Sainthia

Sainthia সাঁইথিয়া
Town
Sainthia Location in West Bengal, India
Coordinates: 23°57′N 87°40′E / 23.95°N 87.67°E / 23.95; 87.67Coordinates: 23°57′N 87°40′E / 23.95°N 87.67°E / 23.95; 87.67
Country	India
State	West Bengal
District	Birbhum
Elevation	53 m (174 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	44,601
• Density	4,400/km2 (11,000/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Bengali, English
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Lok Sabha constituency	Birbhum
Vidhan Sabha constituency	Sainthia. Labpur
Website	birbhum.nic.in

Sainthia is a town and a municipality in Suri Sadar subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The town is famous for Nandikeshwari Temple, one of the Shakti Peethas in India. Urbanization of this area had got momentum in recent past when construction work of Sahibganj loop line and over bridge on Mayurakshi River started. Construction of the Khana-Rajmahal section of Sahibganj Loop was completed in October 1859. The first train ran from Howrah to Rajmahal via Khana on 4 July 1860. Construction of the Sainthia railway station was done as part of building the entire line. This mega work had fetched various people from different corners of this country to assemble and settle here. With the effort of the inhabitants of this urban locality Sainthia has been turned into a commercial hub of the district. Now it is growing rapidly through all the development and service avenues to be a model municipality by taking good care of its inhabitants and the nature surrounding it. Sainthia Municipality has an area of 10 square kilometres.

Naming

The name Sainthia is derived from 'Sain', a Bengali term used to refer to an Islamic priest. Sainthia is also known as 'Nandipur', after the famous temple of Nandikeshwari.

History

On July 19, 2010, the Sainthia train collision occurred at the train station here, when an express train collided with a train stopped at the station.

Geography

Sainthia is located at 23°34′N 87°24′E / 23.57°N 87.40°E / 23.57; 87.40.^[1] It has an average elevation of 53 metres (173 feet). The town is situated in the bank of Mayurakshi river. The soil is generally alluvial and fertile. There was a rich reservoir of groundwater but this stands somewhat depleted due to overuse. Temperature goes very high and it is terribly humid in summer and quite cold in winter.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census,^[2] Sainthia had a population of 39,244. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Sainthia has an average literacy rate of 66%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 73%, and female literacy is 59%. In Sainthia, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Census India 2011

The Sainthia Municipality has population of 44,601 of which 22,856 are males while 21,745 are females as per report released by Census India 2011. Population of Children with age of 0-6 is 4511 which is 10.11 % of total population of Sainthia (M). In Sainthia Municipality, Female Sex Ratio is of 951 against state average of 950. Moreover Child Sex Ratio in Sainthia is around 880 compared to West Bengal state average of 956. Literacy rate of Sainthia city is 79.50 % higher than state average of 76.26 %. In Sainthia, Male literacy is around 84.70 % while female literacy rate is 74.08 %. Out of total population, 16,485 were engaged in work or business activity. Of this 13,481 were males while 3,004 were females. In census survey, worker is defined as person who does business, job, service, and cultivator and labour activity. Of total 16485 working population, 92.97 % were engaged in Main Work while 7.03 % of total workers were engaged in Marginal Work. Sainthia Municipality has total administration over 10,229 houses

Economy base

Sainthia is one of the busiest business hubs in the mid part of West Bengal. The economy of Sainthia Municipal area being the central place of Birbhum district and having good railway communication is based on Agricultural products and its allied business. Rice mill, mastered oil mill, bran oil mill, fried rice mill, galvanized wire product unit and such others business units are running here. The hinterland of business of Sainthia is spreading up to district of Jharkhand in the west and Kandi of Murshidabad district in the east. The town is well connected to Baharampur, Siuri, Rampurhat, Bolpur, Andal, Asansol and Durgapur through high roads and railroads. That makes the town the business center of all sorts of goods distribution and transportation. Socio-economical status is quite strong and education ratio is increasing day by day.

Nandikeshwari Temple

Sainthia is famous for the well-known temple of Goddess Nandikeshwari.^[3] One of the 51 Shakti Peethas, the temple attracts a vast array of visitors and devotees from allover the region. The temple rests on an elevated platform, and contains many additional smaller shrines to many gods and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon. Statuettes of the Mahavidyaas are carved on the walls overlooking the main temple. Puja is offered daily to the Goddess. The name of Goddess is derived from 'Nandi', the mascot and follower of Lord Shiva, and 'Ishwari' (Goddess), meaning 'one who is worshiped by Nandi, the divine bull'. Wife to Lord Shiva, the Goddess is one of the many aspects of Goddess Sati or Parvati.

Situated about 179 km from Howrah and close to the Sainthia railway station, the temple is also a famous pilgrimage for visitors from Kolkata. Usually, a circular journey for pilgrimage is undertaken by visitors and devotees from Kolkata and other major cities in the Birbhum District, starting from Shantiniketan, through Tara Pith and Nandikeshwari and finally to Fullara Mahapith of Labhpur. Daily 'Prasad' is offered to the devotees in the temple. Annual festival is held during the autumn season.

Education

Colleges

There are two colleges in Sainthia.
"Abhedananda Mahavidyalaya", which is a general stream college under 'The University of Burdwan'.
Birbhum Vivekananda Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital (BVHMCH), which is a homeopathic medical college.

Schools

Sainthia High School is the oldest high school of Sainthia. It was started as Boys' high school but now it is co-educational in 11th and 12th class.Founded by 'Panchanan Ghosh',who was one among the leading personalities of Sainthia, who belonged to the famous 'Ghosh' family of Sainthia.

Sainthia Town High School is a boys' only high school, (HS).

Shashibhushan Dutta Girls' High School is a high school only for girls'. It is HS level. This school was founded by the famous "Dutta" family of Sainthia in the memory of their father.

Jogeshwari Dutta Girls' High School was started by Sainthia Municipality as "Municipal Girls' Junior High School" up to 8th class. The famous Dutta family sponsored it to a high school in memory of mother Jogeshwari Dutta. Now it is up to 10th class.

Paharhi Baba Vidyapth is not situated inside the area of Sainthia, but it contains a big percentage of students from Sainthia. It is a co-ed school.

Library

There is one Govt Sponsored public library in Sainthia. It is situated beside Sainthia Town High School.

References

External links

Sainthia travel guide from Wikivoyage