Alipurduar Coordinates: 26.489°N 89.527°E from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia

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Alipurduar Coordinates: 26.489°N 89.527°E From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alipurduar (Pron: ˌɑ:lɪpʊəˈdwɑ:) is a municipal city and the district headquarters of Alipurduar district, Alipurduar West Bengal, India. Situated on the east bank of আিলপুরদুয়ার Kaljani River on the foothills of the Himalayas, the City town is a gateway to Bhutan and North Eastern states of India. This town located in the Dooars region is known for its forest, wildlife, timber and scenic beauty, since the colonial period. Alipurduar

Contents

1 Geography 2 History 3 Demographics 4 Travel and tourism 5 Transportation 5.1 Rail 5.2 Air 5.3 Bus 6 Culture

6.1 Music culture Location in West Bengal, India 7 Education Coordinates: 26.489°N 89.527°E 7.1 Schools Country India 7.2 Colleges State West Bengal District Alipurduar district 8 Media Government 9 Health facilities • Chairman Aninda Bhowmick 10 Visitor attractions Area 11 See also • Total 3,383 km2 (1,306 sq mi)

12 External links Elevation 93 m (305 ft) 13 References Population (2011) • Total 127,342 • Density 38/km2 (97/sq mi)

Geography Languages • Official Bengali, English • Regional Bengali, Hindi, Bodo, Nepali The city is surrounded by deep forest and tea garden. Time zone IST (UTC+5:30) Two rivers flowing across the town: Kaljani and PIN 736121 , 736122 & 736123 Nonai. The river Dima flows on the west of the town. Telephone 03564 It is a tributary of Kaljani and meets with the latter code near Smashan Khola. Vehicle WB-70/WB-69 registration History Lok Sabha Alipurduars (ST) Dasrath Tirkey constituency The history of Alipurduar (named after Hedayet Ali) Vidhan Alipurduars Deboprasad Roy can be reconstructed from the writings of J. F. Sabha Grunning, J. A. Milligan, D.H.E. Sunder and Sailen constituency Debnath. After the second Anglo-Bhutan War in Website www.alipurduarmunicipality.in 1865, according to the Treaty of Sinchula, the eleven (http://www.alipurduarmunicipality.in) Bengal Dooars were annexed by the British Government, although the seven Assam Dooars had already been occupied by the British in 1942. Colonel Hedayet Ali was posted as the commander at the military settlement on the bank of the River Kaljani. The entire tract of land of the Buxa Dooar was leased out to Hedayet Ali on his superannuation and the growing town adjacent to the military settlement began to grow as well. According to Debnath, the military settlement in the town of Alipurduar, in course of time, increasingly turned to be less important because of the fast growth of military cantonment at Buxa Fort in the north of the town and the Chila Roy Barrack in Cooch Behar. Along with the expansion of tea plantation and set up of railway lines, Alipurduar began to be important in terms of communication and administration. The partition of the country in 1947 led to the immigration of refugees from East Pakistan and the growth of population in the town of Alipurduar.[1] Demographics

In the 2011 census, Alipurduar Urban Agglomeration had a population of 127,342, out of which 64,898 were males and 62,444 were females. The 0–6 years population was 10,545. Effective literacy rate for the 7+ population was 89.16 per cent.[2]

As of 2001 India census,[3] Alipurduar had a population of 73,047. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Alipurduar has an average literacy rate of 78%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 54% of the males and 46% of females literate. 10% of the population is under 6 years of age. The district has 11 of tribal communities including, Boro, Mech, Toto (only habitat), and Santhal. Travel and tourism

Although Alipurduar town is not a popular tourist destination by itself, a number of interesting choices are available within a short distance. Dense forests and hills offering beautiful natural landscape surround the town. A few of them are here-

1. The most important forest in Alipurduar is Buxa Tiger Reserve, which is famous for its rare flora and fauna. The forest has the status of a National Park and hosts the mosts Bengal tigers in North Bengal. The Chilapata Forests provide an elephant corridor between the Buxa reserve and the Jaldapara National Park, another important eco-tourism destination. 2. The highest peak of Dooars, the Chota Sinchula, is in Alipurduar. Situated at an altitude of 1733m at about 12 km from Buxa the peak offers views of the impermeable forest covers of Buxa hills and Bhutan valley.

3. Rajabhatkhawa, Jayanti, Bhutanghat, and Raimatang are situated deep inside the forest, and offer wildlife tourism. Each place has forest rest-house accommodation for limited numbers of tourist.

4. A day trek to Buxa hill through dense forest track reaches Buxa fort and further up to Rovers Point and then leads to Rupam Valley in Bhutan Hill. Besides these, Adma, Gatuka, Tashigaon, Ochhlum and Lavchakha in the Buxa hill gives different flavours of touring. Jayanti Mahakal trek is another route that leads to a stalactite cave near Bhutan border. This trek is popular among the pilgrims who visit the cave to offer prayer to their deity, Lord Shiva. Transportation

Public transport includes auto rickshaws and cycle rickshaws. There is no metered vehicular transport. While 6-seater city autos ply between two fixed destinations of about 10–15 km, one can hire petrol-driven auto rickshaws from auto stands at a rate fixed by the auto authorities. 9000 auto-rickshaws are permitted.

Rail

Alipurduar is a divisional headquarters of North-East Frontier Railway. It is serviced by two railway stations. A branch from Alipurduar Junction (Indian Railways code APDJ) connects the Buxa Tiger Reserve Gate New Jalpaiguri-Alipurduar-Samuktala Road line (Dooars line) to the main line (New Jalpaiguri- New Bongaigaon section of the Barauni-Guwahati line). From Alipurduar Junction, one may either commence to New Cooch Behar and then to Bamanhat (nearing to Indo-Bangladesh border) or to Guwahati and bypass New Cooch Behar altogether. On the other hand, New Alipurduar Railway Junction Station Alipurduar (Code: NOQ) is situated on the New New Alipurduar Railway Station Jalpaiguri-New Bongaigaon section and connects directly to many (NOQ) parts of India. Alipurduar is further serviced by two satellite stations: Alipurduar Court (APDC) and Alipur Duar (APD). Both are on the New Coochbehar-APDJ stretch.

The four railway stations which serve the place are:- 1. Alipurduar Junction (Station Code- APDJ),

2. New Alipurduar (Station Code- NOQ),

3. Alipurduar (Station Code- APD) and

4. Alipurduar Court (Station Code- APDC).

Alipurduar Junction (APDJ Enquiry Number- 03564-255091) and New Alipurduar (NOQ Enquiry Number- 03564-255207) connect Alipurduar to the rest of India.

Air

Bagdogra Airport situated about 147.8 km. away from the main town, is the only functioning airport in the region. The airport is connected to Bengalore, Chandigarh, New Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati, Mumbai, Sikkim Mahananda Express Chennai, Bangkok, Kathmandu and Paro. Alipurduar Junction to Delhi

Another nearby international airport is Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, situated at Guwahati about 297 km from the town.

Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport Bus Bagdogra Airport

There are two bus stops for most private and state-owned buses in the region- Alipuduar NBSTC Bus Depot and Private Bus Terminus.

NBSTC Depot: All sorts of Govt. Buses are available from here. Private Bus Terminus: Private buses to Siliguri, Tufanganj, Coochbehar, Jaigaon (border of Bhutan) and Assam are available from here. Safari Stand (near Alipurduar fire station): private safaris to Coochbehar and Falakata are available from here.

Culture

Alipurduar is a melting pot of many cultures. The tribal communities like Bodo, Rava, Mech, Santhal and Rajbanshi have a rich cultural heritage. They have their own form of art and music. Mud wall of their houses are beautifully painted.

Major festivals observed at Alipurduar include Durga puja, Chhath Puja, Ganesh puja, Laxmi puja, Saraswati puja, and Diwali. Dooars Utsav is one of the popular fairs in Alipurduar which takes place in January.

Music culture

Alipurduar is known as queen of Duars, and the town has its own music culture. Rock music culture is growing rapidly here. Alipurduar has more than 15 Bengali rock bands. There are several rock fest organized here, the most popular is Mat Fest, where a guest band comes as a judge and many other up and coming bands get an opportunity to showcase their talents in front of them. Education

Alipurduar's schools and college are either run by the government or by private and religious organisations. The schools usually use English and Bengali as their medium of instruction, although the use of Hindi language is also stressed. The schools are affiliated with the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) or the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) or the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education & West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education. Colleges run by affiliation of University of North Bengal and West Bengal University of Technology.

Schools

Schools at Alipurdur main city

1. Alipurduar High School [Semi-Govt], 2. Mc William Higher Secondary School [Semi-Govt], 3. Jitpur Higher Secondary School [Semi-Govt], 4. Railway Higher Secondary School [Govt], 5. Shayamaprasad Vidya Mandir (boys and girls) [Semi-Govt], 6. Kendriya Vidyalaya [Govt], 7. Newtown Girls' High School [Semi-Govt], 8. Balika Siksha Mandir [Semi-Govt], 9. Alipurduar Girls' High School [Semi-Govt], 10. Gobinda High School [Semi-Govt], 11. Ravikanta High School [Semi-Govt], 12. Stepping Stone Model School [Private], 13. The Little Flowers English School [Private], 14. Techno India Group Public School [Private], 15. St. Xavier's School [Private], 16. Dooars International Public School [Private], 17. Sishu Mahal [Private], 18. Sarada Sishu Tirtha [Bidya Bharathi funded]. Colleges

Alipurduar College (affiliated with University of North Bengal) Dooars Academy of Technology & Management (affiliated with West Bengal University of Technology) Industrial Training Institute (ITI), Birpara, Alipurduar Alipurduar Mahila Mahavidyalaya, (affiliated with University of North Bengal) Alipurduar College Vivekananda College, Alipurduar (affiliated with University of North Bengal)

Media

Newspapers: English-language newspapers include the Times of India, The Economic Times, The Asian Age, The Statesman and The Telegraph. Several Bengali newspapers, including Anandabazar Patrika, Uttarbanga Sambad, Bartaman, Ganashakti, Aajkaal and Pratidin are also available.

Radio: All India Radio.

Television: Alipurduar receives almost all the television channels that are received by the rest of India. Apart from the state-owned terrestrial network Doordarshan, cable television serves most of the homes in the city, while Anandabazar Patrika satellite television is common in the outlying areas and in wealthier households. Besides mainstream Indian channels, the city also receives some Nepali and Bangladeshi television channels. Local news broadcasts, sporting events, and concerts are broadcast live or delayed via cable to many households. DTH services by government and private companies are also available such as Tata Sky, Dish TV, Videocon d2h, Airtel Digital TV and Reliance Digital TV. Alipurduar has four local channels - FCC, FCN, FCC Variety and Ex-TV Bangla.

Cell phone networks: Alipurduar serviced by cell phone companies such ase BSNL (3G & 2G), Airtel (3G & 2G), Reliance (2G), Vodafone (3G & 2G), Aircel (2G), Idea (3G & 2G), Tata Indicom (2G), Tata Docomo (2G), RIM (2G), MTS (2G) and Virgin Mobile(2G).

Internet: Internet cafes can be found in the main market area, served through broadband services provided by BSNL. Health facilities

Alipurduar Subdivisional Hospital (Govt. Hospital), Green-Land Nourishing Home (Private Hospital), Maa Seva (Private Hospital), Alipurduar Lions Eye Hospital: established in 1995, it is one of the biggest eye hospitals in this region of Alipurduar, Coochbehar and Dooars. Matri Sadan (Private Hospital), at new Alipurduar. North Bengal Medical College is situated at Siliguri about 136.4 km from Alipurduar main city.

Visitor attractions

Buxa Tiger Reserve, IUCN category II national park Jayanti Hills Buxa Fort, built by British Raj Jaldapara National Park Chilapata Forests Jaigaon, a small town of Alipurduar and near the Bhutan border

Rajabhatkhawa Museum at Rajabhatkhawa Jayanti Hills Rai matang Santrabari Rovers point Roopang valley Lepchakhawa Chunabhati. Tea Gardens Durga Bari, at Alipurduar puran bazar Chinnomosta Kali Mandir,Front of Alipurduar Junction Buxa Fort railway station Bajranbali Temple, at North Point, tea garden Hanuman Temple, at Railway Bazar, Alipurduar Junction Loknath Mandir, at Railway Bazar, Alipurduar Junction Shani Maharaj Temple, at Railway Bazar, Alipurduar Junction Balaji Tamil Temple, at Railway Bazar, Alipurduar Junction 11 Hat Kali Bali, Newtown, Alipurduar Satsang Temple, Newtown, Alipurduar Satsang Temple, Damanpur, Alipurduar Junction Kaljani River Nonai River