Anandnagar

Anandnagar आनन्दनगर Pharenda
City
Anandnagar Location in Uttar Pradesh, India
Coordinates: 27°06′N 83°17′E / 27.10°N 83.28°E / 27.10; 83.28Coordinates: 27°06′N 83°17′E / 27.10°N 83.28°E / 27.10; 83.28
Country	India
State	Uttar Pradesh
District	Maharajganj
Elevation	88 m (289 ft)
Population (2001)
• Total	10,181
Languages
• Official	Hindi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)

Anandnagar is a Large city and a nagar panchayat in Maharajganj district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is situated near NH 29. It is about 45 km from Gorakhpur, 40 km from Siddharthnagar, 30 km from Maharajganj and 55 km from Sonauli Indo-Nepal Border. This place is named after Seth Anandram Jaypuriya. There is closed sugar Mill which was started in about 1935 and closed in 1995.

Geography

Anandnagar is located at 27°06′N 83°17′E / 27.1°N 83.28°E / 27.1; 83.28.^[1] It has an average elevation of 88 metres (288 feet). Anandnagar has many colleges and schools. SAJIC is the oldest intermediate college of Anandnagar established in 1943 where the students gets quality education with a great sports facilities. Other colleges are LBS Intercollege (coeducational), GGIC for girls and MRD intercollege coeducational. There is football ground on SAJI college. All football players are trained by Gurusharan Pathik.

LEHRA DEVI- There is a very famous Temple of Lehra Devi(लेहड़ा देवी) also known as Aadravanavaasini(आद्रवनवासिनी) in Lehra forest. People from all over Eastern UP visit here and worship Goddess Durga. There is special importance to visit here in the period of Navratri in months of March-April and September-October.Lehra Devi Temple, Anandnagar This temple is about 50 km North-West of Gorakhpur located in Anandnagar. It is believed that while wandering in the forest for 14 years, Pandavas lived a year in disguise. They visited the Lehra Jungle and were offered shelter by Lehra Devi. There is one natural Pindi as in Vaishno Devi. It is also believed that Yudhishthira(युधिष्ठिर) answered the questions of Yaksha(यक्ष) here only in this forest. Hiuen-Tsang famous Chinese Traveller also mentions the temple in his book Si-Yu-Ki. During British Raj it was one Military Camp named Lehra. One day one british officer came here and he fired his bullet on the Pindi. Suddenly, Blood started coming out of the Pindi. Seeing the blood britishers ran away. They all died with their horses. Grave of the British Officer is situated in the West of temple about 1 km of distance. Once Maa came to the town as a beautiful girl and wanted to cross the river. She hired a boat and started the journey but in middle of the river the boatman grew interested in her splendid beauty and went off track. As soon as Devi understood his intention she disappeared with the boat. In the Kaliyug she was seen with the boat to her followers who made a temple at the very place. It is believed that if a person visits the temple for regular 5 Tuesdays, his wishes are fulfilled. To reach this temple Buses,Autorickshaws and Trains are available from Gorakhpur to Anandnagar(Pharenda). It is well connected by other mediums to the Temple from Anandnagar. Many tourists from Gorakhpur walk whole night and reach the temple in Dawn.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census,^[2] Anandnagar had a population of 10,181. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Anandnagar has an average literacy rate of 72%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 57% of the males and 43% of females literate. 15% of the population is under 6 years of age.

References