Suri (Birbhum)
Encyclopedia
Suri, , is the headquarters of Birbhum district
Birbhum district
Birbhum district is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the northernmost district of Burdwan division—one of the three administrative divisions of West Bengal. The district headquarters is located at Suri...

 in the 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...

n state
States and territories of India
India is a federal union of states comprising twenty-eight states and seven union territories. The states and territories are further subdivided into districts and so on.-List of states and territories:...

 of West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...

, 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...

.

Suri is located at 23.9167°N 87.5333°E. It has an average elevation of 56 metres (187 feet). Tilpara barrage on Mayurakshi river
Mayurakshi River
Mayurakshi River is a major river in West Bengal, India, with a long history of devastating floods.It has its source on Trikut hill, about 16 km from Deoghar in Jharkhand state. It flows through Jharkhand and then through the districts of Birbhum and Murshidabad in West Bengal before flowing...

 is located 3 km north-east of Siuri.

Economics

The chief industries of Suri include rice milling, cotton and silk weaving, and furniture manufacture. Suri was constituted a municipality in 1876.

In March 2008, a private Kolkata-based firm, Ramsarup Group, unveiled a proposal for large-scale investment. A greenfield power plant and cement manufacturing plant worth Rs 2200 crores (US $550 million) was submitted to the Government of West Bengal. Bakreswar Thermal Power Plant is around 12 kilometers away from Suri town.

Demographics

According to 1991 census Suri had a population of ~ 54,274 (Prelim). 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...

, Suri had a population of 79,818. Males constitute 51% of the population and females 49%. Suri has an average literacy rate of 74%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 79%, and female literacy is 68%. In Suri, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Transport

Suri is 220 km from State capital 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...

 (Calcutta), 90 km from Durgapur, 34 km from Bolpur
Bolpur
Bolpur-Santiniketan is a municipality in Birbhum District in the state of West Bengal, India. It is 145 km north of Kolkata and is best known for the proximity to Visva Bharati, the university set up by Rabindranath Tagore the Nobel laureate poet...

,Santiniketan
Santiniketan
Santiniketan is a small town near Bolpur in the Birbhum district of West Bengal, India, approximately 180 kilometres north of Kolkata . It was made famous by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore, whose vision became what is now a university town that attracts thousands of visitors each year...

, 55 km from Andal
Andal
Andal is the the only female Alvar of the 12 Alvar saints of South India, who are known for their affiliation to Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. She is credited with the great Tamil works of Thirupavai and Nachiar Tirumozhi that are still recited by devotees during the Winter festival season of...

 and 19 km from Sainthia
Sainthia
Sainthia is a town and a municipality in Suri Sadar subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The town is famous for Nandikeshwari Temple, one of the Shakti Peethas in India.-Geography:...

 on the Andal-Sainthia Branch Line
Andal-Sainthia Branch Line
The Andal-Sainthia Branch Line is a railway line connecting Andal on the Bardhaman-Asansol section of the Howrah-Delhi main line and Sainthia on the Sahibganj Loop. This track is under the jurisdiction of Eastern Railway...

 of Eastern Railway
Eastern Railway (India)
The Eastern Railway is one of the 17 zones of the Indian Railways. Its headquarters is at Fairley Place, Kolkata, and comprises four divisions: Howrah, Malda, Sealdah, and Asansol. These are the financial departments and each has an assistant divisional financial manager , divisional railway...

. It is on Panagarh–Morgram Highway.(known as N.H 60)

Transport system mainly depends on Govt. Bus Service N.B.S.C.T.E & S.B.S.C.T.E & Private Bus service Fron Suri, one can go to several large towns of West Bengal, like - 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...

, Durgapur, Asansol, Medinipur, Digha, Burdwan, Malda, Berhampur, Raigunj, Siliguri, Katwa, etc. and others.
Suri is a model Railway Station (E.R). From Suri railway station, there are many trains to go to Howrah (via Andal-Durgapur-Bandel), like the Hool Express, Mayurakshi Express, Suri-Howrah(via-prantic), etc. There are also the Chennai-Guwahati Express for Assam, Bananchal Express, etc.

Language

Most people communicate with each other in Bengali and some people use Hindi,English and Urdu to communicate with each other.

Education

Colleges in Suri include old Suri Vidyasagar College
Suri Vidyasagar College
Suri Vidyasagar College is a government affiliated college and this college is under University of Burdwan. The location of the college is at Suri in the Birbhum district of West Bengal. Arts, Science and Commerce streams are taught in this college....

 and the newer Birbhum Mahavidyalaya ,both affiliated to the University of Burdwan ; Birbhum Institute of Engineering & Technology and Sri Ramkrisna Shilpa Vidyapith (it's a 50 years old institution with great landmark of diploma courses in Mechanical, Electrical & Civil Engineering in West Bengal) also known as 'L. C. College'. Suri has one of the oldest schools in the District, Birbhum Zilla School, established in 1851 prior to 'Sipahi Bidroho'. The other schools are mostly new, except for Suri Benimadhab Institution established in 1902. R. T. Girls' High School and Banimandir High School are situated here too. Also there are 2 famous schools of Suri, viz. Sree Sree Ramkrishna Vidyapith and Suri P. & C.M.M. High School.

Birbhum Institute Of Engineering & Technology (BIET) was established at Suri in 1999. It has become an important landmark of Suri.
This institute has made a great success in the field of engineering and technologic education. As per the regulations of the West Bengal University of Technology (WBUT) and AICTE norms an applicant can take admission to B.E. or B.Tech. degree courses here with requisite marks and ranks in WBJEE/AIEEE examinations to the following disciplines:
1. Mechanical Engineering, 2. Civil Engineering, 3. Electrical Engineering, 4. Electronics and Communication Engineering, 5. Computer Science and Engineering, 6. Information Technology .

Suri has two important libraries. One is the District Library and the other Vivekananda Granthagar. These libraries boast of a very formidable collection of books and periodicals and have many rare references regarding the history and culture of Birbhum district.

Civil Administration

There is a Suri municipality.It is divided into 18 wards.Currently,it is controlled by the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...

-Trinamool Congress alliance. In the 2010 municipal elections,the municipality faced a hung verdict.Later,the Trinamool Congress with 8 councillors ,formed the municipal board by taking the support of 6 Congress councillors.

Club

There are some famous clubs in Suri and they organise many humanitarian and cultural activities here. Some important and famous clubs are:
  • Jonaki
  • Moumachi
  • Anandapur Sarbajanin
  • Eker Palli, Barabagan
  • Tran Samity
  • Prantik Sangha
  • Red Rose
  • Pratidwandi Club
  • Balaka Club
  • Chowringhee Club

Local Specialities

Suri is famous for a special food preparation called morabba. Morabba of various fruits and vegetables soaked in thick sweet syrup comes in unimaginable number of varieties, which includes Morabba of Satamooli.

Places of Worship

Some famous temple are situated in Suri. Moumachhi Club has established a Kali
Kali
' , also known as ' , is the Hindu goddess associated with power, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" . Hence, Kāli is...

 temple in Suri, which is unique and grand in this town. Other famous temples are Jonaki Kali Mandir,Bamni Kalibari,Bhabatarini Kalibari, Dangalpara Anandpur sarbajanin MatriMandir, Radha Ballav Mandir, Shani Mandir, Damodar Mandir, Rabindarpally Kalibari and the very famous Rakshakali Temple and Kendua Dakshin Para Kali Mandir etc.

Suri is also close to Tarapith
Tarapith
Tarapith is a small temple town near Rampurhat in Birbhum district of the Indian state of West Bengal, known for its Tantric temple and its adjoining cremation grounds where Tantric rites are performed...

 (30-45 mins by bus) and Kankalitala
Kankalitala
Kankalitala is a temple town in Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal.-Geography:It is located about from Bolpur on the Bolpur–Labhpur road. It is situated on the bank of the Kopai River...

 (45mins - 1hr by bus) which are two of the 51 Shakti peethas
Shakti Peethas
The Shakti Pithas are places of worship consecrated to the goddess Shakti or Parvati or Sati or Durga, the female principal of Hinduism and the main deity of the Shakta sect...

.

There are a few mosques in Suri and among them the Masjid at Masjid More and the one at Madrasa Road deserve special mentions.
The only church in this town is situated near the Circuit House and Suri Sadar Hospital.

Festivals

Every year in Suri
Suri
-Places:* Suri, Birbhum, a town in West Bengal, India* Suri , an assembly constituency in Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal* Suri dynasty, a former South Asian empire* Şuri, a commune in Drochia District, Moldova*...

 there is a very famous fair called 'Barobagan Mela'. This historic fair was inaugurated by the then Governor of Bengal
Governor of Bengal
From 1690, a governor represented the British East India Company in Bengal, which had been granted the right to establish a trading post by the local rulers, the nawabs of Murshidabad, who were nominal vassals of the Mughal emperor in Delhi....

 Lord Brabourne. In 1940 this fair was blessed by none other than 'Kabiguru' Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...

.

Park

A new park name 'Shahid Bhagat Singh Park' is situated in Suri near the Circuit House. Recently the park has been opened for commoners. Former District Magistrate of Birbhum Mr Khalil Ahmed had proposed the idea of building this park for the children of Suri
Suri
-Places:* Suri, Birbhum, a town in West Bengal, India* Suri , an assembly constituency in Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal* Suri dynasty, a former South Asian empire* Şuri, a commune in Drochia District, Moldova*...

. The work for the park started in 2004 and the park was complete in 2009. Also there is another park in Suri
Suri
-Places:* Suri, Birbhum, a town in West Bengal, India* Suri , an assembly constituency in Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal* Suri dynasty, a former South Asian empire* Şuri, a commune in Drochia District, Moldova*...

for children known as Lees Club Park,near the Chaitali Cinema hall.

Climate

The climate of the district is generally dry, mild and healthy. The hot weather usually last from the middle of March to the middle of the June, the rainy season from the middle of June to the middle of October, and the cold weather from middle of October to the middle of March. They do not always correspond to these limit. As a rule, the wind is from south-east in Summer and from the north-west in winter.

River System

The district is well drained by a number of rivers and rivulets running in nearly every case from west to east with a slight southerly inclination. Only two are rivers of any magnitude , viz., the Mor and the Ajay, the latter of which marks the southern boundary, while the Mor runs through Birbhum from West to East. Both rivers are of considerable size when they enter the district, their width varying according to the configuration of the country, from two hundred yards to half a mile. The Ajay first touches the district at its south-west corner, and follows a winding course in an easterly direction, till it enters Burdwan at the extreme south-eastern angle of Birbhum, eventually falling into Bhagirathi near Katwa. The Mor enters Birbhum from the Santhal Paraganas near the village of Haripur and flows through the centre of the district from west to east, passing two miles north of Suri and forming the southern boundary of the Rampurhat Sub-division. It leaves the district a little east of Gunutia and joins Dwarka which itself is a tributary of the Bhagirathi. The Mor is also widely known as Mayurakshi meaning "the peacock eyed", i.e. having water as lustrous as the eye of the peacock. Between the Mor and Ajay there are a few large streams coming from beyond the western boundary, of which the Hinglo is the most important. It enters the District from the Santhal Paraganas some eight miles north of Ajay, flows through Dubrajpur thana, and gradually approaches that river, unites with it at Chapla, after a course in Birbhum of about 15 miles. Another river is the Bakreswar, which rises at hot spring of same name near Tantipara, some ten miles west of Suri, and after following a zigzag course eastward, and receiving one by one the waters of almost all the rivulets, joins the Mor a few miles beyond the eastern boundary of the district. Other important rivers of the district includes the Brahmani, the Bansloi, the Pagla, the Kopai or Sal

External links

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