Alipurduar district

Alipurduar
District
Clockwise from top-left: Evening at Jaldapara National Park, ruins of Buxa Fort, Hut used by Toto aboriginals, Jayanti Hills in Buxa Tiger Reserve, Bhutan gate near Jaigaon
Location of Alipurduar district in West Bengal
Coordinates: 26°29′20″N89°31′37″E / 26.489°N 89.527°E / 26.489; 89.527
Country	India
State	West Bengal
Division	Jalpaiguri
Headquarters	Alipurduar
Government
•  Subdivisions	Alipurduar Sadar
•  CD Blocks	Madarihat-Birpara, Alipurduar I, Alipurduar II, Kalchini, Falakata, Kumargram
•  Lok Sabha constituencies	Alipurduar
•  Vidhan Sabha constituencies	Alipurduars, Kumargram, Falakata, Madarihat, Kalchini
•  District Magistrate	Smt. R. Vimala, IAS [1]
Area
• Total	3,383 km2 (1,306 sq mi)
Population  (2011) [2]
• Total	1,491,250
• Density	440/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
•  Urban	307,456
Demographics
•  Literacy	78.57 per cent
•  Sex ratio	949 ♂/♀
Languages
• Official	Bengali [3] [4]
• Additional official	English [3]
Time zone	UTC+05:30 (IST)
Website	alipurduar.gov.in

Alipurduar district is the 20th district in the state of West Bengal, India. ^[5] The district has its headquarters at Alipurduar. It was made a district by bifurcating Jalpaiguri district in 2014. ^[6] The district consists of Alipurduar municipality, Falakata municipality and six community development blocks: Madarihat–Birpara, Alipurduar–I, Alipurduar–II, Falakata, Kalchini and Kumargram. The six blocks contain 66 gram panchayats and nine census towns.

History

Under the Kingdom of Bhutan

Southern Boundary of Bhutan contained the present Alipurduar district before 1865 Duar War

The Dooars in Alipurduar district were under the control of Kingdom of Bhutan from early 17th-century till 1865 when British East India company captured the area in the Duar War under the Treaty of Sinchula and were added to the district of Jalpaiguri in 1869 and later finally to the Indian Union in 1949.

Like all the Duars under Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan, it was under the jurisdiction of Tongso Penlop, below the Tongso Penlop were Subah who in turn appointed Mondal, Laskar or Uzir to look after the Duars. ^[7]

Administration

Apart from the Alipurduar municipality and Falakata municipality, the district contains eight census towns and rural areas of 66 gram panchayats under six community development blocks: Madarihat-Birpara, Alipurduar-I, Alipurduar–II, Kalchini, Falakata and Kumargram. ^[8] Geographically the district lies between 26.4°N to 26.83°N and 89°E to 89.9°E.

The nine census towns are Paschim Jitpur, Chechakhata, Alipurduar Railway Junction, Bholar Dabri, Sobhaganj, Jaygaon and Uttar Latabari and Uttar Kamakhyaguri. ^[9]

Railway network

Alipurduar railway division has at least 710 km of railway track. It is the largest division of the Northeast Frontier Railway zone. In Alipurduar district, there are two major stations, Alipurduar Junction (APDJ) and New Alipurduar (NOQ). There are other stations in the district viz. Falakata Railway Station, Kamakhyaguri Railway Station, Dalgaon Railway Station, Hasimara Railway Station, Rajabhatkhawa, Hamiltongunj etc.

Legislative segments

There are 5 assembly constituency in Alipurduar district :

S No.	Name	Lok Sabha constituency	MLA	Party
10	Kumargram (ST)	Alipurduars	Manoj Kumar Oraon		Bharatiya Janata Party
11	Kalchini (ST)		Bishal Lama		Bharatiya Janata Party
12	Alipurduars		Suman Kanjilal		Bharatiya Janata Party
13	Falakata (SC)		Dipak Barman		Bharatiya Janata Party
14	Madarihat (ST)		Manoj Tigga		Bharatiya Janata Party

As per order of the Delimitation Commission in respect of the delimitation of constituencies in the West Bengal, the area under Kumargram block and seven gram panchayats under Alipurduar–II block, viz. Bhatibari, Kohinoor, Parokata, Mahakalguri, Shamuktala, Turturi and Tatpara–I constitutes the Kumargram assembly constituency of West Bengal. The Majherdabri gram panchayat under Alipurduar–II block and the area under Kalchini block constitutes the Kalchini assembly constituency. The Alipurduar municipality, the Alipurduar Railway Junction census town, and the gram panchayats of Chaporer Par–I, Chaporer Par–II and Tatpara–II under Alipurduar–II block and ten gram panchayats of Alipurduar–I block, viz. Banchukamari, Parorpar, Shalkumar–I, Vivekananda–I, Chakowakheti, Patlakhawa, Shalkumar–II, Vivekananda–II, Mathura and Tapsikhata form the Alipurduars assembly constituency. The other gram panchayat of Alipurduar–I block, viz. Purba Kanthalbari forms the Falakata assembly constituency along with the area under Falakata block. Madarihat block is part of Madarihat assembly constituency. Kumargram, Kalchini and Madarihat constituencies is reserved for Scheduled tribes (ST) candidates. Falakata constituency is reserved for Scheduled castes (SC) candidates. All these five assembly constituencies are part of Alipurduars (Lok Sabha constituency), which is reserved for ST candidates. ^[10]

Demographics

As of the 2011 census, Alipurduar district had a population of 1,491,250, of which 1,183,704 were rural and 307,456 were urban. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 456,706 (30.62%) and 382,112 (25.62%) of the population respectively. ^[2]

Religion

Religion in Alipurduar district (2011) [11]
Hinduism			80.07%
Islam			8.74%
Christianity			7.52%
Buddhism			2.37%
Tribal religion			1.00%
Other or not stated			0.31%

Religion in present-day Alipurduar district

Religion	Population (1941) [12] : 90–91	Percentage (1941)	Population (2011) [11]	Percentage (2011)
Hinduism	144,898	45.17%	1,194,102	80.07%
Tribal religion	141,716	44.17%	14,866	1.00%
Islam	29,856	9.31%	130,339	8.74%
Christianity	1,385	0.43%	112,091	7.52%
Buddhism	---	---	35,318	2.37%
Others [a]	2,963	0.93	4,534	0.31%
Total Population	320,818	100%	1,491,250	100%

Hindus are the majority in all blocks. Muslims are spread evenly throughout the district, but Christians, traditional religions and Buddhists are concentrated in the tea garden areas.

Language

Languages of Alipurduar district (2011) ^[13]

   Bengali (53.93%)

   Sadri (16.80%)

   Nepali (9.70%)

   Hindi (3.67%)

   Rajbongshi (3.17%)

   Kurukh (3.13%)

   Boro (2.38%)

   Bhojpuri (1.39%)

   Santali (1.32%)

  Others (4.51%)

At the time of the 2011 census, 53.93% spoke Bengali, 16.80% Sadri, 9.70% Nepali, 3.67% Hindi, 3.17% Rajbongshi, 3.13% Kurukh, 2.38% Boro, 1.39% Bhojpuri and 1.32% Santali as their first language. ^[13]

Visitor attractions

An elephant safari through the Jaldapara Sanctuary

Hill Down View of Jaigaon

• Buxa Tiger Reserve, IUCN category II national park
• Jayanti Hills
• Buxa Fort, built by British Raj
• Jaldapara National Park
• Chilapata Forests
• Jaigaon, a small town of Alipurduar district and near the Bhutan border
• Rajabhatkhawa Museum at Rajabhatkhawa
• Rajabhatkhawa Forest
• Raimatang
• Jayanti
• Santalabari
• Rovers point
• Roopang valley
• Lepchakha
• Chunabhati
• Chipra Forest
• Chilapata Forest
• Buxa Tiger Reserve
• Dima Bridge
• Vistadome Ride
• Tons of Tea Estates

• Kodalbasti ^[14]
• Shilbarihat
• Nilpara
• Nimati ^[15]

Geographical indication

Kalonunia rice was awarded the Geographical Indication (GI) status tag from the Geographical Indications Registry under the Union Government of India on 02/01/2024 (valid until 11/03/2034). It is a common and widely cultivated crop in districts of Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar along with some parts of Darjeeling & Kalimpong districts of West Bengal. ^{[16] [17] [18] [19]}

State Agricultural Management & Extension Training Institute (SAMETI) from Narendrapur, proposed the GI registration of Kalonunia rice. After filing the application in March 2021, the rice was granted the GI tag in 2024 by the Geographical Indication Registry in Chennai, making the name "Kalonunia rice" exclusive to the rice grown in the region. ^[20] It thus became the third rice variety from West Bengal after Tulaipanji rice and the 26th type of goods from West Bengal to earn the GI tag.

The GI tag protects the rice from illegal selling and marketing, and gives it legal protection and a unique identity.

Notes

1. Including Jainism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Ad-Dharmis, or not stated.

References

1. "District Magistrate". Alipurduar District, Government of West Bengal. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
2. "District Census Handbook-Jalpaiguri" (PDF). Directorate of Census Operations, West Bengal. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
3. "Fact and Figures". Wb.gov.in. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
4. "52nd Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India" (PDF). Nclm.nic.in. Ministry of Minority Affairs. p. 85. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
5. TNN (21 June 2014). "Roy Alipurduar: Alipurduar a new district on June 25". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
6. IANS (25 June 2014). "Alipurduar becomes Bengal's 20th district | Business Standard News". Business Standard. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
7. ( Das 1998 :32)
8. "Directory of District, Sub division, Panchayat Samiti/ Block and Gram Panchayats in West Bengal, March 2008". West Bengal. National Informatics Centre, India. 19 March 2008. Archived from the original on 25 February 2009. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
9. "District Wise List of Statutory Towns (Municipal Corporation, Municipality,Notified Area and Cantonment Board), Census Towns and Outgrowths, West Bengal, 2001". Census of India, Directorate of Census Operations, West Bengal. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
10. "Press Note, Delimitation Commission" (PDF). Assembly Constituencies in West Bengal. Delimitation Commission. pp. 4–5, 23. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
11. "Table C-01 Population by Religion: West Bengal". censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
12. "Census of India, 1941 Volume VI Bengal Province" (PDF). Retrieved 13 August 2022.
13. "Table C-16 Population by Mother Tongue: West Bengal". www.censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
14. Basu, Moushumi (31 May 2018). "A rhino poaching racket has created fear, suspicion towards outsiders in a West Bengal village". scroll.in. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
15. "Buxa Tiger Reserve Forests". indyatour.com. Indyatour. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
16. "Bengal's own Gobindabhog and Tulaipanji soon to get a distinct stand on world map". The Indian Express. 2 January 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
17. Khush, Gurdev S.; Hettel, Gene; Rola, Tess (1996). Rice Genetics III: Proceedings of the Third International Rice Genetics Symposium, Manila, Philippines, 16-20 October 1995. Int. Rice Res. Inst. ISBN   978-971-22-0087-8 . Retrieved 23 November 2024.
18. Roychoudhury, Aryadeep (29 July 2020). Rice Research for Quality Improvement: Genomics and Genetic Engineering: Volume 2: Nutrient Biofortification and Herbicide and Biotic Stress Resistance in Rice. Springer Nature. ISBN   978-981-15-5337-0 . Retrieved 23 November 2024.
19. Sarker, Dilip De; Saha, Manas Ranjan; Saha, Subrata (1 January 2015). Perspective of dietetic and antioxidant medicinal plants. Notion Press. ISBN   978-93-84878-95-5.
20. "Kalonunia Rice". Intellectual Property India. Retrieved 23 November 2024.

Bibliography

• Das, Smriti (1998). Assam Bhutan relations with special reference to duars from 1681 to 1949 (PhD). Guwahati University. hdl:10603/67909. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.

External links

• Official website