Chhapra is a city and headquarters of the

Saran district Saran district is one of the thirty-eight Districts of Bihar, districts of Indian States and territories of India, state of Bihar. The district, part of Saran Division, is also known as Chhapra district after the headquarters of the district, Chha ...

in the Indian state of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

. It is situated near the junction of the

Ghaghara River Ghaghara, also called Karnali, is a perennial trans-boundary river originating on the Tibetan Plateau near Lake Manasarovar. The Karnali cuts through the Himalayas in Nepal and joins the Sharda River at Brahmaghat in India. Together they form th ...

and the

Ganges River The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

. Chhapra grew in importance as a river-based market in the 18th century when the Dutch, French, Portuguese, and English established

saltpeter Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Indian saltpetre (large deposits of which were historically mined in India). It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nitrat ...

refineries in the area. It was recognized as a municipality in 1864. The major railway station is Chhapra junction. There is a well known shakti peeth temple in Chhapra named Ambika Bhavani.

Geography

Chhapra is located at . It has an average elevation of . India's biggest double-decker flyover is being constructed in Chhapra. This 3.5 km long double-decker flyover from Bhikhari Chowk to Bus Stand, is being constructed at the cost of 411.31 crore from the central road fund (CRF) under engineering procurement construction (EPC) mode by Bihar Rajya Pul Nirman Nigam Limited (BRPNNL). It is longer than 1.8 km double-decker flyover in

Santa Cruz–Chembur Link Road The Santa Cruz–Chembur Link Road, shortened to SCLR, is a arterial road in Mumbai, connecting the Western Express Highway (WEH) in Santa Cruz with the Eastern Express Highway (EEH) in Chembur. It contains the city's first and India's second ...

. Chief Minister

Nitish Kumar Nitish Kumar (born 1 March 1951) is an Indian politician, who is serving as Chief Minister of Bihar since 22 February 2015, having previous held the office from 2005 to 2014 and for a short period in 2000. The leader of the Janata Dal (Unite ...

laid the foundation stone of this double-decker flyover in July 2018, which is set to be completed by June 2022.

Climate

Demographics

As per 2022 census, Chapra Urban Agglomeration had a population of 1123456. Chapra Urban Agglomeration includes Chapra (Nagar Panchayat) and Sandha (Census Town). Chapra Nagar Panchayat had a total population of 567123, out of which 676890 were males and 556790 were females. It had a sex ratio of 900 females to 1000 males. The population in the age range of 0–6 years was 27,668. The effective literacy rate of those aged 7 years and older in Chhapra was 81.30% as of 2011.

Religion

Hinduism is largest religion in Chhapra city with 164,811 Hindus (81.45%). Islam is second largest religion in Chhapra city with 36,639 Muslims (18.11%). Other religions includes 219 Christians (0.11%), 100 Jains (0.05%), 55 Sikhs (0.03%), 14 Buddhists (0.01%), 514 did not answer (0.25%).

Notable people

Jayaprakash Narayan Jayaprakash Narayan (; 11 October 1902 – 8 October 1979), popularly referred to as JP or ''Lok Nayak'' (Hindi for "People's leader"), was an Indian independence activist, theorist, socialist and political leader. He is remembered for le ...

* Adbhutananda, Hindu monk, disciple of

Ramakrishna Ramakrishna Paramahansa ( bn, রামকৃষ্ণ পরমহংস, Ramôkṛṣṇo Pôromohôṅso; , 18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886),——— — also spelled Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, born Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya,, was an In ...

Anand–Milind Anand and Milind Srivastava are a duo of Indian film music composers. Born to composer Chitragupt, they have composed music for over 200 Bollywood films. The brothers debuted in 1984 with '' Ab Ayega Mazaa'' and had their major breakthrough with ...

, music director *

Bhikhari Thakur Bhikari Thakur (18 December 1887 – 10 July 1971) was an Indian Bhojpuri language poet, playwright, lyricist, actor, folk dancer, folk singer and social activist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest writer in Bhojpuri language and ...

Bhojpuri language Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries
, Oxford U ...

poet and singer *

Brajkishore Prasad Brajkishore Prasad (1877–1946) was a lawyer inspired by Mohandas Gandhi during the Indian Independence Movement. Early life and education Born in a Kayastha family in Srinagar, Siwan district, Prasad gained his early education in Chhap ...

, National activist *

Chitragupta (composer) Chitragupt Shrivastava (16 November 1917 – 14 January 1991), better known as Chitragupt, was an Indian film music director in Hindi cinema and Bhojpuri cinema. Personal life He was born in Sawreji, a village located in Saran district in the ...

, music director *

Daroga Prasad Rai Daroga Prasad Rai (2 September 1922 - 15 April 1981) was an Indian politician from the state of Bihar. He was the Chief Minister of Bihar in 1970 for ten months, but Congress was reduced to a minority in December 1970 and Karpoori Thakur became ...

, 10th Chief Minister of Bihar * Sir Khan Bahadur Khuda Bakhsh 1842–1908, Indian lawyer, Judge, Historian and founder of

Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Library, in Patna, Bihar, is one of the national libraries of India. It was opened to the public on the 29th of October in 1891 by HMJ Sir Khan Bahadur Khuda Bakhsh. Its collection started with 4,000 of Bakhsh's own manus ...

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

Mahendar Misir Mahendar Misir (16 March 1865 26 October 1946) was an Indian Bhojpuri poet who is also called "purbiya samrat" (''The Master Of Purbi)''. He has written Thousands of Purbi Songs. Life Misir was born on 16 March 1865 at Mishrawalia in Chhap ...

, Bhojpuri Poet *

Raghuveer Narayan Raghuveer Narayan (31 October 1884 – 1 January 1955) or Raghubir Narayan was a Bhojpuri and English poet and a freedom fighter. His Bhojpuri poem ''Batohiya'' gained popularity equivalent to Vande Mataram and is considered as National Song o ...

, Bhojpuri Poet *

Rajiv Pratap Rudy Rajiv Pratap Rudy (born 30 March 1962) is an Indian politician from the Bharatiya Janata Party, and a Member of Parliament representing Saran (Lok Sabha constituency) in Bihar, India. In 2014. Rudy became the Minister of State (Independent Cha ...

, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Skill Development and Entrepreneurship *

Ramchandra Manjhi Ramchandra Manjhi (IAST: Rāmcaṃdra māṃjhī; Bhojpuri: 𑂩𑂰𑂧𑂒𑂢𑂹६ 𑂧𑂰𑂖𑂹𑂕𑂲, 1925 – 7 September 2022) was an Indian Bhojpuri folk dancer and theatre artist who is famous as a Launda Naach performer. He was ...

, Bhojpuri Folk Dancer *

Surur Hoda Surur Hoda (1928-2003), also known as M. S. Hoda, was a socialist politician and trade unionist who believed in the ideals promoted by Mahatma Gandhi. Life Hoda was born in Chhapra in India, on 5 May 1928 into a Muslim family. He obtained an en ...

, Socialist leader and Order of British Empire (

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

) recipient *

Akhilendra Mishra Akhilendra Mishra is an Indian film and television character actor best known for his role as ''Kroor Singh'' in the 1990s Doordarshan fantasy television series '' Chandrakanta''. His other notable works include the character of ''Mirchi'' Se ...

, Bollywood Actor

References

External links

chapra.in
{{Railways in Bihar Cities and towns in Saran district