Gopalganj, Bihar

गोपालगंज Gopalganj
Town
गोपालगंज Location in Bihar, India
Coordinates: 26°28′N 84°26′E / 26.47°N 84.43°E / 26.47; 84.43Coordinates: 26°28′N 84°26′E / 26.47°N 84.43°E / 26.47; 84.43
Country	India
State	Bihar
District	Gopalganj
Elevation	66 m (217 ft)
Population (2001)
• Total	54,418
Languages
• Official	Bhojpuri, Hindi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
PIN	841428
Lok Sabha constituency	Gopalganj
Vidhan Sabha constituency	Gopalganj
Website	http://www.gopalganj.bih.nic.in/

Gopalganj is a town, municipality and headquarters of Gopalganj district in the Indian state of Bihar.

History

Gopalganj was part of erstwhile Saran district which encompassed Chhapra, Siwan and Gopalganj.

18th century

In the 18th century, it was ruled/governedd by Hathwa Raj, which encompassed 1,365 villages. Under the British rule it was a part of Bengal province till the early 19th century.

19th century

In the 19th century with partition of Bengal in 1905. After partition it fell under the newly created Bengal which consisted of present-day Orissa and Bihar. It was part of saran district till 1973. On 2 October 1973, Saran District was partitioned to give birth to three districts Chappra, Siwan and Gopalganj.

Geography

Gopalganj district covers 2,033 square kilometres (785 sq mi) in area and ranks as the 26th largest district in the state of Bihar. The district is mostly plains and fertile land. In the district's western part, the Gandak river flows southwards. It is located at 26°28′N 84°26′E / 26.47°N 84.43°E / 26.47; 84.43, ^[1] at an average elevation of 66 metres (217 ft). Gopalganj district is in the northwest of Bihar state and is adjacent to the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (to the west, Deoria district, and northwest, Kushinagar district), and, within Bihar state, is adjacent to West Champaran district to the north—the place where Mahatma Gandhi started his revolution for independence, the Satyagrah Andolan—East Champaran district to the east, Chhapra district to the southeast, and Siwan district to the south. The district is adjacent to Valmiki National Park. The Hindu shrine to the goddess Durga, at Thawe, is located in this district.

Climate

In general, Gopalganj is linked with humid subtropical climate zone but it doesn't experience snowfall and violent storms in winter(October to February). It experiences long summer from month of April till September with peak reaching in the month of June–July experiencing dust-storms,thunder-storms and dust raising winds, Winter from October till February with lowest in from Mid-December to Mid-January. It primarily receives rainfall in the month of June to September from approaching monsoon and then till November with retreating monsoon.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census,^[2] Gopalganj had a population of 54,418. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Gopalganj has an average literacy rate of 63%, higher than the national average of 59.5%. The male literacy is 70% and female literacy is 55%.

Industries

It is one of the largest sugarcane producers in India. It also produces the best tobaccos in the country.

Native people

Gopalganj is the birthplace of three Chief Ministers of Bihar: the infamous politician and former Railway Minister of India Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, and Abdul Ghafoor, the only Muslim chief minister of Bihar till date.

It is also the birthplace of one of the first female governors of India, Ram Dulari Sinha. Gopalganj is also famous for producing large number of IAS and IPS officers.

Temples

The Kamakhya temple has the head of the goddess. The other parts are on different places in India. One of her other body parts is in Assam and is famous worldwide as the Kamakhya Temple.

There is a famous place in Gopalganj named Vijaipur. It is situated on bank of the Burhi Gandak River. It is famous for thawe temple.

It is also famous for Durga & Sai Baba of Shirdi Mandir. This temple is located on Jadopur Road.

The Prachin Augadh Dani Mandir is in Mirganj, situated in front of post office.

References

See also