Saharsa
Saharsa city
City
Saharsa
Matsyagandha Mandir
Matsyagandha Mandir
Saharsa is located in Bihar
Saharsa
Saharsa
Location in Bihar, India
Coordinates: 25°53′N 86°36′E / 25.88°N 86.6°E / 25.88; 86.6
Country India
StateBihar
RegionMithila
DistrictSaharsa
Government
 • TypeMunicipal corporation
 • BodySaharsa Municipal Corporation
 • Member of Legislative AssemblyAlok Ranjan Jha (BJP)
 • MayorBain Priya Sanjiv Jha
Area
 • Total243.8 km2 (94.1 sq mi)
 • Rank2nd in Bihar
Elevation
41 m (135 ft)
Population
 (2011)
 • Total1,916,491
 • Rank3
 • Density7,900/km2 (20,000/sq mi)
Languages
 • OfficialHindi
 • Additional officialUrdu[1]
 • RegionalMaithili
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
852201-852154-852221-852127 (Saharsa)[2]
Telephone code916478
ISO 3166 codeIN-BR
Vehicle registrationBR-19
Sex ratio933 females per 1000 males ♂/♀
Vidhan Sabha constituencySaharsa
Websitesaharsa.bih.nic.in

Saharsa is a city and municipal corporation in the Saharsa District in the eastern part of the state of Bihar, India. It is situated near the eastern banks of the Kosi River. It serves as the administrative headquarters for Saharsa District and is also the Divisional headquarters of the Kosi Division.

The name Saharsa originates from the Sanskrit word Sahasra Dhara meaning 'land of thousand river tributaries'. The regional language of the city is Maithili . Alongside Maithili, Hindi is widely understood and spoken.

History

Saharsa is part of the Mithila region,[3] which first gained prominence after settlement by Indo-Aryan tribes that established the Mithila Kingdom (also known as the Kingdom of the Videhas).[4] During the late Vedic period (c. 1100–500 BCE), Videhas developed as one of the major political and cultural centres of South Asia, along with Kuru and Pañcāla. The kings of the Videhas Kingdom were referred to as Janakas.[5]

The Videha Kingdom was later incorporated into the Vajjika League, which had its capital in the city Vaishali, which is also located in Mithila.[6]

Economy

Agriculture

Paddy Plantations near Saharsa city, Koshi Anchal, Bihar region

It is a major producer of the best quality Corn and Makhana in India. From Saharsa, corn and Makhana are exported to America, Australia, France, Japan and England. Every year, 2 lakh metric tons of corn are exported to different countries, and similarly, to Makhana. The following crops are grown in the region: Makhana,[7] rice, mangoes, litchi, bamboo, mustard, corn, wheat and sugarcane. Apple Ber, Sagwan or Teak Tectona Grandis trees are grown on a large scale.

Air Transport

Darbhanga Airport is the nearest operational airport roughly 97 km away via road. Spicejet and Indigo currently have many flights from Darbhanga to different metropolitan cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad. One can reach Saharsa by rail and by road from Darbhanga.

Geography

Saharsa is located at 25°53′N 86°36′E / 25.88°N 86.6°E / 25.88; 86.6.[8] It has an average elevation of 41 metres (134 feet). Saharsa and its surrounding areas occupy a flat alluvial plain forming part of the Kosi river basin. The city lies in the Kosi alluvial megafan, one of the largest alluvial fans in the world. The land is very fertile but frequent changes in the course of the Kosi, one of the largest tributaries of the Ganges,[9][10] have led to the problems associated with soil erosion. Flooding is a major reason for the poor connectivity of the area; bridges are often washed away. Major flooding occurs almost annually, causing a significant loss of life and property.[11]

Rivers

Water Logging in the Town, Saharsa
Rajwanshi Nagar, Koshi Chowk, Saharsa (Koshi Division), Bihar

The Koshi River and its tributaries flood annually, affecting about 21,000 km2 (8,100 sq mi) of fertile agricultural lands and affecting the rural economy. This is the most devastating river of Bihar, earning it the epithet "Sorrow of Bihar".[12]

The Bagmati River regularly breaches its embankments and frequently changes its meandering courses. The annual rate of deposition of alluvium is very high.. The Gandak River also flows through the southern part of Saharsa.

Demographics

In 2011, Saharsa had a population of 1,897,102, of which 995,502 and 901,600 were male and female, respectively. There was a change of 25.79 percent in the population compared to the population as per 2001. In the previous census of India in 2001, Saharsa District recorded increase of 33.03 percent to its population compared to 1991.

The initial provisional data suggest a density of 1,125 in 2011 compared to 895 in 2001. Total area under Saharsa district is of about 1,686 square kilometres (651 sq mi).

Average literacy rate of Saharsa in 2011 was 54.57, compared to 39.08 of 2in1. Male and female literacy were 65.22 and 42.73, respectively. For the 2001 census, the same figures stood at 51.66 and 25.27 in Saharsa District. The total number of literates in Saharsa District was 829,206, with 521,560 males and 307,646 females. In 2001, Saharsa District had 465,577 in its total region.

The sex ratio in Saharsa stood at 906 female per 1000 male compared to 2001 census figure of 910. The average national sex ratio in India is 940 as per latest reports of Census 2011 Directorate.[13]

Saharsa Junction is a railway station under the East Central Railway. Saharsa Junction covers up to Purnia Junction, Forbesganj Station, and Khagaria Junction. It is an A-category railway station under the Samastipur railway division. This railway junction has been certified as ISO 14001:2015 for environmental management. Saharsa Junction is one of the top 50 rail ticket booking stations in India and one of the top 3 rail ticket booking stations in ECR. In early 2005, a much-awaited broad gauge line connected it to Khagaria on the New Delhi-Guwahati main line. Earlier, there was only a meter-gauge line on the Khagaria – Mansi – Forbesganj section of the East Central Railway. Saharsa is directly connected to New Delhi, Sealdah, Kolkata, Amritsar, Bandra the andRanchi tia Train.

Saharsa is well connected to the other parts of Bihar. The central government of India has selected Saharsa as the highway hub of the state.

Saharsa - Purnia 4 lane Highway (NH107)

Saharsa - Supaul 4 lane Highway (NH327E)

Saharsa - Madhubani Highway (NH527E)

NH527E is having the lrngest River inidge of Indilength of the Length bridge is 10 kmhighwayhway is also connects Saharsa to Paradip sea Port via Darbhanga, Samastipur, Barh, Hazarand ibagh, Keonjhar to Paradip sea port.

Saharsa does not have an air transport service, though there is an airstrip reserved for government use. Darbhanga Airport is the nearest domestic airport roughly 88 km away by road. The city is also served by India Post. Its Postal Code is: 852201.

Educational Institutes

  • Abhyuday International School
  • Snehi Sangeetalaya
  • ANSS High school saharsa (jail colony)
  • Lord Buddha Koshi Medical College and Hospital
  • Benevolent Global Public School
  • Buddha Public School
  • Creative Mind Residential School
  • CTE Saharsa
  • Darjeeling Public School
  • DAV Central School, Saharsa
  • Delhi Public School
  • Doon Public School *
  • East N West Teachers Training College
  • Eklavya Central School
  • Evening college
  • Global English Medium School
  • Green Field School
  • Indian High School saharsa
  • ITI Saharsa
  • Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya - JNV Saharsa
  • Jay Pratap Singh Public School
  • Kendriya Vidiyalaya Saharsa
  • Kid Care School, Saharsa Bihar
  • Manohar High School
  • Master Mind Public School
  • Govt. Girls High School
  • Middle School Sulindabad
  • मिलेनियम किड्स अकादमी स्कूल - शिवपुरी, सहरसा.
  • MLT College Saharsa
  • Mukami Mission Academy
  • R.M.M. Law College
  • Rachana Public School
  • Rajendra Mishra College
  • S M Carmel School
  • Sarvodaya Public School
  • Shanti Mission Academy
  • Shanti Niketan Shikshan Sansthan
  • S.R.M School
  • SNSRKS College
  • St Paul's School
  • St. Micheal Academy
  • St.Xavier
  • Tagore Residential School
  • Tuition Bureau
  • Vairagya International Public School
  • Vimal Bharti School
  • Zila Girls High School
  • Green Crescent Children's Academy
  • +2 Islamia High School
  • Zila Boys School Saharsa
  • Excellence Residential Academy
  • Mandan Bharti Agriculture College, Agwanpur Saharsa

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ↑ "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.
  2. ↑ "Pin Codes of Saharsa, Bihar, India, Saharsa Pincode Search". indiapincodes.net.
  3. ↑ Jha, Makhan (1997). Anthropology of Ancient Hindu Kingdoms: A Study in Civilizational Perspective. ISBN 9788175330344.
  4. ↑ Michael Witzel (1989), Tracing the Vedic dialects in Dialectes dans les litteratures Indo-Aryennes ed. Caillat, Paris, pages 13, 17 116–124, 141–143
  5. ↑ Witzel, M. (1989). "Tracing the Vedic dialects". In Caillat, C. (ed.). Dialectes dans les litteratures Indo-Aryennes. Paris: Fondation Hugot. pp. 141–143.
  6. ↑ Hemchandra, R. (1972). Political History of Ancient India. Calcutta: University of Calcutta.
  7. ↑ "Session 12". Ces.iisc.ernet.in. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  8. ↑ "Maps, Weather, and Airports for Saharsa, India". www.fallingrain.com.
  9. ↑ "Kosi river, India".
  10. ↑ "Himal South Asian-August-2000". Archived from the original on 25 June 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2006.
  11. ↑ "Bihar Flood".
  12. ↑ "Geo_Plate_F-19.HTML". Archived from the original on 29 September 2006. Retrieved 30 October 2006.
  13. ↑ An official Census detail of Saharsa, a district of Bihar has been released by Directorate of Census Operations in Bihar. Enumeration of key persons was also done by census officials in Saharsa District of Bihar.
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