About Purnia

Purnia is a city and a municipality in Purnia district in the Indian state of Bihar. It formerly had a flourishing Jute industry. Phanishwar Nath 'Renu', a famous Hindi & Anchalik writer was from Purnia. It is the oldest district in the state of Bihar. In 1912, Bihar and Orissa were carved as separate provinces out of the old Bengal Province and Purnia became the district of the new provincial unit. Before the state re-organization in 1956, Purnia was contiguous to East Pakistan. The area of this district was about 4,239 square miles (10,979 km2). Buchanan Hamilton the first historian-geographer of India visited Purnia in 1801-10.

Name of the District
Actually Purnia originate from the Pundra Kingdom (also known as Paundra, Paundraya, Purnia etc). This was an eastern kingdom located in Eastern Bihar, West Bengal and Bangladesh. The bhats of the Pundir Rajputs, state that, having had their origins in Telangana, the Pundirs are descendants of the great Pundra dynasty. A Pundra king challenged Vasudeva Krishna by imitating his attributes. He called himself Paundraka Vasudeva. He was later killed by Vasudeva Krishna in a battle. The founders of five eastern kingdoms, which included: - Angas Vangas, Kalingas, Pundras and Suhmas shared a common ancestry.
The name Purnia is an altered form of the old name Purania. This name as stated in the locality has been derived from the word purain that means the Lotus, the local plant, which is said to have grown thickly on the beds of the river Kosi and Mahananda, where swamps and marshes have been formed. This derivation has been ascertained by O'Malley also in the old gazetteer. Another derivation is from the word Pur Aranya, which means the adobe of forests. W.W. Hunter and Buchanan have mentioned the name of Purnia

Location, Area & Geography
The district of Purnia, as it existed in 1951 with an area of 12784.64 sq. km. and a population of 25,25,231 has been pre-eminently an agricultural district.After separating the Katihar District, the area of Purnia District was 7943 sq. km. and accounts for 4.56 % of the state area. In the year 1990 , the district was split two more districts namely Araria and Kishanganj. Now the present area of the Purnia District is 3202.31 sq. kms. , Bordering Araria district in north, Katihar and Bhagalpur district in South, West Dinajpur district of W.B. and Kishanganj district of Bihar in east and Madhepura and Saharsa District in the west. It is situated between 25 degree 13 minutes 80 seconds and 27-degree 7 minutes 59 seconds north latitude and between 86 degree 59 minutes 6 seconds and 87-degree 52 minutes 35 seconds east longitude

Access (Transportation)
One may access Purnia District using Road & Train services . The district is connected with National Highway No. - 31 and the nearest Railway Station is Katihar which has linked with most of the vital places of the country . Private as well as State Govt. daily Bus services are available for Uttar Pradesh , Bengal , Assam , Orisa and Jharkhand . People of these states may reach here using bus services

Population & Literacy The total population of the district as per 1991 census is 18,78,885 of which male and female populations are 9,87,241 and 8,91,644 respectively. The district has 2,34,478 (Male = 1,21,271 & Female = 1,13,207) of Scheduled Caste population and 82,145 (Male = 42596 & Female = 39549) of Scheduled Tribe population. The population under age group 0-6 is 404360 (Male = 205818 & Female = 198542) . The literacy rate of the district is 28.52 % (Male = 38.92 % & Female = 16.8 %) . The sex ratio is 903 (903 females per 1000 males) .The district now consists 4 sub divisions, 14 Blocks, 251 Gram Panchayats, 1296 villages, 1 Nagar Parishad & 2 Nagar Panchayat

People & Culture
Hindi is the main language of the district; however, dialects are in vogue in different parts of the district for day-to-day use. People of Amour and Baisa blocks, speak Surjapuri. In the eastern side of Baisi block people speak Polia. Chhika-Chhiki or Angika is spoken in Rupouli and Bhawanipur and some part of Dhamdaha, K.Nagar and Purnia East Block. In Banmankhi , B.Kothi and some part of Dhamdaha. K.Nagar people speak a mix of Maithili and Chhika- Chhiki. Santhali people speak Santhali. In the east and South Baisi block Bangla is also spoken. Out siders speak their own dialects.
The river Kosi and Mahananda and their tributaries crosses different parts of the district. The tributaries are Parman, Kankai, Soura, Faryani etc. These Himalayan originated rivers and tributaries sub-merge with river Ganges.The tract of land is plain, however, north and west part is above the south as well as the eastern side of the land of the district.

Climate and rainfall
The district has a moist humid climate. The temperature is highest in May, when mercury shoots up to 45.5 degree Celsius and lowest in January when it is only 8.8 degree Celsius. The Wettest months of the year are July and August. The average annual rainfall in the district is 1411.5 mm which is the highest rainfall in the state of Bihar. The winter starts in November and continues up to February. Summer starts from April and lasts up to June. Rains start from 15th May and cool the temperature. Purnia is popularly known as poor man's Darjeeling

Soil and Crops
The soil of the district can be called alluvial or Sandy loam. As the river Kosi popularly known as "River of sorrow" used to flow in the plains of district freely and used to change its course frequently from time to time, the district has the Soil by recent alleviation. The principal crops grown are paddy, Jute, Wheat, Maize, Moong, Masoor, Mustard linseed, Sugar cane and Potato. Jute is the most important and major cash crop of the district. Jute cultivation plays very important role in the economic uplift of the farmer. Paddy occupies the primary position and has got more than 50 % of the gross cropped area. The soil and climate of the district is suitable for fruit plants like coconut, Banana, Mango, Guava, Lemon, Jeck Fruit, Pineapple and banana.

Livestock
The district of Purnea possesses a larger number of livestock. Green grasses are available throughout the year. Purnea district produces largest number of poultry and eggs in the state of Bihar. The district has a suitable environment for pig production. But the local animals required for I.R.D. Programme. The State Govt. has established one frozen semen Bank at Maranga cattle farm. Frozen semen of exotic breed is being utilised for cross breeding the local cows of the district. Goat keeping is very popular among poorest section of people.

Industries
The district has one Sugar mill at Banmankhi and 716 other small-scale industries. In spite of availability of raw materials and abundance of laborers, no marked improvement has been made in the field of rural and cottage industries.

Bank Branches
There are 101 bank branches of different commercial, Rural and co-operative banks in the district as on 01/04/2000. Recently few new bank has taken an entry in the city like.ICICI and AXSIS BANK and HDFC and other just standing on door to take entry.