Agartala

Agartala
—  capital  —
Ujjayanta Palace
Agartala
Location of Agartala
in Tripura
Coordinates
Country  India
State Tripura
District(s) West Tripura
Population

• Density

 367,822 (2004)

• 6,251 /km2 (16,190 /sq mi)
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
Area

• Elevation

 58.84 km2 (23 sq mi)

• 12.80 metres (42.0 ft)
Website tripura.nic.in

Agartala (Bengali: আগরতলা Agortôla, Kokborok: আগরতলা) is the capital of the Indian state of Tripura. It lies on the Haora River and is located 2 km from Bangladesh. It has several temples and palaces. The population of Agartala was 367,822 in 2004 after the municipal expansion[1] (189,327 in the 2001 census).[2]

Contents

History

Etymology

?

Foundation

The ancient Capital of the then Princely State ‘Swadhin Tripura’ was at Rangamati (Udaipur, South Tripura) by the bank of the river Gomati and in 1760 A.D., it was shifted by the Maharaja Krishna Kishore Manikya (r.1829-1849) of Manikya Dynasty [3] to present old Agartala by the bank of the river Howrah and was named ‘Haveli’. Due to frequent invasion of the Kuki's and also to keep easy communication with the British Bengal, the Maharaja Krishna Kishore Manikya started the process of shifting the Capital from Old Haveli to New Haveli (present Agartala ) in the year 1849 A.D.

During British Raj, Agartala was the capital of the erstwhile 'Hill Tippera' state, it became a municipality in 1874-75, and in 1901 had the population of 9,513.[4]

Agartala Municipality

The Agartala Municipality was established during the reign of Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya (1862–1896) within an area of 3 square miles (8 km2) having a population of only 875 by a royal proclamation in the last part of 1871 A.D. Mr. A.W.S. Power, the Ist British Political Agent for Tipperah was also appointed as the Chairman of the Agartala Municipality in the year 1872 A.D. who held office from 1872-73 A.D.

Planned city

Maharaja Bir Bikram Manikya Bahadur is called the founder of the planned City of Agartala. During the period of the early forties, the entire town area was re-organised infrastructurally in a planned manner with strong roads and a market building.

Contemporary history

On October 1, 2008 a series of 5 bomb blasts rocked the city.

Geography and climate

Agartala
Climate chart ()
J F M A M J J A S O N D
 
 
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average max. and min. temperatures in °C
precipitation totals in mm
source: IMD

Agartala is situated in a plain along the Haora River, though the city also extends to the low lying hills on its northern parts.

Agartala has a monsoon influenced humid subtropical climate with high levels of precipitation almost all year. The city experiences long, hot and wet summers, that last from April to October. Average temperatures are around 28 °C (82 °F), fluctuating with rainfall. There is a short, mild winter from mid-November to early March, with mostly dry conditions and average temperatures around 18 °C (64 °F).

Demographics

As of 2001 India census,[5] Agartala had a population of 189,327. Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%. Agartala has an average literacy rate of 85%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 52% of the males and 48% of females literate. 8% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Historical population

In 1941 Agartala had a population of 17,693.[6] By 1991 the population had risen to 157,358.[7]

Growth of the Agartala City at a glance.

Year Population Area
1901 6,415 3 square miles (8 km2)
1911 6,831 3 square miles (8 km2)
1921 7,743 3 square miles (8 km2)
1931 9,580 3 square miles (8 km2)
1941 17,693 3 square miles (8 km2)
1951 42,595 3 square miles (8 km2)
1961 54,878 3 square miles (8 km2)
1971 100,264 3 square miles (8 km2)
1981 132,186 10.94 km²
1991 157,358 15.81 km²
2001 188,540 16.02 km²
2004 367,822 58.84 km²

Neighbourhoods

A road in Agartala

Agartala city consists of many Paras, which means "locality" in Bengali. Each neighbourhood or para is usually a municipal ward or division also.

Localities

Neighbourhoods of the city include: Krishnanagar, Banamalipur, Math Chowmuhani, Dhaleswar, Pratapgar Area, Kashari patti, Kaman Chowmuni, Radha Nagar, Shibnagar, Ramnagar, Joynagar, Abhoynagar, Radhanagar, Arundhutinagar, Gol Bazaar, Gurkha Basti, Kunjaban, College Tilla, Indranagar, Volagiri, Arundhuti Nagar, Bhati Abhoynagar, 79 Tilla, New Capital Complex, GB, Agartala, Amtali, Badhar Ghat, lake Chowmuni, Ganaraj Chowmuni, Durjoynagar, Bardowali, Bottala, Melarmath etc.

These areas are further subdivided into residential blocks, such as Banamalipur which is divided into North Banamalipur, Madhya Banamlipur, South Banamalipur, etc.

The city is expanding very rapidly and is expected to grow and include many more peripheral towns and municipalities in coming years.

Extensions

From 2004 onwards the Agartala Municipal Council has been further extended taking 16 No.of Grams of Dukli R.D.Block,7 No. of Grams of Mohanpur R.D.Block and 2 No.of Grams of Jirania R.D.Block with area of 42.83 sq.k.m. and 1,78,495 nos.of population in addition to the 16 km² and population of 200,000 in 2001 census.[8][9]

City administration

The Agartala city is managed by the Agartala Municipal Council, AMC, which divides the city into many wards and each ward has an elected ward representative or municipal councillor.

For postal administration also the city is divided into various postal zones.

Municipal wards

WARD NO. PARA/LOCATION
1 Mulla Para, Bitter Ban, Bhati Abhoynagar, Radhanagar
2 Kunjaban Colony, Ujan Abhoynagar, Sukanta Palli
3 Shyamali Bazzar, Jagatpur, G.B. Kumari Tilla, Indranagar
4 Dhaleswar Nutan Palli, Dhaleswar (Part), Chandrapur (Part)
5 Uttar Banamalipur
6 Krishnanagar(Part), Banerjee Para, Batkhara Office, Lake Chowmuhani
7 Krishnanagar (West & South)
8 Ranjit Nagar, Kalikapur, Rampur, Joynagar (W), Joypur, Ramnagar (North)
9 Ramnagar (Part), Joynagar (Purba & Madhya)
10 Ramnagar (South), West Joynagar
11 Police Quarter Complex, M.B. Tilla, Surjya Para, Mission area, Barman Tilla
12 Bhattapurkur, Sardar Pukur, Milan Sangha, Bardowali, Kabiraj Tilla, Madhya Para
13 Melarmath, Battala, Gandhighat, Town Bardowali, Master Para, Rabindra Palli, Office lane
14 Dim Sagar, Palace Compound, Banamalipur (Part), Santi Para, Khosh Bagan, M.G. Bazar, Madhya Para, Gangail, Krishnagar South
15 College Tilla (Part), Jagahari Mura, Town Paratapgarh
16 Shibnagar (Part), Banamalipur (Part), College Tilla (Part)
17 Shibnagar (East), Dhaleswar(Part), College Tilla (Part)

Politics

Agartala assembly constituency is part of Tripura West (Lok Sabha constituency).[10]

Economy

The city is the state capital so most of the population is employed in the state & central Government and other Government owned enterprises.

Public sector

List of major PSU's in Agartala are:

Private sector

There is a wide variety of private enterprises also and the main business area of the city Gol Bazaar and Kaman Chowmuhani area which has a huge conglomeration of shops, bazaars, banks, etc.

Major Indian banks serving Agartala are Tripura Grameen Bank, SBI, PNB, UTI Bank, ICICI Bank, Vijaya Bank, Canara Bank, UCO Bank, HDFC Bank, etc.

Although many banks have cropped up in Tripura especially Agartala, the most widely used and the bank with the largest network is the Tripura Grameen Bank. It has the largest number of branches in the state. The major commodities exported from Agartala are tea, rubber and gas/LPG.

Demography and culture

The city mainly consists of Bengalis, and the Bengali language predominates in the city. The main festivals of the city such as Durga Puja and Saraswati puja reflect the influence of the culture of the Bengalis.

There is also a growing population of the native Tripuri people in the city. Agartala is a city of mixed culture which was developed over a period of time through the intense cultural contribution of Tripuri and Bengali communities. Thus it can easily be termed as a city of mixed culture.

Among the native Tripuri festivals, the most famous are Kharchi & Garia Poojas.

Languages

Bengali is the common language spoken in Agartala. Other languages spoken include Kokborok (Tripuri language, Manipuri, Chakma, Nepali, Hindi, and English.

Religion

Laxmi Narayan Bari temple in Palace Compound

Hinduism is the dominant religion and there are many temples across the city.

Islam, Christianity and Buddhism are the other religions followed in the city.

The major places of religion are listed below:

Temples

Some prominent temples are:

Churches

Transport

Road

National Highway 44 connects Agartala to Assam and the rest of India by road. The highways (NH44 , NH 44A) connects Agartala with Silchar (317 km), Guwahati (599 km), Shillong (499 km), Dharmanagar (200 km) and Aizawl (443 km). A bus service also connects it to Dhaka (150 km).

Agartala is well connected by road to other parts of Tripura state. National highway 44 has been extended to the south, thus improving the road connectivity between Agartala & south Tripura. Buses, Jeeps trekkers & SUVs are the most popular public carriers, and cars and vans are usually used for private hire.

The main mode of transport within the city consists of a network of cycle rickshaws, auto rickshaws and buses.

Airport

Agartala is also connected by air, the modernised Agartala Airport connects it to other cities in India. There are direct flight connections to Kolkata, Imphal, Chennai, Delhi, Silchar, Aizwal and Guwahati,and Mumbai

The major Airline Service Providers are Air India, Jet Airways, Indigo Airlines, Kingfisher Airlines, Air Deccan, Paramount Airways etc.

Railways

Agartala has been fully connected to other cities in India w.e.f 28 June 2008.However, the routine rail services to Agartala would start by mid-August after clearance from the railway safety commissioner, said P Shivkumar, general manager (construction) of NFR. The foundation stone for the 119 km Kumarghat-Agartala railway project was laid in 1996 by former prime minister H D Deve Gowda. Agartala is the second capital city (after Guwahati, Assam) in the northeast to be connected to the country's extensive railway network.

Communications

Being the capital of a state Agartala has access to all the modern communications network and infrastructure.

Telecommunications

List of Telecom companies serving Agartala are:

Radio

List of Radio stations:

Television

Doordarshan (DD) has a television station in Agartala. NE TV and NE Bangla have production and broadcasting centers in the city.

Newspapers

Many newspapers serve the city and the state. Bengali language media is dominant in the city, A list of the major news publications are:

News Websites :

Education

Agartala has a lot of educational institutions, schools and colleges and also a central university.

Universities

Colleges

Prominent schools

Umakanta Academy

Young people of Tripura love to obtain higher education. Apart from traditional higher educations like MBBS, B.E, B.Tech,MCA, M.Tech, now-a days young people of this area are obtaining qualifications like CS, CA , Environment Science, Journalism, Training of Air Pilot etc.

Sports

Agartala has a good sporting tradition, with many sports and games being played. Especially favourite is football with its own city football league with clubs from various neighborhoods and localities. Tripura has a state team which plays in the Eastern division of the Ranji Trophy Championship, the National Cricket competition of India.

The main stadiums are the Badarghat Stadium, College Tilla Cricket Stadium and the Umakanta Academy Mini-Stadium.

Tourism

Places of interest

Ujjayanta Palace

Parks

Museums

References

  1. ↑ Agartala Municipality Statistics, provided by the AMC(Agartala Municipal Council) at the Government of Tripura website
  2. ↑ Indian Census
  3. ↑ Genealogy of Tripura Kingdom Queensland University.
  4. ↑ Agartala The Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1909, v. 5, p. 70.
  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. http://web.archive.org/web/20040616075334/http://www.censusindia.net/results/town.php?stad=A&state5=999. Retrieved 2008-11-01. 
  6. ↑ Columbia-Lippincott Gazeteer. p. 18
  7. ↑ Cohen, Saul B.,ed. Columbia Gazeteer of the World (New York: Columbia University Press, 1998) p. 26
  8. ↑ Agartala Municipality Statistics
  9. ↑ Agartala Statistics and future outlook
  10. ↑ "Assembly Constituencies — Corresponding Districts and Parliamentary Constituencies" (PDF). Tripura. Election Commission of India. http://archive.eci.gov.in/Febse2003/background/S23/rptListofAC_Dist_PC.pdf. Retrieved 2008-10-08. 

External links


India State and Union Territory capitals of India

Agartala · Aizawl · Bangalore · Bhopal · Bhubaneswar · Chandigarh · Chennai (Madras) · Daman · Dehradun · New Delhi · Dispur · Gandhinagar · Gangtok · Hyderabad · Imphal · Itanagar · Jaipur · Jammu (in winter) · Kavaratti · Kohima · Kolkata (Calcutta) · Lucknow · Mumbai (Bombay) · Panaji (Panjim) · Patna · Puducherry (Pondicherry) · Port Blair · Raipur · Ranchi · Shillong · Shimla · Silvassa · Srinagar (in summer)  · Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum)