Alipurduar
Encyclopedia
Alipurduar is a sub-divisional municipal city of Jalpaiguri district
, and is located at the eastern end of the district. Situated on the east bank of Kaljani River on the foothills of the Himalayas
, the town is a gateway to Bhutan
and North Eastern states of India
. This town located in the Dooars (called the Queen of Dooars) region is known for its forest, wildlife, timber and scenic beauty, since the colonial period.
and Tibet
. The remains of the traditional route are still visible in Santalabari, near Alipurduar.
Alipurduar derives its name from the late Col. Hedayat Ali Khan who did admirable service in the Bhutan war and was stationed here as first Extra-Assistant Commissioner. The suffix "duar" (means door or gateway) has been added to the original name Alipur to differentiate it from the more well known Alipore
in Kolkata
and also because it is located in the Duars
region.
India census
, 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 most important forest in Alipurduar is Buxa Tiger Reserve
, which attained much fame all over India for its enormous natural resources in terms of rare flora and fauna. The forest has the status of a National Park and houses the maximum number of Bengal tiger
s in North Bengal. The Chilapata Forests
provide an elephant corridor between the Buxa reserve and the Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary
, another important eco-tourism destination.
The highest peak of Jalpaiguri, the Chota Sinchula, is in Alipurduar. Situated at an altitude of 1733m at about 12 km from Buxa the peak offers beautiful sights of the impermeable forest covers of Buxa hills and Bhutan valley.
Rajabhatkhawa
, Jayanti, Bhutanghat, and Raimatang are some other major destinations in Alipurduar. Situated deep inside the forest, all of these places offer very good scope for wildlife tourism. Each place has forest rest-house accommodation for limited numbers of tourist.
Alipurduar does not deprive trek lovers. 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 popular route that leads to a stalactite
cave near Bhutan border. This trek is very popular among the pilgrims who visit the cave to offer prayer to their deity, Lord Shiva.
, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Rabikanta High School, Newtown Girls' High School, Balika Siksha Mandir, Alipurduar Girls' High School, Gobinda High School. ArobindaNagar Girls High School, Alipurduar College and Vivekananda College
which is affiliated under North Bengal University is in the town.
The long-standing demand for a women's college was actualized in 2007 with the establishment of Alipurduar Mahila Mahavidyalaya affiliated by the University of North Bengal. The heads of the institutions are:
Jalpaiguri District
Jalpaiguri district is the largest district of North Bengal, covering an area 6,245 km2. It is situated between 26° 16' and 27° 0' North latitudes and 88° 4' and 89° 53' East longitudes...
, and is located at the eastern end of the district. Situated on the east bank of Kaljani River on the foothills of the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
, the town is a gateway to Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
and North Eastern states of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. This town located in the Dooars (called the Queen of Dooars) region is known for its forest, wildlife, timber and scenic beauty, since the colonial period.
Geography
The town is surrounded by deep forest and tea garden. While there are two rivers flowing across the town namely kaljani and nonai. There is a river called Dima flows on the west of the town. It's a tributary of Kaljani and meets with the later near Smashan Khola.There are many sweet houses & There peoples are very good.Roads are very clean.History
This place had been a very old trading centre. The region was connected with the famous trading route called Silk Route with BhutanBhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
and Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
. The remains of the traditional route are still visible in Santalabari, near Alipurduar.
Alipurduar derives its name from the late Col. Hedayat Ali Khan who did admirable service in the Bhutan war and was stationed here as first Extra-Assistant Commissioner. The suffix "duar" (means door or gateway) has been added to the original name Alipur to differentiate it from the more well known Alipore
Alipore
Alipore is headquarters of South 24 Parganas district and a neighbourhood in South Kolkata in the Indian state of West Bengal.Alipore, Kolkata, not to be confused with Alipore, Gujarat, is one of the poshest and costliest localities in Kolkata, along with the area Ballygunge...
in Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
and also because it is located in the Duars
Duars
The Dooars or Duars are the floodplains and foothills of the eastern Himalayas in North-East India around Bhutan. Duar means door in Assamese, Nepali, Maithili, Bhojpuri, Magahi and Bengali languages, and the region forms the gateway to Bhutan from India. There were 18 passages or gateways through...
region.
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.India census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, 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.
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.The most important forest in Alipurduar is Buxa Tiger Reserve
Buxa Tiger Reserve
The Buxa National Park is a national park located in West Bengal, India, in the Buxa hills of the southern hilly area of Bhutan. Located inside the national park is the 760 km² Buxa Tiger Reserve. Animals found in the park include, the tiger, civet and red jungle fowl.-Location:Buxa Tiger...
, which attained much fame all over India for its enormous natural resources in terms of rare flora and fauna. The forest has the status of a National Park and houses the maximum number of Bengal tiger
Bengal Tiger
The Bengal tiger is a tiger subspecies native to the Indian subcontinent that in 2010 has been classified as endangered by IUCN...
s in North Bengal. The Chilapata Forests
Chilapata Forests
The Chilapata Forest is a dense forest near Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary in Dooars, Jalpaiguri District. It is about 20 km from Alipurduar, and just a few minutes away from Hasimara town...
provide an elephant corridor between the Buxa reserve and the Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary
Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary
Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary is a protect park situated at the foothills of Eastern Himalayas in Alipurduar Sub-Division of Jalpaiguri District in West Bengal and on the bank of river Torsa and have an area of 141 km² and altitude of 61 m...
, another important eco-tourism destination.
The highest peak of Jalpaiguri, the Chota Sinchula, is in Alipurduar. Situated at an altitude of 1733m at about 12 km from Buxa the peak offers beautiful sights of the impermeable forest covers of Buxa hills and Bhutan valley.
Rajabhatkhawa
Rajabhatkhawa
Rajabhatkhawa is a small town situated just outside the Buxa Tiger Reserve in the Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, India. It is known for its natural beauty, surrounded by forest. All the permits for the entry to the Buxa Tiger reserve can be taken from here...
, Jayanti, Bhutanghat, and Raimatang are some other major destinations in Alipurduar. Situated deep inside the forest, all of these places offer very good scope for wildlife tourism. Each place has forest rest-house accommodation for limited numbers of tourist.
Alipurduar does not deprive trek lovers. 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 popular route that leads to a stalactite
Stalactite
A stalactite , "to drip", and meaning "that which drips") is a type of speleothem that hangs from the ceiling of limestone caves. It is a type of dripstone...
cave near Bhutan border. This trek is very popular among the pilgrims who visit the cave to offer prayer to their deity, Lord Shiva.
Transportation
Alipurduar is a divisional headquarter of North-East Frontier Railway. It serviced by two railway stations. A branch from Alipurduar Jn (Indian Railways code APDJ) connects the Dooars line (New Jalpaiguri-Siliguri-Alipurduar Jn-New Coochbihar) to the main line (New Jalpaiguri-Jalpaiguri Road-New Coochbihar-Guwahati). From Alipurduar Junction, one may either commence to New Coochbihar and then (to Bamanhat nearing to Indo-Bangladesh border) Guwahati or bypass New Coochbihar altogether. On the other hand, New Alipurduar (Code: NOQ) is situated on the New Coochbehar-New Bongaigaon-Guwahati section and connects directly to many parts of India. Alipurduar is further serviced by two satellite stations: Alipurduar Court (APDC) and Alipur Duar (APD). Both are on the New Coochbihar-APDJ stretch.Culture
Alipurduar is a melting pot of many cultures. The tribal people like Rava, Mech, Santhal, Rajbanshi has a rich cultural heritage. They have their own form of art and music. Mud wall of their houses are beautifully painted.Education
There are many schools in Alipurduar and some of them are famous like Alipurduar High School, Jitpur Higher Secondary School, Mc William Higher Secondary School, Railway Higher Secondary School, Shayamaprasad Vidya Mandir (boys and girls), Little Flowers Eng. School, Stepping Stone Model SchoolStepping Stone Model School
Stepping Stone Model School is an English medium co-education school following the academic programme of ICSE and ISC...
, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Rabikanta High School, Newtown Girls' High School, Balika Siksha Mandir, Alipurduar Girls' High School, Gobinda High School. ArobindaNagar Girls High School, Alipurduar College and Vivekananda College
Vivekananda College
Ramakrisna Mission Vivekananda College, named after Swami Vivekananda, was inaugurated on 21 June 1946 by professor, philosopher, and politician, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. It is in Mylapore, the centre of Chennai, India on 20 acres . The principal of is Dr. S...
which is affiliated under North Bengal University is in the town.
The long-standing demand for a women's college was actualized in 2007 with the establishment of Alipurduar Mahila Mahavidyalaya affiliated by the University of North Bengal. The heads of the institutions are:
- Alipurduar College: Dr. Subrata Panchanan
- Alipurduar Mahila Mahavidyalaya: Prof. Amitabh Roy
- Vivekananda CollegeVivekananda CollegeRamakrisna Mission Vivekananda College, named after Swami Vivekananda, was inaugurated on 21 June 1946 by professor, philosopher, and politician, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. It is in Mylapore, the centre of Chennai, India on 20 acres . The principal of is Dr. S...
: Prof. Ratna Dey