Adra, Purulia

This article is about the town in West Bengal, India. For other uses, see Adra.

Adra (আদ্রা)
—  town  —
Adra (আদ্রা) Location of Adra (আদ্রা) in West Bengal and India
Coordinates	23°30′N 86°40′E
Country	India
State	West Bengal
District(s)	Purulia
Parliamentary constituency	Bankura
Assembly constituency	Raghunathpur
Population	22,030 (2001)
Sex ratio	1.2:1 ♂/♀
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Area • Elevation	• 185 metres (607 ft)
Codes • Pincode • 723121 • Telephone • +91-03251
Website	purulia.gov.in/

Adra railway station

Adra (Bengali: আদ্রা) is a census town and a railway colony which was originally known for its 90% of Anglo Indian population in Purulia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is an important railway division. Even today the Anglo Indian population is gud in Adra

Geography

The major sub-divisions of Adra are Beniasole, Palashkola, Jhariadih, Panchudanga, Laldanga, daulatpur, Arabinda Pally, medical colony, childrens park and SER colonies (north and south). Adra railway market is the most denser place consisting most Marwaris.

The area forms the lowest step of the Chota Nagpur Plateau. The general scenario is undulating land with scattered hills.

Railway centre

Adra is the divisional headquarters of the Adra division of South Eastern Railway (India). The economy of the town is driven by the presence of the railways there. It is one of the three most important coal loading divisions (the other two being Bilaspur and Chakradharpur) which supply coal to power plants across India.

An important railway junction, it connects to Asansol on the Kolkata-Delhi line, Tatanagar on the Kolkata-Mumbai line, Kharagpur on the Kolkata-Chennai and Kolkata-Mumbai lines, and Gomoh on the Kolkata-Delhi line. The railroad station has four platforms which are busy throughout the day with trains passing to a number of destinations in each direction.

Demographics

As of 2001 India census, Adra had a population of 22,030. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%.

Around 65% of the population are Anglo Indians earlier considered to be about 90% of the population. Towards the later years most of the Anglo Indians migrated to foreign countries such as Australia and England but some famous families got left back like the Silvano's, and the Famous Lloyd Dunne who still lives in a world of imagination. The people in Adra till date have very limited knowledge of the outside world, like the family mentioned above the Silvano's.

Tourism

Places of tourist interest close to Adra include Bankura, known for the 'Bankura Horse', clay sculptures, and Bishnupur known for its baluchari silk sarees and terracotta temples. There is also a nature park called "satabdi park" with a natural water reservoir called "shaheb bandh" and a forest called "mohanpura reserve forest". Also there is Jaichandi Pahar (Hill) about 5 km away from Adra Railway Station is one of the popular places for Rock Climbing. Kashipur Rajbari also a tourist place near Adra.

Education

Adra has a good number of schools. There is the Kendriya Vidyalaya, which is a part of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Organization (KVO), under the Ministry of HRD. The South Eastern Railway Boys' School, Adra is one of the largest and well-equipped schools in the region. Established in 1911, this 99-year old school has a big campus, a playground, science, geography and computer labs along with a growing library. The student strength currently stands about 1,200. The school is about to commence its centenary celebrations soon. Other well-known schools in the town include, South Eastern Railway Girls High School, South Eastern Railway Primary School, Sacred Heart Convent and Ashram School. The buildings of Kendriya Vidyalaya (the old building) and SE Railway Boys' School are among the magnificent structures in the town which were built by the British.

Culture

Adra can be considered a cosmopolitan town, representing a mix of diverse cultures of India. There are many people from the states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Orissa who live here in Adra. The people of Adra are fond of Pujas. Every month there is one Puja or another. Starting from January–February till December, people are seen busy with celebrations. Come January, you have Saraswathi puja, then Ganesh Puja, Viswakarma Puja (a major attraction of Adra), Durga Puja, Lakshmi Puja, Kali Puja, Chat and so on. The most important part of these all puja is the idol bisarjan at the last day of puja. People come together in the street and dance together to all the bollywood hots including Bhojpuri and Bengali songs. Another very famous culture thats being followed for more than 100 years is the famous 31st Dance (31st December Night) that's celebrated every single year. All the Anglo families get together and have this dance every year, people from different places like Asansol, Dhanbad, Jamshedpur, Kharagpur etc come to Adra for this night which is held at the South Eastern Institute.

Adra is known for Sacred Heart Church, which is one of the oldest churches built by the Britishers in 1819. Sacred Heart Church is the largest church under the Jamshedpur Diocese.

Entertainment

Adra is famous for "Adda Bazzi". The most common "Adda" is The Bengali Samity and the Railway Bazaar. Next to that, there are a lot many Tea Stalls which are considered to be the hottest place at Adra. There are many places for entertainment at Adra, Example:- Pump House, Food Park, Hati Park & Station Road. Adra is really a peaceful place to live in. A small town and most importantly it's not a crowded place.

Sports

Adra is the state center for training for the Bharat Scouts and Guides, and holds the Presidents' Award selection camps occasionally. It has the SERSA Stadium and Engineering Ground where annual Football and Cricket Events organised by Railways and others are held. There are many Cricket and Football tournaments organised at Adra. ICL Madhav Rao Scindhia Memorial Cricket Tournament is one of the biggest events which organise by SERMC (Adra Division).