Bindu is a village in the

Gorubathan Gorubathan is a village in the Gorubathan CD block in the Kalimpong Sadar subdivision of the Kalimpong district in the Indian state of West Bengal. History Gorubathan was once ruled by Lepcha kings who built ''Dalim Fort'' on top of a hil ...

CD block In India, a Community development block (CD block) or simply Block is a sub-division of Tehsil, administratively earmarked for planning and development. The area is administered by a Block Development Officer (BDO), supported by several technic ...

in the Kalimpong subdivision of the

Kalimpong district Kalimpong district is a district in the state of West Bengal, India. Originally known as Dalingkot tehsil, the region was alternatively under the control of Sikkim and Bhutan. In 1865, it was annexed from Bhutan by British India under the Treat ...

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 four ...

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 ...

. Bindu lies in the Indo-Bhutan border, India's second oldest dam is situated at Bindu. It is located 85 km from Jalpaiguri city.

Geography

Location

Bindu is located at .

Area overview

The map alongside shows the Kalimpong Sadar subdivision of Kalimpong district. Physiographically, this area forms the Kalimpong Range, with the average elevation varying from . This region is characterized by abruptly rising hills and numerous small streams. It is a predominantly rural area with 77.67% of the population living in rural areas and only 22.23% living in the urban areas. While

Kalimpong Kalimpong (Hindi: कलिम्पोंग) is a town and the headquarters of an Kalimpong district, eponymous district in the Indian states and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is located at an average elevation of . The town i ...

is the only municipality, Dungra is the sole

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 entire area. The economy is agro-based and there are 6 tea gardens in the Gorubathan CD block. In 2011, Kalimpong subdivision had a literacy rate of 81.85%, comparable with the highest levels of literacy in the districts of the state. While the first degree college in the subdivision was established at

in 1962 the entire subdivision (and now the entire district), other than the head-quarters, had to wait till as late as 2015 (more than half a century) to have their first degree colleges at Pedong and

. 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.

The place

Bindu is the last village on the

n side bordering

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountai ...

. It is known for its landscape with Jaldhaka River, hills and forests. There is a conjunction of three streams at Bindu. The three streams are known as Bindu Khola, Dudh Pokhri and Jaldhaka that originates from the Kupup lake, a small glacial lake in

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligu ...

. The combined streams meet at Bindu to form the Jaldhaka river. There is a dam known as ''Bindu Dam'' over the Jaldhaka river which is used for controlling water supply to the Jaldhaka Hydel Project at Jhalong and acts as a bridge for crossing over to Bhutan. However, one can cross the dam only by foot. Recently steel bridge construction will be done so that light weight vehicle can pass over.

People

People of different tribes live in this village. Most of the people are engaged in

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower * Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum ...

and

cardamom Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are r ...

cultivation, which are exported to other places within India and abroad.

Hydel Project

A total 44 MWe power can be produced if it is subjected to peak flow.

References

Villages in Kalimpong district {{Kalimpong-geo-stub