Jalpaiguri
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| ?Jalpaiguri West Bengal • India |
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| Coordinates: | |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Area • Elevation |
70.29 km² (27 sq mi) • 89 m (292 ft) |
| District(s) | Jalpaiguri district |
| Population • Density |
100,212 (2001) • 1,426 /km² (3,693 /sq mi) |
| Chairman | Mohan Bose |
| Codes • Pincode • Telephone • Vehicle |
• 735 101 • +03561 • WB-71 WB-72 |
Jalpaiguri (Bengali:জলপাইগুড়ি) is a town in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of Jalpaiguri district, and the divisional headquarters of the North Bengal region.
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[edit] History
Jalpaiguri was initially founded as a trading centre, as the origins of its name suggests. The name Jalpaiguri comes from the Bhutanese term je-le-pe-go-ri, which means 'a place where warm clothes are bought and sold'. Some people attribute the name to the more common Bengali term jalpai, which means Olives and thus the name meaning the town of Olives.
The town was part of the Duars area of the old Kamarupa and later the Bhutanese kingdoms, which was later annexed by the British in 1864. They divided the captured area into two parts and merged the eastern half into the Goalpara district (now in Assam) and converted the western half into a new district of Western Duars and then in 1869, it was reorganised and renamed to Jalpaiguri, with Jalpaiguri town becoming the district headquarters.
The town saw its main boom period during the late 19th and early 20th century, when the British found the region north-east of the town (called the Dooars region), near the foothills of the Bhutan hills very suitable for tea cultivation. Within a very small period the area was dotted with thousands of tea gardens, with Jalpaiguri town becoming the port-of-call for all going to those gardens. People flocked to the town to lay their hands on a part of the lucrative tea-trade. This resulted in the cosmopolitan nature of the town, with people from many parts of the country settling there. Business boomed and the town established itself as the premier commercial and cultural hub of the northern Bengal region. It also helped that the town was well connected with Kolkata (then Calcutta), as it lay on the main Railway link between Calcutta and Darjeeling (via the Hardinge Bridge and Parbatipur junction, now in Bangladesh).
The British had their own little spots in and around the town. The Jalpaiguri Club, the Race Course (now defunct), the beautiful bungalows along the banks of the Teesta and the Karala and the defunct airport at Panga, close to the town, bear testimony to this fact.
All this changed with the great event of the mid 20th Century, the partition of Bengal and the independence of India. Overnight, Jalpaiguri's geographical status changed. It was pigeon-holed into an un-important nook of the state of West Bengal, and its Railway link with Kolkata severed. Its neighboring little hamlet, Siliguri, had now begun its march towards being what it is now - the commercial and cultural nerve centre of the entire region and the fourth largest city of West Bengal behind Kolkata, Asansol and Durgapur.
Jalpaiguri could only watch all these events with a mist in its eyes, remembering its past glory. But partition brought with it newer responsibilities also. Jalpaiguri became the divisional headquarters of North Bengal, and lately the seat of the North Bengal bench of the Kolkata High Court. It also became the divisional headquarters of the Life Insurance Corporation of India.
But it is amazing how Jalpaiguri still retained most of its colonial character even fifty-plus years after independence. The core town possibly resembles more or less the same as it was during the end of the British rule. A walk along the Teesta beside the stately bungalows, built by the British, now housing the Government officials, would evoke the same feelings. A visit to the beautiful parks and gardens along the banks of the Karala gives peace to the strained city-dweller. This is colonial Bengal in all its glory.
[edit] Geography
Jalpaiguri is located at [1]. It has an average elevation of 75 metres (246 feet). Jalpaiguri lies in the middle of the vast fertile plains (Terai) south of the Himalayas, watered by innumerable rivers and rivulets rising from and flowing down the Himalayas. On a clear sunny day, Mount Kanchenjunga is visible from the town itself.
River
Tista:
The town lies on the banks of the Teesta River, possibly the second largest river in West Bengal after the Ganga. The town has had a sweet-sour relationship with the great river.
A mass flood in 1968 nearly flattened out the town and huge spurs had to be built and the river diverted to some kilometers outside the town to avoid the same carnage as it caused.
Karala:The tiny River Karala flows through the middle of the town dividing the town into two halves, thus prompting the remark, 'the Thames of Jalpaiguri'. Karala meets the Teesta some five kilometres south of the town.
Dharala:
Panga:
The town experiences three seasons, namely Summer, Monsoons and Winter. Summers are tropical and quite hot with temperatures ranging in the mid-thirties. Monsoons are very severe with the town experiencing high amount of rainfall, sometimes stalling all life and activities. Winters are again quite severe and chilly, with the cold Himalayan winds blowing straight into the town. Temperatures are around 3 to 8 degrees Celsius during this period.
[edit] Economy
The economy of the town is centred around the tea industry. A Tea Auction Centre has recently come up in the town. The second largest employer in the town is the Government. Jalpaiguri is home to a number of district-level and divisional-level offices, thus having a large government-employee workforce. The recent setting up of the North Bengal bench of the Kolkata High Court has only added to the numbers. Business in the town is mainly centered around retailing goods, with the main centres around Merchant Road, D.B.C.Road and Temple Street.
A industrial park just 10 km from the town en route to Siliguri has come up at Raninagar. A number of companies like Coca Cola, Hindustan Lever, etc., have set up shop there.
[edit] Demographics
As of 2001 India census[2], Jalpaiguri had a population of 100,212. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Jalpaiguri has an average literacy rate of 80%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 83%, and female literacy is 75%. In Jalpaiguri, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age.
[edit] Civic administration
Administration is the responsibility of the Jalpaiguri Municipality, one of the oldest in West Bengal. Setup in 1905, it is headed by a Chairman who is elected by the residents of the town. The responsibility of the welfare of the town and maintenance of public properties lies in its hands.
[edit] Places of interest
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- Jalpaiguri Rajbari, at Rajbaripara. "Rajbari" means Palace. The palace gate at Rajbari is possibly the world's largest unreinforced concrete arch structure..
- Several lakes in Rajbari Palace ground.
- Jalpaiguri Nawab Bari (now the bench of the Kolkata High Court).
- Jubilee Park, on the banks of the Teesta.
- India's first Forenscic Science labarotory in police line, Racecource Para.
- 'King Shaheb' er Ghat
- Rabindra Bhawan (Arya Natya Samaj).
- The river 'Teesta' itself.
- Teesta Udyan.
- Art Gallery(Sarojendra Deb Raikat Kala Kendra).
- Town Club Stadium.
- Yogomaya Kalibari on Temple Street.
- Kali Temple at Paharpur.
- Several Tea Gardens (Karala Valley Tea Garden, Raipur Tea garden, Jaipur Tea garden, Denguajhar T.G.) are very near to Jalpaiguri Town and are worth a visit.
- Jalpesh Temple. An old Shiva temple about 15 km from the town.
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- Jaldapara Wildlife sanctuary, about 50 km west of the town
- Gorumara National Park, a few km north of the town.
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[edit] Education
[edit] Primary and Secondary
There are two systems of education ---
- the West Bengal governmental system of education, known as West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education, Kolkata
- private Church-run schools administered by either the CNI or Catholic or other non Christian schools administered privately --- affiliated mostly to the ICSE and ISC examination of the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations, Delhi
Jalpaiguri is home to some of the best known schools under the WBCHSE, like the Zilla School and the Govt. Girls' School. Some of the other prominent schools in the town are -
Urban Area
- Jalpaiguri Zilla School. It was established in 1876 by the British government and it has been one of the best educational institutes in the district and also in the state.It boasts of some of the gem students in the state,like Abhishek Bose,Bhaskar Ghosh,Saptarsi Nag.Saptarsi became the topper in West Bengal Civil Services Examination, the first in the history of North Bengal with such achievement.
- Fanindra Deb Institution(FDI)
- Jalpaiguri Govt. Girls' School
- Central Girls School
- Holy Child School
- Sunity Bala Academy (formerly known as Sadar Girls' School)
- Sonaullah High Secondary School
- Sonali Girls School
- Kadamtala Girls High School
- Jalpaiguri High School
- Arabindanagar Uchamadhyamik Vidyalaya
- Saint Anthony's School
- St.Paul's School
Rural Area
- Mohitnagar Taraprasad Uchcha Vidyalaya (Boye's/Girl's), Mohitnagar
- Ursuline Girls School (Hindi)
- St. Viani School
- St. Ambrose Open School
- Raninagar Rabindra Nath Uchcha Vidyalaya, Raninagar.
- Mudipara Nagendra Nath High School, Belakoba.
[edit] Universities and colleges
All colleges in the town are affiliated to the North Bengal University, Raja Rammohanpur, Siliguri except Jalpaiguri Government Engineering College which is affiliated to the West Bengal University Of Technology WBUT. Ananda Chandra College is the leading science and arts college in the district of Jalpaiguri.
[edit] Colleges
- Jalpaiguri Government Engineering College - Established in 1961, the JGEC is the second oldest technical institute (Bengal Engineering and Science University, Shibpur being the first) in the state of West Bengal. Subjects like Civil Engg, Mechanical Engg, Electrical Engg, Electronics & Communication Engg, Computer Science and Information Technology can be studied here.
- Jalpaiguri Polytechnic Institute
- Junior Polytechnic Institute
- Jalpaiguri Law College
- Ananda Chandra College
- Ananda Chandra College of Commerce
- Prasanna Deb College
- B.T. College
- Institute of Pharmacy, Government of West Bengal - Established in the Jackson Medical School building, Jalpaiguri Sadar Hospital, in 1950 by the government of West Bengal, it was christened Pharmacy Training Centre and was the first Institution in India to start Pharmacy course at Diploma level. The Institution today offers a four year B.Pharma degree course as well.
[edit] Sports
[edit] The Amphitheatres
Jalpaiguri has two main stadium. The Town Club Stadium and newly built Jalpaiguri Sports Complex.
[edit] The Sports Clubs
Jalpaiguri Town Club is a century old club in this town. Other old sports clubs in Jalpaiguri are: JYMA, FUC and JYCC.
Milan Sangha, East Bengal Fans Club, RSA(Raikatpara Sporting Association) and Sanghasree Club are some other notable clubs of the town.
[edit] Transport
The main mode of public transport is the Cycle rickshaw. Amongst personal transport, people use bicycles and other two-wheelers. Use of four-wheelers is also catching up slowly.
[edit] Bus services
There are several bus stands.
- NBSTC depot.- Govt. Buses are available from here.
- Netaji Subhash Bus Terminus.- Private buses to Siliguri are available from here.
- Super Bus Stand near the Railway Station - Super (or non stop) bus services to Siliguri are available from here.
- Santipara Private Bus Terminus - Buses to the Dooars region, Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, Mathabhanga, etc. are available from here.
The town is very well connected to Siliguri (45 km away), Kolkata and all neighbouring towns and districts.
[edit] Train services
Jalpaiguri lies in the Northeast Frontier Railway zone of the Indian Railways. There are Railway links to the rest of the country directly and via Kolkata as well. The major railway junction of New Jalpaiguri (Code:NJP) is just 40 km from the town. The other stations servicing the town directly are Jalpaiguri Road (Code:JPE) and Jalpaiguri (Code:JPG). Nearly the whole country is connected via the stations of New Jalpaiguri and Jalpaiguri Road. The Jalpaiguri railway station (lying on the old Sealdah-Siliguri route via Bangladesh) is primarily used for a couple of trains to Kolkata (Sealdah).
[edit] Trivia
- Jalpaiguri is the largest district of North Bengal.
- Jalpaiguri experiences highest rainfall in West Bengal.
- The statue of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose on the banks of the Karala, is said to be the oldest in the country.
- Forensic lab in Police Lines in Racecourse para is the first forensic lab in India.
- Karala Girls' School (now Suniti Bala Girls High School) is the oldest girls' school in the region.
- Jalpaiguri Zilla School is also 125+ years old school.
- The 'Power House' in Nayabasti was inaugurated by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
- Jalpaiguri Govt. Girls High School was inaugurated by Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy.
[edit] Notable residents
- Samaresh Majumdar, famous Bengali author of novels like Uttoradhikar, Kalpurush, Kalbela, etc.
- Debesh Roy, the author of Teesta Parer Brittanto
- P.K.Banerjee, renowned football player and coach who represented India at the international level.
- Dr Tushar Kanti Chaudhuri, a noted educationist
- Manik Sanyal, politician, district secretary of the CPI(M)
- Dr. Anupam Sen, renowned doctor and former Congress Party leader.
- Dr. Charu Chandra Sanyal, renowned doctor and researcher of the Toto tribe.
- Mohit Ghosh , a famous poet. National award winner.
- Ramanand Daga, a businessman and philanthropist
- Mohit Mohan Moulik (Laxman Moulik), a great freedom fighter, honoured with "TAMRAPATRA".
- Hossain, Nawab Musharraf (1871-1966) a lawyer, industrialist, tea-planter, political leader and a philanthropist.
[edit] References
- ^ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Jalpaiguri
- ^ Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns. (Provisional). Census Commission of India. Retrieved on 2007-09-03.
Prof. Nirmal Basu,Ex. Cabinet Minister of Govt of West Bengal
[edit] External links
- Jalpaiguri Website
- West Bengal Jalpaiguri District
- Jalpaiguri Tourism
- Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority
- Tourist Destinations
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