Muzaffarpur is a city located in Muzaffarpur district in the Tirhut region of the Indian state of Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of the Tirhut division, the Muzaffarpur district and the Muzaffarpur Railway District. It is the fourth most populous city in Bihar. Muzaffarpur is famous for Shahi lychees and is known as the Lychee Kingdom. Shahi litchi is set to become the fourth product from Bihar, after jardalu mango, katarni rice and Magahi paan to get the Geographical Indication tag. It is situated on the banks of the perennial Burhi Gandak River, which flows from the Someshwar Hills of the Himalayas.
The current city was established in 1875 during the British Raj for administrative convenience, by dividing the Tirhut district and was named after an aumil, Muzaffar Khan; thus the city came to be known as Muzaffarpur.
After Independence
In 1972, the Sitamarhi and Vaishali districts were split off from Muzaffarpur.
Geography
Muzaffarpur is located at. The city lies in a highly active seismic zone of India. In the disastrous earthquake on 15 January 1934, much of the town suffered severe damage and many lives were lost. It has an average elevation of 47 meters. This saucer shaped, low-centered town lies on the great Indo-Gangetic plains of Bihar, over Himalayan silt and sand brought by the glacier-fed and rain-fed meandering rivers of the Himalayas.
Climate
Muzaffarpur has humid subtropical climate under Köppen climate classification. The summer, between April and June, is extremely hot and humid and winter is pleasantly cool, around 06/20 °C. Rainfall in Muzaffarpur Town is comparatively less to the other parts of Bihar.
The lychee crop, which is available from May to June, is mainly cultivated in the districts of Muzaffarpur and surrounding districts. Cultivation of litchi covers approximately an area of about 25,800 hectares producing about 300,000 tonnes every year. Litchi are exported to big cities of India like Bombay, Kolkata, and even to other countries. India's share in the world litchi market amounts to less than 1%. The names of the litchi produced in Muzaffarpur are Shahi and China. The fruits are known for excellent aroma and quality. Bihar's contribution in the production of lychee in about 40 percent of lychee produced in India. Bihar has emerged as a brewery hub with major domestic and foreign firms setting up production units in the state. Vijay Mallya's group, United Breweries Group, is setting up a production unit to make litchi-flavoured wine, in Muzaffarpur in 2012. The company has leased litchi gardens. Muzaffarpur based Prabhat Zarda Factory is one of the leading tobacco manufacturers of India.
Demographics
As of the 2011 India census, As by 2011 Census data there are total 275,233 Hindus whereas 74,680 Muslims and 1,352 Christians alongwith other small minorities. Muzaffarpur had a population of 393,724. Males constituted 52.96% of the population and females 47.04%. Muzaffarpur had a literacy rate of 74.74%. Male literacy was 77.99%, and female literacy was 71.08%.
Transport
Railways
is a main railway junction, with two suburban stations, Ram Dayalu Nagar and Narayanpur Anant. It is well connected to major cities of Bihar like Patna, Bhagalpur, Gaya, Chakia, motihari and Darbhanga. It also connects Muzaffarpur to many metropolitan cities in India like Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata.
