Patna

Patna assumed importance and grandeur around 490 BCE[24][25] as Ajatashatru, the king of Magadha, wanted to shift his capital from the hilly Rajagrha (today's Rajgir) to a strategically located place to better combat the Licchavis of Vaishali.[26] He chose the site on the bank of the Ganges and fortified the area. Gautama Buddha travelled through this place in the last year of his life. He prophesied a great future for this place even as he predicted its ruin due to flood, fire and feud.[27]

Statue of Matrikas found near Agam Kuan built by Ashoka

Megasthenes, the Indo-Greek historian and ambassador to the court of Chandragupta Maurya, gave one of the earliest accounts of the city. He wrote that the city was situated on the confluence of the rivers Ganga and Arennovoas (Sonabhadra — Hiranyawah) and was 14 kilometres (9 mi) long and 2.82 kilometres (1.75 mi) wide.[28][29] Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador to India, described the city as the greatest city on earth during its heyday.[30] The Shungas ultimately retained control of Pataliputra and ruled for almost 100 years. The Shungas were then followed by the Kanvas and eventually by the Guptas.[31]

A number of Chinese travellers came to India in pursuit of knowledge and recorded their observations about Pataliputra in their travelogues. One such famous account was recorded by a Chinese Buddhist traveller Fa Hien, who visited India between 399 and 414 CE, and stayed here for many months translating Buddhist texts.[32]

When Chinese Buddhist Monk Faxian visited the city in 400 A.D, he found the people to be rich and prosperous; they practised virtue and justice. He found that the nobles and householders of the city had constructed several hospitals in which the poor of all countries, the destitute, the crippled and the diseased can get treatment. They could receive every kind of help gratuitously. Physicians would inspect the diseases, and order them food, drink, and medicines.[33]

Main street of Patna, showing one side of the Chowk, 1814–15.

City of Patna, on the River Ganges, 19th-century painting.

In the years that followed, many dynasties ruled the Indian subcontinent from the city, including the Gupta dynasty and the Pala kings. With the disintegration of the Gupta empire, Patna passed through uncertain times. Bakhtiar Khilji captured Bihar in the 12th century and destroyed everything, and Patna lost its prestige as the political and cultural centre of India.[34]

Guru Gobind Singh (22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708), the tenth Guru of the Sikhs, was born as Gobind Rai in Patna to Guru Teg Bahadur, the ninth Guru of the Sikhs, and his wife Mata Gujri. His birthplace, Patna Sahib is one of the most sacred sites of pilgrimage for Sikhs.[35]

The Mughal empire was a period of unremarkable provincial administration from Delhi.[36] The most remarkable period during the Middle Ages was under the afghan emperor Sher Shah Suri, who revived Patna in the middle of the 16th century. He built a fort and founded a town on the banks of the Ganges. Sher Shah's fort in Patna does not survive, although the Sher Shah Suri mosque, built in Afghan architectural style, does. Mughal emperor Akbar reached Patna in 1574 to crush the rebellious Afghan Chief Daud Khan. One of the navratnas from Akbar's court, his official historian and author of "Ain-i-Akbari" Abul Fazl refers to Patna as a flourishing centre for paper, stone and glass industries. He also refers to the high quality of numerous strains of rice grown in Patna, famous as Patna rice in Europe.[37]

By 1620, the city of Patna was being described as the "chefest mart towne of all Bengala" (i.e. largest town in Bengal)[26][38] in northern India, "the largest town in Bengal and the most famous for trade".[39] This was before the founding of the city of Calcutta. Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb acceded to the request of his favourite grandson, Prince Muhammad Azim, to rename Patna as Azimabad, in 1704 while Azim was in Patna as the subedar. Patna or Azimabad did see some violent activities, according to Phllip Mason, writing in the book "The Men Who Ruled India". "Aurangzeb had restored the poll-tax (Jazia) on unbelievers and this had to be compounded for. In Patna, Peacock the Chief of the factory, was not sufficiently obliging and was seized, forced to walk through the town bare-headed and bare-footed and subjected to many other indignities before he paid up and was released." However, very little changed during this period other than the name. With the decline of the Mughal empire, Patna moved into the hands of the Nawabs of Bengal, who levied a heavy tax on the populace but allowed it to flourish as a commercial centre. The mansions of the Maharaja of Tekari Raj dominated the Patna river front in 1811–12.[40]

As trade grew, settlements of the Portuguese empire expanded to the Bengal Gulf. Since at least 1515 the Portuguese where at Bengal as traders, and later in 1521 an embassy was sent to Gaur to be able to create factorys in the region. The Bengal Sultan after 1534 allowed the Portuguese to create several settlements as Chitagoong e Satgaon.[41] In 1535 the Portuguese were allied with the Bengal sultan and held the Teliagarhi pass[42] 280 km from Patna helping to avoid the invasion by the Mughals. By then several of the products came from Patna and the Portuguese send in traders, establishing a factory there since 1580 at least.[43] The products where shipped out down the river until other portuguese ports as Chittagoon e Satgaoon, and from there to the rest of the empire.

During the 17th century, Patna became a centre of international trade.[38] In 1620, the English East India Company established a factory in Patna for trading in calico and silk. Soon it became a trading centre for saltpetre. Francois Bernier, in Travels in the Mogul Empire (1656–1668), says ". It was carried down the Ganges with great facility, and the Dutch and English sent large cargoes to many parts of the Indies, and to Europe". This trade encouraged other Europeans, principally the French, Danes, Dutch and Portuguese, to compete in the lucrative business. Peter Mundy, writing in 1632, described Patna as "the greatest mart of the eastern region".[36] After the decisive Battle of Buxar of 1764, as per the treaty of Allahabad East India Company was given the right to collect tax of this former Mughal province by the Mughal emperor. Patna was annexed by the company in 1793 to its territory when Nizamat(Mughal suzernaity) was abolished and British East India company took control of the province of Bengal-Bihar. Patna however continued as a trading centre.

In 1912, when the Bengal Presidency was partitioned, Patna became the capital of the British province of Bihar and Orissa, although in 1935 Orissa became a separate entity with its own capital. Till date a major population of Bengalis live in Patna particularly.[12][44]

• 
  Street in Patna, 1825 (British, active in India)
• 
  Golghar at Bankipore, near Patna, 1814–15

People from Patna were greatly involved in the Indian independence movement.[45][46] Most notable movements were the Champaran movement against the Indigo plantation and the 1942 Quit India Movement.[47][48] National leaders who came from the city include Swami Sahajanand Saraswati; the first President of the Constituent Assembly of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad; Bihar Vibhuti (Anugrah Narayan Sinha); Basawon Singh (Sinha); and Loknayak (Jayaprakash Narayan).

Patna remained the capital of Bihar after India gained independence in 1947, even as Bihar was partitioned again in 2000 when Jharkhand became a separate state of the Indian union.[44]

On 27 October 2013, six people were killed and 85 others were injured in a series of co-ordinated bombings at an election rally for BJP candidate Narendra Modi.[49] On 3 October 2014, 33 people were killed and 26 injured in a stampede at Gandhi Maidan during Vijaya Dashmi celebrations.[50]

Map of Patna district

Patna is located on the southern bank of the river Ganges[53] in Eastern India. The total area of Patna is 136 km² (53 sq mi). Of this, the municipal area constitutes 99 km² (38 sq mi), while the suburban area constitutes 36 km² (14 sq mi). The exact cartographic co-ordinates of Patna are 25.6°N 85.1°E / 25.6; 85.1. It has an average elevation of 53 m (174 ft). A characteristic feature of the geography of Patna is at the confluence of rivers.[54]

During the British Raj, Patna was part of the Bengal Presidency. After Nalanda district was carved out of Patna district in 1976,[55] Patna was purged of all hilly regions. It is an alluvial, flat expanse of land .The land in the district is too fertile and is almost entirely cultivated with no forest cover . Alluvial soil found herevis ideal for cultivation of rice, sugarcane and other foodgrains. The area under cultivation is studded with mango orchards and bamboo groves . In the fields along the banks of river Ganges, weeds such as ammannia, citriculari, hygrophile and sesbania grow. But palmyra, date palm and mango orchards are found near habitations. Dry stretches of shrubbery are sometimes seen in the villages far from the rivers. Trees commonly found are bel, siris, jack fruit and the red cotton tree.[56] Patna is unique in having four large rivers in its vicinity.[57] It is the largest riverine city in the world.[58] The topography of Patna city is saucer shaped as per Patna City Development Plan prepared in 2006 .[59][60] The bridge over the river Ganges named Mahatma Gandhi Setu is 5575m long and is the longest river bridge in the India.[61]

Patna comes under India's seismic zone-IV, indicating its vulnerability to major earthquakes, but earthquakes have not been common in recent history.[62] Patna also falls in the risk zone for floods and cyclones.[63][64]

Monsoon clouds over Priyadarshi Nagar, a part of Kankarbagh- residential area in Eastern Patna.

Patna has a Humid subtropical climate under the Köppen climate classification: (Cwa) with extremely hot summers from late March to early June, the monsoon season from late June to late September and chilly winter nights and foggy or sunny days from November to February[65] Highest temperature ever recorded was 46.6 °C (115.9 °F), in the year 1966,[66] the lowest ever was 1.1 °C (34 °F), on 9 January 2013,[67] and highest rainfall was 204.5 mm (8.05 in), in the year 1997.[66]

The table below details historical monthly averages for climate variables.

Pollution is a major concern in Patna. According to the CAG report, tabled in the Bihar Legislative Assembly in April 2015, respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) level (PM-10) in Patna was 355, three-and-a-half times higher than the prescribed limit of 100 micro-gram per cubic metre,[71] primarily due to high vehicular[72] and industrial emissions[73] and construction activities in the city.[74] In May 2014, a World Health Organization survey declared Patna the second most air polluted city in India, only after Delhi, with the survey calculating the airborne particulate matter in the state capital's ambient air (PM-2.5) to be 149 micro-grams, six times more than the safe limit, which is 25 micro-grams.[75] Severe air pollution in the city has caused a rise in pollution-related respiratory ailments, such as lung cancer, asthma, dysentery and diarrhoea.[76][77] The dense smog in Patna during winter season results in major air and rail traffic disruptions every year.[78]

The civic administration of Patna is run by several government agencies, and has overlapping structural divisions. At least five administrative definitions of the city are available; listed in ascending order of area, those are:

1. Patna division
2. Patna district (also the Patna Police area),
3. the Patna Metropolitan Region[95] (also known as Patna Planning area)[96]
4. "Greater Patna" or PRDA area, which adds to the PMC area a few areas just adjacent to it[97]
5. Patna Municipal Corporation area.

The Patna Municipal Corporation, or PMC, oversees and manages the civic infrastructure of the city's 75 wards,[98] which accommodates a population of 1.7 million as per 2011 Census. The municipal corporation consists of democratically elected members, each ward elects a Councillor to the PMC.[99] The PMC is in charge of the civic and infrastructure needs of the metropolis. As Patna's apex body, the corporation discharges its functions through the mayor-in-council, which comprises a mayor, a deputy mayor, and other elected members of the PMC. The Mayor is usually chosen through indirect election by the councillors from among themselves. The functions of the PMC include water supply, drainage and sewerage, sanitation, solid waste management, street lighting, and building regulation. The Municipal Commissioner is the chief Executive Officer and head of the executive arm of the Municipal Corporation. All executive powers are vested in the Municipal Commissioner who is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer appointed by the state government.[100] Although the Municipal Corporation is the legislative body that lays down policies for the governance of the city, it is the Commissioner who is responsible for the execution of the policies. The Commissioner is appointed for a fixed term as defined by state statute. The powers of the Commissioner are those provided by statute and those delegated by the Corporation or the Standing Committee. As of June 2017, the BJP won PMC Mayor seat; the mayor is Sita Sahu, while the deputy mayor is Vinay Kumar Pappu.[98]

The Patna Municipal Corporation was ranked 4th out of 21 Cities for best governance & administrative practices in India in 2014. It scored 3.6 on 10 compared to the national average of 3.3.[105]

The revenue district of Patna come under the jurisdiction of a District Collector (District Magistrate).[106] The Collectors are in charge of the general administration, property records and revenue collection for the Central Government, and oversee the national elections held in the city.[107]

The Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (BUIDCO) and the Patna Metropolitan Area Authority, are responsible for the statutory planning and development of Patna Metropolitan Region.[108] Patna Metropolitan Area Authority was established in 2016.[109] It is the superseding agency for the former Patna Regional Development Authority (PRDA), which was dissolved in 2006.[110]

Gandhi Maidan (shown above) lies in the heart of Patna and is the site for most political and social functions in the city.

In addition to city government, numerous commissions and state authorities—including the Ministry of Tourism, the Bihar Health Department, the Bihar Water Resources Department, National Ganga River Basin Authority, Bihar State Pollution Control Board and the Bihar Public Service Commission—play a role in the life of Patnaites. As the capital of Bihar, Patna plays a major role not only in state politics[111] but in central politics as well.[112]

As the seat of the Government of Bihar, The city has several federal facilities, including the Raj Bhavan: Governor's house, the Bihar Legislative Assembly; the state secretariat, which is housed in the Patna Secretariat; and the Patna High Court. The Patna High Court is one of the oldest High Court in India. The Patna High Court has jurisdiction over the state of Bihar.[113] Patna also has lower courts; the Small Causes Court for civil matters, and the Sessions Court for criminal cases.[114][115] The Patna Police, commanded by Senior Superintendent of Police, is overseen by the Bihar Government's Home Department. The Patna district elects two representatives to India's lower house, the Lok Sabha,[116] and 14 representatives to the state legislative assembly.

In October 2016, Bihar cabinet approved the Patna master plan 2031 which envisages development of a new airport at Bihta.[121][122] Patna master 2031 is the second master plan of city which has been passed ever, after the last plan was approved for 1961-1981.[123] Patna master plan covers six urban local bodies - Patna Municipal Corporation, Danapur Nagar Parishad, Phulwarisharif Nagar Parishad, Khagaul Nagar Parishad, Maner Nagar Panchayat and Fatuha Nagar Parishad.[124] 5 satellite towns have also been proposed in the master plan at Bihta, Naubatpur, Punpun, Fatuha and Khusrupur.

Patna has been selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under Government of India's flagship Smart Cities Mission.[125] With the grade of a Smart city, Patna will have highly up-to-date and radical provisions like uninterrupted electric supply, first-rate traffic and transport system, superior health care and many other prime utilities. Under this scheme, the city will use digital technology that will act as the integral mechanism of the aforesaid facilities and thereby further elevate the lifestyle of the citizens. A special purpose vehicle company named the Patna Smart City Limited has been formed to implement the smart city projects. On 22 November 2017, Eptisa Servicios de Ingenieria SL of Spain was chosen as the project management consultant.[126]

Bhootnath Road TV Tower broadcasts programming to Patna

Ground water fulfills the basic need of the people,[127] administered by Patna Jal Parishad under Patna Municipal Corporation.[128] The public water supply system comprises 98 tube wells[129] that pump water directly to the distribution mains. Around 23 overhead reservoirs[127] of which only the one's at Agam Kuan, Gulzarbagh Press, Guru Gobind Singh Hospital and High Court serves the city. The sewerage system in Patna was set up in 1936. At present there are four sewage treatment plants[130] located at Saidpur, Beur, Pahari and Karmali Chak.[131] In 2019, the central government has started the process Nirmal Ganga, which is to build new sewerage infrastructure at Patna’s Karmalichak as well as in Barh, Naugachia and Sultanganj. The new infrastructure will be capable of preventing the flow of 6.7 crore litre of sewage into Ganga.[132]

As of 2011, the city's electricity consumption is about 601 kWh per capita, even though the actual demand is much higher.[133] Electricity supply to the city is regulated and distributed by the South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited[134] managed by Bihar State Power Holding Company Limited (the holding company and a successor company of erstwhile Bihar State Electricity Board).[135] The city forms the Patna Electricity Supply Unit (PESU)[136] Circle, which is further divided into two wings namely Patna East (consists Kankarbagh, Patna City, Gulzarbagh, Bankipore, Rajendra Nagar Divisions) and Patna West (Consists Danapur, New Capital, Pataliputra, Gardanibagh, Dak Bungalow divisions).[137][138]

Direct–to–home (DTH) is available via DD Free Dish, Airtel digital TV, Dish TV, Tata Sky, Videocon d2h, Sun Direct and Reliance Digital TV.[139] Cable companies include Darsh Digital Network Pvt. Ltd.,[140] SITI Maurya Cablenet Pvt. Ltd[141] etc. The Conditional Access System for cable television was implemented in March 2013.[142]

Patna comes under the Patna Telecom District of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL),[143] India's state-owned telecom and internet services provider. Both Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code division multiple access (CDMA) mobile services are available.[144] Apart from telecom, BSNL also provides broadband internet service.[145] Among private enterprises, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Reliance GSM/CDMA, Idea Cellular, Aircel, Tata Teleservices (Tata DoCoMo, Virgin Mobile and Tata Indicom), Telenor (Formerly Uninor & Now Acquired by Bharti Airtel), Vodafone and Videocon Telecom[146] are the leading telephone and cell phone service providers in the city.[147][148]

Patna was the second Indian city, after Bangalore,[149] which offered free WiFi connectivity to its citizens in February 2014. By surpassing the previous record-holder, Beijing in China,[150] Patna's WiFi zone is the world's longest free WiFi zone, which covers a 20-km stretch from NIT Patna on Ashok Rajpath to Danapur.[151][152]

Patna Airport known as Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport is classified as a restricted international airport.[159] The arrival of several low-cost carriers and a number of new destinations have caused a growth in air traffic in recent years, as has an improvement in the situation with regard to law and order.[160] For the period April to December 2009 the airport ranked first in a survey of 46 airports in the country in terms of percentage growth of domestic passengers as well as domestic aircraft movement.[161] The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has proposed to develop a civil enclave at Bihta Air Force Station to serve as the new airport for Patna. The military airfield lies 40 kilometres (25 mi) southwest of Patna, in Bihta.[162]

Patna is served by several railway stations located in different areas of the city. The Patna Junction railway station is the main railway station of the city, and one of the busiest railway stations in India.[163] Patna lies in between New Delhi and Kolkata on Howrah–Delhi main line, which is one of the busiest rail routes in India.[164] Patna Junction is directly connected to most of the major cities in India.[165] The city has four additional major railway stations: Rajendra Nagar Terminal (adjacent to Kankarbagh), Patliputra Junction (near Bailey road), Danapur (near western outskirts) and Patna Sahib (in Patna City area). Danapur is the divisional headquarters of East Central Railway zone's Danapur railway division. Patna is well connected with neighbouring Gaya, Jehanabad, Bihar Sharif, Rajgir, Islampur through daily passenger and express train services. And also connected with Jamalpur Junction and Munger. India's longest road-cum-rail bridge, Digha–Sonpur bridge has been constructed across river Ganges, connecting Digha, Patna to Pahleja Ghat in Sonpur.[166] The bridge was completed in 2015,[167][168] It is 4.55 kilometres (2.83 mi) long and therefore the second longest rail-cum-road bridge in India, after Bogibeel Bridge in Assam.[169]

The city is served by several major road highways and state highways, including National Highways 19,[170] 30,[171] 31,[172] and 83.[173] Asia's longest river bridge, the Mahatma Gandhi Setu (built 1982), is located in Patna and connects the city to Hajipur across the Ganga. In recent times, the bridge has been witnessing major traffic chaos and accidents due to exceeding number of vehicles passing over it and regularly overloading the structure.[174] A new six lane road bridge across the Ganges parallel to Mahatma Gandhi Setu is proposed which would connect Kacchi Dargah in Patna City to Bidupur in Vaishali district,[175] which will be the longest bridge in India after completion.[176] Patna is well connected with roads to various major cities of Bihar like Munger, Jamalpur, Bhagalpur, Gaya, and Purnia.

Patna is 1,015 kilometres (631 mi) East from Delhi, 1,802 kilometres (1,120 mi) North East from Mumbai,1,527 kilometres (949 mi) North from Hyderabad and 556 kilometres (345 mi) North West from Kolkata.[177] Luxury bus service between Patna and several neighbouring cities is provided by the Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation and the Bihar State Road Transport Corporation.[178] Auto Rikshaws are a popular mode of transportation.[179] Prepaid auto services operated by an all-women crew was started in 2013 in Patna,[180] which is the first of its kind in India.[181] Radio Taxi services are also available within city limit as well as outskirts. There are also private options such as Ola Cabs.[158][157]

Patna Metro is a planned rapid transit system for the city. It would be owned and operated by state run Patna Metro Rail Corporation.[182] It will be constructed on Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, estimated to cost ₹14,000 crore (US$2 billion).[183] It will have 5 lines with a total planned length of 60 kilometres (37 mi) km, which will be built in 3 phases.[184] Patna Monorail Project covering the municipal area is also underway. Recently the central government approved Patna metro rail project comprising two corridors(Danapur-Mithapur and Patna railway station-New ISBT). According to government, the project will be completed in 5 years with an estimated cost of Rs.13,365.77 crore.[185]

The Ganges – navigable throughout the year – was the principal river highway across the vast Indo-Gangetic Plain. Vessels capable of accommodating five hundred merchants were known to ply this river in the ancient period; it served as a major trade route, as goods were transported from Pataliputra to the Bay of Bengal and further, to ports in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. The role of the Ganges as a channel for trade was enhanced by its natural links – it embraces all the major rivers and streams in both north and south Bihar.[186]

In recent times, Inland Waterways Authority of India has declared the stretch of river Ganges between Allahabad and Haldia National Inland Waterway and has taken steps to restore and maintain its navigability. The National Waterway-1, the longest Waterway in India, stretches 1620 km in the River Ganga from Allahabad to Haldia via Varanasi, Munger, Bhagalpur passes through Patna.[187] This National Waterways has fixed terminal at Patna.[188] In September 2014, a luxury cruise called ‘MV Rajmahal’ from Patna to Varanasi was launched by the state-based Assam Bengal Navigation Company (ABN).[189]