Banka district

Banka is the homeland of the revolutionary Satish Prasad Jha, one of seven martyrs who hoisted the flag of India at the Secretariat building near Patna on 11 August 1942. Jha was born in Kharhara near Dhakamod. Bhubaneswar Mishra, a noted regional revolutionary from village Faga has contributed a lot in the freedom movement. He was sentenced life imprisonment for killing many cruel British forces. Banka has been an attractive destination for veteran socialists. Madhu Limaye represented the constituency twice. George Fernandes and Rajnarayan also contested the parliamentary election in this constituency. There were also a number of veteran leaders of the Indian National Congress: Vindhyavasini Devi, MLA ( 1957–1967), Shakuntala Devi ex M.P., ex chief minister of Bihar Chandrashekhar Singh, Chaturbhuj Singh Ex. M.L.A., ex-Rajya Sabha MP Kamakhya Prasad Singh, ex-MP Manorama Singh, and ex-MLA Jai Prakash Mishra. Digvijay Singh (14 November 1955 – 24 June 2010) was an independent who represented Banka in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament. Banka played vital role in freedom of India.

Digvijay Singh served as a Member of the Parliament of India five times – three times in the Lok Sabha (1998, 1999, 2009) and two times in the Rajya Sabha (1990, 2004). He served as Union Minister of State in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government (1999–2004) and Chandrashekhar Government (1990–1991). He was also a successful sports administrator, having served as President of the National Rifle Association of India since 1999. He was one of the three (George Fernandis, Digvijay Singh, and Nitish Kumar) founding members of the Samta party. Now Gridhari Yadav is the member of parliament from this constituency.

The district, part of Bhagalpur Division, has its headquarters at Banka town. Banka district occupies an area of 3,020 square kilometres (1,170 sq mi),[2] comparatively equivalent to Canada's Akimiski Island.[3]

Banka is gradually becoming a religious tourism hotspot for Hinduism and Jainism. Old Mandar Parvat (also known as Mandarachal Parvat in Puran) has many places to visit. A Jain temple at the summit, in close proximity to a Vishnu temple, is a sign of religious tolerance. Every year in January, Bounsi Mela is organised, which depicts the village life of the Mandar region. A Ratha-Yatra procession of Lord Madhusudanah occurs every year on the same day as the Rath Yatra procession in Puri. Fourteenth-century Vaishnava saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu started this Rath Yatra during his visit to Mandar.

Banka is a largely agrarian economy and is considered the rice bowl of Bihar. The main crops are rice, wheat, corn, and lentils. Amarpur is the densely populated block of Banka district. The Amarpur belt produces sugar cane and is home to gur sugar mills.

An issue for many smaller village industries in Bihar is the lack of branding for products. High-quality, locally produced goods, even in large volumes, contribute to lower earnings for business owners because of a lack of awareness of more profitable business practices.

Banka is strategically located near the source of raw materials for heavy industries. Its proximity to Jharkhand (bordering Deoghar, Dumka, and Godda) and the River Chandan makes it a very strong contender for coal-based power plant investment and other heavy industry.There is a 4000MW thermal power plant is planned in kakwara village[4] Abhijeet group has planned to built a 1320MW thermal power plant at Baunsi. Ericsson Power Ltd has planned to set up a 1320MW thermal power plant at Prabhawati Nagar.[5] Dalmia Power has Planned to set up a 1320MW coal based thermal power project in Dona village.[6] In 2006 the Indian government named Banka one of the country's 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640).[7] It is one of the 38 districts in Bihar currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).[7]

The district comprises only one sub-division, Banka, which is further divided into eleven blocks: Banka, Amarpur, Shambhuganj, Belhar, Fullidumar, Katoria, Chandan, Baunsi, Barahat, Dhoraiya, Rajoun

Out of 11 blocks, 2 are Naxal affected.

A railway line connecting the existing Bhagalpur-Bounsi line to Rampurhat, which is well-connected to Howrah, is being developed, as is a line connecting Sultanganj to Jasidih through Banka. Banka is also connected to Capital of Bihar from the railway line. village Jagatpur should be included where railway station banka situated.

According to the 2011 census Banka district has a population of 2,034,763,[9] roughly equal to the nation of Slovenia[10] or the US state of New Mexico.[11] This gives it a ranking of 228th in India (out of a total of 640).[9] The district has a population density of 672 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,740/sq mi) .[9] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 26.14%.[9] Banka has a sex ratio of 907 females for every 1000 males,[9] and a literacy rate of 60.12%.[9]

It has a population of 1,608,773 (as of 2001). There are 1,409,352 Hindus and 190,051 Muslims (11.81%).

A famous temple dedicated to the Hindu goddess Durga is located in Jagatpur, Karhariya, Kushmaha, Saharna, Laxmipur Dam, Banka, Babhangama,Chandan. Every year during Durga Puja, devotees from many parts of India visit this temple. Two temples—Narshimha (one of the incarnations of Vishnu) Temple and Digamber Jain Tirthanakar—are located at the top of a mountain known as Mandar Parbat, which is about 500 metres (1,600 ft) tall and made of a single piece of stone. The management of the Narsimha temple is under a trust. There is also a very old Avantika Nath temple at the bottom of Mandar Parvat. The Avantika Nath Temple Trust, founded by the late Babu Biro Singh of the village of Sabalpur, looks after the temple. Kailash Pathak is the Sevayat of the Avantika Nath temple. A famous temple of Lord SHIVA is in Jethore hill near Chanan river. The literal meaning of Jethore is jyesth means elder Gaur means brother of Deoghar temple. Maa kali mandir in KAMALPUR village is a famous temple. A Mahalakshmi temple is located in front of Paapharni Pond. Recently a Lakshminarayan Temple was built in the centre of Paapharni through the contributions of local people. It is managed by a trust headed by Fateh Bahadur Singh of erstwhile Sabalpur state.3 km East from Rajoun Village MAHADA is situated, which is famous for goddess Ďurga Mandir, Kali Mandir and God Shiva Mandir.

The district is known for its rich tribal culture and its handicrafts and handlooms. The homemade Khadi and silk of the area are popular. Most of the raw silk cocoon is produced in Katoria; in fact, major part of the raw materials required for silk industry in Bhagalpur is supplied from Katoria.

Mandargiri Digambar Jain Siddha Kshetra is located at the top of a mountain known as Mandar Parbat, which is about 500 metres (1,600 ft) tall and made of a single piece of stone. This place is related to the three Kalyanka – Tup(penance), Keval Gyan(Omniscience) & Moksha of Bhagawan Vasupoojya. It means that this is the place where Vasupoojya Swami accepted penance, achieved the supernatural knowledge and finally got salvation. Moolnayak of this temple is a Coral Colored idol of Lord Vasupoojya in padmasana posture. A 5 feet tall statue of Vasupoojya is also present here. The temple also has a Dharamshala equipped with all modern facilities.[14][15][16]

The district has some forested area under Banka, Bounsi Katoriya forest ranges. The wood of Banka range lie on the Hill slopes, those in the other two ranges lie in the undulating land. Among the prominent variety of trees in forested areas are the Sal which is usually found associated with Abuns, Asan, Kendu and Mahua. Tasar worms are reared on Asan trees. Some other trees are Bahera, Kadam, Amaltas. Among the specials of the Acacia are Babul, Sirish, and Sain Babul. Among the fruits trees, those of Mango and Jackfruits are common. Plantains, Date plants, Plums, Blackberry are some of the other important fruits trees.

Monkeys are common in the district, particularly the Hanuman. So are Jackal, Deer, lion, Bear, Leopards, Elephants are sometimes met with. Among the latter are Barsingha and Sambhar. Wild geese, Duck, Leel, and Quail are some of the game birds inhabiting the district. Peacocks, Parrots, Hawks, and Doves are other birds found in Katoriya/Chandan forest. Sparrows, Crows and Vultures are of course common.

Several kinds of fishes are found e.g. Rohu, Katla, Boari, and Tengra. Bachwa, Jhinga and Pothi are other Varieties.

Banka district has only one Government college PBS college.

• Official website