EVERY THING FROM BILASPUR... LIVE!!!A COMPANY PROMOTING INTERNET AWARENESS AND TOURISM IN BILASPUR AND SURROUNDING AREASHistorical records like Imperial Gazetteer of India, Vol 8, 1908 note that the city is said to be named after a fisher-woman by name Bilasa in the 17th century, and for a long period it consisted only of a few fishermen's huts. In 1901, the population of Bilaspur was 18,937 and it was eighth-largest town in the Central Provinces of British India. In 1908, weaving of tasar silk and cotton clothes were recorded as the major industries of Bilaspur. Historically, Bilaspur was a part of Kalchuri dynasty of Ratanpur. The city, however, came into prominence around 1741, the year of the Maratha Empire invasion, when a Maratha official took up his abode there and began to build a fort, which however was never completed. The city was taken over by the British East India Company of Great Britain in the year 1854 when the then ruler of the region, Bhosale of Nagpur belonging to Maratha Empire died without an heir. The management of Bilaspur district was taken over by the British Government in 1818, before this it was under harsh, extortionist Marathaan rule for about 60 years. Bilaspur district was constituted in 1861, followed by Bilaspur municipality in 1867.