West Champaran district
West Champaran district
पश्चिमी चंपारण ज़िला |
| State |
Bihar, India |
| Administrative division |
Tirhut |
| Headquarters |
Bettiah |
| Area |
5,229 km2 (2,019 sq mi) |
| Population |
3,043,044 (2001) |
| Literacy |
39.63 per cent[1] |
| Lok Sabha Constituencies |
Paschim Champaran, Valmiki Nagar |
| Assembly Seats |
Valmiki Nagar, Ramnagar, Narkatiaganj, Bagaha, Lauriya, Nautan, Chanpatia, Bettiah, Sikta |
| Major highways |
NH 28B |
| Official website |
West Champaran (Hindi: मग़रिबी चंपारण ज़िला, Urdu: مغرِبی چمپارن ضلع Maġribī Čaṃpāraṇ Zilā) is an administrative district in the state of Bihar in India. It is a part of Tirhut Division. The district headquarters are located at Bettiah.
It is known for its porous border with Nepal, as well as the high levels of crime and smuggling that accompany this. It was the main transit point for Ganja and Weapons travelling between India and Nepal, however the new government in Bihar has led to a significant reduction in kidnapping and smuggling in the area. It is currently a part of the Red Corridor.[2]
Geography
West Champaran district occupies an area of 5,228 square kilometres (2,019 sq mi),[3] comparatively equivalent to Canada's Amund Ringnes Island.[4]
Divisions
- Sub Divisions: Bettiah, Bagaha, Narkatiaganj
- Blocks: Bettiah, Sikta, Mainatand, Chanpattia, Bairia, Lauria, Bagaha - 1, Bagaha - 2, Madhubani, Gaunaha, Narkatiaganj, Manjhaulia, Nautan, Jogapatti, Ramnagar, Thakraha, Bhitaha, Piprasi
Demographics
According to the 2011 census West Champaran district has a population of 3,922,780,[5] roughly equal to the nation of Liberia[6] or the US state of Oregon.[7] This gives it a ranking of 63rd in India (out of a total of 640).[5] The district has a population density of 750 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,900 /sq mi) .[5] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 28.89 %.[5] Pashchim Champaran has a sex ratio of 906 females for every 1000 males,[5] and a literacy rate of 58.06 %.[5]
Languages
Languages include Bhojpuri, a tongue in the Bihari language group with almost 40 000 000 speakers, written in both the Devanagari and Kaithi scripts.[8]
Culture
Notable personalities
Mahatma Gandhi started Satyagrah Andolan from here. Valmiki Rishi wrote Ramayana here. Famous hindi poet Gopal Singh Nepali who became the one man army was born in Bettiah.
Sarayu Dwivedi was born in Bhitaha Nizamat. He was highly qualified in Shanskrit.
Flora and fauna
In 1989 West Champaran district became home to Valmiki National Park, which has an area of 336 km2 (129.7 sq mi).[9] It is also home to two wildlife sanctuaries: Valkimi (adjacent to its namesake national park) and Udaypur.[9]
References
- ^ "District-specific Literates and Literacy Rates, 2001". Registrar General, India, Ministry of Home Affairs. http://www.educationforallinindia.com/page157.html. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
- ^ "83 districts under the Security Related Expenditure Scheme". IntelliBriefs. 2009-12-11. http://intellibriefs.blogspot.com/2009/12/naxal-menace-83-districts-under.html. Retrieved 2011-09-17.
- ^ Srivastava, Dayawanti et al. (ed.) (2010). "States and Union Territories: Bihar: Government". India 2010: A Reference Annual (54th ed.). New Delhi, India: Additional Director General, Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Government of India. pp. 1118–1119. ISBN 978-81-230-1617-7.
- ^ "Island Directory Tables: Islands by Land Area". United Nations Environment Program. 1998-02-18. http://islands.unep.ch/Tiarea.htm. Retrieved 2011-10-11. "Amund Ringnes Island 5,255km2"
- ^ a b c d e f "District Census 2011". Census2011.co.in. 2011. http://www.census2011.co.in/district.php. Retrieved 2011-09-30.
- ^ US Directorate of Intelligence. "Country Comparison:Population". https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2119rank.html. Retrieved 2011-10-01. "Liberia 3,786,764 July 2011 est."
- ^ "2010 Resident Population Data". U. S. Census Bureau. http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/apportionment-pop-text.php. Retrieved 2011-09-30. "Oregon 3,831,074"
- ^ M. Paul Lewis, ed (2009). "Bhojpuri: A language of India". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (16th edition ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=bho. Retrieved 2011-09-30.
- ^ a b Indian Ministry of Forests and Environment. "Protected areas: Bihar". http://oldwww.wii.gov.in/envis/envis_pa_network/index.htm. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
External links
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| See also |
- Cities and towns in Tirhut Division
- Villages in West Champaran district
- Villages in East Champaran district
- Villages in Sitamarhi district
- Villages in Muzaffarpur district
- Villages in Vaishali district
- People from Sitamarhi district
- Bihar topics
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| Other Divisions |
- Bhagalpur
- Darbhanga
- Kosi
- Magadh
- Munger
- Patna
- Purnia
- Saran
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