Labhpur

Labhpur লাভপুর
town
Labhpur Location in West Bengal, India
Coordinates: 23°50′N 87°49′E / 23.83°N 87.82°E / 23.83; 87.82Coordinates: 23°50′N 87°49′E / 23.83°N 87.82°E / 23.83; 87.82
Country	India
State	West Bengal
District	Birbhum
Elevation	35 m (115 ft)
Population (2001)
• Total	176,803
Languages
• Official	Bengali, English
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	731303
Telephone code	91 3463
Sex ratio	944 ♂/♀
Lok Sabha constituency	Bolpur
Vidhan Sabha constituency	Labpur
Website	birbhum.nic.in
CD Block

Labhpur (also spelt Labpur), is a town with a block office,a police station in Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Known to the outside world as the native place of Tarashankar Bandopadhyay and one of the 51 Shakti Peethas and located on the archaic narrow gauge railway, it is an extensive rural area subject to droughts in summer followed by occasional floods from the Laghata river to the east.

Geography

Labhpur is located at 23°50′N 87°49′E / 23.83°N 87.82°E / 23.83; 87.82.^[1] It has an average elevation of 35 m (115 ft).

It lies in the flood plains of Mayurakshi River and when water is released from Massanjore dam and Tilpara barrage in large quantities, flood waters wreak havoc in the area. In 2006, nearly 50,000 people were marooned in Labhpur and surrounding blocks of Birbhum district.^[2]

Education

Labpur is very rich in education. There are presently one high school for boys, one for girls, one junior high school, a junior high madrasha and a central government CBSE coeducational high school. There are also six government-aided primary schools, several public primary schools, one degree college under B.U., one ICSE school, one CBSE School and one B.Ed college. The main educational institutions here are:

1. Jadablal High School
2. Satyanarayan Shikshaniketan
3. Visweshwari primary school
4. Nirmal Shiv Government primary school
5. Sandipan Pathshala
6. Laghata St Joshep school
7. Labpur Jawhar Navodaya School(CBSE)
8. Jagadampa Govt Primary School for girls
9. Labpur high Madrasha
10. Labpur Sambhunath College
11. Labpur B,Ed College
12. Laghata Jr High School
13. Labpur D.Ed College
14. Sambhunath College

Transport

It is located on the Suri–Phutishanko (state highway 6) road and is about 12 km from Ahmedpur on the Ahmedpur Katwa Railway.^[3]

One pair of trains run daily along the 52 km Ahmedpur – Katwa narrow gauge (2' 6") line. It has remained a single line since its inception. Indian Railways took over the narrow gauge tracks between Katwa and Ahmedpur, and Katwa and Bardhaman from McLoyd and Company in 1966. The railways have identified poor turnout of passengers and their unwillingness to buy tickets as the reasons behind the losses incurred by the narrow gauge section.^[4] Since 16 January 2013 the train services has been stopped and the work of conversion of the narrow-gauge line into broad-gauge one is in progress.

The bus terminal is very good with every kind of modern facility. It is very near of Labpur Sambhunath College & Block Development office. Labpur is well connected with important part of the district.It is also connected with Burdwan,Dugapur,Asansol,Berhampur,Katwa,Krishnanagar by frequent bus service.

Economics

Traditionally, there used to be a weekly market, locally called hat. Apart from vegetables, such needs as pottery, wooden materials, iron materials, baskets, seeds etc. were available. But at present the economy of Labpur is changed. There are 4 main market 1.Old busstand market, 2.BDO complex, 3. Sastinagar market & 4.Hattala. Labpur is also important for the villages situated near Labpur.

Culture

Tarashankar country

Tarashankar Bandopadhyay, the Bengali writer, was born at Labhpur on 23 July 1898. He passed matriculation from Labhpur in 1916.^[6] Many of his novels and stories carry vivid descriptions of the area.

In the novel Hansulibanker Upkatha, he writes, “The Hansulibank countryside is somewhat rough land. Here, man’s fight is more with land, than that with rivers. When drought comes, in extreme summer, the river becomes a desert, it is a land of sand – only deep water somehow manages to weave a narrow way through it. The land then is transformed into rock. The grass dries up. The land heats up as if it is a piece of heated-up iron.”^[7]

In his novel Ganadevata, he quotes a rural rhyme

Poush-Poush, golden Poush,

Come Poush but don’t go away, don’t ever leave,

Don’t leave Poush, Don’t,

The husband and son will eat a full bowl of rice.^[7]

Festivals

The most important festival of Labhpur is Durga Puja, followed by Rash Yatra. On the day of Rash Yatra (a couple of days after the Durga Puja), a procession goes from the Thakur Badi to the Rath Tala. There, the annual feast of Krishna is celebrated. Another great festival of this region is the Fullara Mela (fair), which is held on the first full moon of Bengali month of Magh. The annual celebration of Laxmi Puja, Kali Puja and the Village Goddess Maa Rakhkha Kali are also celebrated. The Mahashivratri festival is observed by worshipping Shiva and holding fasts. The Prominent clubs celebrating Durga Puja include: 1. Palliswamaj. 2. Bright Star Club. 3. Atul Shiv Club 4.Sastinagar Young Society. The Tran Samiti club celebrates Kali Puja. Sastinagar Young Society also celebrates Kali puja. Muslim festivals (like Yeed-ul-jjua, Maharam etc.)are also celebrated in Labpur.

Nearby places

Fullara

According to mythology, when Mahadeva danced around with Sati’s dead body cutting it to pieces, the lip fell at Fullara. There is a big pond beside the temple. According to hearsay, Hanuman collected 108 blue lotuses from the pond when Sri Ramachandra required them for the worship of goddess Durga.^[8] It is considered to be one of the fifty-one shakti peethas in India.^[3]

Bele

There is a pond whose waters are popularly believed to have the powers to heal arthritis.^[8]

Gobinda Sagar

This is actually a part of Laghata River dissected off earlier. From this pond once, a statue of Lord Sri Krishna was found. It is located by the side of Rathtala region of Labhpur.

Thakur Badi

This is an ancient Temple decorated with precious marble stones, about 1 km from the station. This temple was originally founded by Satyanarayana Banerjee. Here, several idols of Gods are present, including those of Lord Sri Krishna, Lord Ganesha and Lord Karthik. The famous Rash Yatra is celebrated here with great ceremonies and rituals.

The Sadars

There are four groups of Temples at Labpur, which are popularly known as "Sadars". The temples usually are centering the four ancient shrines to Goddess Durga. These are:
1. Kulin Para, the group belonging to the Chattopadhay family.
2. Nicher Sadar, the group belonging to the Bandopadhay family.
3. Upaar Sadar, the group belonging to the Sarkar and Chattopadhay families.
4. Mukhopadhyay family,popularly known as mukujje family of labhpur
5.Dutta Pada, the group belonging to the Dutta family.
All these temples are enriched with inner-temples to Lord Shiva. The four families were once the Zamindar or Landlord of Labhpur, who wished to be remembered by erecting these temples.

See also

• Labhpur travel guide from Wikivoyage

References