Arra is a

census town In India and some other countries, a census town is designated as a town that satisfies certain characteristics. India In India, a census town is one which is not statutorily notified and administered as a town, but nevertheless whose population ...

in the

Raghunathpur I Raghunathpur I is a community development block (CD block) that forms an administrative division in the Raghunathpur subdivision of the Purulia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. History Background The ''Jaina Bhagavati-Sutra'' of the ...

CD block in the

Raghunathpur subdivision Raghunathpur subdivision is a subdivision of the Purulia district in the state of West Bengal, India. History Purulia district was divided into four subdivisions, viz., Purulia Sadar, Manbazar, Jhalda and Raghunathpur, with effect from 6 April 20 ...

of the Puruliya district in the state of

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Geography

Location

Aara is located at .

Area overview

Purulia district forms the lowest step of the

Chota Nagpur Plateau The Chota Nagpur Plateau () is a plateau in eastern India, which covers much of Jharkhand state as well as adjacent parts of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar. The Indo-Gangetic plain lies to the north and east of the plateau, and th ...

. The general scenario is undulating land with scattered hills.

occupies the northern part of the district. 83.80% of the population of the subdivision lives in rural areas. However, there are pockets of urbanization and 16.20% of the population lives in urban areas. There are 14 census towns in the subdivision. It is presented in the map given alongside. There is a coal mining area around

Parbelia Parbelia is a census town in the Neturia CD block in the Raghunathpur subdivision of the Purulia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Location As per the map of Neturia CD block on page 309 of ''District Census Handbook, ...

and two thermal power plants are there – the 500 MW

Santaldih Thermal Power Station Santaldih Thermal Power Station () of West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited is a power station with an installed capacity of 500 MW (2x250 MW). Location Santaldih Thermal Power Station is located at , at Santaldih, in Para (communi ...

and the 1200 MW Raghunathpur Thermal Power Station. The subdivision has a rich heritage of old temples, some of them belonging to the 11th century or earlier. The

Banda Deul Banda Deul is an 11th-century temple in Banda village (also called ''Deulghera'') in the Raghunathpur II CD block in the Raghunathpur subdivision of the Purulia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Locat ...

is a

monument of national importance A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

. The comparatively more recent in historical terms, Panchkot Raj has interesting and intriguing remains in the area. Note: The map alongside presents some of the notable locations in the subdivision. All places marked in the map are linked in the larger full screen map.

Demographics

According to the 2011 Census of India, Arra had a total population of 21,272, of which 11,135 (52%) were males and 10,137 (48%) were females. There were 2,063 persons in the age range of 0–6 years. The total number of literate persons in Arra was 15,604 (81.23% of the population over 6 years).

Languages

India

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Arra had a population of 19,911. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Arra has an average literacy rate of 66%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 59% of the males and 41% of females literate. 12% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Infrastructure

According to the ''District Census Handbook 2011, Puruliya'', Arra covered an area of 8.64 km². There is a railway station at Adra, 1 km away. Among the civic amenities, the protected water supply involved uncovered well, tube-well, bore-well. It had 1,665 domestic electric connections. Among the medical facilities it had 1 dispensary/ health centre. Among the educational facilities it had were 8 primary schools, 3 middle schools, the nearest secondary school, the nearest senior secondary school at Adra 1 km away, the nearest general degree college at Raghunathpur 8 km away. It had 2 special schools for disabled. Three important commodities it produced were paddy, clay pots and bamboo products.

Education

Barabagan Junior High School is a Bengali-medium coeducational institution established in 2009. It has facilities for teaching from class V to class VIII.

References

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Purulia district