DISTRICT PROFILE BHOJPUR INTRODUCTION Bhojpur district is one of the thirty-eight districts of the state of Bihar situated in western Bihar. Bhojpur comprises of four sub-divisions of Buxar, Ara Sadar, Jagdishpur and Piro. Bhojpur came into existence in 1992. Earlier this district was part of old Sahabad district. Bhojpur district retains close linkage with its parent district Shahabad. With the elevation of Buxar sub-division as a separate district in 1992, the present day Bhojpur district consisting of three sub-divisions, came into existence. Bhojpur district is bounded by the districts of Chapra, Rohtas, Patna, Jahanabad Arwal, Buxar and district Ballia of Uttar Pradesh. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND It is said that the name Ara is derived from the Sanskrit word 'ARANYA', which means forest and Aranya Devi, the forest goddess was worshipped as the deity goddess. According to Hindu mythology, sage Vishwamitra –the Guru of Lord Rama, had his hermitage in the ancient city of Arrah . The famous Chinese pilgrim traveller HIEUN-TSANG and Greek records also refer to the region. In 1764, the historic battle of Buxar fought in Ara between the East India Company and the alliance forces of Mir Kasim, the Nawab of Bengal, Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II and Shuja-ud-daulla , the Nawab of Avadh, saw the fall of the Mughal empire in India and the beginning of British colonization of India. During India’s First War of Independence in 1857, popularly known as Sepoy Mutiny, when the Indian army of "British Fauz" declared their independence at Danapur and proceeded to Jagdishpur presently a sub-division of Bhojpur district, the eighty years old zamindar of Jagdishpur, Babu Kunwar Singh , immediately took command of that revolutionary army and captured the English Treasury at Ara, released the prisoners from Ara Jail and besieged the English officers stationed in Ara. The East India Company had to deploy fresh contingent of troops which forced Kunwar Singh to retreat. But Kuwar Singh regained his throne and kept fighting the English armies at different places till his death. In commemoration of the bravery of Veer Kuwar Singh, 23rd April is celebrated every year in Bihar as "Kunwar Singh Vijayotsav Diwas". The revolutionaries of the district actively participated in the Quit India Movement in 1942. ADMINISTRATIVE Ara, transliterated as Arrah, located on the confluence of rivers Ganges and Sone, is the district and administrative headquarters of Bhojpur district, the principal town and a municipal corporation town of the district. Bhojpur district is divided into 3 sub-divisions, namely Ara Sadar, Jagdishpur and Piro and 14 municipal blocks: o Agioan o Jagdishpur o Tarari o Ara o Koilwar o Udwantnagar o Barhara o Piro o Bihiyan o Sahar o Charpokhri o Sandesh o Garhani o Shahpur No. of Panchayats in Bhojpur district: 228 No. of villages in Bhojpur district: 1244 ECONOMIC PROFILE The district primarily has an agrarian economy, being dependent mainly on agriculture and small businesses. The major corps in the district are rice, wheat, gram and maize. Bhojpur district has potential for various types of industries in the field of food and agro based products. The minerals available in Bhojpur are mainly sand and brick earth. Per Capita Gross State and District Domestic Product 13404 15000 11311 11815 9832 10237 10731 9606 8208 8452 8995 10000 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: 25º 10' to 25º 40' North Longitude: 83º 45' to 84º 45' East Temperature 38° C (Max.) 11° C (Min.) Average rainfall 913.4 mm Area 2474 sq. km Altitude 193 meters DEMOGRAPHIC Population 22,33,415 Population density 1,100 per sq km Population growth 21.27% Sex ratio 900 per 1000 male Literacy rate 59.71% Language spoken Bhojpuri, Hindi and Urdu INDUSTRIAL Registered industrial units 941 Registered medium & large units 01 No. of industrial areas 02 Types of industries Agro based, ready-made garments & embroidery, wood/ wooden based furniture, leather based, chemical/ Chemical based, metal based, repairing & servicing, engineering unit, metal based Source: MSME – DI Patna, official website of district INVESTMENT After the bifurcation of the old Shahabad district into the new districts of Bhojpur and Rohtas, the large scale industries generally fell in Rohtas district. There are however, different types of small & cottage industries other than some agro-based industries located in the district of Bhojpur. The District Statistical Report shows that between Apr-1992 and Aug-2000, 1085 small tiny and cottage industries were registered with the District Industry Centre, Bhojpur. Altogether the capital invested in these industries is Rs-869.19 lacs and 1858 persons are employed in these industries. There is an industrial area located at Gidha (Koilwar) spread over an area of 30-40 acres of land under the Patna Industrial Development Authority. A bottling plant of Indane Gas (LPG) has been started in this area. Investment (Rs. Lakh) 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 Source: MSME – DI Patna INDUSTRIAL PROFILE The district has many small and cottage industries and also some agro-based industries. There are two industrial areas in the district namely Gidha and Bihia. Within the district there is a good potential for service industry like automobile and electronics. Bhojpur has a huge potential for food processing industry. INDUSTRIES AT A GLANCE Registered industrial units 941 Total industrial units 1506 Registered medium & large units 1 Estimated avg. no. of daily workers employed in 3.56 small scale industries Employment in large and medium industries Nil No. of industrial area 2 EXISTING MICRO & SMALL ENTERPRISES AND ARTISAN UNITS Types of industry No. of Units Investment (Rs. Lakh) Agro based 140 274 Ready-made garments & embroidery 55 80 Wood/wooden based furniture 180 128 Leather based 94 45 Chemical/chemical based 40 32 Rubber, plastic & petro based 21 34 Mineral based 48 242 Metal based (Steel Fab.) 98 125 Engineering units 35 60 Repairing & servicing 180 50 Others 50 89 Total 941 1159 Source: MSME – DI Patna MAJOR INDUSTRIAL AREA Share of industrial area in Bhojpur district: 26.46 Hectares Gidha 92.94 Hectares Bihiya Scenario of Industrial Area in Bhojpur District. Particular Gidha Bihiya Total Land acquired (In hectare) 92.94 26.46 119.40 Land developed (In hectare) 92.94 26.46 119.40 No. of allotted plots 80.45 20.06 100.51 No. of vacant plots 1.66 4.86 6.52 No. of units in production 27 02 29 Source: MSME – DI Patna INFRASTRUCTURE The largest industrial belt of the district is Gidha industrial area having an area of 92.96 Hectare and Bihiya industrial area having an area of 26.46 Hectare. Types of industries working in Bhojpur district are: Agro-based, soda water, cotton textile, woolen, silk and artificial silk based clothes, jute based, readymade garments and embroidery, wooden furniture, paper products, leather based, chemical based, rubber plastic and petro based, mineral based, metal based (steel fabricated) engineering machinery repairing and services, kachori making. Potential industries in the district are food processing industry and auto- mobile industry. Gidha In the large industrial estate of Bhojpur there are 941 industrial units, mainly of textile, paper, leather, chemical and service centre. AGRICULTURE AND FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRY Paddy, wheat, maize, masur, arhar, peas, gram, khesari, barley, mustard (sarso) oil seeds, sugarcane, spices, vegetables etc. are the main agricultural crops. Bhojpur is one of the best wheat-growing area in the state of Bihar. The district has huge potential for setting up food processing industry. Total cultivated area for all four seasons- 2,41,926 hectares. Horticulture and orchards are developing in the district. TYPES OF INDUSTRIES Ready-made garments & embroidery Wood/wooden based furniture Leather based Chemical/chemical based Rubber, plastic & petro based Mineral based Metal based (Steel Fab.) Large scale industry M/S Suman Agritech Pvt. Ltd. Service Enterprises There are 180 units of service industry active in repairing & service . IDENTIFIED CLUSTERS Artificial • Principal products manufactured in the cluster- Artificial Jewelry Jewellery • No. of functional units in the Cluster - Ara cluster - 25 TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE •Linked with •Well connected •Nearest airport Howrah- with Patna is at Patna 78 •Connected via km Patna-New NH 31, NH 82 Road Delhi main and NH 110 Airport Railway line •Nearest railway station Ara EDUCATION There are numerous schools and colleges affiliated to Bihar State Board, ICSE board and CBSE board Schools Catholic School, H.N.K High School, H.P.D Jain School, DAV Public School, D K Carmel Residencial High School, Jean Paul High School, Hk Jain Gyan Asthali, Balram Bhagat High School Krishna Bag Babhnauli {at Koilwar Police Station},"Shanti Smriti" Sambhawna Residential High School, Majhaua, Ara, Sri Sai International School, Anand Nagar Ara,, Mouni Baba High School, Baghi,Sri Sai International School, Mahabir Tola Ara,High School Gaziapur From 1949 Colleges Maharaja College, Jagjivan College, Jain College, Sahjanand Brahamarshi College, B.S.S College,Bachri Piro, Sanjay Gandhi College, Maa Maitryainee Yogini senior secondary school-Gundi, Mahant Mahadevanand Mahila Mahavidyalay, Ara, Dr. K. K. Mandal (Jagdishpur), Saint Barahna Mahila college (Jagdishpur) STSM College, Panwari T.S.I.M College, Ara HERITAGE & TOURISM Bhojpur is dotted with numerous old temples and hermitages. Famous are temple at Dev dating back to the 14 th century, Veer Kunwar Singh Kila at Jagdishpur, Maharaja College at Ara, Shahi Masjid having five Gumbad/domes, Karbala Mosque built around 1817, Aranya Devi Temple, Chaturvuj Narayan Mandir seating an ancient statue of Laxmi –Narayan, Bhavani Mandir, Jagdamba Mandir, century old Jain Parswanath Mandir, Mahamaya Mandir built during the Mughal period, Mahathin Mai Mandir which attracts lots of women devotees, Venkatesh Mandir/ Lord Raghunath temple at Gundi , Shahi Jama Masjid built by Shershah and Jal Mandir .