Baharampur

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Baharampur
Baharampur
State - District(s)	West Bengal - Murshidabad
Coordinates	24.1° N 88.25° E
Area - Elevation	- 18 m
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Population (2001) - Density	160,168 -

Baharampur (also spelled Berhampore or Berhampur) is a city in the West Bengal state of India. Baharampur is the administrative headquarters of the Murshidabad district.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 References
5 Sources
6 External links

[edit] History

Baharampur was founded and fortified in 1757 by the British East India Company and continued as a cantonment until 1870. The cantonment was constituted as a municipality in 1876. In 1857 the first major armed battle of the Indian Mutiny of 1857 took place in Baharampur.

[edit] Geography

Baharampur is located at 24.1° N 88.25° E^[1]. It has an average elevation of 18 metres (59 feet).

The city is located approximately 200 km north of Calcutta at 24°4′N 88°9′E and is situated on the east side of the Bhagirathi River, a major distributary of the Ganges. The city’s industries include silk weaving, ivory carving, rice and oil-seed milling, and precious-metal working. It is also a rail and road hub of the West Bengal state and is an important agricultural center.

[edit] Demographics

As of 2001 India census^GRIndia, Baharampur had a population of 160,168. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Baharampur has an average literacy rate of 79%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 53% of the males and 47% of females literate. 9% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Trivia - Baharampur is famous for the sweetmeat 'Chhana-bora' and the savoury 'Khaja'.