Forbesganj is a (proposed district)

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

with

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the

Araria District Araria district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar States and territories of India, state, India. Araria district is a part of Purnia division. The district occupies an area of . Araria town is the administrative headquarters of this d ...

(formerly

Purnia District Purnia District is one of the thirty-eight districts of the Indian state of Bihar. The city of Purnia is the administrative headquarters of this district. The city of Purnia has continued its tradition of hoisting the national flag at 12:07 am o ...

before 1992) in the 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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, situated at the border of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

Etymology

During the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

the area was under the administration of a British district collector and municipal commissioner, Alexander John Forbes (1807-1890) of

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

. Forbes had a bungalow at the same location. Consequently the area was known as 'residential area' also abbreviated as 'R-area'. Overtime the name transformed to 'Araria' and the neighbouring subdivision came to be known as '

Forbesganj Forbesganj is a (proposed district)city with municipality in the Araria District (formerly Purnia District before 1992) in the state of Bihar, India, situated at the border of Nepal. Etymology During the British Raj the area was under the admi ...

History

The city was given its present name from its British district collector and municipal commissioner, Alexander John Forbes (1807-1869). A.J. Forbes was a military adventurer and had taken part in the adventures of Northwest India. He was also in the team of Commissioner George Yule of Bhagalpur while fighting the rebels of 73rd native infantry. A.J. Forbes founded the Sultanpur estate and a number of indigo factories situated at different places in this district. After the Independence the name was changed to Forbesganj. It is said that the British used this place for

Indigo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', m ...

farming. Still the remains of the British premises can be seen at the banks of the famous landlocked water body Sultan Pokhar. This city is famous for its culture.

Geography

Forbesganj is located at . It has an average elevation of 46 meters (150 feet). The Nepalese border is only 12 km away.

Climate

This small city has hot and wet summers and cold and dry winters. This place also got the record of having experienced the coldest ever recorded temperature in Bihar at -2.1 °C.

Demographics

Forbesganj is a Nagar Parishad city in district of Araria, Bihar. The Forbesganj city is divided into 25 wards for which elections are held every 5 years. The Forbesganj Nagar Parishad has population of 50,475 of which 26,524 are males while 23,951 are females as per report released by Census India 2011. Population of Children with age of 0-6 is 7512 which is 14.88% of total population of Forbesganj (Nagar Parishad). In Forbesganj Nagar Parishad, Female Sex Ratio is of 903 against state average of 918. Moreover Child Sex Ratio in Forbesganj is around 963 compared to Bihar state average of 935. Literacy rate of Forbesganj city is 78.64% higher than state average of 61.80%. In Forbesganj, Male literacy is around 82.94% while female literacy rate is 73.83%.

Languages

The main language spoken over here is

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

. But, there are people who speak Maithili,

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

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

, Marwari as well, etc.

Administration and politics

Forbesganj Municipal Corporation is responsible for maintaining the city's civic infrastructure and carrying out associated administrative duties. Forbesganj (Vidhan Sabha constituency) is a

assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

constituency in

Araria district Araria district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar States and territories of India, state, India. Araria district is a part of Purnia division. The district occupies an area of . Araria town is the administrative headquarters of this d ...

in the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

. Vidyasagar Kesari is the MLA of Forbesganj assembly constituency. He was first elected in

2015 Bihar Legislative Assembly election The Legislative Assembly election was held over five-phases in Bihar through October–November 2015 before the end of the tenure of the prior Legislative Assembly of Bihar on 29 November 2015. In April 2015, the Janata Parivar group (a group ...

, and re-elected in 2020 Bihar Legislative Assembly election.

Amenities

Sub divisional Hospital Forbesganj is located near the Subdivision Office, Forbesganj

Economy

In addition to its role as an educational and administrative place, the economy of this small city is fueled by fertilizer production, rice production, building and construction material supply, and other industry.

Makhana ''Euryale ferox,'' commonly known as prickly waterlily, makhana or Gorgon plant, is a species of water lily found in southern and eastern Asia, and the only extant member of the genus ''Euryale''. The edible seeds, called fox nuts or ''makhan ...

is produced in Forbesganj, Makhana packets are prepared and sent by train to other cities.

Culture/Cityscape

The city is well planned with a central road, Sadar Road, which runs through the heart of Forbesganj. Most of the major shops are located on both the sides of this road. Another major road, Hospital Road, connects to the main bus stand; it passes through the other part of the city and joins to the highways.

Transport

Road

( Formerly NH-57) and connects Forbesganj. Daily bus service is available from the

Purnia Purnia ()(also romanized as Purnea) is a city that serves as the administrative headquarters of both Purnia district and Purnia division in the Indian state of Bihar. Total geographical area of Purnia Urban Agglomeration is which is nex ...

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. ...

Siliguri Siliguri, ) is a major tier-II city in West Bengal. It forms twin cities, "Twin Cities" with the neighboring district capital of Jalpaiguri. The city spans areas of the Darjeeling district, Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts in the Indian sta ...

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

Bhagalpur Bhagalpur is a city in the Indian state of Bihar, situated on the southern banks of the river Ganges. It is the 2nd largest city of Bihar by population and also the headquarters of Bhagalpur district and Bhagalpur division. Known as the Silk ...

Katihar Katihar is a city situated in the eastern part of the state of Bihar in India. It is the regional headquarter of Katihar district. It is one of the important cities of Bihar. Also it's a main route of Delhi - Guwahati railway line. History Ka ...

Birpur Birpur is a city and a notified area in Supaul district in the state of Bihar, India. It is a small town on the Indo-Nepal border near the historic Koshi Barrage on the Koshi River. It has an airstrip, which is being modernised and later on w ...

Jogbani Jogbani is a town, a notified area in Araria District of Bihar state, India. It lies on the Indo-Nepal border with Morang District, Koshi Zone and is a gateway to Biratnagar city. There is a customs checkpoint for goods at the border. Indian ...

Saharsa Saharsa is a city and Municipal corporation in the Saharsa District in the eastern part of the state of Bihar, India. It is situated near the eastern banks of the Kosi River. It serves as the administrative headquarters for Saharsa District an ...

Darbhanga Darbhanga is the fifth-largest city and municipal corporation in the Indian state of Bihar situated centrally in Mithila region. Darbhanga is the headquarters of the Darbhanga district and the Darbhanga division. It was the seat of the erstw ...

Muzaffarpur 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 m ...

Rail

Forbesganj Junction Railway Station lies on Barauni-Katihar, Saharsa and Purnia sections. There are direct trains available to the major cities (/, etc.) of the country, apart from local trains running between and . The Saharsa-Forbesganj section is under construction into

Broad Gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

Air

Forbesganj Airport was a functional military airport between 1934 to 1942 (active during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

) and again during the 1962 war with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. On 10 June 1973 a Royal Nepal Airlines DHC-6 Twin Otter Plane was hijacked en route to

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

from

Biratnagar Biratnagar () is a metropolitan city in Nepal, which serves as the capital of Province No. 1. With a population of 242,548 as per the 2011 census, it is the largest city in the province and also the headquarters of Morang district. As per the p ...

. This airport has now fallen into disrepair and is not operational. The nearest active airport to this place is

(Nepal). Closest domestic airports are

Darbhanga Airport Darbhanga Airport is a domestic airport and an Indian Air Force Station, serving Darbhanga, Bihar, India. It is located just at the outskirts of the city near the NH-105 and NH-57 highways, which pass through Darbhanga. The airport is op ...

and

Bagdogra Airport Bagdogra Airport is a customs airport located in the western part of Siliguri, in Bagdogra in northern West Bengal, India. It is operated as a civil enclave at AFS Bagdogra of the Indian Air Force. It is the gateway airport to the hill station ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

, both about 160 km away. Jay Prakash Narayan International Airport in the Bihar state's capital city

is approximately 300 km. away. From

it takes 3–4 hours to reach the city by road.

Education

There are several CBSE and State Board schools in this city. Some Senior Secondary schools are Mithila Public School (established in 1989), S.R.S Vidya Mandir, Modern/Premier Academy, Pi World school, Shishu Bharti, Delhi Public School Forbesganj, DAV Public School, Central Public School, Dev Gurukul Primary School and Sisu Mandir, Genius Academy etc.
All

College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

s of this city are under Purnia University. There is also an Engineering college present in the city name
Moti Babu Institute of Technology

Media

Major daily Hindi news circulated in Forbesganj include ''

Dainik Jagaran ''Dainik Jagran'' ( Hi:दैनिक जागरन , , ) is an Indian Hindi language daily newspaper. It was ranked 5th in the world and 2nd in India by circulation in 2016. In 2019 Quarter 4, according to Indian Readership Survey, Daini ...

'', ''

Hindustan ''Hindūstān'' ( , from '' Hindū'' and ''-stān''), also sometimes spelt as Hindōstān ( ''Indo-land''), along with its shortened form ''Hind'' (), is the Persian-language name for the Indian subcontinent that later became commonly used by ...

'', ''

Dainik Bhaskar ''Dainik Bhaskar ''is India's largest Hindi-language daily newspaper owned by the Dainik Bhaskar Group. According to Audit Bureau of Circulations, it is ranked 3rd in the world by circulation and is the largest newspaper in India by circula ...

'' and ''

Prabhat Khabar Prabhat Khabar is a Hindi language newspaper published daily in Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal. The newspaper is circulated in several states in India, including Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and some parts of Orissa. It was founded in August 1 ...

''.

Notable people

Phanishwar Nath Renu Phanishwar Nath Mandal 'Renu' (4 March 1921 – 11 April 1977) was one of the most successful and influential writers of modern Hindi literature in the post-Premchand era. He is the author of ''Maila Anchal'', which after Premchand's ''Godaan'' ...

from Simraha (Forbesgsanj)

References

{{Blocks of Araria district Cities and towns in Araria district