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Raiganj
রায়গঞ্জ
City / Urban Agglomeration
From the top :
The Clock Tower of Raiganj
Raiganj Railway Station
Sudarshanpur Durga Puja
Country India
StateWest Bengal
DistrictUttar Dinajpur
Government
 • TypeMunicipality
 • BodyRaiganj Municipality
 • ChairmanMohit Sengupta(INC)
 • Superintendent of PoliceAmit Kumar Bharat Rathod (IPS)
 • District MagistrateSmt. Ayesha Rani (IAS)
Area
 • Total8.99 km2 (3.47 sq mi)
 • Rank15th in WB
Elevation
40 m (130 ft)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total199,758
 • Rank15th in WB
 • Density18,378/km2 (47,600/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (IST)
Telephone code+91-3523-2xxxxx
Vehicle registrationWB-60/ WB-59
Lok Sabha constituencyRaiganj
Vidhan Sabha constituencyRaiganj
Websiteraiganj2.webnode.com
uttardinajpur.nic.in
www.raiganjmunicipality.com

Raiganj Pron:ˈraɪˌgʌnʤ) (Bengali: রায়গঞ্জ) is a city and a municipality in Uttar Dinajpur district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of a district as well as a subdivision. The place oozes heritage. Tradition and a rich past haunt the residents of the 300-year-old town. Even the police station was set up 125 years ago and railway connectivity reached the place 115 years ago. The high school is 101 years old. Raiganj got a railway communication way back in 1896. The train used to go to Parbatipur junction in Bangladesh from Raiganj. The rail link helped the town become an important trading centre, aided by the additional benefit of waterways.[2]

Etymology

The origin of the name Raiganj is not exactly known. There are several views regarding the origin of the name. But, the widely accepted view is that the name originated from the abundance of 'Rai' corps at this place from time immemorial.

Geography

Raiganj is known for Raiganj Wildlife Sanctuary (also called the Kulik bird sanctuary),[3] home to a large population of Asian openbills and other waterbirds and it has the 2nd largest church in India. Raiganj is situated at the banks of Kulik river which helped the town to become an important place for water connectivity. But, in course of time, navigability of Kulik river decreased and business through the waterway was stopped in the first half of 1970s, especially after the dam was erected to prevent floods. The port area slowly lost its significance and, at present, it is the most backward locality of Raiganj.

Sunset at Raiganj.

Location

The area of this town is about10.76 sq.km.But the present growing tendency and trend of urbanization in the area adjacent to this town are also remarkable. The agglomeration areas are also experiencing this trend. Now The vast areas under Birghai, Maraikura, Rupahar, Bahin, karnojora is also growing with the population like the town of Raiganj and this population is dependent on Raiganj town.

Demographics

Religions in Raiganj
Religion Percent
Hindus
 
 97.37%
Muslims
 
 2.16%
Jains
 
 0.16%
Others†
 
 0.31%
Distribution of religions
†Includes Christians (0.13%), Sikhs (0.02%), Buddhists (0.05%).

In the 2011 census, Raiganj Urban Agglomeration had a population of 199,758, out of which 104,966 were males and 94,792 were females. The 0–6 years population was 22,028. Effective literacy rate for the 7+ population was 81.71 per cent.[4] As per provisional reports of Census India, population of Raiganj in 2011 is 183,612; of which male and female are 96,388 and 87,224 respectively. Although Raiganj city has population of 183,612; its urban / metropolitan population is 199,690 of which 104,733 are males and 94,957 are females. Hinduism is majority religion in Raiganj city with 97.37% followers. Islam is second most popular religion in city of Raiganj with approximately 2.16% following it. In Raiganj city, Christinity is followed by 0.13%, Jainism by 0.16%, Sikhism by 0.05% and Buddhism by 0.05%. Around 0.00% stated 'Other Religion', approximately 0.11% stated 'No Particular Religion'. As of 2001 India census,[5] Raiganj had a population of 165,222. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Raiganj has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 79%, and female literacy is 71%. In Raiganj, 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.

See also: List of cities in West Bengal

Climate

Raiganj has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa). The average high temperature in July, the warmest month, is 39 °C (102 °F), and in January, the coldest month, 26 °C (79 °F). The average annual temperature is 24.9 °C (76.8 °F). On average, 1,430 millimetres (56 in) of rain falls per year, with most of it falling in the wet season months of June through September. The wettest month is July, with 348 millimetres (13.7 in) of precipitation on average; the driest month is December, with only 5 millimetres (0.20 in).[6]

Climate data for Raiganj
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 20.3
(68.5) 		26.5
(79.7) 		32.6
(90.7) 		37.7
(99.9) 		38.9
(102.0) 		36.7
(98.1) 		33.0
(91.4) 		32.4
(90.3) 		32.3
(90.1) 		31.5
(88.7) 		28.8
(83.8) 		24.7
(76.5) 		31.53
(88.75)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 9.2
(48.6) 		11.6
(52.9) 		16.4
(61.5) 		22.3
(72.1) 		25.2
(77.4) 		26.7
(80.1) 		26.2
(79.2) 		26.1
(79.0) 		25.7
(78.3) 		21.8
(71.2) 		14.7
(58.5) 		9.9
(49.8) 		19.65
(67.37)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 19
(0.7) 		11
(0.4) 		11
(0.4) 		8
(0.3) 		33
(1.3) 		134
(5.3) 		306
(12.0) 		274
(10.8) 		227
(8.9) 		94
(3.7) 		9
(0.4) 		4
(0.2) 		1,130
(44.5)
Source: worldweather.org[7]

Transport

NBSTC, Raiganj

Rickshaws,auto-rickshaws and Totos are the most widely available public transport in Raiganj. Most of the residents of Raiganj stay within a few kilometres of the town centre and have their own vehicles, mostly motorcycles and bicycles.

Raiganj is pretty well connected by roadways and railways. Raiganj railway station is on the Barsoi-Radhikapur branch line. Railways connectivity reached here more than 150 years ago but, due to Indo-Bangladesh partition in 1971 the links through Bangladesh were lost and the railway became only a branch line. NH 34 passes through Raiganj which connects is to the capital of the state Kolkata. Conversion of the highway to 4 lanes is going on and the proposed highway will bypass Raiganj by about 6 km. The roadways connectivity suffers due to the traffic jam caused at Dalkhola on a regular basis. Raiganj also lacks in Railways connectivity because the Railway station is on a branch line. The nail in the coffin was hammered back in 1960s when the broad gauge line was shifted to Malda-Barsoi-Dalkhola and thus bypassing Raiganj.

Roadways

Raiganj is well connected by buses to few major cities thanks to NBSTC and private bus services. NH 34 and SH 10A are its lifelines. SH 10A connects it to Kaliaganj, Balurghat, Hili. Buses are available all day long to Balurghat, Siliguri, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Coochbehar, Malda, Kolkata and few other important cities. Overnight bus facilities are available mostly to Kolkata, Dhubri.

Railways

Raiganj railway station is on the Barsoi-Radhikapur branch line. One express train Radhikapur Express is avaliable for reaching Kolkata and a link superfast express train Radhikapur-Anandvihar Express is available for going to New Delhi. Besides these couple of Katihar bound local passenger trains and a Siliguri bound DMU passenger can also be availed. Present C.M of West bengal Mamata Banerjee during her reign as a railways minister announced couple of railways projects for Raiganj which will definitely boost the communication.

Airways

Raiganj has no airport of its own.

Malda Airport (IATA: LDA, ICAO: VEMH) is located at Malda, India. Situated at an elevation of 791 feet, it is 72 km from the Raiganj. But, no scheduled commercial air service at this time from the airport. Another nearby airport is Balurghat Airport (ICAO: RGH) at a distance of 109 km but, the airport is non-operational. Purnea Airport (ICAO: VEPU) is located near Purnia in the state of Bihar, India which is about 93 km from Raiganj. Only flight services on Patna-Purnea and Purnea-Calcutta routes, flying twice a week to Kolkata and Patna are availbale. The nearest operating airport is Bagdogra Airport near Siliguri, about 166 km from Raiganj. IndiGo, Jet Airways and Spice Jet are the major carriers that connect the area to Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangkok, Paro, Chandigarh.

Tourism

Raiganj Bird Sanctuary

File:Asian Openbill at Kulik Bird Sanctuary.jpg
Asian Openbill at Kulik Bird Sanctuary
File:Asian Openbill at Raiganj Bird Sanctuary.jpg
Asian Openbill at Kulik Bird Sanctuary
File:Migrartory birds of Raiganj.jpg
Asian Openbill at Kulik Bird Sanctuary

Situated along the National Highway and by the side of the Kulik river is the Raiganj Wildlife Sanctuary with an area of 35 acre and buffer area of 286.23 acre. The forest, water bodies and the river attract the migratory birds like Open Bill Strok, Night heron, cormorant, little cormorant & Egrets from South Asian countries and coastal regions. Local birds like dove, bulbul, sparrow, king fisher, woodpeckers, owl, duck & cuckoo, can also be seen in large numbers. The migratory birds arrive from end of May to Ist week of July and depart from mid December to end of January. The nesting time is from July to August & egg laying from August to September. The flying training to the young ones is the best time to observe the birds, around October to November. Every winter nearly 150 different bird species arrive here from the north in numbers ranging from 65,000 to 75,000. Some of the common migratory birds seen here are Open-Billed Storks, Asian Open-billed storks, Egrets, Knight Herons, and Cormorants. Indian birds like kites, flycatchers, kingfishers, owls, woodpeckers, drongos, and bee eaters. The sanctuary has artificial network of man made canals which is connected to the River Kulik. During the months of monsoon the flood water from the river enters the plains of the sanctuary. This acts as the important source of food for most of the bird species.

Legal status of the Forest:-

Reserved Forest 573.71 Acre
Protected Forest 249.50 Acre
Unclassed Forest 660.54 Acre
Total 1483.75 Acre = 610.71 Ha = 6.01 Sq. Km


Raiganj Church

The magnificent and beautiful cathedral, Raiganj Church dedicated to St. Joseph the Worker, the patron saint of Raiganj Diocese stands as the testimony of the faith and support of the people of the diocese, the pastoral leadership provided by Bishop Alphonsus D'Souza S.J. and the meticulous planning and implementation by Fr. Sunny M.V., the treasurer of the diocese and secretary of the Bishop. The spacious cathedral towering towards the blue skies is a gem of architecture with exquisite glass and ceiling paintings, prominent pillars on both sides modeled on Greek pillars, beautifully carved doors and magnificent high altar with an hexagonal dome on top of it with eye-catching paintings.

Other notable places

Sap nikla forest and tourists visit the lake and the forest for site seeing. Development of an Eco park is underway. Chopra block, 22 km from Islampur
Eco Tourism at Bijolia More is being developed. Here river Sudhani forms an island by dividing into 2 branches and joining again. Bijolia More
Temple of Goddess Bhairabi Bindole
Mosque of Burhana fakirs. Mosque of Burhana fakirs
Temple of Goddess Kali of Baira. Kaliaganj
Terracotta pottery & Malgaon. Kunore
Museum Karnajora
Park Karnajora
Banabithi Resort Barui, Barduari.
Farm-House Samaspur, Hemtabad

Educational Institutions

Schools

Raiganj's schools usually use English and Bengali as their medium of instruction, although the use of Hindi language is also stressed. The schools are affiliated with the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) or the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) or the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. Some of the reputed schools include Kendriya Vidyalaya Raiganj, Raiganj Coronation High School, Sudarshanpur Dwarika Prasad Ucchya Vidyachakra, Raiganj Girl's High School, Durgapur Public School, Raiganj Sri Sri Ramkrishna Vidya Bhaban,Raiganj Mohanbati High School, Kailash Chandra Radharani Vidyapith, Maharaja Jagadish Nath High School, Devinagar Gayalal Ramhari Girls High School, Debinagar Gayalal Ramhari High School, St. Xaviers School (English Medium), Sarada Vidya Mandir(English Medium), Parbati Devi Balika Vidyalaya, Subhas Ganj High School (H.S), Karnajora High School, Raiganj Ten Class Girls High School.

Raiganj Ram Krishna School

Raiganj Coronation High School

Raiganj Coronation High School

This is the oldest school in the town. It was established way back in 1911. Raiganj Coronation High School (H.S.) was established on 17 January 1911. A group of enlightened persons headed by Sri Kulada Kanta Ghosh, the founder Secretary of the School played the pivotal role behind the establishment of the school. The school was named such because it was the year of coronation of George the 5th. After independence, efforts had been made to do away with the word "coronation" but it could not be actualized as yet. This is because of the fact that the school, since its foundation has chronologically reached such a coveted height that any alteration of the name is not likely to be approved by the people of Raiganj. However, prior to 17 January 1911, the school was known as Raiganj Middle English School. In 1908 Sri Kulada Kanta Ghosh of Raiganj attended the "Congress Conference" held at Bombay. Inspired by nationalistic educational philosophy, Sri Ghosh on returning from the conference devoted himself along with like minded persons towards setting up a school to cater the need of spreading education among the children of Raiganj. As a result, Raiganj Middle East School which was established in 1905, came to known as Raiganj Coronation High English School w.e.f. 17th Jan., 1911. The entire land required for the school building and the playground was donated by Late Maharaja Girija Nath Rai Bahadur of Dinajpur.

Raiganj Girl's High School

Its a girls only school situated at the heart of the town. It was established in 1933.

Durgapur Public School

The Durgapur Public School (DPS) located at Bekidanga Itahar, Uttar Dinajpur, W.B. is an English medium co-educational institution that meets both the national and the international standard requirements of education for the new millennium. It was established in 2009 and is affilated to CBSE.

Colleges

There are several colleges colleges and a govt. polytechnic in the town. Recently, Raiganj College has been upgraded to Raiganj University, an autonomous, state-owned university. The colleges of Raiganj were affilated to University of North Bengal but after establishment of University of Gour Banga at Malda in 2008, the colleges are now affilated to University of Gour Banga.

University

Raiganj University

Raiganj University (Bengali: রায়গঞ্জ বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়) is a public university in Raiganj, in the Uttar Dinajpur district. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in arts, commerce and sciences. It became a university in August 2015. Earlier it was a university college, which was affiliated to the University of North Bengal. It also offers Ph.D. programmes in Humanities- and Science-based subjects. Prof. Anil Bhuimali is the present Vice Chancellor of the university, while Dr. Pankaj Kundu is the Registrar, and Dr. Bidyut Santra is the officiating Controller of Examinations. The full postal address of the University is: Raiganj University, Collegepara, Post Office: Raiganj - 733 134, District: Uttar Dinajpur, West Bengal, India.

Healthcare

As of 2016, the healthcare system in Raiganj consists of a government super speciality hospital, under the Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of West Bengal, and quite a few private medical establishments.

Raiganj District Hospital

Raiganj Super Speciality Hospital
Raiganj District Hospital

There are a total of 400 existing beds for patients in different wards of Raiganj district hospital. But there was no infrastructure for the treatment of dying patients and the patients who suffer from complicated diseases of kidney and heart. Hence, on most occasions, the complicated patients are being transferred either to North Bengal Medical College & Hospital in Siliguri or Malda medical college and even to Kolkata which is 444 km away. The patient parties are facing great crisis to shift their patients either to Siliguri or Malda. Sometimes, patients die on the way as a result of complexities. On 27 November, the state Chief Minister Miss Mamata Banerjee during her visit to Raiganj announced that Raiganj district hospital would be upgraded to a Super Specialty hospital. When Raiganj district hospital will be upgraded to a Super Specialty Hospital, more than 200 seats will rise. Modern dialysis Centre, Burn Unit, Major Operation Theater and City Scan facilty centre will be set up.

List of Private Hospitals:-

Private Hospitals Address Contact No.
Upasam Nursing Home NH 34, Near Satsang Bihar 03523 241 473
Nibedita Seba Sadan Ukil Para Road, Raiganj - 733134 +(91)-3523-242008 +(91)-9851123014
Purabi Nursing Home Near Ramkrishna School +(91)-3523-242060
Sudha Nursing Home Debinagar, Raiganj - 733123, Opposite UBI Bank +(91)-9735004789, 9434074307
Prayas Clinic
Jeevan Deep Nurshing Home Ukilpara Road, Raiganj - 733134, Near Raiganj Distic Hospital +(91)-3523-243122
Micky Megha Hospital Pvt. Ltd.

Proposed Raiganj AIIMS

It was proposed that an AIIMS like multi speciality hospital would be set up at the suburbs of Raiganj. If this project of Rs 923 crore would have come to Raiganj, it would see development by all means. Not only in the health sector, but also communication, employment generation and infrastructure. The effect would have been multi-dimensional. A central team visited the proposed site of 125-acre land at Sitgram - 7 km from Raiganj. After the Congress rout in the Lok Sabha elections and the defeat of Union minister Deepa Dasmunshi in Raiganj, it could be the end of the road for a plan to have an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Raiganj. In his first meeting with directors of the six new AIIMS on Friday, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the Centre is willing to look into West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s suggestion that the proposed medical institute should be shifted out of Raiganj.

Economy

Raiganj remains an important trading centre, running daily business transaction of at least R6 crore on average, next only to Siliguri. Around two lakh people visit Raiganj everyday for business. But, there is no industry as such in Raiganj. In the suburbs, there is a government-undertaken spinning mill with about 800 employees but even that it is gasping. It could shut down any day,

Civic administration

There is Raiganj municipality.It is divided into 25 wards a.Currently, the Indian National Congress, which has 22 elected councillors, controls the municipal board. Mr.Mohit Sengupta of the Congress is the current chairman of the outgoing board. But, the post of chairman is now vacant as the municipal election is withheld. Raiganj is not really the district headquarters though we term the town as the headquarters of North Dinajpur. The administrative buildings are located at Karnajora - a gram panchayat area five kilometres from Raiganj town. All along, Raiganj was developed in a scattered manner. When West Dinajpur existed, this side was deprived since the district headquarters was in Balurghat.

Raiganj Bhavan

In year 2008 23 March, The Union I&B and Parliamentary affairs minister Mr Priyaranjan Dasmunshi inaugurated the newly constructed Raiganj Bhawan in Kolkata(Kasba area).

Culture

  • Local Dances: Khan dance, Natua, Jang Gan, Mokha Dance and Halna Halnani dances
  • Handicrafts: Terracota and jute decorative articles
Raiganj Ram Krishna Ashram
Kali Puja at Netaji Pathagar
Sudarshanpur Durga Puja

Media

Asha Talkies, Raiganj
Geetanjali Cinema, Raiganj

References

  1. ^ "Census of India Search details". censusindia.gov.in. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  2. ^ "Uttar Dinajpur Rail Network Map". Maps of India. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
  3. ^ Raiganj
  4. ^ "Urban Agglomerations/Cities having population 1 lakh and above" (PDF). Provisional Population Totals, Census of India 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
  5. ^ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 2004-06-16. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  6. ^ http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=596069&cityname=Raiganj-West-Bengal-India. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ^ World Weather Information Service "Climatological Information for raiganj". World Weather. Retrieved 2011-02-25. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
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