Bankura

This article is about the municipality in West Bengal, India. For other uses, see Bankura (disambiguation).
Bankura
বাঁকুড়া
City
Bankura

Location in West Bengal, India

Coordinates: 23°15′N 87°04′E / 23.25°N 87.07°E / 23.25; 87.07Coordinates: 23°15′N 87°04′E / 23.25°N 87.07°E / 23.25; 87.07
Country  India
State West Bengal
District Bankura
Area
 • Total 6,882 km2 (2,657 sq mi)
Elevation 78 m (256 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 3,596,292
 • Density 523/km2 (1,350/sq mi)
Languages
 • Official Bengali, English
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN 722101, 722102
Telephone code 03242
Lok Sabha constituency Bankura
Vidhan Sabha constituency Bankura
Website www.bankura.gov.in

Bankura (pron: bænˈkʊərə) is a city and a municipality in Bankura District in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of Bankura District.

Etymology

In the Mahabharata, Bankura was described as Suhmobhumi. The word Larh or Rarh (in Nagari: rāḍh) was introduced after 6th century A.D. It comes from the old Austric word ráŕhá or ráŕho which means “land of red soil”.[1] In ancient times "China called Ráŕh by the name of 'Láti'".[1] In Santali, lar means thread, rarh means tune and larh means snake. Perhaps the Jain and Greek scholars used this original Austric word Larh to indicate this dry forest region which was very difficult. The popularity of Manasa Puja, the worship of Snake-Goddess Manasa, shows this opinion might have some relevance. According to Nilkantha, a famous commentator of the Mahabharata, the words suhmo[bhumi] (Sanskrit: suhma-bhūmi) and Rarh are synonymous.

Scholars differs in their opinion about the etymology of the name Bankura. In the words of the Kol-Mundas, orah or rah means habitation. Many places of Rarh have an added rah at the end of their names. One of the most influential gods of the district Dharmathakur is called Bankura Roy. The name of the district may come from his name. Linguist Suniti Kumar Chatterjee thinks that the name came from the word banka (zig-zag), and its word-corruption banku, which means extremely beautiful, and he who must be worshiped. In 1979, the word “Bancoorah” was found in the map of Renal. In 1863, Gastrel referred this region as Bancoonda.

Geography

Bankura district is located in the western part of the state of West Bengal. It is a part of Bardhaman Division of the State and is included in the area known as "Rarh" in Bengal. Bankura district is situated at 23°15′N 87°04′E / 23.25°N 87.07°E / 23.25; 87.07. The Damodar River flows along the Northern boundary of the district. Bankura district is bounded by Bardhaman district in the north, Purulia district in the west and Paschim Medinapure district in the south.

The seasons in Bankura are generally distributed as hot summer (April-May), monsoon (June-September) and 'Cold season' (November-February). The humidity is usually medium to high throughout the year and the rainfall, though not heavy, is usually well distributed. The average annual rainfall received by the district is around 1,300 mm. The rainy months are generally July and August. 21.5% of the total geographical area of the district is made up of forest land, covering a total of 148,177 hectares. Net cultivable area of the district is 4.30 lakh hectares.

Demographics

In the 2011 census, Bankura municipality had a population of 3,596,292 out of which 1,840,504 were males and 1,755,788 were females, constituting 954 females per 1000 male as sex ratio. There was change of 12.64% in the population compared to population as per 2001. Effective literacy rate as in Census 2011 is 70.95%.[2]

Religions in Bankura
Religion Percent
Hindus
  
 68.9%
Muslims
  
 30%
Others†
  
 1.5%

As of 2011 India census,[3] Bankura town has a population of 3,596,292. Males constitute 1,840,504 of the population and females 1,755,788. Bankura has an average literacy rate of 70.95%, with 81.00% of the males and 60.44% of females literate. Total Child population in Bankura area is 405,401 out of which 208,632 are boys and 196,769 are girls, under the age of 6 years.

Transportation

Bankura Railway Junction is managed by the South Eastern Railways and is on the Adra-Midnapore rail route. It is in Bankura city. Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express, Rupashi Bangla Express, Aranyak Express, Puri-New Delhi(Nandan Kanan) Superfast Express, Ernakulam-Patna Express, Howrah-LTT Samarsata Express and Purulia-Howrah Express pass through this station. It is the originating and terminating station of Bankura Damodar Railway[4] which will connect to Howrah-Bardhaman Chord section. Computerized reservation facility is available. Going towards north-west, Adra Junction Railway Station is the nearest main station and moving to south, Midnapore Railway Station is the major station next to Bankura.[5]

The Bankura Railway Station and bridge over Dhaleshwari River were built by Gujarati Railway Contractors of the town Jeewan Gangji Savaria and Lalji Raja Vadher in 1900 working for Bengal Nagpur Railway.

Bankura is linked with NH-34 on roadways.

Bankura has a rich cultural contribution to the school of Bengal from terracotta to modern art and from classic north Indian musical genre Bishnupur Gharana to rock bangali band Jiggasa, Rusty nails, CRUST, Ojantrik and its engineering college rock bands Edge of The Spirit and 7th String.

Tourism

Bankura has gained much popularity among the tourists hailing from India. The place has a rich cultural and traditional heritage. It is famous for its paintings, music and other arts. It has gained popularity among domestic tourists due to the beautiful locations and historical destinations. The place has contributed great deal toward modern Bengal art and architecture. You can see the beautiful terracotta art and architecture in Bankura.[6] The tourist spots can be divided into four zones.[7]

Eastern Zone

Jor Mandir

Western Zone

South Zone

Mukutmonipur Dam

Northern Zone

Education

Bankura University
Bankura Christian College front view

Healthcare

See also

References

External links

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