Jorai

JORAI
—  small town  —
JORAI Location of JORAI in West Bengal and India
Coordinates	26°07′58″N 89°32′28″E / 26.1328°N 89.54115°E / 26.1328; 89.54115Coordinates: 26°07′58″N 89°32′28″E / 26.1328°N 89.54115°E / 26.1328; 89.54115
Country	India
State	West Bengal
District(s)	Coochbehar
Nearest city	Alipurduar
Parliamentary constituency	Coochbehar
Civic agency	Gram Panchayat
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Codes • Pincode • 736207 • Telephone • +03564 • Vehicle • WB

Jorai is a small town of Cooch Behar district, West Bengal. (Elevation: 53 m above sea level, Zone: NFR/Northeast Frontier)

Jorai (jo'-ra-i) is of Hebrew origin and has many possible meanings. It could mean “whom Jehovah teaches,” or the name of a Gadite chief (dwelling at Gilead in Bashan, in the reign of Jothan king of Judah), or possibly the name of a clan (1 Ch 5:13). However, in this case, the name is derived from a rivulet called Jorai Nodi-- a tributary of the River Sankosh.

The small suburb is famous for its marathon football league and Raas-mela (fair based on Radha-Krishna's life). Jorai also features a railway station by the same name (there are three railway stations, named Kamakhyaguri [KAMG], Jorai [JOQ] and Srirampur [SRPB], which belong to three separate districts, named Jalpaiguri, Coochbehar [both are in West Bengal] and Kokrajhar [in Assam], respectively).

Major localities

Jorai bazar, Aastami Ghat, Jorai School, Jorai station, Naothowa, Dakshin rampur, Aashor para, Wilson road and Uttar Rampur.

Occupations

Most of the people rely on agriculture. Businesses such as timber, fishing, retail clothing, and shops are also common here. Assam-Bengal Commercial/Sales Tax office also provides a large number of jobs. Apart from that, computer learning centers and railways provide other job opportunities. Jorai's connectivity with other parts has been hampered recently, after the North Bengal State Transport Co. Bus terminus shifted from here to Alipurduar.

Cultural activities

Cultural activities started with the emergence of "Jatra" culture which was initially patronized by Late Sukumar Ghosh, the founder of Jorai Madan-mohan Bari (the place for community worship and Fare). Aashor para drama club, Pragati Sangha, Danpiter ashor, Kishore Sangha, North Bengal State Transport employees and Jorai railways employees geared up the cultural activities further in the decades of the '80s & '90s.

Sports

The marathon football league held every year witnesses a massive upsurge of spectators around its neighborhood area. However, with the advent of cricket in the 1990s, the football craze has been reduced considerably.

Other Jorai towns

1. There is a town named Jorai in the North West Frontier Province, Pakistan (Latitude: 34.87324 & Longitude: 72.88318). 2. There is a town named Jorai in Madhya Pradesh, India(Latitude : 25.42779 & Longitude : 77.74414 ). 3. The rare fishes of Himalyan foothills-Danio rerio, Danio dangila and Borellius spp.(locally called "Boirali maach) are available in jorai rivulet. (Web page of Barobisha and Jorai-developed by Sudipto Ghosh)