipura and then Bhadravathi, as it is situated on the banks of Bhadra river. Iron ore from the hill station of Kemmannugundi and water from the Bhadra River helped the establishment of an iron mill in 1918 Known as Mysore Iron and Steel Limited (MISL). Bhadravathi's reputation as an industrial town was further enhanced with the establishment of a paper manufacturing firm, the Mysore Paper Mills Limited in 1936. Demographics Based on the 2011 Indian census, Bhadravati has a population of 160,392, of which males constitute 51% and females 49%. Bhadravati has an average literacy rate of 86.36%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 91.39% of the males and 81.46% of the females literate. 10% of the population is under 6 years of age. Kannada is the main language spoken in this city. Geography Location Bhadravati lies in the central part of the Karnataka State, in the south-east corner of the Shivamogga district. The latitude and longitude coordinates of Bhadravati town are . Bhadravati is at an altitude of above sea level. The Bhadra River flows from the Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary through the Bhadravathi city, there are many mugger crocodile(Vulnerable) species present in the river Bhadra. Bhadravati lies between