Sainthia (formerly Nandipur) is a

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 ...

and a

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 ...

Suri Sadar subdivision Suri Sadar subdivision is an administrative subdivision of Birbhum district in the state of West Bengal, India. Overview Starting in its northern parts with the Brahmani-Mayurakshi Basin, a sub-micro physiographic region occupying the area betw ...

Birbhum district Birbhum district () is an administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the northernmost district of Burdwan division—one of the five administrative divisions of West Bengal. The district headquarters is in Suri. Other impo ...

in the

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 ...

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 ...

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 fou ...

. The city is known as

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separ ...

city of Birbhum district. The city is under the

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. J ...

of Sainthia

police station A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, a ...

. Sainthia is the fourth most populous city in Birbhum

district 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, subdivision ...

and 95th most populous city in West Bengal. The city covers an

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an op ...

of 10 km² and had a population of 44,601 in 2011. Located on the banks of

Mayurakshi River Mayurakshi River (also called Mor River) is a major river in Jharkhand and West Bengal, India, with a long history of devastating floods. It has its source on Trikut Hills, about from Deoghar in Jharkhand state. It flows through Jharkhand ...

, Sainthia has been a major human

settlement Settlement may refer to: * Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building *Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

. The city is famous for Nandikeshwari Temple, one of the

Shakti Peetha The Shakti Pitha or the Shakti Peethas ( sa, शक्ति पीठ, , ''seat of Shakti'') are significant shrines and pilgrimage destinations in Shaktism, the goddess-centric denomination in Hinduism. The shrines are dedicated to various fo ...

s in

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...

Etymology

It is believed that the name ''Sainthia'' is derived from 'Saaita', a term used in 'Khero Khata' (Business Book) by the merchants of Sainthia after worshiping Goddess Nandikeshwari in

Poila Boishakh Pohela Boishakh ( bn, পহেলা বৈশাখ) is the first day of the Bengali calendar which is also the official calendar of Bangladesh. This festival is celebrated on 14 April in Bangladesh and 15 April in the Indian states of W ...

and Vijaya Dashami. Nandipur was the ancient name of Sainthia. The name Nandipur was originated from the famous temple of Nandikeshwari. The word Nandi comes from Nandikeshwari Temple and the word Pur is a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

term used for city. Together these words created Nandipur.

History

Sainthia was a small village.

Urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly th ...

of this area gained momentum in the recent past, when construction work of the

Sahibganj Sahebganj (also known as Sahibganj) is a scenic town and a port city with the serene Ganga and sturdy hills in the Sahibganj subdivision of the Sahebganj district of Jharkhand state, India. It serves as headquarters for Sahibganj District, Sahi ...

loop line and a bridge over the

started. Construction of the Khana-Rajmahal section of Sahibganj Loop was completed in October 1859. Construction of the Sainthia railway station was done as part of building the entire line. This large project brought

people A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...

from different corners of the country to assemble and settle here. Sainthia, an old village

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct exc ...

center, a place of

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

has been emerged into a municipal city in the year 1987.

Geography

Location

Sainthia is located at . It has an average elevation of . The city is situated in the south

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

. The soil is generally alluvial and fertile. There was a rich

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contr ...

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit ...

but this stands somewhat depleted due to overuse.

Climate

Sainthia's climate is classified as tropical. In winter, there is much less rainfall in Sainthia than in summer. The average annual temperature is 26.3 °C in Sainthia. The temperature goes very high and it is very

humid Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...

in summer and quite cold in winter. In a year, the average rainfall is 1328 mm.

Urban Structure

The Sainthia municipality

spread over and comprises 16 wards. The north–south dimension of the city is comparatively narrow, stretching from the

in the north to roughly Pariharpur Village in the

south South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

—a span of 2–3 km. The east–west dimension of the city is widest with the span of 5–6 km.

Demographics

Historical Population

In 1901, according to L. S. S. O'Molley's Bengal District Gazetters, Sainthia had a population of 2622 and in 1911 Sainthia had a population of 3551.

Latest Population

As of

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 ...

, the Sainthia

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 ...

has a

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 44,601, of which 22,856 are males while 21,745 are females. The population of children under age 6 is 4511, which is 10.11% of the total population of Sainthia. In Sainthia, the female sex ratio is 951, against the state average of 950. The child sex ratio is around 880, compared to the West Bengal state average of 956. The

literacy 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 Writing, written form in some specific context of use. In other wo ...

rate of Sainthia is 79.50%, higher than state average of 76.26%. Male literacy is around 84.70% while female literacy is 74.08%. Out of the total population, 16,485 were engaged in work or business activity. Of this, 13,481 were males while 3,004 were females. In the census survey, a worker is defined as a person who does business, job, service, cultivator, or labour activity. Of the total 16,485 working population, 92.97% were engaged in main work while 7.03% were engaged in marginal work. Sainthia has over 10,229 houses. Ward number 16 is the most populous ward with population of 3814 and ward number 4 is the least populous ward with population of 1638.

Economy

Sainthia is an economically important city and one of the busiest business hubs in the middle part of

. Sainthia city is the main trading centre in the district. The economy is based on agricultural products and their allied businesses. Rice mills, mustard oil mills, bran oil mills, puffed rice mills, jaggery/gur and galvanized wire product units and other businesses run here. Sainthia is the leader in edible oil industry in Birbhum and one of the leading edible oil producers in West Bengal. There are 10 edible oil mills in Sainthia out of which 9 are Mustard oil mills and 1 is Rice Bran oil mill. The economy of Sainthia stands tall due to the sales of agricultural products. The city is known as an export and import centre for cottage industry and agricultural based different goods. The hinterland of business of Sainthia spreads up to the districts of

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . I ...

in the west and

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

in the north east. The city is well connected to different parts of the country. From the city, the agricultural products are exported to different parts of the State and also to different parts of the Eastern India through high roads and railroads. That makes the city the business centre of all sorts of goods distribution and transportation. Its socio-economical status is quite strong and education ratio is steadily increasing. Sainthia is an important centre for banking and finance. There are 13 bank branches in the city. 9 of them are public sector banks and remaining 4 are private sector banks. Shopping center developments in Sainthia city increases economic activity and local employment. There are 5 shopping centers that made contribution to the economy of the city. These shopping centers are Cosmo Bazaar, Hyper Mart, Baazar Kolkata, Reliance Trends and M Baazar. Brands like Senco Gold & Diamonds, Zedd Studio, Apollo Pharmacy and Khadim have stores in the city.

Transport

Road

The National Highway 114 and State Highway 11 runs across the city. These highways links important cities and towns in

. Public transport systems in Sainthia include the Government and private buses,

electric rickshaw Electric rickshaws (also known as electric tuk-tuks or e-rickshaws or toto or e-tricycles) are small 3-wheeled vehicles powered by an electric motor and battery ranging from 650 to 1400 Watts. They save on fuel costs compared to auto rickshaws ...

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...

s and

auto rickshaw An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many terms in various countries including auto, auto rickshaw, baby taxi, mototaxi, pigeon, jonnybee, bajaj ...

Air

The nearest domestic airport is Kazi Nazrul Islam International Airport. The airport is roughly 74 kilometers from central Sainthia.

Railway

The Sainthia railway station serves the entire city and is the most important and key railway station of Birbum district. It also serves as the originating station of 4 important trains. The Sainthia railway station connects to both of

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 ...

's two busy rail terminals,

Howrah railway station Howrah railway station, also known as Howrah Junction, is a railway station located in the city of Howrah, West Bengal, India. It is also the oldest and largest existing railway complex in India. It is one of the busiest train stations in the w ...

and

Sealdah railway station Sealdah (station code:SDAH) is one of India's major railway terminals serving the city of Kolkata. The other main railway stations in the Kolkata metropolitan region are , , and Santragachi. Sealdah Railway station is the busiest railway stat ...

Accidents

On 19 July 2010, at 02:13, the Sainthia train collision occurred, when Bananchal express was crashed by Uttarbanga express at platform no. 4.

Healthcare

The city has 1 government funded State General Hospital, 8 private hospitals and 1 veterinary hospital.

Tourism

Sainthia is known for its temples, including the famous Nandikeshwari Temple.

Education

Colleges

There are two colleges in Sainthia: *

Abhedananda Mahavidyalaya Abhedananda Mahavidyalaya, established in 1965, is a government affiliated college located at Sainthia in the Birbhum district of West Bengal. It is affiliated to University of Burdwan The University of Burdwan (also known as Burdwan Un ...

-a general stream college under the

University of Burdwan The University of Burdwan (also known as Burdwan University or B. U.) is a public university in Purba Bardhaman, West Bengal, India. It was established by the West Bengal Government as a teaching and affiliating university on 15 June 1960 with ...

. Established in 1964. * Birbhum Vivekananda Homoeopathic Medical College & Hospital -Established in 1972.

High schools

*Sainthia High School *Sainthia Town High School is a boys' only high school. *Shashibhushan Dutta Girls' High School *Jogeshwari Dutta Girls' High School *Sainthia Paharhi Baba Vidyapth *Gitanjali Public School *Rastravhasa High School

Library

There is one government-sponsored public library in Sainthia.

Sports

Stadiums

The Kamodakinkar Stadium (Jalibagan) is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

and a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

stadium at Vivekananda Pally, Sainthia, operated by Sainthia Sports Association.

Notable people

Ananda Mohan Chakrabarty (born 1938),

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of para ...

and

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosop ...

Culture and festivals

Sainthia is influenced much by the culture of West Bengal. Festivals in Sainthia are inherited by the entire state of West Bengal. The language that is generally spoken here are Bengali and Hindi. However, people from other parts of India who have settled in Sainthia, obviously speak other languages. The festivals that are most commonly celebrated are the

Durga Puja Durga Puja ( bn, দুর্গা পূজা), also known as Durgotsava or Sharodotsava, is an annual Hindu festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga and is also celebrated ...

Saraswati Puja Vasant Panchami, also called Saraswati Puja in honor of the Hindu goddess Saraswati, is a festival that marks the preparation for the arrival of spring. The festival is celebrated in Indian religions in different ways depending on the region ...

Holi Holi (), also known as the Festival of Colours, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love,The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...". is an ancient Hindu religious festival ...

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

. Also,

Ganesh Puja Ganesh Chaturthi (ISO: ), also known as Vinayak Chaturthi (), or Ganeshotsav () is a Hindu festival commemorating the birth of the Hindu god Ganesha. The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha's clay idols privately in homes and p ...

is done during Sankashti Chaturthi. The festivals like Durga Puja is sincerely celebrated throughout the city of Sainthia by the local people. Though this festival is celebrated throughout India, the people of Sainthia give more importance to this festival.

References

External links

{{Birbhum topics Cities and towns in Birbhum district Company towns in India Hindu holy cities Hindu pilgrimage sites in India Populated places established in 1987 Cities in West Bengal