Adra, Purulia

This article is about the town in West Bengal, India. For other uses, see Adra.

Adra
Town
Adra Location in West Bengal, India Show map of West Bengal Adra Adra (India) Show map of India
Coordinates: 23°30′N86°40′E / 23.5°N 86.67°E / 23.5; 86.67
Country	India
State	West Bengal
District	Purulia district
Named for	BNR railway settlement, Adra (Arra)
Area
• Total	8.79 km2 (3.39 sq mi)
Elevation	185 m (607 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Total	14,956
• Density	1,700/km2 (4,400/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Bengali, English
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	723121
Telephone code	03251
ISO 3166 code	IN-WB
Vehicle registration	WB-37/WB-38/WB-44(44A,44B,44C,44D)
Lok Sabha constituency	Purulia and Bankura
Vidhan Sabha constituency	Kashipur and Raghunathpur
Website	purulia.gov.in
https://ser.indianrailways.gov.in/view_section.jsp?lang=0&id=0,6,399

Adra is a town and a railway colony situated in the Raghunathpur subdivision of Purulia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It was well known for its Anglo-Indian population. It is also an important town of north east Purulia. Adra is also known as a railway divisional headquarter of South Eastern Railways.

Geography

[fullscreen map]

Places in Raghunathpur subdivision in Purulia district
M: municipal town, CT: census town, R: rural/ urban centre, H: historical/ religious centre, T: tourist centre
Owing to space constraints in the small map, the actual locations in a larger map may vary slightly

Location

The major sub-divisions of Adra are Agradoot, Subhasnagar, Beniasole, Sixty Four Unit, Palashkola, Kantaranguni, Jhariadih, Panchudanga, Mission para, Laldanga, Daulatpur, Arabinda Pally and SER colonies (North and South).

Area overview

Purulia district forms the lowest step of the Chota Nagpur Plateau. The general scenario is undulating land with scattered hills. ^[1] Raghunathpur subdivision occupies the northern part of the district. 83.80% of the population of the subdivision lives in rural areas. However, there are pockets of urbanization and 16.20% of the population lives in urban areas. There are 14 census towns in the subdivision. ^[2] It is presented in the map given alongside. There is a coal mining area around Parbelia ^[3] and two thermal power plants are there – the 500 MW Santaldih Thermal Power Station ^[4] and the 1200 MW Raghunathpur Thermal Power Station. The subdivision has a rich heritage of old temples, some of them belonging to the 11th century or earlier. The Banda Deul is a monument of national importance. ^{[5] [6]} The comparatively more recent in historical terms, Panchkot Raj has interesting and intriguing remains in the area. ^{[7] [8]}

Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.

Adra Junction railway station

Railway centre

Adra is the divisional headquarters of the Adra division of South Eastern Railway. The economy of the town is driven by the presence of the railways there. It is one of the three important coal loading divisions (the other two being Bilaspur and Chakradharpur) which supply coal to power plants across India.

An important railway junction, Adra railway station connects to Asansol on the Howrah-Delhi Main Line, Tatanagar on the Howrah-Nagpur-Mumbai line, Kharagpur on the Kolkata-Chennai and Kolkata-Mumbai lines, and Gomoh on the Kolkata-Delhi line. The present station building was built in 1903.

Demographics

According to the 2011 Census of India, Adra had a total population of 14,956, of which 7,596 (51%) were males and 7,360 (49%) were females. There were 1,187 persons in the age range of 0–6 years. The total number of literate persons in Adra was 11,565 (83.99% of the population over 6 years). ^[9]

In 2001, Adra had a population of 22,118 Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Adra has an average literacy rate of 73%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 56% of the males and 44% of females literate. 10% of the population was under 6 years of age. ^[10]

Infrastructure

According to the District Census Handbook 2011, Puruliya, Adra covered an area of 8.79 km². There is a railway station at Adra. Among the civic amenities, it had 48.7 km roads with both open and covered drains, the protected water supply involved overhead tank and service reservoir. It had 30,506 domestic electric connections and 869 road lighting points. Among the medical facilities it had 1 dispensary/ health centre, 1 family welfare centre, 1 maternity and child welfare centre, 3 medicine shops. Among the educational facilities it had were 4 primary schools, 6 secondary schools, 4 senior secondary schools, the nearest degree college at Raghunathpur 8 km away. Among the social, recreational and cultural facilities, it had 1 stadium, 1 auditorium/ community hall, 1 public library and 1 reading room. It had the branches of 5 nationalised banks and 1 co-operative bank. ^[11]

Tourism

Places of tourist interest are Joychandi Pahar, which is 4 km north from the town. There is also a nature park called "Swarn Jayanti Park" with a natural water reservoir called "Saheb Bandh" and a forest called "Monpura reserve forest" is also situated here. Adra is known for Sacred Heart Church, which is one of the oldest churches built by the British in 1918. Sacred Heart Church which is also running a missionary school is the largest church under the Jamshedpur Diocese^{[ citation needed ]}.

A part of S.E.Rly. Boys' H.S. School, Adra

Education

There is Kendriya Vidyalaya, which is a part of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), under the Ministry of HRD. The South Eastern Railway Boys' School, South Eastern Railway Girls' High School, South Eastern Railway Primary School, Sacred Heart School, Ashram School, Vidyasagar Vidyapith. Two colleges, Michael Madhusudan College and Raghunathpur College reside there.

Sports

Adra is the state centre for training for the Bharat Scouts and Guides, and holds the Presidents' Award selection camps occasionally. It has the SERSA Stadium and Engineering Ground where annual Football and Cricket events are held.

References

1. Houlton, Sir John, Bihar, the Heart of India, 1949, p. 170, Orient Longmans Ltd.
2. "District Statistical Handbook 2014 Purulia". Tables 2.1, 2.2. Department of Planning and Statistics, Government of West Bengal. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
3. "Area wise Closed User Group (CUG) Telephone Numbers" (PDF). Sodepur Area. Eastern Coalfields Limited. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
4. "Santaldih Thermal Power Station - WBPDCL". WBPDCL. Archived from the original on 11 January 2010. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
5. "Old temple at Banda (locally known as deul)". ASI, Kolkata Circle. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
6. "List of Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains of West Bengal - Archaeological Survey of India". Item no. 134. ASI. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
7. "Capital in shambles: Garh Panchakot, Purulia". Heritage in Peril. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
8. "Historical ruins". Trek Earth. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
9. "CD block Wise Primary Census Abstract Data(PCA)". West Bengal – District-wise CD Blocks. Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
10. "Provisional population totals, West Bengal, Table 4, Puruliya District". Census of India 2001. Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
11. "District Census Handbook Puruliya, Census of India 2011, Series 20, Part XII A" (PDF). Section II Town Directory, Pages 1073-1083 Statement I: Status and Growth History, Pages 1006-1010; Statement II: Physical Aspects and Location of Towns, Pages 1010-1015; Statement III: Civic and other Amenities, Pages 1015-1019; Statement IV: Medical Facilities 2009, Pages 1019-1027 Statement V: Educational, Recreational and Cultural Facilities, Pages 1027- 1029: Statement VI:Industry and Banking. Directorate of Census Operations V, West Bengal. Retrieved 30 January 2020.