Bhagalpur district

This article is about the district. For its eponymous headquarters, see Bhagalpur.

Bhagalpur district
District of Bihar
An image of the Vikramshila ancient university
Location of Bhagalpur district in Bihar
Coordinates (Bhagalpur): 25°00′N 86°55′E
Country	India
State	Bihar
Division	Bhagalpur
Established	1765
Headquarters	Bhagalpur
Government
• Lok Sabha constituencies	Bhagalpur Banka(for Sultanganj and Shahkund Blocks)
• Vidhan Sabha constituencies	Bhagalpur, Nathnagar, Pirpainty, Kahalgaon, Sultanganj, Bihpur, Gopalpur
Area
• Total	2,569 km^2 (992 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Total	3,037,766
• Density	1,200/km^2 (3,100/sq mi)
• Urban	602,532
Demographics
• Literacy	63.14 per cent
• Sex ratio	880/1000
Time zone	UTC+05:30 (IST)
Major highways	NH 33, NH 31, NH 80
Average annual precipitation	1166 mm
Website	bhagalpur.nic.in

Bhagalpur district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India. Bhagalpur is the oldest district of Bihar. Bhagalpur city is the administrative headquarters of this district.

Geography

Bhagalpur district occupies an area of 2,569 square kilometres (992 sq mi).^[2][3] Bhagalpur district is a part of Bhagalpur Division. The river Ganga flows through the district.

National protected area

• Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1901	599,746	—
1911	609,927	+1.7%
1921	569,075	−6.7%
1931	655,803	+15.2%
1941	749,465	+14.3%
1951	841,309	+12.3%
1961	1,022,322	+21.5%
1971	1,250,354	+22.3%
1981	1,582,753	+26.6%
1991	1,909,967	+20.7%
2001	2,423,172	+26.9%
2011	3,037,766	+25.4%
source:[4]

Religion

By C.D. Block^[5][6]

CD block	Hinduism	Islam	Others
Naugachhia	89.75%	10.05%	0.20%
Gopalpur	93.75%	6.25%	0.10%
Ismailpur	96.23%	3.5%	0.43%
Bihpur	81.66%	17.98%	0.35%
Rangrachowk	89.64%	9.91%	0.45%
Jagdishpur	65.29%	33.92%	0.79%
Sanhaula	72.82%	26.6%	0.57%
Sabour	82.33%	17.47%	0.19%
Goradih	79.05%	20.40%	0.55%
Narayanpur	88.16%	11.69%	0.13%
Kahalgaon	89.61%	10.16%	0.33%
Sultanganj	90.17%	9.47%	0.46%
Pirpainti	82.86%	16.55%	0.59%
Kharik	87.26%	12.57%	0.17%
Shahkund	83.24%	16.35%	0.41%
Nathnagar	90.70%	9.17%	0.13%

Religions in Bhagalpur district (2011)[7]
Religion			Percent
Hinduism			81.90%
Islam			17.68%
Other or not stated			0.42%

According to the 2011 census Bhagalpur district has a population of 3,037,766.^[5] This gives it a ranking of 120th in India (out of a total of 640).^[5] The district has a population density of 1,182 inhabitants per square kilometre (3,060/sq mi).^[5] Its population growth rate over the decade 2001–2011 was 25.36%.^[5] Bhagalpur has a sex ratio of 880 females for every 1000 males,^[5] and a literacy rate of 63.14%. 19.83% of the population lives in urban areas. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 10.49% and 2.21% of the population respectively.^[5]

Languages

Languages of Bhagalpur district (2011)^[8]

  'Other' Hindi (62.94%)

  Hindi (23.40%)

  Urdu (10.29%)

  Bhojpuri (2.09%)

  Others (1.28%)

At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 23.40% of the population in the district spoke Hindi, 10.29% Urdu and 2.09% Bhojpuri as their first language. 62.94% of the population spoke languages classified as 'Others' under Hindi on the census.^[8]

The primary language used in the district is Angika.^[9][10][11] Other chief languages include Hindi, Urdu and Bengali language.^[12]

Government and administration

Politics

District	No.	Constituency	Name	Party		Alliance		Remarks
Bhagalpur	152	Bihpur	Kumar Shailendra		BJP		NDA
	153	Gopalpur	Narendra Kumar Niraj		JD(U)		NDA
	154	Pirpainti	Lalan Kumar		BJP		NDA
	155	Kahalgaon	Pawan Kumar Yadav		BJP		NDA
	156	Bhagalpur	Ajeet Sharma		INC		MGB
	157	Sultanganj	Lalit Narayan Mandal		JD(U)		NDA
	158	Nathnagar	Ali Ashraf Siddiqui		RJD		MGB

City and towns

Main article: List of cities and towns in Bhagalpur district

Bhagalpur

Bhagalpur is the largest city in Bhagalpur district and is situated on the southern bank of the Ganges river. The old name of Bhagalpur is Champanagri which is capital of Anga Kingdom.

Kahalgaon

Kahalgaon (formerly known as Colgong during British rule) is a municipality town and one of 3 sub-divisions in Bhagalpur district in the state of Bihar, India. It is located close to the Vikramashila.

Naugachia

Naugachia is a town and an important railway station in Bhagalpur district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is a block and one of three sub-divisions of the Bhagalpur district and is also a police district.

Sultanganj

Sultanganj is a town and a block in Bhagalpur district of Bihar. It located 25 km from Bhagalpur.

Blocks and circles

There are 16 blocks and circles in the district and each block is headed by a block development officer and each circle is headed by a circle officer.^[6]

1. Goradih
2. Jagdishpur
3. Nathnagar
4. Sabour
5. Shahkund
6. Sultanganj
7. Kahalgaon
8. Pirpainty
9. Sanhaula
10. Bihpur
11. Gopalpur
12. Ismailpur
13. Kharik
14. Narayanpur
15. Naugachhia
16. Rangrachowk

Villages

1. Dharhara
2. Nandgola

Economy

In 2006 the Indian government named Bhagalpur one of the country's 250 Rank 3 backward districts (out of a total of 640).^[13] It is one of the 38 districts in Bihar currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).^[13]

A 1320MW Thermal Power Plant is going to establish at Pirapinti with a J.V of NHPC, Bihar State Power Generation Company (BSPGCL) and Nalanda Power Company, a subsidiary of RPG Groups.^[14]

According to the Geological Survey of India, the coal reserve of 1366.75 metric ton has been discovered in Srinagar, Laxmipur, Mandar and Pirpainti block of Bhagalpur district. Bharat Coking Coal Limited is to start mining operations as of September 2019.^[15][16]

Education

Autonomous institutions

• Indian Institute of Information Technology, Bhagalpur

Medical

• Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Bhagalpur

Engineering College

• Bhagalpur College of Engineering
• Indian Institute of Information Technology, Bhagalpur

University

• Bihar Agricultural University
• Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University

Agriculture college

Bihar Agriculture College, Sabour

General Colleges

• T.N.B. College, Bhagalpur
• Marwari College, Bhagalpur
• Sunderwati Mahila College, Bhagalpur
• Murarka College, Sultanganj
• Jay Prakash College, Narayanpur

Law College

T.N.B Law college

Polytechnic College

• Government Polytechnic, Bhagalpur

Schools

• Delhi Public School
• Mount Assisi School
• St. Joseph's School
• Mount Carmel School

Flora and fauna

In 1990 Bhagalpur district became home to the Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary, which is 50 km (31.1 mi) in length.^[17]

References

1. "District Census Handbook - Bhagalpur" (PDF). censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
2. Srivastava, Dayawanti, ed. (2010). "States and Union Territories: Bihar: Government". India 2010: A Reference Annual (54th ed.). New Delhi, India: Additional Director General, Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Government of India. pp. 1118–1119. ISBN 978-81-230-1617-7.
3. "Island Directory Tables: Islands by Land Area". United Nations Environment Program. 18 February 1998. Archived from the original on 20 February 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2011. Obira 2,542km2
4. "Table – Aaya Decadal Variation in Population Since 1901: Bihar" (PDF). census.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India.
5. "District Census Handbook: Bhagalpur" (PDF). Census of India. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
6. "Subdivision & Blocks | Bhagalpur Administration". Retrieved 5 July 2023.
7. "Table C-01 Population by Religion: Bihar". censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
8. "Table C-16 Population by Mother Tongue: Bihar". censusindia.gov.in. Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. 2011.
9. "52nd Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India" (PDF). nclm.nic.in. Ministry of Minority Affairs. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
10. "language | Bhagalpur District, Government of Bihar | India". bhagalpur.nic.in. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
11. Masica, Colin P. (9 September 1993). The Indo-Aryan Languages. Cambridge University Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-521-29944-2.
12. M. Paul Lewis, ed. (2009). "Maithili: A language of India". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (16th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
13. Ministry of Panchayati Raj (8 September 2009). "A Note on the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme" (PDF). National Institute of Rural Development. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
14. PTI (26 February 2014). "NHPC inks pact for 1,320-mw thermal plant in Bihar". www.millenniumpost.in. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
15. "पटना : नौ जिलों में खनिज के संकेत, भागलपुर में शुरू होगी कोयले की खुदाई". Prabhat Khabar. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
16. "BCCL to start mining operations in Bhagalpur district soon, says minister - Times of India". The Times of India. 26 September 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
17. Indian Ministry of Forests and Environment. "Protected areas: Bihar". Archived from the original on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2011.

External links

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