Bolpur


Bolpur is a city and a municipality in Birbhum district in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Bolpur subdivision. Bolpur municipal area includes Shantiniketan. It is 150 km north of Kolkata and is best known for Visva Bharati, the university set up by the Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore.

Etymology

There is a mythical story that says that Supur was the capital of Raja Surath. He lost his kingdom when he had gone out for conquests, but regained the same with the blessings of goddess Bhavani. In his worship of gratitude, Raja Surath organised the sacrificial slaughtering of one lakh goats. As a result, the name of place where the sacrificial offerings were made became ‘Bolipur’ – with time it became Bolpur.

History

About 150 years ago, Bolpur was a small village under Supur Porgana. Kalikapur a known place of Bolpur was the origin of the typical village in past. There were no rail lines, no developed roads. Paddy land were seen around the village. "Lalmati" was found everywhere. Many villages named Sian, Dihipara, Khoskadampur, Paruldanga, Goalpara, Ballavpur, Bandhgara, Surul, Supur, Raipur were the boundary line around Bolpur.
East India company established the first railway line in 1859, when the Sahebganj loopline was extended beyond the river Ajay. Bolpur railway station was established in 1860. Along with this, court, police station, sub registry office, etc., were established in old Bolpur. Then people started residing here. Christian missionaries came; they founded a church that was known as Mission compound. Paddy storage house, stationary shops, grocery shops, garment shops etc. were on the east side near Bolpur railway station. About 19 husking machines were here at that time.
Maharshi Debendranath Tagore established a centre of religious mediation in Bolpur. Rabindranath Tagore established Visva Bharati Viswavidyalaya in 1921. These were the main reasons for the huge extension, development and popularity of Bolpur.
Provincial names proved the upcoming gradual development of Bolpur. Kachharipatti is just beside court house, Trishulapatti is the commercial paddy trading centre. Kalibaroarytala was the service place for Bolpur set up by some initiative people. Netaji made a conference. Here Harisava stood against "Bramhopasana". Every week these two conferences were held in Bolpur. Bijaykrishna Ghoswami, Shivnath Shastri, Shasibhusan Basu like many wisemen gave religious advice. Beside this, prayer committee was set up.

Geography

Location

Bolpur is located at.
As per the District Census Handbook 2011, Bolpur covered an area of 13.13km2.
Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the area. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.
In the map of Bolpur-Sriniketan CD block on page 718 of , while the area covered by Shantiniketan is shown as a part of Bolpur, Sriniketan is shown as a part of Surul, a census town.

Police station

Bolpur police station has jurisdiction over Bolpur Sriniketan community development block.

Demography

As per the 2011 Census of India, Bolpur had a total population of 80,210, of which 40,468 were males and 39,742 were females. Population in the age range of 0-6 years was 6,852. The total number of literates in Bolpur was 63,656.

Religion

According to Census of India 2011, Hinduism is the predominant religion in Bolpur, followed by Islam, Christianity, Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism. Out of 80,210 people living in Bolpur ; 72,005 are Hindus, 7,764 are Muslims, 152 are Christians, 24 are Sikhs, 9 are Buddhists, 112 are Jains and 144 did not state their religion.

Civic administration

Bolpur municipality is divided into 20 wards. Until 2010, the Indian National Congress was in power in it. In the 2010 municipal elections, the municipality faced a hung verdict. Later, the Trinamool Congress with nine councillors, formed the board by taking the support of eight Congress councillors. Sushanta Bhakat is the Chairman of the municipal board.

Transport

Railways

is a major and busy railway station under Howrah Division of Eastern Railway. The station is well connected to the major cities, specially state capital Kolkata. A Shatabdi express train has a scheduled stop at this station. This Shatabdi express train is the high priority train in this route. Howrah - Bolpur Shantiniketan Express is a superfast train which is originate and terminate on this station. The train takes only 2:30 hours to reach Howrah. Most of the tourists prefer this train for visiting Santiniketan. Some other important trains are Kaviguru Express, Ganadevata Express, Malda Town Intercity, Tebhaga Express, Viswabharati Fast Passenger etc.
Apart from West Bengal, the station connected to cities of other states like Guwahati, Dibrugarh, Agartala, Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai etc. Some long distance trains are Darjeeling Mail, Kanchanjungha Express, Padatik Express, Saraighat Express, Karmabhoomi Express, Kaziranga Express etc. All express trains give a stop in this station, except Humsafar express.
The station have all important facilities like reservation counter, two and four wheeler parking, resting room, railway canteen. Station have escalators for going through the platforms.
Another railway station in the city is Prantik railway station which is the next station of Bolpur Shantiniketan. Some local passenger and express trains give a stop in this station.

Roadways

Bolpur is connected to all important cities by roadways. National Highway 114 pass through Bolpur. The highway runs from NH 14 at Mallarpur to NH 19 at Burdwan. This highway connects Bolpur with Burdwan and Kolkata. SH 14 or Morgram - Panagarh highway passes through 15 km away from Bolpur at Illambazar, and junction with NH 19 at Panagarh. This route connects Bolpur with Durgapur, Asansol, Maithon and Dhanbad. Bolpur-Suri road connects Bolpur with district headquarter Suri and the road cross NH 14 at Suri. After crossing, the road goes towards Massanjore, Dumka, Deoghar. Distance from Bolpur to Berhampore via Nanoor is 100 km, and Katwa via Nutanhat is 54 km.
Bolpur is connected through WBTC, SBSTC and private bus services. There is direct AC Volvo bus service of WBTC from Kolkata to Bolpur. Bus services are also available to other parts of West Bengal such as Suri, Burdwan, Panagarh, Durgapur, Asansol, Kirnahar, Sainthia, Berhampore, Katwa, Kalna, etc. Bus service is also available to Dumka, Deoghar, Dhanbad.
Private cars are available from Kolkata, Durgapur City Centre Bus Stop, Asansol and soon from Santragachi Railway Station in Howrah.

Airways

Bolpur has no airport of its own. But, in 2014, direct helicopter services were started between Bolpur and Kolkata, by the government of West Bengal.
The nearest airport from Bolpur is Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport located in Andal. The airport is 70 km away from Bolpur. It is a domestic airport where flights are operated by Air India and Spicejet
Nearest international airport is Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport located in Dum Dum. The airport is about 160 km away from Bolpur, operates domestic and international flights.

Education

Universities and Colleges

Universities

Schools by Visva Bharati

Bolpur Subdivisional Hospital has 125 beds. Bolpur Block Primary Health Centre at Bolpur, serving Bolpur Sriniketan community development block, has 60 beds.

Wildlife sanctuary

• Ballabhpur Wildlife Sanctuary & Deer Park