Sitamarhi is a city and the district headquarters of the Sitamarhi district in the Mithila region of Bihar, India and is a part of the Tirhut Division. The Bihar government declared Sitamarhi a municipal corporation on 8 April 2020. Sitamarhi is considered by many to be the birthplace of Sita, the main character of the epic Ramayana; a temple dedicated to Sita is located at Punaura Dham Sitamarhi. A rock-cut sanctuary from the great Mauryan period is found near Sitamarhi. In 1875, the Sitamarhi sub-district was created within the Muzaffarpur district. Sitamarhi was detached from the Muzaffarpur district and became a separate district on 11 December 1972. It is situated in the northern part of Bihar. The district headquarters is located in Dumra, south of Sita temple.
Geography
Sitamarhi, located at, has an average elevation of. There are multiple small towns that are famous in Sitamarhi, like Bairgania, Sursand and Bhitthamore which are located at Indo-Nepal border. Other places in Sitamarhi region are Bathnaha, Sonbarsa, Bajpatti, Pupri, Parihar and Runisaidpur. Dumra is near Sitamarhi which is known for all the government offices. Riga village is close to this town and is known for sugar mills.
Demographics
Sitamarhi city has a total population of around 106,093. There are around 56,693 males and 49,400 females. The amount of literate males are 39,537, and the amount of literate females are 29,970. In total 69,507 people are literate. The average literacy rate is 77.03% in total, 81.98% for males, and 71.33% for females. The sex ratio is 871. The child sex ratio is 872.
Transportation
connects the area to the Muzaffarpur district and Patna. National Highways 77, 104, and other roads connect to the adjoining districts. State highways link it to Madhubani district in the east and Sheohar in the west. Sitamarhi Junction railway station is a five-platform station on the Darbhanga–Raxaul–Narkatiaganj line, which was converted to broad gauge in February 2014. Another broad-gauge track connects Sitamarhi to Muzaffarpur. Direct train services are available from Sitamarhi railway junction to places such as New Delhi, Kolkata, Varanasi, Lucknow, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kanpur and Mumbai. The nearest international airport to Sitamarhi is the Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport which is about away. Sitamarhi is connected to cities in and around Bihar by state-owned transport services. Many private buses operate between Sitamarhi and Patna.
Culture
is a spring festival in Dumra, widely celebrated with a large fair held to mark the occasion. Also in Janki Mandir a marriage ceremony of Lord Ram and Sita Mata happens every year. Sama Chakeva is a prominent winter festival dedicated to celebrate brother-sister relationships. This is a major cultural event with marriage ceremonies and many cultural rituals that take much preparation.
Media
Sitamarhi has an All India Radio relay station known as Akashvani Sitamarhi, broadcasting on FM frequencies.
