Coochbehar

Cooch Behar district (Bengali: কোচবিহার জেলা, Rajbongshi/Kamatapuri : কোচবিহার) is a district of the state of West Bengal, India, as well as the district's namesake town. During the British Raj, the town of Cooch Behar was the seat of a princely state of Koch Bihar, ruled by the Koch dynasty. As of 2011 it is the third least populous district of West Bengal (out of 19), after Dakshin Dinajpur and Darjeeling.

Geography

Cooch Behar is a district under the Jalpaiguri Division of the state of West Bengal. Cooch Behar is located in the northeastern part of the state and bounded by the district of Jalpaiguri in the north, state of Assam in the east and by Bangladesh in the west as well as in the south. The district forms part of the Himalayan Terai of West Bengal. A geopolitical curiosity is that there are 92 Bangladeshi exclaves, with a total area of 47.7 km² in Cooch-Behar. Similarly, there are 106 Indian exclaves inside Bangladesh, with a total area of 69.5 km². These were part of the high stake card or chess games centuries ago between two regional kings, the Raja of Cooch Behar and the Maharaja of Rangpur. Twenty-one of the Bangladeshi exclaves are within Indian exclaves, and three of the Indian exclaves are within Bangladeshi exclaves. The largest Indian exclave, Balapara Khagrabari, surrounds a Bangladeshi exclave, Upanchowki Bhajni, which itself surrounds an Indian exclave called Dahala Khagrabari, of less than one hectare (link to external map here). See also Indo-Bangladesh enclaves.


Census Data

Description 2011 2001
Actual Population 2,822,780 2,479,155
Male 1,453,590 1,272,094
Female 1,369,190 1,207,061
Population Growth 13.86% 14.19%
Area Sq. Km 3,387 3,387
Density/km2 833 732
Proportion to West Bengal Population 3.09% 3.09%
Sex Ratio (Per 1000) 942 949
Child Sex Ratio (0-6 Age) 948 964
Average Literacy 75.49 66.30
Male Literacy 81.52 75.93
Female Literacy 69.08 56.12
Total Child Population (0-6 Age) 332,355 387,130
Male Population (0-6 Age) 170,598 197,118
Female Population (0-6 Age) 161,757 190,012
Literates 1,879,984 1,386,965
Male Literates 1,045,903 816,196
Female Literates 834,081 570,769
Child Proportion (0-6 Age) 11.77% 15.62%
Boys Proportion (0-6 Age) 11.74% 15.50%
Girls Proportion (0-6 Age) 11.81% 15.74%

Divisions

Administrative divisions

Cooch Behar Sadar subdivision

  • Cooch Behar: Municipality
  • Cooch Behar I (Community development block) consists of rural areas with 15 gram panchayats and two census towns: Kharimala Khagrabari and Guriahati. Block headquarter is in Dhaluabari.
  • Cooch Behar II (Community development block) consists of rural areas with 13 gram panchayats and one census town: Khagrabari. Block headquarter is in Pundibari.

Dinhata subdivision

  • Dinhata: Municipality
  • Dinhata I (Community development block) consists of rural areas with 16 Gram Panchayats and one census town: Bhangri Pratham Khanda. Block headquarter is in Dinhata.
  • Dinhata II (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 12 gram panchayats. Block headquarter is in Sahebganj.
  • Sitai (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 5 Gram Panchayats. Block headquarter is in Sitai.

Mathabhanga subdivision

  • Mathabhanga: Municipality
  • Sitalkuchi (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 8 gram panchayats. Block headquarter is in Sitalkuchi.
  • Mathabhanga I (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 10 Gram Panchayats. Block headquarter is in Sikarpur.
  • Mathabhanga II (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 19 Gram Panchayats. Block headquarter is in Mathabhanga.

Mekhliganj subdivision

  • Mekhliganj: Municipality
  • Haldibari: Municipality
  • Mekhliganj (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 8 gram panchayats. Block headquarter is in Changrabandha.
  • Haldibari (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 6 gram panchayats. Block headquarter is in Haldibari.

Tufanganj subdivision

  • Tufanganj: Municipality
  • Tufanganj I (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 14 gram panchayats. Block headquarter is in Tufanganj.
  • Tufanganj II (Community development block) consists of rural areas only with 11 Gram Panchayats. Block headquarter is in Baxirhat.
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