DISTRICT PROFILE PURNEA INTRODUCTION Purnea district is one of the thirty-eight administrative districts of Bihar state. Purnea district is a part of Purnea division. Purnea is bounded by the districts of Araria, Katihar, Bhagalpur, Kishanganj, Madhepura and Saharsa and district of West Dinajpur of West Bengal. The major rivers flowing through Purnea are Kosi, Mahananda, Suwara Kali, Koli and Panar. Purnea district extends northwards from river Ganges. Purnia has seen three districts partitioned off from its territory: Katihar in 1976, and Araria and Kishanganj in 1990. Purnea with its highest rainfall in Bihar and its moderate climate has earned the soubriquet of 'Poor's man's Darjeeling’. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Purnea has a rich history and a glorious past. It is believed that the name Purnea originates either from the Goddess Puran Devi (Kali) or from Purain meaning Lotus. The earliest inhabitants of Purnea were Anas and Pundras. In the epics, the Anas are grouped with the Bengal tribes and were the eastern most tribes known to the Aryans during the period of Atharva Samhita while the Pundras, although they had Aryan blood were regarded as degraded class of people in the Aitarya Brahmana, Mahabharata and Manu Samhita, because they neglected the performance of sacred rites. According to the legend of Mahabharata, Biratnagar which gave shelter to the five Pandava brothers during their one year incognito exile, is said to be located in Purnea. During the Mughal rule, Purnea was a military frontier province under the command of a Faujdar. The revenue from this outlying province was spent on the maintenance of troops for protecting the borders against tribes from the north and east. According to Ain-i-Akbari, Purnea was a Sarkar within the Subah of Bengal. Purnea became a possession of East India Company in 1765 and was formed as a district on 10th February 1770. Rambagh was a famous European settlement while Sarsi was a famous indigo centre under the Europeans. Swadeshi movement and Kissan Sabha movement figured prominently in Purnea district during the early 20th century. ADMINISTRATIVE Purnea town is the administrative headquarters of Purnea district. Purnea district comprises of 4 sub-divisions namely Purnea, Banmankhi, Bainsi and Dhamdaha and has been divided into 14 blocks: o East Purnea o Barhara Kothi o Krityanand Nagar o Rupauli o Banmankhi o Bhawanipur o Kasba o Dagarua o Amaur o Jalalgarh o Baisi o Srinagar o Baisa o Dhamdaha Total number of Panchayats in Purnea district: 251. Total number of villages in Purnea district: 1296. ECONOMIC PROFILE Agriculture and its allied activities are the mainstay of the economy. Paddy, wheat, maize and pulses are the main agricultural crops . The ‘Anaaj Mandi’ at Gulab Bagh in Purnea is a major grain store-house and also India’s largest maize trading centre. Grains are sent to the northeast states of India from this Mandi. India's first and the only jute park called the Punrasar Jute Park is located at Maranga in Purnea. Being the largest city of northeast Bihar, people from West Bengal and Nepal come to Purnea for shopping, hence Purnea has the potential of becoming a prime centre for trade and commerce. Purnea is a large centre for sale and service of automobiles. Per Capita Gross State and District Domestic Product 13404 15000 11311 11815 10237 9832 8756 9365 10000 7389 7613 8162 5000 0 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 Per Capita Gross District Domestic Product Per Capita Gross State Domestic Product Source: Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Govt. of Bihar GEOGRAPHIC Coordinates Latitude: 25°-13‘ - 80" to 27˚-07’- 59” North Longitude: 86˚-59’- 06” to 87˚-52’- 35” East Temperature 48° C (Max.) 03° C (Min.) Average rainfall 1470 mm. Area 3202.31 sq. km. Altitude 171 feet DEMOGRAPHIC Population 32,73,173 Population density 978 per sq. km. Population growth 28.66% Sex ratio 915 per 1000 male Literacy rate 64.49% Languages spoken Maithili, Hindi, Bengali, Surjapuri, Polia, Angika and Santhali INDUSTRIAL Registered industrial units 1205 Registered medium & large units N.A Total industrial units 1205 No. of industrial areas 01 Types of industries Agro based, ready-made garments & embroidery, wood/ wooden based furniture, leather based, engineering unit etc. Source: MSME – DI Muzaffarpur, official website of district INVESTMENT Purnea is a large centre for sale and service of automobiles. Bhatta Bazar, the retail hub of Purnea district has many shopping complexes and branded showrooms, while Line Bazar is a medicine hub of Purnea. The agricultural hinterland can support small scale agro processing industries like Masala (Mirchi, Haldi), banana chips, Papad, candle/ wax works, jute works, Agarbatti, etc. Trade in jute, agricultural equipment, bamboo and its by- products, fruits and vegetables, poultry and by-products is common. Huge potential for investment in agro and dairy products. Investment (Rs. Lakh) 4500 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 Source: MSME – DI Muzaffarpur INDUSTRIAL PROFILE There is one industrial area spread across 4.166 hectare of land. There is no large scale industry/ public sector undertaking in the district. Agro based, readymade garments & embroidery, wood & wooden based furniture, leather based industries, engineering units are prevalent in Purnea district. INDUSTRIES AT A GLANCE Registered industrial units 1205 Total industrial units 1205 Registered medium & large units N.A Estimated avg. no. of daily workers employed in 10 small scale industries Employment in large and medium industries N.A No. of industrial area 01 EXISTING MICRO & SMALL ENTERPRISES AND ARTISAN UNITS Type of industry No. of Units Investment (Rs. Lakh) Agro based 273 4103.53 Readymade garments & embroidery 141 301.29 Wood/ wooden based furniture 195 542.98 Leather based 54 100.77 Chemical/chemical based 28 326.99 Engineering units 257 2127.84 Others 257 316.74 Total 1205 7820.14 Source: MSME – DI Muzaffarpur INFRASTRUCTURE The largest industrial area of the district is at Purnea, for which 4.66 hectare of land has been acquired and developed. Types of industries prevalent in Purnea district: Agro-based, readymade garments and embroidery, wood/ wooden furniture, leather based, chemical based, engineering unit. Purnea district has a good scope for the growth of jute products. Well connected with railways, roads and airways, nearest commercial airport is Bagdogra. National highways NH-31, NH-57, NH-107 and NH-131A connect Purnea with other cities of the state. The east-west corridor-a six-lane highway, connecting Silchar to Gujarat passes through Purnea. The Indian army, Indian Air Force, Border Security Force and Seema Suraksha Bal have bases around Purnea town. AGRICULTURE AND FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRY Purnea lies in the alluvial plains of river Ganga and its tributaries, hence the soil is rich and loamy, and particularly suited to paddy cultivation. One third of the area sown is under paddy. Traversed by several Himalayan rivers, Purnea has great advantages of irrigation. Western Purnea is thickly covered with sand deposited by river Kosi. The major agricultural products are rice, potatoes, wheat, chilli peppers, maize, and lentils such as Mung, Arhar, Khesari, chickpeas, oil-seeds, vegetables, water-melons, barley, sugarcane, tobacco, Makhana, jute and banana. Total cultivable barren land: 904 hectares. Purnea East, Dagarwa, K.Nagar, Baisi and Kasba are the major clusters of Makhana in the district. Dagarwa is the most important cluster for Makhana cultivation with presence of bigger water bodies. Previously jute was extensively grown but now its production has declined. LARGE SCALE INDUSTRY/ PUBLIC SECTOR UNDERTAKING Micro & Small Major Existing Potential Service Enterprise Clusters Enterprises • Food-processing •No cluster is •Gate, grill & gen. industries. developed yet engg. fabrication • Dairy-products •Computer repairs & processing servicing industries. •Mobile repairs & servicing Source: MSME – DI Muzaffarpur SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE •Purnea junction • Purnea airport, • National is situated on highways NH 31, known as Katihar-Jogbani NH 57, NH 107 Chunapur broad gauge and NH 131A Airport is railway line of connect Purnea located within North East Road with other cities of Airport the cantonment Railway Frontier Railway. the state. area. • The east-west corridor, a six-lane • Nearest highway connecting commercial Silchar to Gujarat airport: passes through Bagdogra, Purnia. 150 km. EDUCATION Purnea is an educational hub for north Bihar region having many prestigious schools, and colleges for engineering, law and agriculture and polytechnic colleges. Educational institutions: No. of primary schools - 936 No. of middle schools – 230 No. of secondary and senior secondary schools – 62 No. of colleges – 09 No. of technical university– 01 Zila school founded during the British rule, is Purnea's oldest school. Purnea also has a Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya and Kendriya Vidyalaya. The nuns of Loretto convent of Darjeeling had come to Purnea in 1882 and opened a day and boarding school in Purnea before moving to Darjeeling. Major educational institutions: Millia Convent English Medium School Don Bosco School D.A.V Public School Mount Zion Mission School Bright Career School Bijendra Public School Saraswati Vidya Mandir Manas Bharti Public School St John's High School Purnia College Millia Group Of Colleges An Agriculture College HERITAGE & TOURISM Purnea is famous for its uniquely designed Ramkrishna Mission where the festival of Durga Puja is celebrated in the month of April with great fervour and devotion. Temple of Mata Puran Devi: It is the oldest and most popular temple of Purnea dedicated to Goddess Kali. Kaath Pool: This wooden bridge on NH-31 on Purnea- Khuskibagh road is the only one of its kind in India. Dhima: Famous for temples of Lord Shiva-Dhimeshwarnath Temple and another of Maa Durga and Maa Kali. Forbesganj is the second commercial place in Purnea. A big fair is held in the month of November and December. Famous for a pond known as Sultanpokhar.