Bhopal is a well-known Indian city and is also the capital of state of Madhya Pradesh. The city, which is also famously referred to as the City of Lakes, was formerly the capital of Bhopal state. This neat and clean city also has the distinction of being one of the greenest places in the country.
Bhopal is a good mix of the old and the new with a lot of old portions of Bhopal reminiscent of the Mughal influence and the new showcasing the planned development of a modern Indian city. Bhopal is the seat of the Madhya Pradesh Government and is a beautiful mid-sized city in the heart of India. It is said that Bhopal was originally called "Bhoj-pal" after Raja Bhoj, who is attributed with founding the city. It was an important part of the "Bhoj" kingdom with Ujjaini (a city close to Bhopal) being the seat of the kingdom.
The city came to world attention in 1984 for the disastrous release of poisonous gases from the local Union Carbide chemical plant. The accident caused death, birth defects and suffering even to this day, and the victims are regarded to have not been adequately compensated by the American corporate owners of the plant.
