Ludhiana is a city and a
municipal corporation in
Ludhiana district in the Indian state of
Punjab, and is the largest city north of
New Delhi. It is the largest city in the state, with an estimated population of 1,693,653
2011 Census. The population increases substantially during the harvesting season due to the migration of labourers from the eastern states of
Uttar Pradesh,
Bihar,
Odisha and
Delhi. It has an area of about . The city stands on the
Sutlej River's old bank, south of its present course. It is a major industrial centre of northern India, and was referred to as India's Manchester by the BBC.