Guru Ghasidas University was formally inaugurated on June 16, 1983 and is one of the two universities in Chhattisgarh State, India. It is in Bilaspur. It was named after Guru Ghasidas, the founder of the Satnami movement in the region. The jurisdiction of the university is spread across the Bilaspur Revenue Division. It covers almost the entire spectrum of the higher education requirements of the local people. It has several University Teaching Department (UTDs) on its campuses and about 125 colleges affiliated to it. The university is a residential cum affiliating institution. It was converted into a Central University under the Central University Ordinance 2009, No. 3 of 2009 Guru Ghasidas University has two campuses. One is at Bilaspur and the other at Ambikapur. The lush, green, sprawling main campus is spread over an area of 875 acres (3.54 km) five kilometers from the main Bilaspur town. River Arpa, the lifeline of Bilaspur, runs parallel to the university campus.