Gopiballavpur


Gopiballavpur is a village, with a police station, in Gopiballavpur I CD Block in Jhargram subdivision of Jhargram district of West Bengal, India.

History

Earlier this area was a part of Mayurbhanj princely state. The place was earlier known as Kashipur. Shyamananda Mahaprabhu, a prominent figure in the Vaishnava sect, was being commanded by Shrimati Radha Rani to travel and carry the holy waters of Yamuna to this place and establish a temple since then the village is named after Gopiballav. Kashipur came to be known as Gopiballavpur since then. The village houses this old temple since 1400 and its being run and administered by Vaishnava Goswami Families since then. Currently the Mahant is the head of the temple.
The temple is known as Shri Radha Govinda Mandir and known to the vaishnavas as "Gupta Vrindavan". It houses the idols of Shri Radha Govind Ji and Smt. Radha Rani along with idols of Jagannatha Mahaprabhu, Balabhadra and Subadhra. An annual Car Festival is held every year. Gopiballabpur also houses ancient Mahadev Temple where Gajan Mela is held every year. Besides Gajon, Chorok Mela, Snan Jatra, Jhulon Jatra are prominent festivals in the area. The chou dancers from Odisha are brought every year to give performances to audience in these fairs.

Geography

Gopiballavpur is located at. It has an average elevation of 34 metres.
The town is on the banks of the Subarnarekha River near the Jharkhand and Odisha borders.

Demographics

As per 2011 Census of India Gopiballavpur had a total population of 4,061 of which 2,055 were males and 2,006 were females. Population below 6 years was 401. The total number of literates in Gopiballavpur was 3,111.

Police station

Gopiballavpur police station has jurisdiction over Gopiballavpur I CD Block.

Transport

Gopiballavpur is accessible by road from Kolkata and Odisha. Regular deluxe bus service run from Esplanade to Gopiballavpur. Prominent players are the Nilmadhaba Bus Service,Joymadhavba Bus Service, Devdas Bus Service, Das and Das Bus Service and the buses of Dhumsai route. Night service buses run to and from Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Puri.
By rail Gopiballavpur is about from Jhargram. Take Ispat Express from Howrah station in the morning to reach Jhargram. The journey takes a little more than two hours. Also, several buses from Kharagpur railway station are available.
State Highway 9 running from Durgapur to Nayagram passes through Gopiballavpur.

Education