Katihar

Katihar
City
Katihar
Location in Bihar, India
Coordinates: 25°32′N 87°35′E / 25.53°N 87.58°E / 25.53; 87.58Coordinates: 25°32′N 87°35′E / 25.53°N 87.58°E / 25.53; 87.58
Country India
State Bihar
District Katihar
Elevation 20 m (70 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 240,565
Languages
 • Main Hindi, Urdu, Maithili, Surjapuri
Time zone UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN 854105
Vehicle registration BR-39
Lok Sabha constituency Katihar
Vidhan Sabha constituency Katihar
Website katihar.bih.nic.in

Katihar is a city situated in the eastern part of the state of Bihar in India. It is the regional headquarter of Katihar district. It is one of the larger cities of Bihar & is known all over East India for its highly strategic railway junction.

The city of Katihar is one of the most well maintained cities in Bihar with the city well lighted up throughout the night.There are LED lamposts fixed to a stretch of up to 5-6 kilometers through the middle of two-laned road leading to Katihar Junction & further up to Binodpur area via a roadway bridge. There are also 2-3 walkover bridges to facilitate localites because the entire city is traversed through a wide space occupied by a network of railway tracks.

History

Katihar, which was previously part of Purnia district, is part of the Mithila region.[1] Mithila first gained prominence after being settled by Indo-Aryan peoples who established the Mithila Kingdom (also called Kingdom of the Videhas).[2] During the late Vedic period (c. 1100–500 BCE), Kingdom of the Videhas became one of the major political and cultural centers of South Asia, along with Kuru and Pañcāla. The kings of the Kingdom of the Videhas were called Janakas.[3] The Mithila Kingdom was later incorporated into the Vajji confederacy, which had its capital in the city of Vaishali, which is also in Mithila.[4]

Transport

Katihar is well connected to almost all major cities of the country due to the widespread railway network existing over here. Katihar is also called "The Gateway of North-East." Almost every train heading forward towards the major cities of North East India be it Guwahati, Siliguri or Dimapur is bound to pass through Katihar with the city being a major halt for most of these trains. There are four Rajdhani Express trains which are bound for Delhi from Dibrugarh & Agartala respectively & have got their major halt in Katihar. Barsoi station which is regulated under Katihar Junction. Millions of passengers from almost entire Seemanchal region utilize Katihar junction everyday to reach to their desired destinations all over India. Patna, Kolkata, Guwahati, Lucknow, New Delhi, Mumbai, Amritsar, Bangalore, Chennai, Agartala, Jammu Tawi, Chandigarh, Tata Nagar, Bhubaneshwar, Vishakhapatnam, Varanasi & Ranchi to name a few are the major cities to which Katihar hosts trains for. Katihar Junction railway station is thus an important railway station on Indian railway map & one of the biggest junctions in entire East India. The number of platforms & passenger movements in Katihar are more than any of the other Tier-2 cities of India be it Kota, Mathura or Siliguri.

Katihar Junction railway station is a division in North-east Frontier Railways. Katihar Junction railway station is a six line junction:

Katihar is also the headquarter of Katihar Railway Division.

Katihar is not so well connected through road network to the neighbouring cities of Bihar and other neighbouring states due to its interior location. An excellent state highway however connects it to Purnia from where NH 31, NH 57 & NH 107 passes through or starts through.

The nearest commercial airport is located at Bagdogra (160 km) near Siliguri (West Bengal). However recently government has announced to open the Airforce base airport in Chunapur, Purnea to be allowed to use for commercial use. However it is not operational yet.

Education

Katihar Ramakrishna Mission

Katihar has many education institutions. Some CBSE schools in city are:-

  • Kendriya Vidyalaya
  • Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandir (estd. in 1951; the oldest surviving school of Katihar; it used to be under CBSE ) Ref. - List of Ramakrishna Mission institutions
  • Hari Shankar Nayak High School
  • International School Of East India
  • Scottish Public School
  • Netaji Vidyamandir
  • AAM children Academy
  • Katihar English School.
  • Ramakrishna Mission Sarda Vidyamandir
  • Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Katihar
  • Colonels Academy
  • SBP Vidya Vihar
  • KidZee
  • The Maheshwari Academy
  • Katihar High School
  • Zila School
  • M.T.A Islamia +2 School
  • Rajiv Shiksha Niketan

ICSE affiliated school in the city is Don Bosco School.


Some govt. colleges in city are:-

  • D.S. College, Katihar
  • K.B Jha College, Katihar
  • Govt. Polytechnic, Katihar
  • Sita Ram Chamaria College
  • M J M Mahila College

Some other important institutes of the city are :-

  • Katihar Medical College & Hospital, Katihar
  • Suryadev Law College, Katihar
  • A.M.Ashari Educational & Welfare Trust, Katihar

Katihar Medical College

Katihar Medical College and Hospital (KMCH) a private medical college located in Katihar City suburbs & is recognized by Medical Council of India (MCI).[5], one of the few medical schools in Seemanchal region. It was established in 1987 and since then it has been instrumental in providing decent medical care to the people of the region. The institute offers courses in MBBS and MD in different fields like Biochemistry, Pharmacology, Microbiology, General Medicine, Obstetrics & Gynaecology.

Demographics

As per 2011 census, Katihar Urban Agglomeration had a population of 240,565.[6] Katihar Urban Agglomeration includes Katihar (Municipal Corporation plus Out Growth) and Katihar Railway Colony (Out Growth).[7] Katihar Municipal Corporation had a total population of 225,982, out of which 119,142 were males and 106,840 were females. It had a sex ratio of 897. The population below 5 years was 31,036. The literacy rate of the 7+ population was 79.87 per cent.[8] Katihar is at 193th rank in terms of its population among the top 200 cities of India as per 2011 census ( ref. List of most populous cities in India )

Urdu, Hindi, Maithili, Angika, Bengali and Surjapuri are the main languages spoken in Katihar.

Entertainment

As every other Indian geographical area there is a special inclination towards Movies and Sports. There are several cinema halls namely Vasant Talkies, Prakash Talkies, Shyama Talkies for movie freaks. There is a stadium named after Dr. Rajendra Prasad which hosts many state level tournaments noticeably "Major Ashutosh Cricket Tournament" with teams participating from far and wide like Patna, Silliguri, Malda even Nepal. The tournament is a major spectacle in yearly event of Katihar. The youth is particularly interested in sports, and the city offers plenty of spaces to groom their talent. Open spaces like Rajendra Prasad Stadium, Maheshwari Academy field, Railway Field provides opportunities for youth to train and to engage in sports.

Economy

Katihar has a growing economy with most of its commercial activities limited to the city region.There are loads of shops, showrooms, restaurants all over the city.The Railway Junction itself generates tons of revenues throughout the year which in turn boosts the economic activities of Katihar. Katihar is in fact a Sub-Cosmopolitan city with people from various communities & states having their residence in Katihar. The lifestyle of people of Katihar is hence distinguishable from rest of the Seemanchal region due to this cosmos lifestyle. A mini mall by the name 1 India Mart has recently been constructed near Gurudwara which is a major attraction these days.

Katihar city hosts some pizza outlets too namingly U.S Pizza, Scrummies, Rolla Cost Many motorcycle companies have their showrooms in the city i.e. Bajaj, Hero, TVS, Honda, Yamaha, Mahindra Two Wheelers. Many private banks have also opened their branches in the city.

Generally in India, Shops are closed on Sunday, But in Katihar they are closed on Tuesday. This is mainly because it is the biggest market in Seemanchal Region and people from Mithila region and North-Eastern Bengal travel to Katihar for Shopping.

Durga Puja & Kali Puja

The city of Katihar hosts one of the most extravagant Durga Puja and Kali Puja celebrations in entire Bihar and West Bengal. Many pandals come to the city during these periods. Artisans from Kolkata are called for statue work of goddess Durga and allies.[9]

Katihar already has a significant Bengali population & this adds to the celebrations over here. There are lotteries & various competitions held all over the city by the Pandal hosting societies during this festive season of Katihar.

Media

Majority of people read Hindustan, Dainik Jagran, Dainik bhaskar, The Telegraph & Bengali newspapers are also available for Bengali readers. KBC News broadcasts the local news on television. People also tune into All India Radio for national news.

Climate

The climate of Katihar is nearly moderate with widespread rainfall during the Monsoons sometimes bringing flood to the adjoining rural areas of the Katihar District.

Rivers & Floods

The rural blocks of Katihar, namely Manihari & Karhagola, are traversed through Ganges while the Kursela region is situated on the banks of Kosi region. Both of these rivers bring massive destruction to the livelihood of people in these rural areas. Kosi is in fact also known as the Sorrow of Bihar due to its disastrous flowing frequency.

See also

References

  1. ↑ https://books.google.co.in/books?id=A0i94Z5C8HMC&lpg=PA30&pg=PA27&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
  2. ↑ Michael Witzel (1989), Tracing the Vedic dialects in Dialectes dans les litteratures Indo-Aryennes ed. Caillat, Paris, pages 13, 17 116–124, 141–143
  3. ↑ Witzel, M. (1989). "Tracing the Vedic dialects". In Caillat, C. Dialectes dans les litteratures Indo-Aryennes. Paris: Fondation Hugot. pp. 141–143.
  4. ↑ Hemchandra, R. (1972). Political History of Ancient India. Calcutta: University of Calcutta.
  5. ↑ "Katihar Medical College". Katihar Medical College. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  6. ↑ "Urban Agglomerations/Cities having population 1 lakh and above" (PDF). Provisional Population Totals, Census of India 2011. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
  7. ↑ "Constituents of urban Agglomerations Having Population 1 Lakh & above" (PDF). Provisional Population Totals, Census of India 2011. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
  8. ↑ "Cities having population 1 lakh and above" (PDF). Provisional Population Totals, Census of India 2011. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
  9. ↑ "Durga Puja Celebration in Katihar". Dainik Jagaran.
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