Chalsa (also known as Chalsa Mahabari) 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 Matiali CD block in the Malbazar subdivision of the Jalpaiguri district in

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

Chalsa is located at . It has an average elevation of 163 metres (535 feet). It situated at the foot of the

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 pea ...

s in the Duars. This small town is surrounded by hills, tea gardens, rivers and forests. One part of the town is surrounded by Gorumara National Park and other part with Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary. Nearby forests are residence of a good collection of elephants and rhinos. It is situated on the way towards Birpara or Alipurduar from

Siliguri Siliguri (, ; ), also known as Shiliguri, is a major Tier ii cities in india, tier-II city in West Bengal. It forms the twin cities, Twin Cities with the neighbouring city of Jalpaiguri. The city spans areas of the Darjeeling district, Darjeel ...

via Malbazar. It takes around 1.5 hours from Siliguri both on road and railways. It is 60 km from

Bagdogra airport Bagdogra Airport () is a customs airport serving the city of Siliguri in West Bengal, India. It is located in Bagdogra, south-west from the city centre. It is operated as a civil enclave at the Bagdogra Air Force Station of the Indian A ...

. According to the map of the Matiali CD block on page 165 in the ''District Census Handbook, Jalpaiguri, 2011 census,'' Chalsa Mahabari is shown as being the headquarters of the block and Matiali police station is shown as being located in Chalsa Mahabari.

Area overview

Gorumara National Park has overtaken traditionally popular Jaldapara National Park in footfall and Malbazar has emerged as one of the most important towns in the Dooars. Malbazar subdivision is presented in the map alongside. It is a predominantly rural area with 88.62% of the population living in rural areas and 11.32% living in the urban areas. Tea gardens in the Dooars and

Terai The Terai or Tarai is a lowland region in parts of southern Nepal and northern India that lies to the south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, the Sivalik Hills and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This lowland belt is characterised by ...

regions produce 226 million kg or over a quarter of India's total tea crop. Some tea gardens were identified in the 2011 census as

s or villages. Such places are marked in the map as CT (census town) or R (rural/ urban centre). Specific tea estate pages are marked TE. 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.

Civic administration

Police station

Mitiali police station has jurisdiction over the Matiali CD block.

CD block HQ

The headquarters of the Matiali CD block are located at Chalsa Mahabari.

Demographics

According to the 2011 Census of India, Chalsa Mahabari had a total population of 4,973 of which 2,461 (49%) were males and 2,512 (51%) were females. There were 489 persons in the age range of 0 to 6 years. The total number of literate people in Chalsa Mahabari was 3,471 (77.41% of the population over 6 years).

Transport

Roadways

Siliguri is the best starting point. Siliguri is connected by air (Bagdogra) from

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

Guwahati Guwahati () the largest city of the Indian state of Assam, and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. Th ...

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

and

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

and by rail ( New Jalpaiguri) from Delhi, Guwahati, Kolkata. Siliguri is about 10 hours by road from Kolkata. From Siliguri, Chapramari Sanctuary and Gorumara National Park are an hour and half away. And Chalsa is surrounded by these two forests. Road and rail transport are available choices. The National Highway is in very good condition and driving is comfortable.

Railway

Chalsa Railway Station is on the New Jalpaiguri-Alipurduar-Samuktala Road Line serves the town of Chalsa and nearby areas.

Tourism

Various resorts and lodges around Gorumara. The Forest department has two bungalows each at Chapramari and Gorumara. There should be prior booking to avail these bungalows. There are also many cottages, resorts all around Garumara national park. They are mainly at Chalsa, Lataguri and Dhupjhora. Book your places to stay prior to arrival.

References

External links

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Chalsa picture gallery

File:Jungle at Chalsa.jpg, Jungle at Chalsa Image:Hills in Chalsa.jpg, Hilly Chalsa {{Jalpaiguri District Cities and towns in Jalpaiguri district