districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
of
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
n
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 ...
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 ...
. The district, part of Saran Division, is also known as Chhapra district after the headquarters of the district,
Chhapra
Chhapra is a city and headquarters of the Saran district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is situated near the junction of the Ghaghara River and the Ganges River.
Chhapra grew in importance as a river-based market in the 18th century when t ...
.
It is considered as one of the richest Zamindari of Bihar after
Raj Darbhanga
The Darbhanga Raj, also known as Raj Darbhanga and the Khandwala dynasty, was a Maithil Brahmins dynasty and the rulers of territories, not all contiguous, that were part of the Mithila region, now divided between India and Nepal.
The rulers ...
It is said that "Saran" is a corrupted version of the word ''Sarangaranya'' (forest of Deers). According to legends, earlier it was a dense forest full of Deers and home of Rishi Sarangi. Another suggestion is that the name is corruption of ''Sakra-aranya'' (the forest of Indra).
History
Chirand, 10 kilometres east of Chhapra, is a stratified
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...
,
Chalcolithic
The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', "Rock (geology), stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin ''wikt:aeneus, aeneus'' "of copper"), is an list of archaeologi ...
, and
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...
settlement, which is known for its continuous archaeological record from the Neolithic age (about 2500–1345 BC) to the reign of the Pal dynasty who ruled during the pre-medieval period. The archaeological records suggest transitions in human habitation patterns in Chirand dating from 2500 BC to 30 AD.
Hathwa Raj was a
Zamindar
A zamindar (Hindustani language, Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian language, Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous Raja, ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughal Em ...
Dynasty in the Saran Division of Bihar belonging to
Bhumihar
Bhumihars, also called Babhan, are a Hindu caste mainly found in Bihar (including the Mithila region), the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, and Nepal.
The Bhumihars claim Brahmi ...
s, which encompassed 1,365 villages, was inhabited by more than 391,000 people, and produced an annual rental of almost a million rupees.
Hindi version of Saran Gazetteer titled as ''Srijan'' was released in September 2016.
Geography
Saran district occupies an area of , equivalent to
Drenthe
Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Nove ...
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...
in the Netherlands.
The district of Saran is situated between 25°36' and 26°13' north latitude and 84°24' and 85°15' east longitude in the southern post of the Saran Division of North Bihar. 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 ...
provides the southern boundary of the district, beyond which lie the districts of Bhojpur and Patna. To the north of Saran lie the districts of Siwan and Gopalganj. The Gandak river forms the dividing line with the Vaishali and Muzaffarpur districts in the east. To the west of Saran lie the districts of Siwan and Balia in Uttar Pradesh. The Ghaghra river forms a natural boundary between Saran and Ballia.
The district is shaped like a triangle; its apex is the confluence of the boundary of the Gopalganj district and the GandakGanges river. The district is made up entirely of plains, but several depressions and marshes create three broad natural divisions:
* The alluvial plains along the big rivers, which are subject to periodic inundation.
* The uplands away from the rivers, not subject to floods.
* The riverbed diara areas.
India's biggest double-deckerflyover is being constructed in
Chhapra
Chhapra is a city and headquarters of the Saran district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is situated near the junction of the Ghaghara River and the Ganges River.
Chhapra grew in importance as a river-based market in the 18th century when t ...
. This long double-deckerflyover from Gandhi Chowk to Nagarpalika Chowk, 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 the double-deckerflyover 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 (Unit ...
laid the foundation stone of this double-deckerflyover in July 2018, which is set to be completed by June 2022. The width of the flyover will be 5.5 meters. The double-deckerflyover will be constructed from the eastern side of Bhikhari Thakur roundabout on NH- 19 crossing the Police Lines, Gandhi Chowk, Mouna Chowk, Nagarpalika (Rajendra) Chowk, bus stand and end at Daroga Rai Chowk near Zila school on the western side of
Chhapra
Chhapra is a city and headquarters of the Saran district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is situated near the junction of the Ghaghara River and the Ganges River.
Chhapra grew in importance as a river-based market in the 18th century when t ...
. The upper portion of the double-deckerflyover bridge would be long and the lower portion .
Politics
Economy
Saran was earlier called 'money order economy' district, as people used to send remittances in money order to their families there. It is one of the 38 districts in Bihar currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF).
It is a primarily agriculture based rural and suburban region with little industrial output. This can partly be attributed to the non business friendly socialism inspired governments led by
RJD
The Rashtriya Janata Dal ( RJD; translation: ''National People's Party'') is an Indian political party, based in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Kerala. The party was founded in 1997 by Lalu Prasad Yadav.
The party's support base has tradit ...
in the region from 2001 to 2014. That period was marked by unethical election practices.
Government
The present collector and District Magistrate of Saran is Rajesh Meena .
The Divisional Commissioner is Smt.Poonam(I.A.S).
The district has three Subdivisions, 20 Community Development Blocks and 1807 villages.
Subdivisions
*
Chhapra
Chhapra is a city and headquarters of the Saran district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is situated near the junction of the Ghaghara River and the Ganges River.
Chhapra grew in importance as a river-based market in the 18th century when t ...
Amnour
Amnour is a Block in Saran District of Bihar State, India. Amnour Block Headquarters is Amnour town. It belongs to Saran Division. It is located 32 km towards North from District headquarters Chhapra. And 52 km from State capital Patna ...
Chhapra
Chhapra is a city and headquarters of the Saran district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is situated near the junction of the Ghaghara River and the Ganges River.
Chhapra grew in importance as a river-based market in the 18th century when t ...
Jalalpur
Jalalpur is a town, tehsil and a municipal board in Ambedkar Nagar district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, India.
Geography
Jalalpur is located at . It has an average elevation of .
The city is directly connected to Azamgarh, Akbarp ...
Marhaura
Marhaura (also spelt as Marhowrah) is a town and an administrative sub-divisional area in Saran district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is Marhaura (Vidhan Sabha constituency). Marhaura was the industrial hub of Saran in the 1980s,.
Geograp ...
*
Mashrakh
Mashrakh is a Block and town of Saran District in the western part of Bihar, India. It is located on the right bank of Ghoghari river. It is situated at 40 km from Chhapra and 98 km from state capital Patna. There are 17 Panchayats in Ma ...
*
Nagra
Nagra is a brand of portable audio recorders produced from 1951 in Switzerland. Beginning in 1997 a range of high-end equipment aimed at the audiophile community was introduced, and Nagra expanded the company’s product lines into new markets. ...
Revelganj
Rivilganj is a town and one of the oldest nagar panchayat in Saran district in the Indian state of Bihar.
Nagar Panchayat
The Nagar Panchayat of Rivilganj is considered as one of the oldest Nagar Panchayat of Bihar.
History
Rivilganj was the ...
population
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction usi ...
of 3,951,862, roughly equal to the nation of
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast� ...
or the US state of
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
. This gives it a ranking of 60th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 21.37%. Saran has a
sex ratio
The sex ratio (or gender ratio) is usually defined as the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. Many species dev ...
of 949
females
Female (symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction.
A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...
for every 1000 males, and a
literacy rate
Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...
2011 Census of India
The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Informatio ...
, 93.16% of the population in the district spoke
Bhojpuri
Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries , Oxford U ...
, 4.45%
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 ...
Bhojpuri
Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries , Oxford U ...
, a tongue in the
Bihari language
Bihari is a group of the Indo-Aryan languages. The Bihari languages are mainly spoken in the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh and also in Nepal.Brass, Paul R. (1974). ''Language, Religion and Politics in North Ind ...
group with almost 40 million speakers, written in both the
Devanagari
Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the ...
and
Kaithi
Kaithi (), also called Kayathi () or Kayasthi (), is a historical Brahmic script that was used widely in parts of Northern and Eastern India, primarily in the present-day states of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar. In particular, it was us ...
scripts.
Transport
The nearest airport to Saran District is Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport in Patna, approximately 74 kilometres (46 mi) away.
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 l ...
Chitragupt (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 I ...
Abdul Ghafoor ʻAbd al-Ghaffār (ALA-LC romanization of ar, عبد الغفار) is a male Muslim given name, and, in modern usage, surname, built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and '' al-Ghaffār'', one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which give rise to t ...