Sainthia

Sainthia Nandipur
Town / Municipality
Statue of horses at the Nandikeshwari Temple complex
Nickname(s): Business City Business Capital of Birbhum[1]
Sainthia Location in West Bengal, India Show map of West Bengal Sainthia Sainthia (India) Show map of India Sainthia Sainthia (Asia) Show map of Asia Sainthia Sainthia (Earth) Show map of Earth
Coordinates: 23°56′42″N 87°40′49″E / 23.9451°N 87.6803°E / 23.9451; 87.6803Coordinates: 23°56′42″N 87°40′49″E / 23.9451°N 87.6803°E / 23.9451; 87.6803
Country	India
State	West Bengal
District	Birbhum
Block (district subdivision)	Sainthia (community development block)
Police station	Sainthia
Old name	Nandipur
Municipality	1987
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Body	Sainthia Municipality
• Chairman	Biplab Dutta[2]
• Vice Chairman	Kazi Kamal Hosein[3]
Area[4]
• Total	16 km2 (6 sq mi)
Elevation[5]	54.94 m (180.25 ft)
Population (2011)[6]
• Total	44,601
• Rank	4th, Birbhum District
• Density	4,400/km2 (11,000/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Sainthian / Sainthiabashi
Languages
• Official	Bengali, English, Hindi
• Spoken	Bengali, Hindi, English, Marwari, Nepali, Urdu, Bhojpuri
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN	731234
Telephone/STD code	03462[7]
Vehicle registration	WB 54
Literacy	79.50%
Lok Sabha constituency	Birbhum
Vidhan Sabha constituency	Sainthia
Website	sainthiamunicipality.com

Sainthia, formerly Nandipur, is a large town and a municipality in Suri Sadar subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The town is known as business city of Birbhum district. The town is in the Jurisdiction of Sainthia police station.^[8] Sainthia is the fourth most populous town^[9] in Birbhum district and 991st most populous town in India.^[5] The town is famous for Nandikeshwari Temple, one of the Shakti Peethas in India. Sainthia Municipality has an area of 16 square kilometres.

Name

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

Sainthia was a small village. Urbanization of this area gained momentum in the recent past, when construction work of the Sahibganj loop line and a bridge over the 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 Junction on 4 July 1860. Construction of the Sainthia railway station was done as part of building the entire line. This large project brought people from different corners of this country to assemble and settle here. Sainthia, an old village trade centre, a place of Pilgrimage has been emerged into a municipal town in the year 1987.^[10]

Accidents

On 19 July 2010, at 02:13 AM the Sainthia train collision occurred in the Sainthia railway station here, when Bananchal express was crashed by Uttarbanga express at platform no. 4.^[11]

Geography

Sainthia is located at 23°56′42″N 87°40′49″E / 23.9451°N 87.6803°E / 23.9451; 87.6803.^[12] It has an average elevation of 54 metres (180 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. The temperature goes very high and it is terribly humid in summer and quite cold in winter.

Urban Structure

An empty narrow street at night in Sainthia.

The Sainthia municipality area spread over 16 km² (6.18 sq mi) and comprises 16 wards. The north–south dimension of the town is comparatively narrow, stretching from the Mayurakshi River in the north to roughly Pariharpur Village in the south—a span of 2–3 km.

Demographics

As of 2011, the Sainthia Municipality has a population of 44,601, of which 22,856 are males while 21,745 are females, as per the report released by Census India 2011. The population of children under age 6 is 4511, which is 10.11% of the total population of Sainthia. In Sainthia, the female sex ratio is 951, against the state average of 950. The child sex ratio is around 880, compared to the West Bengal state average of 956. The literacy rate of Sainthia is 79.50%, higher than state average of 76.26%. Male literacy is around 84.70% while female literacy is 74.08%. Out of the total population, 16,485 were engaged in work or business activity. Of this, 13,481 were males while 3,004 were females. In the census survey, a worker is defined as a person who does business, job, service, cultivator, or labour activity. Of the total 16,485 working population, 92.97% were engaged in main work while 7.03% were engaged in marginal work. Sainthia has over 10,229 houses.^[13]

Ward number 16 is the most populous ward with population of 3814 and ward number 4 is the least populous ward with population of 1638.^[15]

Economy

State Bank of India branch at Sandhani More in Sainthia.

Sainthia is an economically important town and one of the busiest business hubs in the middle part of West Bengal. The economy of Sainthia Municipal area is the central place of Birbhum district. The economy is based on agricultural products and their allied businesses. Rice mills, mastered oil mills, bran oil mills, puffed rice mills, jaggery/gur and galvanized wire product units and other businesses run here. The economy of Sainthia stands tall due to the sales of agricultural products.The town is very much famous for export and import Center for cottege industry and agricultural based different goods. The hinterland of business of Sainthia spreads up to the 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, Durgapur and Kolkata through high roads and railroads. That makes the town the business center of all sorts of goods distribution and transportation. Its socio-economical status is quite strong and education ratio is steadily increasing.^[10]

Sainthia is an important centre for banking and finance.

Transport

Railway

Sainthia Junction Railway Station.

The Sainthia railway station^[16] serves the entire town and is the most important and key railway station of Birbum district. It also serves as the originating station of 4 important trains. The Sainthia railway station connects to both of Kolkata's two busy rail terminals, Howrah railway station and Sealdah railway station.^[17][18]

Healthcare

The town has a lone government hospital, 8 private hospitals and 1 veterinary hospital.^[2][2]

Tourism

Sainthia is mainly famous for its temples. Visit these temples at least once to experience the spirituality of the place. Nandikeshwari Temple devoted to Goddess Nandikeshwari is located in this town.^[19]

Education

Sports

Stadiums

Kamodakinkar Stadium

The Kamodakinkar Stadium (Jalibagan)^[2] is a football and a cricket stadium at Vivekananda Pally, Sainthia, operated by Sainthia Sports Association.

Notable People

Ananda Mohan Chakrabarty (born 1938), microbiologist and scientist.

Culture and Festivals in Sainthia

Sainthia is influenced much by the culture of West Bengal. Festivals in Sainthia are inherited by the entire state of West Bengal. The language that is generally spoken here are Bengali and Hindi. However, people from other parts of India who have settled in Sainthia, obviously speak other languages.The festivals that are most commonly celebrated are the Durga Puja, Saraswati Puja, Holi, Christmas. Also, Ganesh Puja is done during Sankashti Chaturthi.

Durga Idol of Agni Fouj Club in Sainthia during Durga Puja 2017.

The festivals like Sankashti Chaturthi is sincerely celebrated throughout the town of Sainthia by the local people. Though this festival is celebrated in the entire India, the people of Sainthia give more importance to this festival.^[19]

References

External links

Sainthia travel guide from Wikivoyage