Siliguri

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Siliguri
Siliguri
State - District(s)	West Bengal - Darjeeling district
Coordinates	26.72° N 88.41° E
Area - Elevation	6,227 km² - 122 m
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Population (2001) - Density	258,000 - 41.43/km²
Mayor	Bikash Ghosh
Codes - Postal - Telephone - Vehicle	- 734 001 - +0353 - WB 74 ²
¹The coordinates given here are in metric system and based upon the Microsoft Encarta Reference Library Map Center 2005 ² The Vehicle Code given here based upon the Siliguri Sub Divisional Court documentations.

Siliguri pronunciation (help·info) (Bengali: শিলিগুড়ি) is a rapidly developing metropolis in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is strategically located in the Chicken's Neck — a very narrow strip of land linking mainland India to its north eastern states. Besides, it is also the transit point for air, road and rail traffic to the neighbouring countries of Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. The town hosts over 500,000 domestic and 15,000 foreign visitors annually. It is the commercial nerve centre of North Bengal.

Siliguri is situated in Darjeeling district, and though it is the district's largest city, the district headquarters is located at Darjeeling. Siliguri is a unique city as 15 out of 47 wards of Siliguri Municipal Corporation falls in neighbouring Jalpaiguri district. The Indian army, Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Shashatra Seema Bal (SSB) and the Assam Rifles have bases around the town . The Bagdogra Airport is located within the Indian Air Force (IAF) cantonment area. Siliguri has an Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOC) oil depot near the southern edge of the town.Siliguri is the fourth largest city of West Bengal after Greater Calcutta,Asansol and Durgapur.

1 Geography
2 Economy
3 Demographics
4 Transport
5 Sports
6 Education
7 Media
8 Places around Siliguri
9 See also

[edit] Geography

Siliguri is situated at the base of the Himalaya mountains in the plains. It is the largest city in the area (North Bengal)and 2nd largest city in west bengal and connects the hill station towns of Gangtok, Kalimpong and Darjeeling with the rest of India. The Mahananda River flows past Siliguri. Siliguri has three main seasons summer, winter and monsoon. Summers are not very hot and temperatures rarely exceed 38°C.It is considerably cooler than the southern and central regions of West Bengal. During this season, tourists from all over India stop in Siliguri en route to the cooler climes of the northern hill stations. Winters are cool and temperatures range from a high of 15°C to a low of about 3°C. Light rain and dense fog are seen during this season. During the monsoon season between June and September, the town is lashed by heavy rains often cutting access to the hill stations and Sikkim. The climate is suitable for growing tea and the surrounding region has many tea gardens.

[edit] Economy

Siliguri is described to be the gateway to the Northeast. The strategic location of the city makes it a base for essential supplies to the region. Siliguri has gradually developed as a profitable centre for a variety of businesses. As a central hub, many national companies and organisations have set up their offices here. Recently a number of movie-multiplexes are being planned to be opened in Siliguri.The Hong Kong market located here is a chief hub for buying low cost Chinese goods ,and is very popular among people from nearby areas.3 "T" s - Tea,Timber and Transport are the main businesses of Siliguri.Siliguri is the headquarters of FOCIN (Fedaration of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of North Bengal).

[edit] Demographics

Railway crossing

As of 2001 India census^GRIndia, Siliguri had a population of 705,000(approx). Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Siliguri has an average literacy rate of 70%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 75%, and female literacy is 65%. In Siliguri, 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Siliguri is a cosmopolitan city with Bengali, Nepali, Bihari, Marwari, and Punjabi people living peacefully. The Rajabanshi people, who originaly owned most of the land around here, have been decreased in population. Marwaris, Punjabis and Bengalis are the most prominent business communities here. Bengali, Hindi and Nepali are the languages spoken.

Siliguri has seen floods of different people coming in over the years. Bengalis from Bangladesh and Assam, and, Nepalis from Nepal have been pouring in significantly. Besides, people from Bihar and districts of Northern Bengal are coming to the city in search of livelihood. The influx leads to an abnormaly high population growth.

[edit] Transport

Local public transport include city buses, cycle rickshaws and tempos.

Siliguri has three important railway stations:

1. Siliguri Town - This is the oldest station in the area. Opened on 23 Aug, 1880 during the British Raj, this station used to be the terminus for the trains coming from Calcutta, and the starting point for the world-famous Darjeeling Himalayan Railway for journey to Darjeeling.

2. Siliguri Junction - This station opened in 1949, and used to be the point of departure of all trains to the north-eastern states, until the broad gauge was extended to Dibrugarh. Siliguri Junction is the only station in India with all the three gauges of tracks.

3. New Jalpaiguri - Opened in 1961 as a totally greenfield project 16km south of Siliguri,Initially named New Siliguri(But,later renamed to Jalpaiguri as it falls under Jalpaiguri District) this is now the most important station in the region. This station connects Siliguri to every nook and corner of the country. The city has expanded and included New Jalpaiguri as one of its ward of Siliguri Municipal Corporation that it has become a single city.

With the extension of broad-gauge railway track to the Siliguri Junction station, people can now travel directly to the heart of the city without having to alight at New Jalpaiguri. This new broad-gauge track covers the old Dooars metre-gauge track, and is a beautiful journey passing as it is through the foothills of the Bhutan hills and picturesque little hamlets and villages with the famous Dooars tea gardens for company.

Bagdogra airport, situated about 12 km away is the closest airport. The airport is well connected to most Indian cities including the state capital Calcutta. The Bagdogra airport is poised to become an international airport in the near future. A regular helicopter service links Siliguri to Gangtok.

The Tenzing Norgay Central Bus Terminal is a major stop for most buses in the region. The Royal Government of Bhutan also operates buses from Siliguri to the Bhutanese capital Thimphu. Jeeps also link Siliguri to neighbouring towns. Similarly the Sikkim government's buses run to Sikkim from the SNT bus station opposite the Central Bus Terminal.

A new road, named as Vivekananda Road, has been built connecting Burdwan Road to the Mahabirsthan Rail Gate bringing much relief to the chaotic section of the city. Also a new fly-over over the Rail Gate is under construction connecting Hashmi Chowk to Mahabirsthan. This flyover will provide seamless communication from the Station Feeder Road in the south to Hill Cart Road in the central part of the city.

[edit] Sports

Table Tennis, Cricket, Taekwon-Do and football (soccer) are the four most popular sports here. People are football crazy and support the local Bengal clubs. The Kanchenjanga Stadium is the city's only outdoor stadium and matches are regularly held here.

The Stadium houses the Sports Authority of India (SAI) sports hostel for atheletes.

There is an indoor stadium at Deshbandhupara in the southern part of the city. This new stadium has facilities for Lawn Tennis and Badminton as well as a host of other indoor sports.

However, the city is best known for being the training grounds for many Table Tennis players - specially Mantu Ghosh who was the Gold medal winner in the 1996 and 1999 SAF Games.

In recent years the close proximity of the Teesta river has made Siliguri a destination for adventure sports (White Water Rafting) enthusiasts.

[edit] Education

The North Bengal University is located at "Shib Mandir", a suburb of Siliguri. The place has been renamed as Raja Rammohanpur. The University was founded in 1962 and is the only center for advanced learning in the northern part of West Bengal. It has 78 colleges spread over six districts of North Bengal and Sikkim. Over 36,000 undergraduates and 1500 post-graduate students enrol in different courses in the University during any given academic year.

North Bengals sole Medical college is also situated here.North Bengal Medical College and Dental college is the largest medical facility in the region.The location is named as Sushrutnagar,which is well connected to the main city by 3rd mahanada bridge.

The Government College in Deorali, Sikkim is a part of this university. The North Bengal Medical College and Hospital at Sushrutanagar, just across the Mahananda River, to the west of the city is the only medical college in north Bengal.

The Siliguri Institute of Technology, located at Sukna, on the northern part of the city, is the first private Engineering College to come up in the region. And there are more privately aided technical colleges coming up in and around the city. The city also has a polytechnic for diploma enginnering education. IIAS(International Institute of Advanced Studies) Siliguri delivers hotel management education and other professional courses

Siliguri College, Siliguri College of Commerce, Surya Sen College, Siliguri Women's College and Gyan Jyoti College deliver general degree courses. Siliguri College is the most sought after general degree college in North Bengal.

[edit] Media

Newspapers in Siliguri include English language dailies, The Statesman and The Telegraph, which are printed in the town, and The Economic Times and the Times of India which are printed in Kolkata are received same day evening while Hindustan Times from Kolkata is received next day. In addition to these one can also find Hindi and Bengali publications including Anandabazar Patrika, Bartaman, Ganashakti, Uttar Banga Sambad, Dainik Jagran.

The public radio station, All India Radio is the only one that can be received in Siliguri. However recently WorldSpace Satellite Radio have also entered into Siliguri. However, Siliguri receives almost all the television channels that are received by the rest of the country. Apart from the state-owned terrestrial network Doordarshan, cable television serves most of the homes in the town, while satellite television is common in the outlying areas and in wealthier households. Besides mainstream Indian channels, the town also receives Nepali Television Channels and Bangladeshi Television Channels. Local news broadcasts, sporting events, and concerts are broadcast live or delayed via cable to many households. DTH services both by Government and private companies are also available.

Internet cafés are well established in the main market area, served through broadband services provided by BSNL and other private companies. The area is serviced by local cell phone companies such as BSNL, Reliance Infocomm, Hutch, Aircel, Tata Indicom and Airtel.